John 17:6-12

John 17:6-12

I made your name manifest to the people whom you gave to me out of the world.  They were for you and for me; you gave them and they have obediently kept your word.  Now they know that everything – as much as you gave to me – is from you because the words that you gave to me I have given to them.  And they received and they knew truth because I came from you.  And they believed that you sent me.  I do ask regarding them – I do not ask regarding the world but regarding those whom you have given to me – because they are for you.  And everything that is of me is you and everything that is of you is me.  And I have been glorified in them.  And I am no longer in the world – and they are in the world – and I come to you.  Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given to me in order that they are one just as we are.  When I was with them, I was keeping them in your name that you have given to me.  And I guarded closely.  And not one out of them perished except the son of destruction in order that the scriptures should be fulfilled.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

There are three things that Jesus keeps revolving around in this prayer as well as even looking back into the last chapter.  The first two go together.  The disciples received the Word of God and obediently kept it.  That doesn’t mean that they were occasionally sinful.  They were human beings.  Of course they sinned!  However, their default position switched from “selfish human desires” to “receiving and obeying God.”  This is a slow and difficult process for us.  We seldom move from sinner to saint in one decision – and when we do it is almost always short-lived.  Rather, the process of discipleship is a slow transition of receiving the Word and then learning how to keep it.  When we’re ready we receive more Word and then learn how to keep that.  It is a process.

When have you tried to change your life quickly?  How did it work out in the long run?  Why is this process of receiving the Word and then learning to obey it best done as a gradual process of growth?

Second Thought:

The third theme that Jesus carries into this section is belief.  Once more Jesus says that His disciples believed that He came from the Father.  The disciples believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  Anyone can admit that He was a great teacher.  Anyone can admit that He was an agent of selfless change.  Anyone can confess that He did some powerfully supernatural acts.  But the disciples claimed that Jesus came from God.  They were willing to believe and witness to the unimaginable.  They were willing to place their lot in the unthinkable.  They were willing to side with God in the face of the illogical.  They truly believed.

Do you believe?  When faced with belief in God and the logic of the world, where do you side?

Third Thought:

In this passage we have another fairly controversial point.  Notice that Jesus specifically prays for His disciples.  In fact, He actually draws attention to the fact that He isn’t praying for the whole world!  Once more in the life of Christ we see evidence that Jesus focused upon those that God had clearly given to Him.  Jesus came to change the world, but He didn’t change the whole world personally.  Jesus changed twelve, who changed dozens more, who changed hundred more, who changed thousands more, who changed millions more.  Jesus is clear, here.  He is praying for those whom the Father has given to Him.  He’s not praying for the whole world, but instead for those who have heard Christ and who have believed and followed.  Even tomorrow we’ll see that when Jesus expands the scope of His prayer He’s still only praying for those throughout all time who hear, believe, and follow.  Jesus’ goal may be to save the world, but His focus is clearly on those who are in His life and following the call of God.

How does this make you feel to hear Jesus pray this way?  Do you agree with Jesus’ focus and His words?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 17:13-19