John 16-18 moves us through Jesus’ final time of teaching and prayer with His disciples, and then to His arrest and trial before the Jewish religious leaders, and the Roman governor, Pilate. Jesus made it clear to the disciples they would be hated because of their relationship with Him, that they would be filled with sorrow, because of their loss of Him, but their sorrow would turn to joy. In chapter 17, we read “The high priestly prayer” of Jesus. It received that title, because in it, Jesus prayed to His Father on behalf of His followers, but not only for the disciples, but for all who would follow Him in the future–including us! Jesus’ heart for us is we will remain faithful and overcome the challenges we face in serving Him, and we will be one as He and His Heavenly Father are one. Some have taken this “oneness” prayer of Jesus and used it to show He is not God, or that we are to become “gods,” but it doesn’t lead us to such a conclusion. That Jesus prays for our oneness to be like that of He and His Father means He wants us to let the Holy Spirit bring a supernatural unity to our lives and fellowship. Chapter 18 shows us Jesus had been right all along, when He prepared His disciples for this moment of being rejected by people, and when the religious leaders would hand Him over to be crucified. The crucifixion doesn’t happen in chapter 18, but the way is laid for it to take place. Peter’s denial of Jesus might have been the most painful experience He faced in this experience.