Easter Season · Sixth Sunday of Easter · Year A
John 17:1-11a
Father, the Hour Has Come
May 10, 2026
Overview & Insights
“This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God.” (John 17:3)
The chapter is Jesus’ prayer, called the high priestly prayer since the sixteenth century, when the Lutheran theologian David Chytraeus gave it that name. It opens with the raising of eyes and the announcement that the hour has come, closing a motif that began with the refusal at Cana, “my hour has not yet come” (2:4), and turned at 12:23. The verb doxazo dominates: glory is asked, given, and already possessed “before the world existed” (v. 5), so that the cross and the exaltation are treated as a single event. Verse 3, with its third-person definition of eternal life as knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent, reads like an evangelist’s gloss inside the prayer, and it is as close as this Gospel comes to a creed. The clause where the reading ends, that he is no longer in the world while they are, is why it is read in the days after the Ascension.
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Take it further: John 17:1-11a
Commentary
Commentary on John 17:1-11Commentary on Jn 17:1-11 Working Preacher (Luther Seminary)
Lutheran commentary on Jesus' High Priestly Prayer and eternal life as relationship, not duration.
John 17:1-11 CommentaryJn 17:1-11 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed commentary on the opening of Jesus' prayer for glory and for those the Father has given him.
Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle A Agape Bible Study
Catholic walkthrough of this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus' prayer of intercession before his arrest.
The Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A Catholic Productions (Dr. Brant Pitre)
Mass Readings Explained episode on the High Priestly Prayer and the name Christian.
Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle A Loyola Press, Sunday Connection
Sunday-wide Catholic reflection connecting the Gospel prayer to the whole week's readings, for family and classroom use.
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Easter 7 (A) The Episcopal Church, Sermons That Work
Anglican sermon for this Sunday, read alongside Jesus' prayer for his disciples' unity and protection.
Background & Word Study
Glory and Giving: That All May Be One Left Behind and Loving It (D. Mark Davis)
Greek-focused close reading of John 17:1-11, tracking the key verbs 'glorify' and 'give' through the prayer.
Gospel of John Summary (Part 2, chapters 13-21)Gospel of Jn Summary (Part 2, chapters 13-21) BibleProject
Overview video covering the second half of John, including the Farewell Discourse and this prayer.
The Church Fathers
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