John 17:24 is Jesus’ request to the Father that his followers would one day be with him and see the glory the Father gave him, because the Father loved him before the world existed. In plain terms, it is a prayer about the future: Jesus wants his people to share in his presence and to behold the splendor that belongs to him. Jesus speaks this verse in his high priestly prayer in the upper room, addressed to God the Father, on the night before his crucifixion, with his disciples listening.
Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:24 (WEB)
What John 17:24 Means
The verse opens with “Father, I desire,” a word that signals a request made with settled longing rather than a passing wish. Jesus is not asking for something uncertain. He is expressing what he wants to see fulfilled, and the prayer is spoken in the intimacy of a child speaking to a loving parent.
The phrase “where I am” points to Jesus’ place in the presence of God. The promise is that his followers will not remain forever at a distance but will be brought into the same nearness he enjoys with the Father. The verse does not describe the details of that place, and it does not tell us when or how it will happen. It names the goal and the relationship.
The verse also explains why this matters: the Father loved the Son “before the foundation of the world.” That love is older than creation itself, so the glory Jesus shares with the Father is not a reward he earned during his earthly ministry. It rests on an eternal relationship. The verse promises that believers will see that glory, but it does not promise them comfort, status, or worldly success along the way.
The Context of John 17:24
This verse belongs to John 17, which is often called Jesus’ high priestly prayer. The Gospel of John was traditionally attributed to the apostle John, and it was written for a community of believers who needed to understand Jesus as the eternal Word and Son of God. The prayer is addressed to God, but it is spoken aloud so that the disciples can hear what Jesus asks on their behalf.
Just before verse 24, Jesus asks that his followers may be one, joined to the Father and the Son in the same unity they share. The verses immediately after it speak of God’s righteousness, the world’s failure to know the Father, and the love of God that Jesus has made known and will continue to make known. Read in this setting, verse 24 is the climax of the prayer: unity now, and then full sharing in the glory of God in the age to come.
Key Phrases in John 17:24
John 14:3
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
(WEB)
Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them and will come back to take them to himself, so that they may be where he is. This passage shares the same promise of being with Jesus and reinforces that the hope in John 17:24 is anchored in his own words of assurance.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
(WEB)
This verse looks ahead to the day when believers will be like Christ because they will see him as he is. It connects the seeing mentioned in John 17:24 with the transformation that comes from beholding Jesus in his glory.
A Short Prayer From John 17:24
Father, you have loved your Son from before the world began, and you have brought us into the circle of that love through him. Thank you that Jesus does not pray for his people only in passing but with a settled desire that we would be with him. When I feel distant from you or unsure of my place in your family, remind me that the Son himself asked for this. Help me to live today with my eyes lifted toward the glory that is coming, and let that hope steady me in the ordinary moments of my day. Draw me nearer to Jesus as I wait for the day I will see him as he is. Amen.
