John 14-17
New American Standard Bible
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “(A)Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [b]rooms; if that were not so, [c]I would have told you, because (B)I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, (C)I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that (D)where I am, there you also will be. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 (E)Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am (F)the way, and (G)the truth, and (H)the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
Oneness with the Father
7 (I)If you [d]had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you (J)know Him, and have (K)seen Him.”
8 (L)Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been with [e]you for so long a time, and yet [f]you have not come to know Me, Philip? (M)The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that (N)I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? (O)The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. 11 Believe Me that (P)I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise (Q)believe because of the works themselves. 12 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and (R)greater works than these he will do; because (S)I am going to the Father. 13 And (T)whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that (U)the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything (V)in My name, I will do it.
15 “(W)If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
The Holy Spirit
16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [g](X)Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is (Y)the Spirit of truth, (Z)whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; (AA)I am coming to you. 19 [h](AB)After a little while, (AC)the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; (AD)because I live, you also will live. 20 (AE)On that day you will know that (AF)I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. 21 (AG)The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and (AH)the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will (AI)reveal Myself to him.” 22 (AJ)Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what has happened (AK)that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “(AL)If anyone loves Me, he will (AM)follow My word; and (AN)My Father will love him, and We (AO)will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 The one who does not love Me (AP)does not follow My words; and (AQ)the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. 26 But the (AR)Helper, the Holy Spirit (AS)whom the Father will send in My name, (AT)He will teach you all things, and (AU)remind you of all that I said to you. 27 (AV)Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. (AW)[i]Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor [j]fearful. 28 (AX)You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away, and (AY)I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced [k]because (AZ)I am going to the Father, for (BA)the Father is greater than I. 29 And now (BB)I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. 30 I will not speak much more with you, for (BC)the ruler of the world is coming, and he has [l]nothing in regard to Me, 31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, [m]I do exactly as (BD)the Father commanded Me. Get up, (BE)let’s go from here.
Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches
15 “(BF)I am the true vine, and My Father is the (BG)vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He [n]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 (BH)You are already [o]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 (BI)Remain in Me, [p]and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit [q]of itself [r]but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him [s](BJ)bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is (BK)thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, (BL)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My (BM)Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so [t](BN)prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as (BO)the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. 10 (BP)If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as (BQ)I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. 11 (BR)These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your (BS)joy may be made full.
Disciples’ Relation to Each Other
12 “This is (BT)My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 (BU)Greater love has no one than this, that a person will (BV)lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My (BW)friends if (BX)you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because (BY)all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 (BZ)You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and (CA)bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that (CB)whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This (CC)I command you, that you love one another.
Disciples’ Relation to the World
18 “(CD)If the world hates you, [u]you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but (CE)I chose you out of the world, (CF)because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘(CG)A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, (CH)they will persecute you as well; if they (CI)followed My word, they will follow yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you (CJ)on account of My name, (CK)because they do not know the One who sent Me. 22 (CL)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have [v]sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 (CM)If I had not done among them (CN)the works which no one else did, they would not have [w]sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 But this has happened so that the word that is written in their (CO)Law will be fulfilled: ‘(CP)They hated Me for no reason.’
26 “When the [x](CQ)Helper comes, (CR)whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, (CS)the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, (CT)He will testify about Me, 27 and [y](CU)you are testifying as well, because you have been with Me (CV)from the beginning.
Jesus’ Warning
16 “(CW)These things I have spoken to you so that you will not [z]be (CX)led into sin. 2 They will [aa](CY)ban you from the synagogue, yet (CZ)an hour is coming for everyone (DA)who kills you to think that he is offering a [ab]service to God. 3 These things they will do (DB)because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have spoken to you, (DC)so that when their hour comes, you [ac]may remember that I told you of them. However, I did not say these things to you (DD)at the beginning, because I was with you.
The Holy Spirit Promised
5 “But now (DE)I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘(DF)Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, (DG)grief has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the [ad](DH)Helper will not come to you; but if I go, (DI)I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: 9 regarding sin, (DJ)because they do not believe in Me; 10 and regarding (DK)righteousness, because (DL)I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; 11 (DM)and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time. 13 But when He, (DN)the Spirit of truth, comes, He will (DO)guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will (DP)glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 (DQ)All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you.
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Foretold
16 “(DR)A little while, and (DS)you no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and (DT)you will see Me.” 17 So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘(DU)A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because (DV)I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” 19 (DW)Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20 Truly, truly I say to you that (DX)you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but (DY)your grief will be turned into joy! 21 (DZ)Whenever a woman is in labor she has [ae]pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a [af]child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore (EA)you too have grief now; but (EB)I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you.
Prayer Promises
23 And (EC)on that day (ED)you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, (EE)if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 (EF)Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your (EG)joy may be made full.
25 “These things I have spoken to you in (EH)figures of speech; (EI)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 (EJ)On that day (EK)you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; 27 for (EL)the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and (EM)have believed that (EN)I came forth from the Father. 28 (EO)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and (EP)going to the Father.”
29 His disciples *said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and are not [ag]using any (EQ)figure of speech. 30 Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we (ER)believe that You (ES)came forth from God.” 31 Jesus replied to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, (ET)an hour is coming, and has already come, for (EU)you to be scattered, each to (EV)his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet (EW)I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you so that (EX)in Me you may have peace. (EY)In the world you have tribulation, but (EZ)take courage; (FA)I have overcome the world.”
The High Priestly Prayer
17 Jesus spoke these things; and (FB)raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; (FC)glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, 2 just as (FD)You gave Him authority over all [ah]mankind, so that [ai](FE)to all whom You have given Him, (FF)He may give eternal life. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, (FG)the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom (FH)You have sent. 4 (FI)I glorified You on the earth [aj](FJ)by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now You, Father, (FK)glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had (FL)with You before the world existed.
6 “(FM)I have revealed Your name to the men whom (FN)You gave Me out of the world; they were (FO)Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have (FP)followed Your word. 7 Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You; 8 for (FQ)the words which You gave Me (FR)I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that (FS)I came forth from You, and they believed that (FT)You sent Me. 9 (FU)I ask on their behalf; (FV)I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom (FW)You have given Me, because (FX)they are Yours; 10 and (FY)all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet (FZ)they themselves are in the world, and (GA)I am coming to You. (GB)Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name (GC)which You have given Me, so that (GD)they may be one just as We are. 12 While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, (GE)which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and (GF)not one of them perished except (GG)the [ak]son of destruction, so that the (GH)Scripture would be fulfilled.
The Disciples in the World
13 But now (GI)I am coming to You; and (GJ)these things I speak in the world so that they may have My (GK)joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and (GL)the world has hated them because (GM)they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from [al](GN)the evil one. 16 (GO)They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 (GP)Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 Just as (GQ)You sent Me into the world, (GR)I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I (GS)sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be (GT)sanctified (GU)in truth.
20 “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; (GV)just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, (GW)so that the world may [am]believe that (GX)You sent Me.
Disciples’ Future Glory
22 The (GY)glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 (GZ)I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected [an]in unity, so that the world may [ao]know that (HA)You sent Me, and You (HB)loved them, just as You loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that (HC)they also, whom You have given Me, (HD)be with Me where I am, so that they may see My (HE)glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before (HF)the foundation of the world.
25 “(HG)Righteous Father, [ap]although (HH)the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that (HI)You sent Me; 26 and (HJ)I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that (HK)the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Footnotes
- John 14:1 Or you believe in God, believe also
- John 14:2 Or dwelling places
- John 14:2 Or would I have told you that I am going...?
- John 14:7 Two early mss have come to know...you will know
- John 14:9 I.e., you plural, the disciples
- John 14:9 I.e., you singular, Philip
- John 14:16 Or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
- John 14:19 Lit Yet a little and the world
- John 14:27 Or Stop letting your hearts
- John 14:27 Or cowardly
- John 14:28 Or that
- John 14:30 I.e., no grounds for any accusation
- John 14:31 Lit and just as the Father...so I do
- John 15:2 Lit cleans; used to describe pruning
- John 15:3 I.e., pruned like a branch
- John 15:4 Or I also remain in you
- John 15:4 Lit from
- John 15:4 Lit if it does not remain
- John 15:5 Lit this one bears
- John 15:8 Or become My disciples
- John 15:18 Or (command) know that
- John 15:22 I.e., guilt
- John 15:24 I.e., responsibility for their sin
- John 15:26 Or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
- John 15:27 Or (command) testify, you as well
- John 16:1 Or let yourselves be led; or fall away (in apostasy)
- John 16:2 Or excommunicate
- John 16:2 I.e., as an act of worship
- John 16:4 Or will remember them, that I told you
- John 16:7 Or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
- John 16:21 Lit grief
- John 16:21 Lit human being
- John 16:29 Lit saying
- John 17:2 Lit flesh
- John 17:2 Lit everything that You have given Him, to them He may
- John 17:4 Or having accomplished
- John 17:12 Heb idiom for one destined to perish
- John 17:15 Or evil
- John 17:21 Gr tense indicates continually believe
- John 17:23 Lit into one
- John 17:23 Gr tense indicates continually know
- John 17:25 Lit even the world
John 14-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus the Way to the Father
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe[a] in God; believe also in me.(A) 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?[b] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.(B) 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.”[c] 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(C) 7 If you know me, you will know[d] my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?(D) 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.(E) 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe[e] because of the works themselves.(F) 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[f] for anything, I will do it.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, you will keep[g] my commandments.(G) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[h] to be with you forever.(H) 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be[i] in[j] you.(I)
18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.(J) 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”(K) 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.(L) 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.(M)
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate,[k] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.(N) 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.(O) 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.(P) 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me,(Q) 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.(R)
Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes[l] to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed[m] by the word that I have spoken to you.(S) 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.(T) 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.(U) 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become[n] my disciples.(V) 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.(W) 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.(X)
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.(Y) 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.(Z) 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.(AA) 15 I do not call you servants[o] any longer, because the servant[p] does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.(AB) 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.(AC) 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.(AD) 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.(AE) 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.(AF) 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.(AG) 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.(AH) 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’(AI)
26 “When the Advocate[q] comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.(AJ) 27 You also are to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.(AK)
16 “I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away.[r](AL) 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.(AM) 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me.(AN) 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
The Work of the Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’(AO) 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate[s] will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about[t] sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.(AP)
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.(AQ) 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.(AR) 14 He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.(AS)
Sorrow Will Turn into Joy
16 “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”(AT) 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.(AU) 22 So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.(AV) 23 On that day you will ask nothing of me.[u] Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.[v] 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.(AW)
Peace for the Disciples
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.[w](AX) 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”(AY)
29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.”(AZ) 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.(BA) 33 I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!”(BB)
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,(BC) 2 since you have given him authority over all people,[x] to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.(BD) 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.(BE) 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.(BF) 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.(BG)
6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.(BH) 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.(BI) 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.(BJ) 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them.(BK) 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.(BL) 12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that[y] you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost,[z] so that the scripture might be fulfilled.(BM) 13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.[aa] 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.(BN) 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.[ab](BO) 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.(BP) 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,[ac] so that the world may believe that you have sent me.(BQ) 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,(BR) 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.(BS)
25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me.(BT) 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”(BU)
Footnotes
- 14.1 Or You believe
- 14.2 Or If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you
- 14.4 Other ancient authorities read Where I am going you know, and the way you know
- 14.7 Other ancient authorities read If you had known me, you would have known
- 14.11 Other ancient authorities add me
- 14.14 Other ancient authorities lack me
- 14.15 Other ancient authorities read me, keep
- 14.16 Or Helper or Comforter
- 14.17 Other ancient authorities read he is
- 14.17 Or among
- 14.26 Or Helper or Comforter
- 15.2 The same Greek root refers to pruning and cleansing
- 15.3 The same Greek root refers to pruning and cleansing
- 15.8 Or be
- 15.15 Gk slaves
- 15.15 Gk slave
- 15.26 Or Helper or Comforter
- 16.1 Or stumbling
- 16.7 Or Helper or Comforter
- 16.8 Or convict the world of
- 16.23 Or will ask me no question
- 16.23 Other ancient authorities read Father, he will give it to you in my name
- 16.27 Other ancient authorities read the Father
- 17.2 Gk flesh
- 17.12 Other ancient authorities read protected in your name those whom
- 17.12 Gk except the son of destruction
- 17.13 Or among themselves
- 17.15 Or from evil
- 17.21 Other ancient authorities read be one in us
John 14-17
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
14 Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.
4 And whither I go you know, and the way you know.
5 Thomas saith to him: Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.
7 If you had known me, you would without doubt have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know him, and you have seen him.
8 Philip saith to him: Lord, shew us the Father, and it is enough for us.
9 Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, shew us the Father?
10 Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works.
11 Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
12 Otherwise believe for the very works' sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do.
13 Because I go to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do.
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever.
17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while: and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live.
20 In that day you shall know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith to him, not the Iscariot: Lord, how is it, that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world?
23 Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words. And the word which you have heard, is not mine; but the Father's who sent me.
25 These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you.
26 But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.
28 You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it comes to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.
30 I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing.
31 But that the world may know, that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us go hence.
15 I am the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me, that beareth not fruit, he will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, he will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now you are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.
6 If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 In this is my Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father's commandments, and do abide in his love.
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled.
12 This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you.
15 I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you.
16 You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
18 If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you.
19 If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember my word that I said to you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake: because they know not him who sent me.
22 If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He that hateth me, hateth my Father also.
24 If I had not done among them the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25 But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law: They hated me without cause.
26 But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me.
27 And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning.
16 These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized.
2 They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God.
3 And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.
5 But I told you not these things from the beginning, because I was with you. And now I go to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me: Whither goest thou?
6 But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
7 But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
8 And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment.
9 Of sin: because they believed not in me.
10 And of justice: because I go to the Father; and you shall see me no longer.
11 And of judgment: because the prince of this world is already judged.
12 I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now.
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you.
14 He shall glorify me; because he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you.
15 All things whatsoever the Father hath, are mine. Therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine, and shew it to you.
16 A little while, and now you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father.
17 Then some of the disciples said one to another: What is this that he saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father?
18 They said therefore: What is this that he saith, A little while? we know not what he speaketh.
19 And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him; and he said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me?
20 Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
22 So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you.
23 And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full.
25 These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh, when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father.
26 In that day you shall ask in my name; and I say not to you, that I will ask the Father for you:
27 For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and I go to the Father.
29 His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now we know that thou knowest all things, and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them: Do you now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world.
17 These things Jesus spoke, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said: Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee.
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he may give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now glorify thou me, O Father, with thyself, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee.
6 I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou hast given me out of the world. Thine they were, and to me thou gavest them; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known, that all things which thou hast given me, are from thee:
8 Because the words which thou gavest me, I have given to them; and they have received them, and have known in very deed that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me: because they are thine:
10 And all my things are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are.
12 While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture may be fulfilled.
13 And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil.
16 They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19 And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me;
21 That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me.
24 Father, I will that where I am, they also whom thou hast given me may be with me; that they may see my glory which thou hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the creation of the world.
25 Just Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee: and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have made known thy name to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them.
John 14-17
The Message
The Road
14 1-4 “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”
5 Thomas said, “Master, we have no idea where you’re going. How do you expect us to know the road?”
6-7 Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Master, show us the Father; then we’ll be content.”
9-10 “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
11-14 “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.
The Spirit of Truth
15-17 “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.
21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said, “Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?”
23-24 “Because a loveless world,” said Jesus, “is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me.
25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
28 “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.
29-31 “I’ve told you this ahead of time, before it happens, so that when it does happen, the confirmation will deepen your belief in me. I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. But don’t worry—he has nothing on me, no claim on me. But so the world might know how thoroughly I love the Father, I am carrying out my Father’s instructions right down to the last detail.
“Get up. Let’s go. It’s time to leave here.”
The Vine and the Branches
15 1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
9-10 “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.
11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.
16 “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.
17 “But remember the root command: Love one another.
Hated by the World
18-19 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.
20 “When that happens, remember this: Servants don’t get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you. If they did what I told them, they will do what you tell them.
21-25 “They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don’t know the One who sent me. If I hadn’t come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. Hate me, hate my Father—it’s all the same. If I hadn’t done what I have done among them, works no one has ever done, they wouldn’t be to blame. But they saw the God-signs and hated anyway, both me and my Father. Interesting—they have verified the truth of their own Scriptures where it is written, ‘They hated me for no good reason.’
26-27 “When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—he will confirm everything about me. You, too, from your side must give your confirming evidence, since you are in this with me from the start.”
16 1-4 “I’ve told you these things to prepare you for rough times ahead. They are going to throw you out of the meeting places. There will even come a time when anyone who kills you will think he’s doing God a favor. They will do these things because they never really understood the Father. I’ve told you these things so that when the time comes and they start in on you, you’ll be well-warned and ready for them.
The Friend Will Come
4-7 “I didn’t tell you this earlier because I was with you every day. But now I am on my way to the One who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead, the longer I’ve talked, the sadder you’ve become. So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.
8-11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.
12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’
16 “In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me.”
Joy Like a River Overflowing
17-18 That stirred up a hornet’s nest of questions among the disciples: “What’s he talking about: ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? And, ‘Because I’m on my way to the Father’? What is this ‘day or so’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”
19-20 Jesus knew they were dying to ask him what he meant, so he said, “Are you trying to figure out among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘In a day or so you’re not going to see me, but then in another day or so you will see me’? Then fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness.
21-23 “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You’ll no longer be so full of questions.
23-24 “This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!
25-28 “I’ve used figures of speech in telling you these things. Soon I’ll drop the figures and tell you about the Father in plain language. Then you can make your requests directly to him in relation to this life I’ve revealed to you. I won’t continue making requests of the Father on your behalf. I won’t need to. Because you’ve gone out on a limb, committed yourselves to love and trust in me, believing I came directly from the Father, the Father loves you directly. First, I left the Father and arrived in the world; now I leave the world and travel to the Father.”
29-30 His disciples said, “Finally! You’re giving it to us straight, in plain talk—no more figures of speech. Now we know that you know everything—it all comes together in you. You won’t have to put up with our questions anymore. We’re convinced you came from God.”
31-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers
17 1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:
Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his care.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.
* * *
6-12 I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life
That you conferred as a gift through me,
So they can be one heart and mind
As we are one heart and mind.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a lookout.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
* * *
13-19 Now I’m returning to you.
I’m saying these things in the world’s hearing
So my people can experience
My joy completed in them.
I gave them your word;
The godless world hated them because of it,
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways,
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways.
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world
But that you guard them from the Evil One.
They are no more defined by the world
Than I am defined by the world.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth;
Your word is consecrating truth.
In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world,
I give them a mission in the world.
I’m consecrating myself for their sakes
So they’ll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
* * *
20-23 I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.
* * *
24-26 Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson