John 17:1-26
Jesus Prays to be Glorified
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so 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.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
C.S. Lewis, a renowned Christian apologist, literary critic, and author, profoundly explored the complexities of human affection in his work, The Four Loves...He meticulously distinguished between various forms of love: Affection (Storge), Friendship (Philia), Eros (romantic love), and Charity (AGAPE, Divine LOVE)...When delving into Friendship (Philia), Lewis posits that it frequently originates from shared interests, common pursuits, or what he terms "shared activity."...This "shared activity" isn't merely a physical endeavor, like hunting or fighting, but a broader common ground such as a shared religious belief, common academic studies, a professional field, or even a shared recreational passion...This very idea of unity through shared ground resonates with the profound prayer of Jesus in John 17, where He earnestly asks the Father for the unity of His followers, emphasizing that their oneness should be rooted in Truth: "Sanctify them by the Truth; Your Word is Truth" (John 17:17)...
Lewis further illuminates the unique nature of friendship by citing Ralph Waldo Emerson's perspective on love...He interprets Emerson's query, "Do you love me?" not as an appeal for emotional or romantic attachment, but as an inquiry into a profound intellectual and spiritual resonance...As Lewis explains, "For us of course the shared activity and therefore the companionship on which Friendship supervenes will not often be a bodily one like hunting or fighting...It may be a common religion, common studies, a common profession, even a common recreation...All who share it will be our companions; but one or two or three who share something more will be our friends...In this kind of love, as Emerson said, Do you love me? means Do you see the same truth? - Or at least, 'Do you care about the same truth?'...The man who agrees with us that some question, little regarded by others, is of great importance can be our Friend."...This interpretation highlights that the very essence of true friendship lies in a mutual recognition and valuation placed upon a specific intellectual and spiritual domain—a shared passion for a particular truth or a significant question...
While it might seem challenging to bridge the gap between Jesus's Divine Prayer for unity in John 17 and Lewis's philosophical discussion of human friendship through Emerson's quote, Lewis believed these subjects are profoundly interconnected...For him, all true human loves are, in some way, reflections or derivations of Divine LOVE (AGAPE LOVE)...When Jesus prays for His disciples to be "one, even as We are one" and to be "sanctified by the Truth," He establishes a Divine blueprint for relationship...This isn't just about doctrinal agreement, but a profound spiritual alignment in God's revealed Truth, which, for Lewis, is the ultimate objective reality...Therefore, a human friendship that seeks a "shared Truth" naturally aligns with God's design for unity, suggesting that the most robust and God-honoring friendships are those where individuals are united not just by common hobbies or personalities, but by a shared commitment to discerning and living according to God's Truth—the very Truth Jesus prayed would sanctify and unite His followers...
The very nature of philia, or friendship, is characterized by a "side-by-side" relationship, where friends collectively face outward, directing their attention towards a common objective truth, interest, or ideal...The bond uniting them isn't forged by gazing at each other, as is typical in romantic love (eros), but by their joint appreciation and pursuit of something external to their individual selves...This "outward-facing" nature, where friends are absorbed in something outside of themselves, resonates with the Christian calling to collectively fix their eyes on Christ, the ultimate Truth (John 14:6)...Critically, Lewis, in his interpretation of Emerson, states with profound insight, "He need not agree with us about the answer.”...This is a tremendously important distinction, powerfully conveying that the strength and depth of friendship are not predicated on reaching identical conclusions, but rather on the shared journey of inquiry and the mutual appreciation of that inquiry itself...Friends are granted the freedom to diverge in their solutions or interpretations, yet their bond is solidified by their common dedication to grappling with the same important questions...This intellectual camaraderie, this joint quest for understanding a specific truth or an area of knowledge, cultivates the profound and unique intimacy inherent in friendship...
In essence, C.S. Lewis, by drawing upon Emerson's evocative question "Do you love me?", articulates that friendship is a form of love fundamentally rooted in a shared, outward-facing passion for something beyond the individual friends themselves...It is a love that deeply values shared intellectual or spiritual conviction and the collaborative pursuit of significant Truths, even if the eventual answers to those Truths diverge...This manifests as a love built upon a shared vision and a mutual understanding of what truly holds importance, transforming the pursuit of understanding into a deeply collaborative and fulfilling experience for those who share these same Truths, fostering a profound friendship that transcends the purely natural and touches upon the Divine...