Jesus Prays for All His People (John 17:20-24)

In this set of verses, we are listening in to Jesus’ prayer for his entire people. Previously in the prayer he had prayed about his own work and about his apostles and their work for him. Now he mentions every other Christian who will exist. His example here encourages us to have large petitions as well as small ones. I suppose we could say that the petitions in this section are covered by the statement in the Lord’s Prayer concerning the coming of the Father’s kingdom. In that prayer, the outcome is anticipated whereas in this petition it is described in more detail.  

Three details about God’s people

The first detail that can be observed from this section of Jesus’ prayer is that evangelism will be successful. While he does not say here how large that number will be, he did indicate elsewhere that a large number would come from the east and from the west and sit down with the patriarchs in the kingdom. It is not only Jesus who makes such a reference in the Bible. Several times in the Old Testament prophets and in the psalms, as well as in the Book of Revelation, there are descriptions of the redeemed that indicate they will be a large number. Perhaps the best way to understand this biblical emphasis is always to have before our minds the promises that God made to Abraham about his seed numbering the same as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

A second detail is that Jesus clarifies how the vast number will come into his kingdom. Earlier he had indicated that he would do it, as for example his statement that he would gather all his sheep into one fold or his statement that if he were lifted up to the cross he would draw all peoples to himself. But how would he do so? Here he tells us that it will be through the words of the apostles. I don’t think he is referring to their sermons as such, but to the scriptures that they would produce along with the apostle Paul. The apostles personally could not bring in all those who will come into the kingdom, but those who would come in would do so after hearing a message or a discussion based on their words or even by reading those words in the Bible. This was a great privilege for the apostles, and we should be thankful that Jesus arranged for them to complete the Scriptures so that all his people would get to heaven.

The third detail to observe here is that Jesus prays for that vast number to be one. Obviously since the number will not be together until the resurrection and the renewal of all things it means that Jesus here is not praying for denominational unity among Christians at a specific time. Whether or not it is good for Christian groups to come together should be decided at the particular moment in which it is being discussed. The oneness that Jesus has in mind is not an option for some Christians. Instead it is going to be an experience for all of them, wherever they come from and whenever they lived.

This is important to realise because if we limit the petition to occasions when Christians in particular places come together we are also saying that there are times when they don’t come together. And if Jesus was praying for such expressions of unity, then since often they don’t occur it means that his prayers have not been answered. Such an outcome is ludicrous and it means that the explanation of the petition is wrong. The petitions of Jesus are always answered, and so will this one for perfect unity among his people.

Communion

What does Jesus say this oneness will involve? First, he likens it to the oneness that exists between the Father and the Son: ‘that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.’ The oneness that Jesus here describes is that of communion. The Father and the Son have perfect, ongoing, uninterrupted fellowship with one another. In this world, the followers of Jesus have communion with one another, but it cannot be described as perfect, ongoing and uninterrupted. They are still sinful, they have temptations to avoid, they have physical weaknesses that prevent it taking place, and they have responsibilities that distract them from having fellowship. But on that great future day, when they are together in the eternal world, they will have perfect, ongoing and uninterrupted fellowship and communion with one another.

One feature of that future fellowship is that it will be sinless. Obviously, the communion between the Father and the Son is sinless. It is hard for us to imagine sinless interaction between one another, yet that is what will be the case for God’s people. There will never be one sinful thought or word once this oneness is realised.

A second aspect that seems to be indicated here by Jesus is that they will have simultaneous communion with one another. That is impossible in this life because some of the church is in heaven, some of them are on earth and converted, some are on earth and are not converted yet, and some have not been born yet. How can such communion occur? Only by the power of the Holy Spirit. The people of God in eternity are depicted as being together, whether in the Father’s house, or in following the Shepherd to the fountains of life, or sitting at a meal with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Perhaps it is possible also to see a third aspect of communion here and that is service. When we think of the communion between the Father and the Son we know that when Jesus was speaking here he was the Servant of the Father sent on a mission to deliver his people. This role had been the subject of their eternal considerations, so service is at the heart of their communion. And service will be central to the heavenly communion that believers will enjoy, whether in serving God or one another.

Glorification

Jesus also mentions that his people have received from him a glory that he had received from the Father. What has Jesus received from the Father that can be categorised as glorious? I can think of two gifts that he received and which he could give to his people. One is the Holy Spirit and the other is the status of heir of all things.

The Saviour here is praying as if his period of glory has begun. So we can look ahead to that commencement and observe what he received from the Father as part of the exaltation. He was proclaimed to be Lord of all by his ascension and all things were put into his hand as his possession. Jesus has inherited them, and his people are described as being joint-heirs with him. So they have received a status that they did not deserve, but which he did.

The other possibility is that Jesus may be referring to his reception of the Holy Spirit as the reward for his finished work. He was given the Spirit so that he could give the Spirit to each of his people to sanctify them. The possession of the Spirit is said by the apostle Peter to be a form of glorification (1 Pet. 4:14). In the present, before the return of Jesus, his people only have the firstfruits of the Spirit. But when Jesus returns, they will have the Spirit in his fullness.

Another interesting detail from this request by Jesus is that his words reveal that he was fully aware that he was the Mediator, the Go-between, who links God to his people. This is a reminder that Jesus is the one through whom we receive all blessings from the Father. And Jesus is praying in such a way that he was aware of distinct stages in his mediatorial role, whether what he did on earth, or what he will in and from heaven during the period between his two advents, or what he will do for his people when and after he returns.

Realisation

Twice in these verses Jesus says that the public display of this oneness will cause the world to recognise two things. First, they will realise that the Father had sent the Son to be the Saviour and, second, they will realise that God the Father has loved his people in a similar way to how he loved his Son.

We can see how they will recognise that Jesus is God’s appointed Saviour when they see the vast number of believers who have been glorified and are experiencing the amazing oneness that characterises the relationship between the Father and the Son. The other realisation, that the people of God are loved in the same way as the Son was loved, is likely to be a reference to the two details that Jesus received when he ascended to heaven. They are loved in the sense that they receive the blessings connected to Jesus. And the world will see it and confess that God the Father certainly loved his people in a wonderful manner.

Observation

Jesus also reveals his desire that his people understand fully who he is. So he prays that they would see what he is like. But we should note the depth of feeling he has as he prays - he desires this future state vehemently. In addition he prays for their presence with him always. Moreover he states the reason for such a presence, which is that they would continually observe the glory that he has received from the Father.

A key to what this means is given by the apostle John in 1 John 3:2: ‘Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.’ I suppose we could call this experience as ‘transformation by observation’.

It is interesting that Jesus does not ask that we should see him as he was. Spurgeon once said when preaching from 1 John 3:2: ‘Our minds often revert to Christ as he was, and as such we have desired to see him. We shall never see him thus; Bethlehem’s glories are gone forever; Calvary’s glooms are swept away; Gethsemane’s scene is dissolved; and even Tabor’s splendours are quenched in the past. We cannot, must not, see him as he was; nor do we wish, for we have a larger promise, “We shall see him as he is.”’

Jesus connects this future observation of him by his people to the eternal love of the Father for him that brought about the glory that he now possesses as the Mediator. Charles Ross describes one possible meaning of what will occur: ‘Oh, surely it will be an eternal feast to the hearts of the redeemed in heaven to see the glorious unfoldings of the Father’s love towards their Covenant Head.’

Ross also noted about this experience: ‘It is impossible to behold this glory and to remain a mere spectator of it. To behold it is to partake of it — to become a sharer with him in his glory…. This is the height to which Jesus elevates His Church.’

One question we can ask is this: ‘How long will we look at Jesus?’ The answer is that we will do so forever. We can also ask, ‘What will we see in Jesus then?’ Perhaps the best answer is ‘meekness and majesty’. As we see the man who is full of the Spirit we will see meekness; as we see the man who is crowned with glory and honour we will see majesty. A third question we can ask is, ‘Will we see his deity?’ Not in essence, but we will see as close to it as possible as we gaze on the One who is both God and man forever.