|
Oct 25, 2022
Key Verses 20-21: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in you, so shall they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.”
In this chapter, Jesus' prayer is called “the high priest's prayer”, because Jesus prayed like a high priest in the Old Testament times on behalf of the whole people of God.
On the one hand, through this prayer, we can gain the confidence that God will certainly hear this high priestly prayer of Jesus. On the other hand, we can make this high priestly prayer our own and pray to God.
May God help us today that we have the confidence that God surely hears this prayer of Jesus and make this prayer our own prayer.
In verses 6-8, Jesus says specifically what he had done to fulfill the divine commission and to give people eternal life:
“6 I revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me and they kept your word.”
Jesus prays here for all people who believe in Jesus Christ, are God's children and belong to God.
We belong to God, because Jesus redeemed us through his sacrificial death and made us God's children. And Jesus prays for us. Therefore, we can have confidence that God will certainly answer Jesus' prayer for us.
And he goes on to pray in verses 7 and 8:
“Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. For the words that you gave me I gave them, and they accepted them and truly knew that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me."
Here, Jesus emphasizes that his disciples are not only his sheep, but also God's sheep. That is why Jesus is convinced that God would take good care of his sheep.
For our preservation (9-12)
Jesus begins his plea for the disciples:
“I pray for her, and I pray not for the world, but for the one you have given me; because they are yours. And all that is mine is thine, and thine is thin; and I am glorified to them” (9-10).
He continues his request:
“I am no longer in the world; but they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you gave me that they may be one like us. As long as I was with them, I received them in your name, which you gave me, and I have preserved them, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. I gave them your word and the world hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (verses 11-15).
Jesus would soon go to God. But he allowed his disciples to remain in the world. That is why Jesus asks God to protect his disciples from evil and to keep them safe.
Jesus is like a believing mother who always prays for her child who is in a foreign city for a while that God will protect and keep him from the evils of the world.
Jesus always carries his disciples in his heart and prays fervently for them.
What does Jesus pray to God for us?
He prays: “Holy Father, keep them in your name which you have given me that they may be one like us. As long as I was with them, I received them in your name which you gave me, and I have preserved them, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scriptures may be fulfilled” (11b-12).
Jesus prays for our preservation. We are in the world, but we do not belong to the world, we belong to Jesus.
Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.”
We did not become children of God through our good deeds, but God chose us out of his grace and made us his children. And Jesus sacrificed his life for us, and prayed for us and continues to pray. That is why we may have the security of salvation. The security of salvation means that God guarantees that he will save us completely independently of man's actions and thoughts.
We often become spiritually neglectful. But Jesus is always praying for us, and God will surely answer his prayer. That's why we have a firm belief that our victory is guaranteed.
For our joy (13)
For the superstitious, the number 13 is an unlucky number. But in Jesus, every number is a lucky number.
Verse 13 gives us the prayer of Jesus for our joy: “But now I come to you and speak these things in the world, that my joy in them may be full.”
As early as John 16:22 Jesus said: “...I want to see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.”
Jesus came into the world to make our joy complete. He now prays to God to come to God to make our joy complete, for he sends his Holy Spirit and abides with us always by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is another form of Jesus' nature. Therefore, we can say that the risen Jesus is always with us. That's why we can rejoice in all circumstances.
And no one can take our joy from us. This joy is somewhat different from the joy that depends on external circumstances. Because it comes from fellowship with Jesus Christ and our victory.
Because of fellowship with Jesus and because of joy, we can overcome all difficulties and even physical death.
Once, on a stormy day, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was sailing to America. He was apprehensive about the risk of shipwreck in the violent storm. But the believers of the Brotherhood were peaceful and joyful. Wesley was very impressed by them. This experience helped Wesley meet God personally, find unshakable peace through faith in the gospel, and begin the Methodist movement.
We sometimes face a hard struggle in the world. That is why we are often shaken. But we are to remember the good news of victory in Jesus Christ and enjoy great joy.
Sanctification
Verses 14-17 reflect the words of Jesus' prayer:
“14 I gave them your word, and the world hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in truth; your word is the truth.”
We can summarize the content of Jesus' prayer in these verses as “Sanctify them”.
The word sanctify originally means that God separates someone from other people for divine purposes, such as Old Testament priests for temple service.
The Old Testament priests were actually normal people, like others. But they were sanctified, i. H. they were separated from other men and consecrated to mediate service between God and men.
With the moment of rebirth, our sanctification begins. The Spirit of God, which we received through faith in Jesus Christ, gives us new, eternal life. That's why we're sanctified, so we no longer belong to this world, but to God.
And the Holy Spirit subdues the lusts of our flesh, for He has become unto us a well of living water of eternal life.
When Jesus asked God to sanctify his disciples, he meant that God would separate us from the unbelieving world and use us to be mediators between God and man.
We live in the world. But we don't belong to the world. Rather, we are destined to work for the salvation of mankind.
That is why the Bible calls us “Royal Priests” who make known the wonderful love of Christ through our lives and words.
May God use our lives and words to encourage people to believe in Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “Sanctify them in Thy truth.”
The instrument of our sanctification is God's Word.
God's word in the Psalm is: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
We are to remain in the truth of God's Word so that the Holy Spirit will sanctify us and use us as witnesses of the gospel.
In the world, people do not know the truth. They say all religions have truths. In reality, they know neither the truth nor the Creator. That's why they claim that all religions have the truth.
But the truth is one. There is only one Creator God and one Savior, Jesus Christ, and there is only one way of salvation: faith in Jesus Christ. We are to speak this truth to our fellow men with the love of Christ. We are called by God to be witnesses of the truth. And the truth will free all who accept the truth from their ignorance, sin, and power of death and give them happy, eternal life.
Look at verses 17 and 18: “Sanctify them in truth; because your word is the truth. As you sent me into the world, so will I send them into the world.”
The word “sanctify” in the Bible means “to clean” and also “to set apart” or “separate”.
Although we, Jesus' disciples, live and work in the world, inwardly we are not to belong to the world, but to Jesus. We are to have a clear identity as Jesus' disciples.
We must not let the world influence us. Rather, we should always let ourselves be cleansed by God's word and the blood of Jesus and become like Jesus.
That is why the apostle Paul said in Rom. 12:2: “And do not conform yourselves to this world, but change yourselves by renewing your minds, so that you may examine what is the will of God, which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Oneness in Christ
Jesus prays like this: “I pray not only for them (i.e., 12 disciples), but also for those who will believe on me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in you, so must they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me” (20-21).
Jesus prays that his disciples in Jesus, i. H. are one in the love of Jesus and in the Spirit of Christ as God and Jesus are one. That Jesus' people are one - this is the effective testimony that Jesus is God's Son and that God loves all people and wants to save them (verses 22+23).
Jesus prays not only for his few disciples who shared the last supper with him, but also for all future Christians who will come to faith.
So Jesus prays for all believers to become one.
And they can be one in the love of Jesus, as Jesus said in John 15:12: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I love you” (15:12).
Christian unity is the will of our Lord, and we are to pray and work for it.
The unit does not necessarily mean an organizational unit. Rather, it means that despite differences, we are one in spirit and truth.
Our hearts are to be one through faith in Jesus Christ and through brotherly love. This is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the beginning of the year, we celebrate together with other parishes of the Ev. Allianz in Bochum the Sunday service. The most important meaning of the Evangelical Alliance is that despite the differences, we are one and pray for all people in Bochum. This corresponds to the will of Jesus.
We should also pray for all Christians in the world. In this world there are divisions, and hatreds between Christians and churches too.
Knowing this in advance, Jesus prayed that we would overcome differences, divisions and hatred and be one. We are imperfect, but Jesus Christ is perfect. Jesus' will is absolutely done.
At the latest, when we enter the kingdom of heaven, we will recognize that Jesus' prayer has been completely fulfilled. There is no Catholic Church, Evangelical, Orthodox, or Coptic Church.
Only God's Church will be there. All Christians will love one another with one heart and serve the Lord with one heart.
Jesus prays that all the disciples will be with him in the kingdom of heaven.
Look at verse 24: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, which you have given me; for you loved me before the foundation of the world was laid."
Jesus loves his disciples (and us too) so much that he is willing to sacrifice his life as an atoning sacrifice for them.
Not only that. Out of love for his disciples, he asks God that his disciples can be with him in the kingdom of heaven and see his glory as God's son and always have fellowship with him.
That is a glorious vision through Jesus Christ.
Let's make this vision of Jesus our own vision and lead other people to believe in Jesus so that they too can be with Jesus and see his glory. Amen.
Jesus teaches us through His high priestly prayer to always keep before our eyes the glorious plan of salvation of Jesus Christ and to pray according to His plan.
We are to pray first to receive honor and glory from God.
Second, we should pray to be sanctified by God's Word and Jesus' blood and to be one in the love of Christ and in His Spirit.
Third, we should pray that God would save as many people as possible throughout the world and lead them into the kingdom of heaven to be with him and see his glory.
May God give you the spirit of prayer abundantly so that you may be good worshipers and shepherds like Jesus. Amen!
|