Skip to main content

282. Jesus Prays for His Disciples

John 17:6-19
Key Verse: "I will remain in the world no longer; but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name the name You gave Me so that they may be One as We are One."
John 17:11

What an amazing prayer for His disciples. This prayer is their ordination for ministry though they don't yet comprehend that fact completely. Jesus prays specifically for them, for these special men that He selected out of the world. When Jesus called, these men set aside their livelihoods, from fishing nets to accountants' pencils (so to speak!).  When Jesus said come, they obeyed. They had no clue what the next few years of their lives would bring. They saw more, learned more, accomplished more than they could have ever imagined on their own. Now, Jesus prays for them, knowing that for now, He is leaving His bride behind in a hostile home.

First, Jesus acknowledges in His prayer that what makes these men special is that, when Jesus revealed Himself to them, they believed Him. As they believed, Jesus could teach them the words from The Father. They believed that Jesus is one with the Father. Jesus wasn't just a man. He is fully God and fully man and the disciples believed, even if they did not completely understand, which is faith.

Just as Jesus desires to bring glory to the Father, He now tells the Father that the disciples have brought glory to Him. They did not turn their backs in the hard times, but stayed with Him through it all.

"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name." (John 17:11-B) How tender this is. It makes me think of a parent leaving the beloved child for the first time. While Jesus was with them, He could protect them, but He must complete His mission. His mission requires Him to leave them so He prays for His Father to continue to protect them while He is away.

He prays for them to be One. Perhaps He is thinking about Peter and Matthew, who had to work hard at getting along. Perhaps He was thinking of James and John, His, "Sons of Thunder," that made everybody angry when they asked for special privileges. Perhaps he was remembering all the little squabbles that they had about who would be first, or the greatest. Jesus knew that these men would need each other more than ever while He was away. They would need each other for strength and encouragement. They could no longer afford to go back to the world's way of seeing things. They had been with Him. They were no longer a part of the world and as “other-worldly” men, they would need to be one as Jesus is One with the Father.

Finally, Jesus prays for their sanctification, that they would become more like Him. "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:17-19)
How was it for the disciples to know that Jesus was praying for them in such a way? He was truly handing over the baton, whether they were ready or not. He was praying for them though. What confidence to know that Jesus prayed for them.

Hymn: "Jesus, Lord, We Look To Thee"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

October 27 Save the Glaze for the Bunny

Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips of an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips. But in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. ~Proverbs 26:23-28 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 16 Thick Skinned Love

Whoever covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. ~Proverbs 17:9 If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ~Matthew 18:15  The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:7-8  Being offended seems to be the battle cry of the day. Instead of freedom of speech, everyone has the right not to be offended. If one is offended, then one has the right to exact vengeance on the offender because, of course, the offender KNEW that he or she was being offensive and just didn’t care. Is that how you see much of society behaving today?  There seems to be all of this offending and finger pointing that just keeps growing and growing. Nothing is being resolved, just more blame that grows louder a...
Post a Comment
Read more