What does John 17:5 mean?
This request completes the first portion of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, in which He has prayed for Himself. The other Gospels—in circulation when John wrote this one—detailed Jesus' prayers in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46). What John records here occurs before Christ and His disciples travel through Kidron after the Last Supper (John 13:1–5). After what's recorded in this verse, He will turn to pray for His closest followers.In the early words of the gospel of John, Jesus is referred to as "the Word," and said to have been present at the beginning of creation (John 1:3). As part of this description, John uses the term "Jesus Christ," an exact phrasing not used again in this gospel until this passage, chapter 17 (John 17:4). In this passage, John again ties those concepts together. Jesus is God (John 10:30) and existed as one person of the Trinity (John 8:58) "before the world existed." Jesus will make another, similar statement to John during his revelation (Revelation 3:21).