The end is looming, Jesus the priest prays, v.1 “Father, the hour has come: –”. In Luke’s gospel Jesus the man prays, “Father, if you are willing take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.”
We are reminded of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ where translators are undecided about the prepositions ‘in’ & ‘from’ whereby we sometimes pray, ‘save us in the time of trial’, & sometimes, ‘from the time of trial’. Generally, the latter is inappropriate to the Christian experience, when Jesus prayed ‘from’, he was subservient to the will of God who was with him ‘in’ the time of trial. John however has him looking beyond the immediate to the ‘glory’ ahead. John records him praying for his disciples & for God’s keeping power for them. Now in today’s verses his prayer takes a sweep through distant lands and times with confident expectation and the request, “that they may be one, even as we are one.” This is not a prayer for a mega church organisation but for a unity of personal relationships. ” As you, Father, are in me and me, in you.” The answer to this prayer is a supernatural love relationship.