17:17 Sanctify them. Jesus does not pray for the temporal well-being of the disciples, but for their sanctification. He wishes above all that they should be holy. “Truth” is the means by which holiness is attained. Error and deception are basic to evil, and truth is basic to godliness.

your word is truth. This testimony refers immediately to the Old Testament that the disciples possessed. It extends also to the teaching of Jesus, called God’s “word” (v. 14), and it comes to include the books of the New Testament canon (v. 20; Luke 8:11–15, 21; 11:28; Acts 4:31; 6:7; 8:14, 25; 1 Thess. 2:13). This is a powerful attestation of the authority and divine origin of Scripture. See “The Authority of Scripture” at 2 Tim. 3:16.