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John 17: 1-26 (The Message)
Jesus' Prayer for His Followers
1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said: Father, it's time. Display the bright splendor of your Son So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor. You put him in charge of everything human So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge. And this is the real and eternal life: That they know you, The one and only true God, And Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I glorified you on earth By completing down to the last detail What you assigned me to do. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, The very splendor I had in your presence Before there was a world.
6-12 I spelled out your character in detail To the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; Then you gave them to me, And they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, That everything you gave me is firsthand from you, For the message you gave me, I gave them; And they took it, and were convinced That I came from you. They believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world But for those you gave me, For they are yours by right. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, And my life is on display in them. For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world; They'll continue in the world While I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life That you conferred as a gift through me, So they can be one heart and mind As we are one heart and mind. As long as I was with them, I guarded them In the pursuit of the life you gave through me; I even posted a night watch. And not one of them got away, Except for the rebel bent on destruction (the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
13-19Now I'm returning to you. I'm saying these things in the world's hearing So my people can experience My joy completed in them. I gave them your word; The godless world hated them because of it, Because they didn't join the world's ways, Just as I didn't join the world's ways. I'm not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I'm consecrating myself for their sakes So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
20-23I'm praying not only for them But also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, So they'll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, And give the godless world evidence That you've sent me and loved them In the same way you've loved me.
24-26Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, But I have known you, and these disciples know That you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them— Who you are and what you do— And continue to make it known, So that your love for me Might be in them Exactly as I am in them.
Introduction
The periscope where we find John 17 is called Jesus’ “table talk.” Several themes are repeated over and over such as; Jesus is going away, the disciples will be left to continue the work of Jesus, but they will not do it alone, the Holy Spirit will be sent to help them out (Jn. 13-17).
John 17: 1-26 is the longest of Jesus’ recorded prayers and was spoken in the presence of the disciples in the Upper Room or somewhere along the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.
To be exact, He said this prayer just before He was arrested and was subjected to illegal trial. He prayed for Himself, the 12 disciples, and for future believers.According to Charles Spurgeon, "Some brethren pray by the yard; but true prayer is measured by weight, and not by length." Indeed, Jesus’ prayer is weighty and deserves our full attention. Join me as we walk through this heavy prayer.
A Prayer to Glorify Jesus (vv. 1-5, 24-26)
To glorify is to make known or reveal something. Verse 1 (“…the time has come…”) gives us the hint that the time has come for Jesus’ glorification. If you will remember, several times in the Gospels Jesus warned the disciples and certain people not to tell anyone who He was (Matt. 12:6; Matt. 16:20; Mk. 3:12; Mk. 7:36; Mk. 8:30; Luke 5:14; Luke 8:56; & Luke 9:21). But this time, He Himself asked the Father to reveal who He really is: He is the glorious Son of God. Jesus spoke of His work as though it had already happened, and by virtue of this completed work, He asked the Father to restore the glory he had shared with the Father, before the world began. Now, the time has come to reveal the glory of the only begotten Son of God. Eternal life means to know the Father and His Christ. For almost three (3) years, Jesus introduced the Father first to His disciples and then to all the people they met. We receive eternal life only by knowing the One true God. This experience should be personal and permanent. Once a year we celebrate Rizal Day where we give due honor to our National hero Dr. Jose Rizal by virtue of his martyrdom. As Jesus prayed, we too must give due honor and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ not just because of what He has done but because of Who He really is in our lives. Every single day that goes by gives us opportunity to glorify Him.
A Prayer of Concern for His Followers (vv. 6-19)
For nearly three (3) years, Jesus taught the disciples about so many things and prepared them for His departure. He revealed the Father to them and showed them the truth. Now that He is going back to the Father, He commends them and asked that they would be protected. He doesn’t want them to scatter, thus, neglecting the truth that He so zealously taught them. He also asked for the unity of the disciples, a unity that reflects His oneness with the Father. Another petition is for the holiness of His disciples. To be holy is to set apart. Their sole mission is to continue the work of Christ. They are set apart for that purpose. This part of Jesus’ prayer is centered on the unity of His followers. What we can see here is the concern of a teacher or master for his students. It pictures our relationship with our own disciples or students. We don’t like them to go astray or scatter; rather we want them to continue our legacy. We prepare our children – the younger generation – for the task ahead of them. We inspire them to go beyond what we have accomplished. We pray that they will have a brighter future. Let us allow our relationship with one another to be a picture of the unity of the Father and the Son thus, fulfill Jesus’ petitions.
A Prayer for the Unity of Future Followers (vv. 20-23)
Another petition relates to oneness. The word "one" was mentioned five times (17:11, 20, 22, 23). During the previous years the idea of church unity was used as the agenda for countless conventions on how to unite the different denominations. For some oneness could only mean a single world-wide government. Slowly it has become clear that there is nothing wrong with denominations. Like business franchises, denominations enable and support groupings of congregations to emphasize distinctive forms of life and worship.
The oneness of a harmonious orchestra is not that there is only one note running through the song, or only one instrument being used to play the music. Rather its glory is in the rich variety of different notes and musical instruments that contribute to the beauty of the music.
In the same way, there is beauty in the fellowship of different congregations united in a single purpose of serving the Lord and giving Him the glory He deserves. This kind of unity will convince the world of the truth of the Father’s love.
Conclusion
Television and Newspaper headlines bring a lot of headaches. News about kidnapping, big companies closing down, and tragedies such as floods and the most recent, a powerful blast that gutted a fireworks factory somewhere in Trece Martires, Cavite may lead to a lot of depression or anxiety. However, the headlines of John 17 are indeed good news for all of us: “The blessed Master and Savior going into the depths of his own suffering and sorrow was doing his best to pray for us.” Indeed, our Lord deserves to be glorified.
Delivered by Ptr. Dhon, Feb. 01, '09 @ Foursquare Malagasang
