Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

Chapters 13 to 17 contain Jesus’ teachings during the Last Supper,
which took place on Thursday, now celebrated as Holy Thursday.

High Priest Prayer

This chapter contains Jesus’ prayer often called High Priest Prayer, because Jesus acts as a mediator, interceding on behalf of His disciples and all believers, much like a high priest would in the Old Testament.

The High Priest Prayer can be divided into three parts:

Jesus Prays for Himself (John 17:1–5):
Jesus begins by asking God to glorify Him so that He may glorify the Father. He acknowledges the completion of His earthly mission to reveal God to humanity and asks to return to the glory He shared with the Father before the world began.

Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

Chapters 13 to 17 contain Jesus’ teachings during the Last Supper,
which took place on Thursday, now celebrated as Holy Thursday.

At the end of John 14, Jesus says, “Come now, let us leave,” which suggests a transition or departure from the room where the Last Supper took place. However, Chapters 15 through 17 continue with Jesus delivering extended teachings (such as the Vine and the Branches metaphor in John 15) and His High Priestly Prayer in John 17. These chapters seem to flow seamlessly, without an explicit mention of a change in location.

Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

Chapters 13 to 17 contain Jesus’ teachings during the Last Supper,
which took place on Thursday, now celebrated as Holy Thursday.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God^[a]; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

This is an image of love taken to the extreme. Perhaps Mary knew that Jesus was about to die, so she did something to express how much she loved Jesus and how much she was in pain.

Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

Series on John:
(0), (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11),
 (12), (13), (14),(15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (final)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

In the ancient Near East, as well as in some places today, it is not unusual for multiple flocks of sheep to graze together in the same field or share a communal pen. Despite the mingling, when it comes time to separate them, each flock responds only to the voice of its own shepherd.