Jesus, Our High Priest Prays
Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 4; John 17; Psalm 138
John 17 is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the Bible. I say recorded because we know He often prayed longer. The Gospels tell us He spent entire nights in prayer. His 40 days in the wilderness—the prologue to His public ministry—was a sustained time of fasting, solitude, and prayer. Luke, in particular, emphasizes the prayer life of Jesus throughout his Gospel.
But nowhere else do we find a prayer of Jesus as fully preserved and deeply personal as the one in John 17.
This chapter is worthy of close and reverent study. In fact, I have several books written solely as commentaries on this one prayer.
There’s a clear pattern to how Jesus prays here. In the opening section, He speaks of His relationship with the Father and His mission on earth. Then, beginning in verse 6, He turns His attention to His disciples. While this part of the prayer is clearly for those who walked with Him during His earthly ministry, it becomes obvious that His prayer reaches beyond them—to the entire church throughout history, including you and me.
We know this because of verse 20:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…”
This prayer has often been called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer—and rightly so. In this moment, Jesus is taking up the role of our High Priest: the One who intercedes for us, our Mediator before the Father.
The book of Hebrews explains this beautifully. It presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament priesthood. It tells us that “He ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus is not only our Savior—He is also our Advocate.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his study of this chapter, outlined the prayer along four themes:
Saved in Eternity
Sanctified through the Truth
Secure in the World
Growing in the Spirit
These are the kinds of things Jesus prayed for then—and continues to pray for now.
So take heart. Be calm, be confident, and be at peace.
Jesus is praying for you.
