John 17:6-19

Jesus Prepares for Departure

John 17 is part of a larger section of John’s gospel known as the farewell discourses (13:31-17:26), in which Jesus prepares for his imminent departure from earth after his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. After 3 years living amongst the disciples, his time on earth is coming to an end. If we take Jesus’ perspective (at least the fully human side), this must have been an extremely difficult time.

He knew the disciples well, including their faults and all-around difficulty grasping that his kingship and kingdom would look vastly different from what they and their fellow Jews would have expected. We get a glimpse of this throughout the gospels, including a few poignant scenes, such as the mother of James and…