John 17:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

NIV: For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

NASB: just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

CSB: since you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.

NLT: For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.

KJV: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

NKJV: as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

Jesus is praying for Himself in these early verses of the High Priestly Prayer. However, His focus is on obeying the will of God. What Christ asked for in verse 1 is explained exactly that way here in verse 2. Any glory Jesus obtains, in fulfilling His mission, is ultimately glory given to God the Father (John 8:54). For this reason, God the Father gave all His authority to Jesus (John 5:19–20, 26–29).

The purpose of Jesus' earthly ministry was to bring glory to God, with His sacrifice enacting the means of salvation by grace through faith (John 12:27–33). This is how humanity can be reconciled to God (John 3:16–18); this is, in fact, the only way anyone can be saved (John 14:6). Soon, Jesus will be arrested, falsely convicted, and executed, only to be raised from death after three days (Mark 8:31). This is necessary as part of God's plan to make salvation possible (Titus 3:5).

This verse is also notable for being another reference to God "giving" certain people to Christ for the purposes of salvation. This is a point Jesus has made before (John 6:37; 10:29), and which will be echoed in other portions of the New Testament (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:5; 2 Peter 1:10).

Christ also uses the term "eternal life" here, and again in the following verse, where He defines it.

John 17:1–5 begins what is known as Jesus' High Priestly Prayer. After giving a few last lessons to His disciples (John 16:31–33), Christ now prays. John explained certain earlier incidents by noting that it was not yet Jesus' "time." Here, that time has come. Christ begins by praying for Himself, though His words convey complete submission to the will of God. This moment occurs just before Jesus and the disciples enter Gethsemane, where He will pray again prior to being arrested.

In this passage, known as the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus speaks to God about three main topics. First is Christ Himself, asking God the Father to glorify Him so He can glorify the Father. Next, Jesus prays for the faith and courage in His closest disciples. Finally, He prays for those who will come to faith because of the apostles' writing and teaching. This moment occurs before Jesus enters Gethsemane, where the other Gospels will record His final anguished prayers before being arrested (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46).

Over the last several chapters (John 13—16), Jesus has been giving last-minute instruction to His closest disciples. These lessons composed a large part of the Last Supper. Among those teachings were several warnings about persecution, with the encouragement of knowing the Holy Spirit would come. In chapter 17, we read Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, making requests on behalf of Himself, the apostles, and future believers. After this, Jesus will go into Gethsemane where Judas will turn Him over for arrest and His eventual execution.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.