I wish that where I am they also may be with me, so that they may see my glory…Another petition that is part of the Prayer of Jesus is Jesus’ wish that his followers be or rather end up where he is. Now on a cursory look, this looks like Jesus praying that his followers make it to heaven where Jesus will be seated at the right hand of the Father. But I think this will be too literal an interpretation of the petition. Now, it is true that our final destination both as followers of Christ as well as sons and daughters of God is to be with God in heaven, and our wish is that at the end of our struggles here on earth, we be able to have our REST in God. However, Jesus was not ONLY praying for this ultimate wish of every created being. When Jesus asked the Father that “I wish that where I am they too may be…” he was yet to ascend to “heaven,” so to speak. As such, it is safe to assume that he was not referring to “heaven” (a place) as such. He wanted those who were his own to be with him where he was. And so the question that we must grapple with is this: Where was Jesus?  “I pray…that they may be in us, as you Father, is in me and I in you.”
When Jesus talked about the disciples being where he was, he was referring to a state of being. He was referring to his being in constant communion with the Father. It is this communion with the Father that he wanted for his followers too. For without this communion with the Father, it would be impossible for them to be in communion with one another, as Jesus had requested the Father on their behalf (I pray that they may all be one). Being in communion with one another is essential for the mission of the disciples, a mission of making God known in the world (v. 25). This is where Jesus IS (making known God’s name), and this IS the very place where Jesus wants his followers to be. Moreover, it is the success of making God’s name known that becomes the glory of Jesus: “I have made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known…” (Vs.  26).