John seventeen is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in scripture. The prayer is divided into three main parts: for himself, for his disciples, and for all eventual believers. Throughout the prayer, Jesus uses his relationship to the Father as the example for how we are to relate to one another. He wants his disciples to be protected and to have “the full measure” of his joy within them. The last part of the prayer addresses why a united church is so important. “May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” and “that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Passage: John 17:1-26