Glimpses Into The Bible Part 20

Jesus' Final Prayer

G'day and welcome to Partake! We are now on day 20 of our series "Glimpses", looking at the story of the Bible in 30 days, from the time of creation through to the time of the fullness of redemption! Last time we met with two people who encountered Jesus! The rich young ruler went away disconsolate and in sadness! The female outcast went away celebrating her new found freedom and told many others of this Jesus! Now today we come to Jesus' final prayer with God the Father.  Jesus has shown throughout his life on earth that God yearns to be in relationship with humanity. That is part of the New Covenant we looked at earlier in this series! So what can we learn from this prayer?

1. Jesus prays for Himself

John 17v1-5 - Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life-to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

Central to this part of his prayer is glorification. That is the glorification of himself in order that God the Father who sent him will be glorified. Glorify means, in a biblical context, to have the person's true nature disclosed. So in effect, Jesus starts the prayer by saying May people see me for who I truly am, your Son. And may they also, through me, see your true nature, Father! Praying as Jesus does, just before he knowingly goes to his death, shows the importance of his death. Why is Jesus' death important? We will come to that later on in this series, but for now it is through Jesus' death that both God the Father and Jesus will be glorified. Jesus' death will reveal a God of love, faithfulness and forgiveness. Jesus' entire earthly life has been one to show divine love. All Jesus' works and words were completed without even a hint of hypocrisy. His entire life was driven by the desire to see people, born separated from God, to be reunited with God: like the Samaritan woman we talked about last time - the woman who turned to God for reconciliation and forgiveness. It was through Jesus' death alone, that this was accomplished. Jesus confidently prays that having laid aside his glory by taking on human form, he will return to God's right hand, having achieved this work he was given.

2. Jesus prays for His Disciples

John 17v6-8 - 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.

In this part of the prayer, Jesus prays for his disciples. Note how he describes them: they were chosen by God himself, seen God in Jesus and have received God's words and obeyed them (John 17v6). John 17v6, 9-10 tells us that the disciples were in the safe possession of both the Father and the Son. John 17v7-8 shows what the disciples know. Despite misunderstanding frequently what Jesus was talking about, the disciples still grasped that Jesus had come from God.

He has told them that they will have to endure persecution and suffering because they are His followers, so Jesus prays for their safety. They will be safe, not because of their own cunning, character or conduct. They will be safe because of God's care and protection (John 17v11-12). As they are God's possession, he will ensure that they are watched over and protected. This security is also born from glorifying God and being witnesses for him (John 17v10). Who are the disciples' enemies and why do they need protecting (John 17v11-12, 15)? The first enemy is the world who does not know God and is therefore in rebellion against God. The disciples were told of this prior to this prayer. Then there is Satan and his demons, who are also enemies of the disciples and will do all he can to stop God being glorified in the life of the disciples. God will keep them safe through His mighty name and nature.

By remaining loyal to Jesus, obedient to his teachings and telling others about him, God's name & nature will therefore protect them. Jesus also prays that they may be filled with joy (John 17v13), be dedicated wholly to him and trusting him alone - unlike the rich young ruler who left Jesus disconsolate. The disciples now have a mission and purpose to fulfil - to tell others of Jesus. This mission, though whilst their responsibility, is not theirs alone but is the continuation of Jesus' mission to bring people to reconciliation with God - extending the New Covenant to others

3. Jesus prays for all future Disciples

John 17v24-26 -  Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendour 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.

Then finally, Jesus prays for all those who, through the work of the disciples, will become his followers. As such, it brings all Christians into intimacy with God through Jesus and be a part of a dynamic relationship with him - resulting from the New Covenant. What does Jesus pray for? Jesus prays for unity. That is unity on various levels. Firstly it is unity on the invisible, supernatural level (John 17v21-22). The lives of all Christians will be inextricably linked to each other, through the love and obedience of God the Son and God the Father. Christians will be united because Jesus imparts upon them, the glory given to Him by God the Father (John 17v22).

This unity is also physical, in so much as through a visible unity, people will come to know Jesus personally and take up the offer of reconciliation with God (John 17v21, 23) because Jesus seals and fulfils the New Covenant. This unity is also physically seen, through the telling of the message of reconciliation (John 17v20). Jesus' prayer, reveals the intimacy to be had between God and humanity. Jesus embodied a God who was living and wanted to reconcile the world back to himself, ever since the days when Adam & Eve sinned against God. We will come to see more of how this is to be through the events of the coming days, of what we call "Easter". Tomorrow we look at the events on Jesus Last Night. Thank you.

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