Scripture: John 17:1-26
17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 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. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Observation:
Jesus is praying the High Priestly Prayer, for his followers that the Father had given to Jesus, and not only those followers but all who come to believe in Jesus being sent from the Father because of his followers’ testimony. Jesus prays, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 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. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.” (John 17:6-12a)
Jesus’ prayer reveals the power in the Name that God the Father and Jesus the Son share together. There is no greater power than in the Name. The Name that reveals all Authority, Power and Glory. Jesus also wants to protect those followers that come because of the testimony of his followers. In another words, Jesus also prays for us who believe that Jesus was sent by the Father and that Jesus followers were sent by Jesus. As a follower and believer in Jesus Christ, we too are sent so that the world may know that Jesus is the Son of God, sent by the Father and that those who accept that message will also be one.
Application:
Because Jesus is the Living Word of God and because we accept that Jesus is one with the Father, we too have an awesome power in sharing the Good News of the Bible with all that we know. By the power of Jesus Name the Name that the Father gave to Jesus, we can bring others into the oneness with God that Jesus prays for all future believers. Jesus told his followers, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22) As believers in Jesus’ Authority, we too are sent by Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. So go.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for praying for us in your High Priestly Prayer. Thank you for protecting us by the Power of your Name, the Name that you share with the Father. Help us as your followers to receive your orders to go out into the world and profess and proclaim the good news of the Gospel that you have given us. Help us to do this so that others may know that you are the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing in you they may receive eternal life in you. Amen.