John 17:1-9 NIVAfter Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
V2 – “his work“. To give life to all that the Father has given him. What has God given us? What has the Holy Spirit taught us? Have we fulfilled this in every way?
v3 – “this is life that they know the Father and Jesus Christ“. Father – only true God. Jesus Christ – whom the Father sent. Jesus has a clear mission and a single focus, to bring all that the Father has given him to the Father.
Jesus sees himself as a conduit from those the Father has chosen to have a relationship with the Father. And by doing so, have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We to should become a conduit to those that the Holy Spirit reveals to us to be a conduit to Jesus Christ so that they can grow closer to the Father. All this glorifies the Father.
V4 – “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” – Seeing the work through completion. Just as we see work at our job through completion we should approach the Kingdom the same way. How does this apply to our daily life? What things should we see through completion? Well, there are things that will never be complete until we are glorified. Such as the work of sanctification. There is the work of knowing God in his fullness which is never complete. But, there are other things such as prayer – continuing to knock until we receive an answer, seeing a neighbor through a difficult time. Seeing our marriage complete, seeing our kids raised in Godly home, and so on.
V5 – “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” – Jesus had a greater amount of glory with the Father than he had while on earth. Here, he prays that when he returns, he will receive back the glory with the intent to glorify the Father. For me, my prayer is that I would be glorified in the presence of the Holy Spirit which resides within me. So that, I can be glorified as I was before the disease of sin ravaged this body in order to do good works which would glorify the Father.
v9 – “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world , but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” – Jesus reveals the truths to the disciples and those that would listen that have come to him via the Father. The Father entrusted those whom that were his to Jesus. And, they believed Jesus came from the Father. Now, he prays only for them and not for the world. For his mission is only to the lost that seek him. God does not chase after those who deny him. Our mission is to seek and save the lost. But, we cannot feel as though we have to take on the whole world. We cannot change a world that wants to seek out sin and deny God. But, we can change those that the Father has given us to change. We must be open and seek out those that are willing to listen and believe that Jesus has sent us to preach to the lost. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t pray for the world, or be active in political action for righteousness. But, to feel that it is our responsibility to turn this nation towards God will, I think, just create frustration on our part. We can pray for this nation. And perhaps, if enough Christians get on their knees, this nation will turn towards God. But, I don’t think that should be our primary focus. Jesus didn’t focus on Israel as a whole. Instead, he focused on individuals that would hear his message. There were likely many that never even knew he was there. His mission was not to everyone. He prayed only for those the Father gave him. Who should we pray for?
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