Title: “Jesus Prays for His Disciples” Script: John 17:9-26
Type: Series on Prayer Where: GNBC 7-18-21
Intro: Five Williams College students met in August of 1806, in a grove of trees near the Hoosack River, near what is today, Williamstown, MA, and debated the theology of missionary service. Their meeting was suddenly interrupted by a thunderstorm and the students: Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green took shelter under a haystack until the sky cleared. “The brevity of the shower, the strangeness of the place of refuge, and the peculiarity of their topic of prayer and conference all took hold of their imaginations and their memories.” From this humble beginning, the American Commissioners for Foreign Missions was created and in 1808 the first American missionary to Asia was sent out. In the next 50 years, 1250 missionaries would be sent out from America to Asia. Since that time over 5000 missionaries have gone out, 1000’s converted, hospitals, schools built, famine relief, all because five young men were inconvenienced by a storm and chose to pray.! Friends there is unbelievable power in prayer! Today, I want us to notice that Jesus has prayed for you!
Prop: Ex. Jn. 17:9-26 we’ll see 4 items Christ prayed for His disciples.
BG: 1. Continuing great prayers of the Bible. This is Christ’s High Priestly Prayer.
2. Shortly before arrest and subsequent crucifixion. Prayed for both disciples then and believers today.
Prop: Look w/me in Jn 17 to notice 4 items Christ prayed for His disciples.
I. Christ Prayed for Your Security vv.9-11
A. This Prayer was Prompted by Jesus’ Upcoming Departure.
1. Christ Prays for His disciples in light of this traumatic event.
a. “I am no more in the world.” Jesus states what the disciples are in denial of. Jesus is leaving. Won’t be the same relationship. Change is always hard but it can be good. Relationship to Christ is changing, but Christ is putting the disciples into the Father’s care. (Illust: In the last few years our family has experienced a lot of change. Kids marrying and moving away. Yet, blessing of two wonderful daughters in law, son in law, grandchildren…)
b. Why does Christ pray this prayer? “yet they themselves are in the world…” There’s the sticking point. Christ is returning to heaven but we have to stay here.
2. Notice the Implication of this Passage.
a. Vv9-10 Jesus is praying for the disciples because they are believers. Notice this, He says He is praying for those who belonged to the Father and now belong to Christ. He is praying for those whom He and the Father possess together.
b. Illust: When kids were growing up tried to teach them to put “stuff” back where got it from. Easier to find and locate. Why? Don’t lose and have to purchase again only to find later. Why? I am cheap and I want to take care of my stuff. Know a lot of believers who struggle with concept of the security of the believer. In these verses, Jesus states that disciples belonged to the Father before in the care of the Son and now returning to the care of the Father. Friend, you are secure!
B. Jesus Prays that the Father Will “Keep” His disciples.
1. What does Christ mean by this prayer?
a. “keep” – tayreo – from teros- to watch, implying either a fortress or a full military line. Like a warden or a guard who “keeps watch” of the prisoners in his charge. Implication is to observe attentively. Illust: Couple of years ago had a good friend who was in prison in Illinois. Every few months would go to visit him. Visiting area – before you are searched. Take nothing in. Allowed one place under the guard’s seat where can hug. Then sit while separated. Never allowed to touch or pass anything. Observe attentively.
b. In this pray, Jesus is praying that the Father would attentively keep an eye on the disciples.
2. Be encouraged, Christian, Christ has prayed for your and my safe keeping.
a. The Lord’s petition on behalf of His disciples was that the Father keep them: “Holy Father, keep them in Thy name …” (John 17:11b). This keeping was done by the Lord while He was with His disciples (verse 12), but now He is returning to the Father.
b. Illust: Some may ask, “What about Judas?” The keeping for which Jesus prayed involved the eternal security of His followers. Our Lord had already spoken to His disciples concerning the frailty of their faith under fire (John 13:38; 16:31-32). Our security does not rest upon the strength of our faith, but in the Object of it. Keeping is God’s work, not ours. It is ours to abide (chapter 15), and His to keep. Judas was not an exception to the rule. Our Lord did not fail to keep Him. He was the ‘son of perdition’. He was never saved (John 13:10,11), so he was not lost out of the keeping hand of God. His destruction was a fulfillment of his character and destiny, as well as of prophecy (verse 12).
C. Applic: First we see Christ prays for the Disciples and our Security.
II. Christ Prayed for Your Joy v. 12-13
A. The Christian’s Joy is Spiritual and Rooted in the Word of Christ.
1. Jesus Inextricably Ties the Xstian’s Joy to His Teaching.
a. “and these things I speak in the world” Our joy, as believers is rooted in our understanding of and obedience to Christ’s teaching. Consider how revolutionary Christ’s teaching was. Sermon on the Mount for example. Christians cannot experience joy when we are living disobediently to Xst’s Kingdom standards and principles. We will be convicted, frustrated, and joyless.
b. The keeping of the disciples involved giving them joy in the midst of the world’s hatred and opposition, verses 13-14. They were not of the world, just as the Savior was not. Consequently, the world would hate them and oppose them. The Father’s keeping included joy and steadfastness in this opposition.
2. We Need to Realize that One of the Central Purposes of Christ’s Teaching was our Joy!
a. Notice, Jesus says that the “joy” the disciples will experience is “my joy” (His). We need to ask the question, what brought Christ joy? Doing the Father’s will! Jn. 6:38, Jn. 8:29 – “"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.'" Many a Christian feels alone in life. Do the Father’s will!
b. How is it possible to remain joyful all the time? Paul gives us the key: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (emphasis added). The key to the Christian’s joy is its source, which is the Lord. If Christ is in me and I am in Him, that relationship is not a sometimes experience. The Christian is always in the Lord and the Lord is always in the Christian, and that is always a reason for joy.
B. The Christian’s Joy
1. What is the Christian’s Joy?
a. Look at v. 13 carefully. Jesus isn’t praying so the disciples will “find” joy for the first time. Rather, praying for the Father to “keep” them so His joy may be completed or protected in them. See friend, JOY is found in finding Jesus. Christ is the source of joy. Until know Christ can only know a happiness that is depen7-18dent upon circumstances. When know Christ can know joy unlimited.
b. This joy we possess in measure but experience fuller and fuller as we abide in Him.
2. The Christian has an Obligation to be Joyful.
Illust: Remember the 1980’s catchy song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” by Bobby McFerrin? It suggested a carefree, cavalier attitude of delight. In the Greek, the word used in the Beatitudes translated “blessed”, communicates not only the idea of happiness but also profound peace, comfort, stability, and great joy. Must understand the Biblical view and not controlled by cultural.. Think again about McFerrin’s song. The lyrics are very odd from a contemporary perspective. When he sings, “Don’t worry, be happy,” he is issuing an imperative, a command: “Do not be anxious. Rather, be happy.” Yet, we never think of happiness in this way. When we’re unhappy, we think it is impossible to decide by an act of the will to change our feelings. We tend to think of happiness as something passive, something that happens to us and over which we have no control. We desire it and want to experience it, but we are convinced that we cannot create it by an act of the will. Oddly, McFerrin sounds similar to the NT when he commands his listeners to be happy. Over and over again in the NT, the idea of joy is communicated as an imperative, as an obligation. Based on the biblical teaching, I would go so far as to say that it is the Christian’s duty, his moral obligation, to be joyful. (From an RC Sproul, Key to Christian Joy, 5-7-18)
C. Applic: Christ prays for the Christian to experience His joy. Are you and I? If not, why not? Are you rooted in the Word of Christ? Are you choosing joy or passively hoping for happiness?
III. Christ Prayed for Your Protection from Evil vv. 14-15
A. Christ Prayed for the Believer’s Protection in a World that Hates them.
1. The World Hates the Believer Because he/she does not belong to the World.
a. The believer is not “of the world” as Christ is not “of the world”. The Bible says we are aliens and strangers in this world. Illust: So let me ask you, why are we so concerned about what the world thinks of us? Why do we copy the world so often in our churches?
b. Illust: Two weeks ago went to KY for few days vacation. Went to The Ark Encounter. AIG. As you enter the Park/museum, walk thru massive gates w/large rainbow. (Read Gen. 9:13-16) Park focuses on Gen. 1-11. According to Bible, the rainbow is God’s covenant w/mankind never to flood world again. Do you know as a result of this gate, they have experienced vitriol, hatred, protests, etc. by “tolerant” individuals who have hijacked the real meaning of the rainbow and are furious. Why the anger? They are of the world. Can’t stand those who aren’t
2. The World Hates the Believer Because he/she does not think like the World.
a. The believer lives in a precarious position. Although we are not of this world, we are living in this world. We are at odds with the world’s system. Result: The world often expresses hatred towards the Church. Why? In part the Church is a restraining influence of evil. The Church convicts people of their sin (As it should!). The Church reminds a proud and rebellious mankind that there is a God and you will one day answer to Him.
b. Christian, do you think and talk like the world or is your mind being transformed by the Bible? Illust: Florence Reece was only 12 yrs. when wrote the song: “Which Side are You On?” Song would be the battle cry for KY coal mine wars in 1930s. One stanza: “They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there, You'll either be a union man Or a thug for J. H. Claire” We need to realize no neutrals in this world either. Kingdom of God or Satan’s dominion. Make sure if you call self Christian you think like one.
B. Christ Prayed for Protection from the great adversary of our souls, Satan.
1. The first take away from this prayer is there really is an enemy of our souls. “evil” – poneros – moral or spiritual wickedness, maliciousness, mischievous. Poneros is understood as Satan since he was the first author of all mischief in the universe. Never forget, Christian, Satan delights in mischief, tragedies and perversion. Why? Because it’s the result of the Fall & sin.
2. The Lord prays for our Protection in the midst of a world Spiritually opposed to us.
a. Our Lord’s prayer does not guarantee that we will be kept from Satan’s attack (Ephesians 6:10ff.; 1 Peter 5:18-9), but that we will be preserved in times of Satanic opposition. God does not promise we will avoid testing, but that we will endure it.
b. Illust: There is a very subtle form of Compromised Christianity that has invaded and influenced the Church and Christian missions and organizations. Wanting to hold to the Bible as well as non-Biblical thinking. Today subtle forms of unbelief masquerade as seemly virtues or keys to a successful ministry or secular justifications of otherwise embarrassing truth-claims. Illust: During the Middle Ages there was a popular story about Martin of Tours, the saint for whom Martin Luther was named. It was said that Satan once appeared to St. Martin in the guise of the Savior himself. St. Martin was ready to fall to his feet and worship this resplendent being of glory and light. Then, suddenly, he looked up into the palms of his hands and asked, “Where are the nail prints?” Whereupon the apparition vanished. Where are the nail prints? This is the test by which every church, theological system, every seminary curriculum, and every ministry which claims to be faithful to the Gospel must be gauged. Rarely in the history of the church has the necessity of discerning the times and testing the spirits been more urgent.
C. Applic: We live in a world that is theologically and philosophically opposed to us. Do not fear. The Lord has prayed for us.
IV. Christ Prayed for Your Sanctification and Unity vv. 16-23
*I am lumping these two together. Partly to shorten the message, but also because I believe the two go together. You and I cannot truly experience sanctification without experiencing unity within the body of Christ. If you are at war in relationships with brothers and sisters need to really reexamine your sanctification.
A. Jesus Prayed for the Believer’s Sanctification. Vv. 16-19
1. Believers are to be a Set-apart people.
a. What does it mean when Jesus prays for the believer’s “sanctification”? “hagios” – sanctify. Set apart. Consecrated. For the Lord’s use. Truth was the sphere in which their sanctification was to take place. They had through Christ received the Father’s word, which was truth, and had passed into a new region of life, separate from the world (John 17:6-8; John 17:14-16). He has prayed that the Father would preserve them in this, and now He prays further that the Father would in this new region of life set them apart for the work to which He had sent them (John 17:18). The idea at the root of the word rendered “sanctify,” is not holiness, but separation. It is opposed not to what is impure, but to what is common, and is constantly used in the Greek Septuagint for the consecration of persons and things to the service of God.
b. There is no sanctification in the life of the believer separate from the WOG. See vv.17&18. Biblical sanctification is not a simple prayer. Not quick and easy. It requires being washed with the WOG, over time. If you are not growing as a Christian, let me ask you, “Have you been reading the WOG?” Studying? Listening to it? You will not experience victory over sin, consecration to Christ, and commitment to Christ’s Kingdom by endlessly pursuing Instagram and TikTok.
2. Not only has Christ prayed for your sanctification, He has sanctified Himself so that believers may be sanctified in the truth. (v.19) I sanctify myself - I consecrate myself exclusively to the service of God. The word "sanctify" does not refer here to personal sanctification, for he had no sin, but to setting himself apart entirely to the work of redemption.
B. Jesus Prayed for the Believer’s Unity. Vv.21-23
1. Are you or I doing anything that would undermine the Unity of the Fellowship?
a. v.21- “they may all be one” Literally: “That all one may be, as You Father in Me and I in You….” The fellowship which marks the Trinity should be seen in microcosm in the Church. and v. 23 “they may be perfected in unity” – What does it mean? It means to complete, to add to what is lacking in order to render something full. Illust: Think about this. The biggest hypocrite is the Christian that refuses to go to church because the church is full of hypocrites. I don’t deny it for a second. However, the believer who doesn’t fellowship w/other believers due to the perceived shortcomings of those believers, is proving the fact that brother has no desire to grow in the Lord!
b. I want you to examine something I believe I saw for the first time in my life this past week. Look at v. 21&v23 again. Notice what Christ states 2x. He reiterates this due to its importance. “That the world may believe…” and “that the world may know”. Christian, I want you to think of that petty offense that you have against a brother or sister. Think of how your pride was injured. Think of how you were offended. Think of how you decided just to “write him/her off”, not going to speak to them, just be sullen, give them their own medicine. First, think of how absolutely childish that is. Second, and here is the terrifying insight I had this past week. What are you and I going to say to God when we are in heaven and He says to you: “You know that offense you had with Frank or Bill? That bitterness you harbored against Betty or Sue? Tommy was watching you. Jamal was watching you. Leslie was watching you. Juanita was watching you. They wanted to know about Christ, but when they saw your hypocritical relationship with your brother/sister, they said “Forget it.”, and they are in hell today.” That should break our hearts.
2. Unity is Essential to the Body of Christ.
a. Friends, we are one day closer to Christ’s return. The way I read Revelation, we are going to need each other a whole lot leading up to His return. Get more involved in the life of brothers and sisters. (Illust – Tonight – Fellowship time.)
b. Illust: A man was on his death bed. Gathered his sons around him. Handed the oldest a wrapped bundle of sticks. Asked him to snap them in half. Couldn’t. Handed to the 2nd. Same result. Asked the 3rd. Same result. Next, untied the knot holding them together. Handed one stick at a time to the sons. Each easily broke their stick. Important lesson teaching his sons. Important for the Church as well.
C. Applic: Jesus has prayed for our sanctification and unity. Act like it.
