Page 104 - The Gospel of John - Student textbook

Study Section 15: Jesus Prays for His Disciples

15.1 Connect

Many times in the Gospels we hear
that Jesus went away to a private
place and prayed. I have been to one
of these places near the Sea of
Galilee. It is a high place overlooking
the entire sea. You can see for miles from Arbel
cliffs in Mount Arbel. It was in these high places
that Jesus would pray for hours and hours to His
Father. But we really don’t know much about
what He prayed about in his journeys.

In John 17 we have our first full-length dialogue of one of the last prayers of Jesus. And what is interesting is
that Jesus was praying to you! He was not only praying for his disciples who would soon find themselves absent
from His guidance and care, but He also extended this prayer to cover the needs of all believers. We can learn a
lot about how God wants us to live in this prayer. Let’s dig in….

15.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to state the three specific needs that Jesus prayed for all believers
in John 17.

2. The student should be able to cite the seven trials of Jesus and explain how they were totally
illegal.

3. The student should be able to narrate the events of the betrayal and trials of Jesus.

15.3 Christ’s Priestly Prayer - John 17:1-2

1 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify
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Your Son so that the Son may glorify You, for You gave Him authority over all flesh; so He may
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give eternal life to all You have given Him. This is eternal life: that they may know You,
the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ. I have glorified You on the earth
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by completing the work You gave Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with
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that glory I had with You before the world existed. I have revealed Your name to the men You
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gave Me from the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they
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know that all things You have given to Me are from You, because the words that You gave Me, I have given
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them. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You. They have believed
that You sent Me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those You have given Me, because
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they are Yours. All My things are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I have been glorified in them. I am no
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longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them
by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one. While I was with them, I was
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protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except
the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. Now I am coming to You, and I speak
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