“Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,so that they may all be one.” (John 17:20)

Jesus does not stop at praying for himself and his disciples; his vision transcends the present, reaching beyond his immediate followers to those who will believe through their message. The vision of a unified people of God was expressed earlier in John’s Gospel in 10:16 (“one flock and one shepherd,” an allusion to Ezek. 34:23; 37:24) and 11:52 (“gathering of the scattered children of God into one”). In the present instance believers’ unity results from being taken into the unity of God, and believers, once unified, will be able to bear witness to the true identity of Jesus as the Sent One of God.

The words “I myself may be in them” in 17:26 are replete with covenantal overtones (cf. 14:20; 17:23). Subsequent to the giving of the law at Sinai, the glory of God displayed on the mountain (Exod. 24:16) came to dwell in the midst of Israel in the tabernacle (Exod. 40:34). As God’s people moved toward the promised land, God frequently assured them that he was in their midst (Exod. 29:45–46; Deut. 7:21; 23:14). In John’s prologue Jesus is said to have come to dwell (literally, “to tabernacle” [1:14]) among his people, and now Jesus’ earthly presence is about to be transmuted into his spiritual presence in his followers, in keeping with OT notions of a new covenant.

This concludes Jesus’ final instruction to his disciples prior to the events of his passion.