요한복음 17장 어떻게 읽을 것인가?

How Can We Read John 17? -Jesus' Vision for the Church

The prayer itself (John 17) is not separated from the overall literary chiastic structure of Jesus' farewell discourse (John 13-17). Under the rubric of the structure, John 17 is parallelled with John 13, and is also a variation of the prologue section (1:1-18). The prayer is artistically constructed along with the threefold spiralling movement that is accompanied by the three different objects of Jesus' prayer: Jesus prays for himself (1-8), his disciples (9-20), and all believers (20-26). To understand the nature of Jesus' prayer, we must first understand the identity and the mission of Jesus in John 17. John's use of both narrative time and narrative space highlights the transcended consciousness that indicates a supra-human understanding of time and space. Within this structure, Jesus' prayer moves towards the climactic petition that is itself a literary unity emphasizing the unity among believers. The idea of unity(oneness) among believers is modeled on the unique and deep interrelationship of the Father and the Son. This paper mainly focuses on Jesus' vision for the church that Jesus envisages in John 17. The prayer convincingly shows that Jesus' mission is to seek the glory of God as the ultimate sacrifice (sanctification) through his crucifixion. Jesus' followers are likewise called to seek the glory of God through the unity among them by the name of God. By this, John 17 ultimately shows the vision of Jesus for the church.