Sunday School Lesson: Jesus Prays For His Disciples John 17:6-21, New Living Translation John 17:6 “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. The People, Places, and Times John. One of the sons of Zebedee, this apostle and his brother James were among the first hand-picked by Jesus to walk alongside Him and carry on His earthly ministry, as well as establish the church. He is the disciple who is noted in his own Gospel as “the one whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23, 19:26), but his weaknesses were also portrayed in the Gospels, such as seeking to call down fire on those who did not receive Jesus (Luke 9:53–54). Nonetheless, he was a part of Jesus’ inner circle, as he was with Jesus at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–9), witnessed His raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37), and was given charge to take care of Mary (John 19:26–27). He is believed to be the only apostle not to die a martyr’s death. He was exiled to the island of Patmos, but his demise was not as brutal as the others. John the apostle, in addition to his Gospel account, also penned three epistles, and his most profound biblical contribution, the book of Revelation. Backstage John’s Gospel provides a more intimate account of both the public and private ministry of Jesus Christ. The apostle’s editorial slant is focused on highlighting Jesus’ deity (God incarnate) and His humanity (the Word made flesh who dwelt among humanity). John’s Gospel was the last one written, and he does not repeat many of the accounts noted in the other synoptic Gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke). He does still provide convincing proofs of Jesus’ messianic authority as “the Christ,” Son of the Living God, Savior and Lord. Throughout John’s account, Jesus is portrayed as one who stays in complete oneness with His Father and is singularly focused on accomplishing the Father’s will. In the chapters leading up to this time of prayer before the Crucifixion, Jesus is careful to prepare His disciples for what is to come: both sorrow and triumphant joy. Most notably, He informs the disciples of the coming Holy Spirit who will be their Helper, Comforter, and Advocate (John 14:16–17, 26, 15:26, 16:7–8), and through this unbroken fellowship He will continue to reveal Himself and remain in contact henceforth. Combing Through 1. Prayer for Unity (John 17:6–10) Jesus acts in His role as High Priest by praying on behalf of His disciples. In the preceding verses, He opens His intimate conversation with His Father by calling attention to the fact that He has accomplished the Father’s will on earth, having brought glory to His name as the only true God by using His authority (John 17:1–5). The time has come for Him to return to His Father in heaven, but before the end of His earthly ministry, He intercedes on behalf of His chosen disciples who would go on to carry out His ministry. Jesus emphasizes how He has manifested the name of the Lord, how He has given His chosen the Word, and that they know everything He has given them (vv. 6–7). Jesus prays for them to be kept as they go out into the world to accomplish the greater things He has already told them they would do (John 14:12–13). Jesus prays for their deliverance, and He prays for them to be one with Him as He is one with His Father. He prays that through them, His name would continue to be made great. In the power of this unity with God the Father and the Son, the church was born at Pentecost. 2. Prayer for Protection (vv. 11–19) Continuing to make this request of His Father on their behalf, Jesus then moves on to pray for the protection of His chosen. Many of them expected Jesus to establish His earthly kingdom delivering them from Roman rule, but He had warned them of coming betrayal, Crucifixion, and Resurrection (John 12:27–33, 13:18–19, 21–29). He was departing soon and expressed His love for those who have walked with Him in His earthly ministry by calling them to be set apart for the Father’s use. Though they will be in the world, their allegiance and citizenship has changed to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was there to guard and protect His disciples from the world and the evil one. Now Jesus intercedes on their behalf that they would be protected, recognizing that all but one would be covered. That one was Judas Iscariot, whom He calls the “son of perdition” or destruction, that the Scripture would be fulfilled. He knows just as He has suffered hatred and rejection, believers would also experience enemy attacks and rejection because of His name, but He has us covered. Jesus also asks that followers past, present, and future be made holy in His truth. For their sakes, He has consecrated Himself as a living sacrifice and stood in the gap on our behalf. 3. Prayer for Future Believers (vv. 20–21) Jesus also prays for those who would believe in Him based on their witness. This prayer can be summed up as a desire for a unity that would mimic the unity that Jesus has with the Father. It is a mutual connection where Jesus is one with the Father, and the Father is one with Jesus. Jesus is “in” the Father, and the Father is “in” Jesus. Jesus prays that they would be as close as He and the Father are. This is a huge, all-encompassing prayer that borders on asking for a miracle. Jesus prays that we as believers would be together and close, just as the first and second Persons of the Trinity. That is beyond our comprehension. Secondly, Jesus asks that the unity of believers would show the world that Jesus was sent by the Father. The unity of the believers would authenticate whether Jesus was sent from God and would cause the world to believe in Him as Savior. Lesson in Our Society The text from today’s lesson is considered by biblical scholars to be the real Lord’s Prayer as we see the passion of the Christ in prayer for all of us. As we look at our world today we see division and strife. This is the opposite of what Jesus prayed for His disciples. Many in the same church are at odds with each other over trivial matters and do not exhibit the oneness that Christ desired as He prayed this prayer to the Father. We as believers have a mandate from God to strive for unity and to seek the unity of our neighborhoods and communities as well. But we are commissioned through scripture not to use our gifts and move in the church knowing that we have oughts against each other. Matthew gives instructions to lay down our gifts at the altar to get truth and peace in situations (Matthew 5:23). Also, when things escalate we go to the person alone. If that doesn’t work we go back to the person with a witness, preferably someone who will be impartial. If that doesn’t work then that person is to be brought before the church. If they still will not heed and change then they are to be considered an infidel (or a fool), a heathen and publican. No one should deal with that person until they repent of their evil doing and change (Matthew 18:15-17) also Luke 17:3. Make It Happen God has shown us His love through the sending of His Son to die for us. As the church, we must reflect this love by maintaining our relationship with Him and extending this great love out to others. Christ laid the sure foundation for us to be one with the Father by faith, and this oneness is to be manifested in our relationships with other believers. It has been said that the most segregated hour of the week is on Sunday during church. Show our oneness as believers by inviting other believers who are of a different culture or background into your home for a meal and a time of fellowship and prayer. youtu.be/gV-NMz1AkOc
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 19:39:31 +0000
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