Verse 24 is filled with wonderful clauses
                and we must not limit these words to the eleven apostles only
                                but they include us also (see v. 20).

Father, I want
                I will, I desire, there is almost a demand here.
                A Son begging his Father, knowing how much the Father loves him
                and knowing that the Father wants the same as his Son.

Some commentators have seen this as Jesus outlining his last will and testament.

those you have given me
                The elect of God, convicted by God’s Spirit of sin,
                called to salvation and sonship in God,
                purchased by the blood of Christ, bought with a price.

to be with me where I am.
                Where is Christ?
                He is in the Father and the Father dwells in the heavenly realms.
                Christ wants that we should dwell with him in heaven,
                this is the purpose of his coming.
                That we should be forgiven, cleansed, sanctified
                and brought into his heavenly kingdom.

and to see my glory,

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
 made his light shine in our hearts
 to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Christ.
2 Cor. 4:6 [NIV]

                There is a day coming when we will enter into the fullness of his glory,
                                we will no longer see him dimly through a mirror
                                but we shall see him face to face.
                We shall live in a city that has no need of sun or moon
                                because our Lord’s glory will shine out and be all the light that we need.

                The place we will be in is less important than the company we will keep
                                ands the glory we shall see.

the glory you have given me
                we note that the glory of the Son is not earned but given.
                He is the apple of his Father’s eye,
                                the Son in whom the Father is well pleased

because you loved me
                There is a closeness between the three members of the trinity
                                that we cannot fathom.
                They love each other with an everlasting love. For God is love.
                And he who loves his Son so deeply also loves us with an unwavering love.

before the creation of the world.
                This further describes the extent of the Father’s love-it is everlasting.
                                From eternality past to eternity future, unwavering and unchangeable.

The glory that our Lord wants us to see
                is the glory of the immutable, eternal and omnipotent God,
                                the Father of love and giver of life.

David wrote:

Thou wilt show me the path of life:
in thy presence is fullness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:11 [KJV]

²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,
I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
²⁶I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known
in order that the love you have for me may be in them
and that I myself may be in them.”  
[John 17:25- 26 NIV]

Five times in two verses Jesus uses the words “know” or “known”.
                                                See also verses 6-8

Why is it so important that we know Christ ?

I pray that out of his glorious riches
he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit
in your inner being,
¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 
Ephesians 3:16-17a [NIV]

Conclusion

In these verses
            our Lord prays for the protection,
                        sanctification,
                                    and unity of believers
and that they may see his glory in all its fullness in heaven.

What is the primary meaning of the word “sanctify” ?

• Set apart for God
• And, therefore, set apart from the world, sin and the devil

Sanctification is holiness in action,
                in one aspect it means that we are being drawn close to God
and conversely it means being drawn away from the world’s standards and morality.

Jesus wants that we should daily be purified in body, soul and spirit.
                He wants that we should become more like him,
                                who was tempted just like us but without sin.

What is the purpose of our sanctification ?

What is the means of our sanctification?

See Titus 2:14    and Eph 5:25-27

¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
[John 17:18 NIV]

What is the meaning of this verse ?

Father Make them one- John 17:20- 23

How often Christians have wasted their strength in contending against their brethren, instead of contending against sin and the devil.        J C Ryle

What is the means of Unity ?

What is the purpose of unity ?

Some commentators belief this to be the unity of Jew and Gentile
                and the breaking down of the wall of partition.
                                It surely includes this but has a much wider application for us today.

Paul wrote:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6 [NIV]

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:11-14 [NIV]

¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:15-16 [NIV]

Our Lord prays for unity and Paul urges unity.

Spiritual unity, unity of faith and knowledge
                and unity in the Body of Christ-an organic unity.

It is this organic unity that our Lord seems to be praying for.
                “that they may be one as we are one”   John 17 v. 22

Note that organic unity is not the same as organisational unity
                the church is principally an organism and not an organisation.

We are called to unity of Spirit
                not uniformity of style or organisation.

We should always have unity of Spirit and fellowship
                with those who are like minded
                                even if we differ in doctrine and practices.

A passage filled with golden nuggets
                filled with glory that we can see and explore
but also nuggets that are veiled,
                mysteries that can be seen but not fully understood.

We must be content to let some mysteries pass us by
                in the knowledge that in due time, probably in heaven,
                                these mysteries will be made clear.

Jesus Prays for Himself. vs. 1-5

What do we learn in these verses of the purposes of Jesus
                                    in the world?

What do we learn about the person of Jesus in these verses?

We have a truly divine Saviour, one who was with God before the world began,
                one who is faithful in all his ways.

His position in glory, his divine power and his eternal and pre-existence all combine to give confidence, joy and peace to all who trust in him.

Jesus prays for his disciples – John 17:6- 8

What do we learn about the disciples here?

What a contrast with the gospel picture of the disciples,
                they doubted, they were puzzled and confused,
                                they were spiritually immature,
                                and at the end they fled.

We see our own weaknesses and each others weaknesses,
                Our Lord sees our strengths.

We look upon the outer turmoil
                but our Lord looks upon the inner sanctifying work of the Spirit
                                bringing understanding and faith.

Jesus sees more of His Spirit in us than ever we see or understand!

He sees our weaknesses and looks with compassion upon them
                because he also has been tempted,
                                he also has experienced pain and hunger.

And he is our Great High Priest, always interceding for us.

Not for the World – John 17:9- 11

Father Protect them – John 17:11b- 16