John 17 Continued–The Love for His Men

Jesus’ extreme emotion and love for the Apostles can be felt through the words of this prayer. I sometimes wonder what mix of emotions Jesus felt as He readied these men for the creation and expansion of His church. John gave us a little glimpse into the complexity of emotion when he related the experience of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We learn there that even though  Jesus fully knew the outcome of that exchange, still he felt the anguish of the sisters, the scorn of the Jewish elite, and the confusion of the Apostles.  John tells us Jesus wept.

Now Jesus was praying for his closest friends. They were chosen from the start. They were a part of every miracle, confrontation, and discussion about the character of God and the coming sacrifice. While they did not always realize it, Jesus was always protecting, preparing, and providing for these men. 

The Lord knew, however, that things were about to change. Once He was crucified, these disciples would have direct access to the Father.  Jesus was now interceding to His Father on their behalf. In effect, Jesus builds the case.  “These guys were yours, Father!” He continues with the words, “You handed them over to me and they have exceeded all expectations.  They listened, they obeyed, and they followed. Most importantly, they stuck it out, with the exception of the son of perdition. So now, Father, I am returning them to you better prepared than I received them.  So, you now must protect, prepare, and provide for them as they directly seek you!” 

What a great reminder of who and Whose we are.  We are called to fully trust and follow the Lord; He, in turn, will do the heavy lifting in preparing us to fulfill our mission.  That process, according to Paul, begins at our receiving Christ and continues until it is completed on the day of our Lord’s return.  (Phil 1:6.)  In addition, Paul promises us that He who calls us is faithful and He will do it! (I Thes 5:24.) We, like Jesus’ first disciples, are held to a simple standard of trusting and following Him.  He will do the rest.  

God Bless You   

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⁶ “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸ for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹ I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰ and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the ^[c]son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.