This morning as we gathered to pray, I read Jesus’ prayer found in John 17. Take the time to look it up on your smart phone or your hard copy of the Written Word of God. I would like for us to saturate on these verses for the next few weeks as we look to the heart of Jesus.
Jesus came into a Jewish world that had developed a distant view of God, one that needed angels to carry messages. The people had ceased to use the name of God for fear of taking his name in vain, just like the Prodigal Son, who could speak of “heaven” but not use the name of God (Luke 15:18, 21). Into this context of speaking to God at a distance, Jesus came and called God his Father. What is more interesting is that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father” (Matt 6:9) in the Lord’s Prayer. For the Jews of that day such a personal view of God was very degrading of God and bordered blasphemy (John5:18). Yet in spite of his personal sense of the Father’s presence, Jesus modeled for his disciples how to honor and glorify God through consistent obedience to the will of the Father. In this chapter, we see the personal relationship Jesus has with God. There are only a few passages of Scripture that reveal the heart of Jesus like these 26 verses.
As you read, you will begin to see three sections in this prayer. The first deals with Jesus finishing His mission in a hostile world (vs. 1-8). The next section shows Jesus’ concern for the disciples’ well being and effectiveness (vs. 9-19). The last section looks to the future as Jesus prays for the ones who will receive and accept the gospel message (vs. 20-26). Within this prayer the verb form, “give,” is used 11 times; and the verb, “send,” is used seven times. This highlights the fact that Jesus wanted His mission continued in the context of a community that would believe and obey.
Take the time to saturate in this passage and for the next few weeks, we will unfold different aspects of Jesus’ prayer.
This Sunday is Baby Day. We celebrate our babies who are under two years old and offer our prayer support for the task of raising them up in the Lord. I will also be preaching on Heaven. So in essence, we will be looking at all of life, from the cradle to eternity. It is going to be a great Sunday to worship together.
Joy in Jesus!
Pastor Mike
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