Before you start reading the verses that conclude Jesus’ last words before His arrest and crucifixion, I want to post a sentence from the end of Jesus’ prayer. As you read these verses, keep this sentence in mind:
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.”
This prayer is for you!
John 17: 6 – 26 (NLT)
“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
25 “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Three things really stand out to me from this prayer. The first is found in these verses:
“17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” This whole of idea of being holy is rather strange to us in the 21st Century. The word “holy” seems to describe reclusive monks or some very important church official rather than just us everyday people. Holy definitely describes God – perfection in every aspect of character and mind; a motivation that is not selfish one bit. But as Christ followers, that is our goal – to become more like Jesus. When I read those verses, I see a path to becoming more like Jesus that I can at least start on – knowing God’s truth. Where do I find that? In the Bible. Taking time on as many days as possible to read God’s Word helps me to see truth – truth about myself and truth about what is really important in life.
The next verses that grabbed my attention are this line from verse 11 – “now protect them by the power of your name” and verse 15 – “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” This truth that I’m protected by the power of God’s name is amazing. I don’t think I knew what worry was until my girls were born. With the birth of our first daughter, now I had Andrea to protect, keep safe, and make sure she was exposed to good and positive things. When I think about how protective I am with my girls – even today when they are adults – I need to stop and think about how protective God is with me. It’s not that I’m going to have everything go just perfectly in this imperfect world, but my powerful God is there making sure positive results come from everything. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)
And then the idea of unity got my attention as well. “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” (verses 21 – 23) I don’t think “unity” means we are supposed to be identical to each other. We can like different things, have different skills and talents, have different priorities in how to spend our money, etc.
So where is our unity? It comes from each one of us wanting God and His will in our lives more than anything else. So you can live an artsy life with creativity and perhaps more chaos around you, or you can be an accountant with all your ducks in a row – but both of those individuals can have God at the centre of their lives. That is what the world around us sees – lives that are not centered around ourselves, but lives centered around showing God to the world. That may be by our kind and generous behaviour; it may be by our integrity; it may be by our unwillingness to be drawn into destructive behaviour; it may be by noticing that church family is important to us. There are all kinds of ways that the world sees God’s character through us.
I want you to read the end of Jesus’ prayer and put your name in the blanks.
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and _______ knows you sent me (Jesus). I have revealed you (God) to___________, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in___________, and I will be in you.”
Jesus’ prayer for you!
Our song for today is No Longer Slaves by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser.