John 17:9-21

Good Evening! Glad to be here with you again tonight. I’m looking forward to hearing from scripture with you.. Anyone want to hazard a guess about which passage to turn to? Yep, John 17. Unlike previous times we will be taking more than a couple verses, tonight.

Other times we’ve studied John 17 we have done a deep dive into a few verses at a time. We did a lot of work diving deeply to set us up for what is coming today.

In our first study we talked about the chapter as a whole and looked at the way that Jesus prayed. About the way he talked to His Father out of a relationship they shared. That influenced the way he prayed and set an example for us of praying by actually interacting/conversing with God. Even telling Him what has done with the gifts He has given before.

In our second study we spent almost the entire time in verse 3. We concentrated on the phrase “…this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God….” We leaned into the fact that Jesus equated eternal life with knowing God. And I suggested that eternal life is particularly about quality of life rather than quantity of life, and noted that through Jesus we can know God now. And that opens up so much for our lives here, and now.

The last time we were studying this chapter, we concentrated on verses 6, 7, and 8. And we dug into how important the “name” of God is to our lives here and now. So important that Jesus actually summarized His ministry to HIs disciples as “…manifesting Your name to the people whom you gave me…” We talked also about being owned by God and being given to Jesus out of the world. Not only a future of being out of the rebellious world with Jesus, but a present of being set apart, sanctified, from the world - for Jesus. And finally we talked about what it means to “keep” something. Like keeping Jesus’s word. And keeping Jesus’s commands.

So today we are going to take the whole section where Jesus asks for things for the people He has been given. I am going to read verses 9 to 21. Notice as we read this that Jesus brackets his requests with two sections that say who He is praying for. Then, In the middle section pay attention to identify what Jesus is asking for. I count three asks, three petitions, and a lot of talking about why and how we will know if His prayer is answered.

Ready? Let’s pray…

….

OK, let’s start by identifying who Jesus is praying for here. We actually talked a lot about this last time but now in these next verses we see it again. So, what does Jesus say? In verse 9 we read,

9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me;

I think this verse is another case like the passage that Ron read last week in Ephaesians about women and congregations. It may not be as obvious. But we could bring a lot of questions to this verse and try to make it answer them. Questions like: “Can anyone be saved?” “Is Jesus’s atonement effective for everyone?” Or “Does Jesus support the doctrine of predestination here?” I’m not going to ask those questions tonight.

What did Jesus do when the religious authorities, when the people who had the scriptures memorized in many cases, asked Him to answer their disagreements about doctrine? Did He answer? Often He didn’t, but rather asked a question back.

I suggest that we have two options with a verse like this. We can ask our questions of the verse, or we can let the verse speak for itself, and potentially ask its own questions. Ask its own questions about our lives.

Who is in control of an argument? The person asking the questions or the person who is trying to explain? Think about a teacher asking questions on a test. Or if you like a TV police procedural drama. There is always the scene in the dark room with the table in the middle with the “perp” across from the police. Who asks the questions? We need to be careful when we are studying the Bible that we don’t fool ourselves into thinking we are the ones asking the questions, the we are in authority. Because we are not. The Bible is the true word of God. It is the authority. It asks the questions, and we (our lives) are the ones answering those questions.

I do my best to let that inform my Bible study. I don’t want to be like the scribes and Pharisees and come expecting the Bible to answer my questions. I want to come prepared to answer scripture’s questions about my life.

So we need to know what Jesus is saying here and see how that calls my life to account. First, Jesus is clear that he is praying for some people and not for others. Second, Jesus does not explain why some people are given to Him and others aren’t. He is God, but throughout this chapter He merely says that God chose to give Him some and not others. He doesn’t pray for more people. He just accepts those He is given and prays for them. Third, Jesus prays for those that He is given. That may seem like I’m repeating myself. But what I mean is that there are some people who are His. Some men are His to pray for.

So, He is not floundering around wasting time praying for people that God has not given Him authority and responsibility for. Now, this is just one of His prayers. Jesus prayed a lot, there may be other prayers that we don’t have where he prayed for others. But for this prayer and these requests, He has certain faces in front of Him. And we need to let Him say who these requests are for.

What we need to get from this is that when we get to the requests in a minute. These requests are for people owned by Him, given to Him. And in verse 9 that means His disciples.

Then at the end He expands that group of people. Verse 20:

20 I do not ask on behalf of these alone (the disciples), but for those also who believe in Me through their word (the disciples’ word / the disciples’ writings / the disciples’ testimonies)

That’s us! Jesus just included us in the requests He made for His disciples. We are about to look in some detail at what Jesus asks God - to do for us!

This is not some ancient text from 2000 years ago that has nothing to do with us. Jesus just made it personal. If we want to be Jesus’s, then we are part of those who “… believe in Me through their word.” We are studying the “word” of one of them right now. The apostle John.

Now we turn to what Jesus prayed for us, and is praying for us right now in the presence of the Father.

Alright, let’s compare our lists of the things Jesus asked for. Here is my list.

  • “Holy Father, keep them in Your name…” v11
  • “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” v15
  • “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” v17

When I made this list, back when I was doing some preparation on the whole chapter, I spent some time comparing these requests to the way I normally pray for others. I found that to be a very helpful exercise. It has caused me to think differently as I pray. I don’t think these are the only requests that we can (or should) pray for people, but I do want to be sure to join Jesus in making these requests when I am praying for my Christian friends and family.

Let me just make a list of a few things that are not in this list.

  • No request to remove them for hard experiences.
  • No request for healing (maybe that is part of hard experiences).
  • No request to save them from mistreatment.
  • No request that everyone would like them.
  • No request to provide riches or lots of stuff. He doesn’t even ask to provide what they need. Oo, let me be careful here. He is asking for what they need, but He doesn’t ask to provide stuff or partners or anything earthly that they need.

Again I am not saying that Jesus never prayed for these things. The Lord’s prayer instructs us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” So don’t hear me say that we should never pray for the kinds of things I just listed. Do hear me say that when praying for Christians we should FIRST pray for what Jesus prayed for.

I’ve been thinking about it like the way reporters write articles. Articles are written so that the most important stuff is in the first paragraph or two, and then as you keep reading you get less and less important stuff. More details that add color. Articles are written that way so that the reader gets the important stuff up front and if they stop reading or an editor needs to shorten an article they’ve missed smaller details.

So when I’m praying I try to pray what Jesus prays in John 17 first so that if I get distracted or interrupted I’ve already joined Jesus in these requests. It’s best if I don’t get interrupted of course, but I’m a realist.

Let’s go through Jesus’s requests one by one.

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.

When I was first making my list of requests I listed two asks from this verse. At first glance it seems that Jesus asked “…keep them in Your name…” and “…that they may be one….” But as I worked with it longer I realized that the word “that” changes that second phrase from being a request to being a result. If Jesus had said something like. “Keep them in Your name and make them one.” Then it would be different.

Today we Americans would add another word like “Look both ways SO THAT you don’t get hit by a car.” But it is the same structure. The unity (being one) is important to Jesus, but He is praying for us to be kept in God’s name. We can be unified by all kinds of things. Living in Port Angeles. Owning a truck. Being born in England. But those things would have nothing to do with being Christian. And notice that these things automatically alienate or divide. Others live in Sequim. Others don’t own pickup trucks. Others were born in the US.

Being one as Christians means being kept in God’s name.

Did you notice that all three of the words I talked about at length last time are in this one request? (That wasn’t planned by me.) “Holy Father, keep them in Your name.” Holy/sanctified/separate, keep, and name. It is also interesting to note that Jesus uses a name for God here and then says keep them in Your name. In fact this is the only place in the New Testament where this particular name is used. “Holy Father.”

I feel pretty confident in suggesting that everything I noted last week about the name of God being super important and that being set apart is also very important and keeping being about preciousness, come into play here.

I won’t repeat myself. Let me add one more thought here. This reads like God’s name is a place. “Keep them in Your name.” I don’t think it is a physical place, but it has a location in some sense. And that is very important to being one. You cannot be one if you are not in the same place. There is one good place to be. In God’s name.

Another thought, Jesus talks like it is up to God to keep us in that place. That thinking meshes with so many teachings of Jesus. The sheep are in one place because the shepherd keeps them together. The wedding feast is in a particular place and if the guests are not told about it they cannot come. Jesus is the vine and we are grafted onto the vine by God. We are adopted by God into His family by His choice. Just to name a few.

We can’t get into the name without Him and we can’t stay in the name without Him. All we can do is resist being there, or wander from the flock, or refuse to come to the feast, or refuse to take nourishment from the vine, or refuse to act as His child.

14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

This one actually parallels how we are taught to pray in the Lord’s prayer (In Matthew 6:13). “…but deliver us from evil”.

As an aside, I’ve found some of the decisions made by translators here to be strange. The ESV and the NASB both make this in John 17 “keep them from the evil one” and in Matthew “deliver us from evil.” with a note in Matthew that says or it could be “the evil one”. The KJV is consistent in these having in John “keep them from the evil” and in Matthew “deliver us from evil.”

Not sure it matters, but for me it is starker and more comprehensive to say just “evil.” The whole world is under Satan’s sway. He doesn’t need to be personally involved to tempt us with evil. The world is happy to do that without his direct input. And frankly our heart can bring evil our way all by itself. (Jeramiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick…”, Note to self, don’t follow your heart.) Jesus is praying for us to be kept from evil no matter how it comes at us.

Here too Jesus specifically says, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world….” This goes back to last time, too. Jesus has a specific purpose for us. We are separated from the world in the sense that “they are not of the world.” He said that twice. Once before and once after v14 and v16. But we are not taken out of the world, Jesus later says I sent them into the world, and Jesus here doesn’t ask for us to be taken out of the world. We have a reason for living. Jesus has given us a purpose for our lives.

We see the results of His purpose in v20 where we later folks are added on. If the disciples had been taken who’s word would we have received. And that continues to today. If the church/Christians were not here who would reach out to friends and neighbors. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, would not be stopped by our absence, but they actually plan for us, they want us, to be part of their redemption project. That is a wonderful thing. I sometimes think it would be so much easier to be up in heaven. And it would be easier. But God has entrusted me to be part of His plan. I’m His son. He is letting His little son help Him fix the world. Does that mean God couldn’t do it without me? Hah! I know I slow HIm down. Think about having a toddler help you fix a car or do a project. But He delights in having me there with Him. And I can delight to be with Him also.

And the final ask, Jesus’s third request:

17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

This request is interesting because Jesus not only asks for this, but also tells God what He has done to make it happen as well.

These three verses are also very explicit in the flow, in the replication that Jesus is carrying out. God sent Him, and Jesus continues by sending us. He was sanctified to truth so that we also could now be sanctified to truth. Here he repeats that there is a reason for us to be present in the world. The reason is He put us here. He sent us here. It is not a mistake. It is not left to chance. There is no fate. Jesus intends for us to be here and so we are.

Do you find that as wonderful as me? Having purpose for my life is very precious.

What is the classic question of teenage angst? Why does any of this matter? Why do I need to …? Or just “Whatever?” And when I’m honest there are times when I just punch the clock at work - for days - maybe weeks and finally realize I’m in a rut and feel like I’m just doing it to prop things up. Like washing the dishes knowing that tomorrow they will need to be washed again. Or mowing the lawn knowing that next week it will need to be mowed again. Sometimes I think that life is just meaningless toil and boredom.

But that is a lie! It is not true! And when I let myself feel that way I am not living the life of purpose that Jesus has put before me. If I let myself wallow in that I am not “sanctified to the truth.” If I think it is just another day thrown away, then I am resisting God. Jesus asked Him to “sanctify them in the truth” and He will - if we don’t resist.

Jesus has given us purpose for our lives. Hallelujah! If there are good times there is a reason. If there are hard times there - is - a - reason. Jesus has something for us everyday. Don’t limit Him.

Today for me it may be talking to you about John 17. Tomorrow may be a conversation with a neighbor. Last Thursday it might have been caring for a friend who is discouraged by a pet’s health. Or it may be writing a note to a sister whose son died way too young. Or maybe it is spending a few hours on a sailboat, with four other people I am getting to know, while being awestruck by the pure beauty of the evening in God’s creation. But in each of those I can either see it as a task to do and get done. Or I can see it as my purpose for being here in Port Angeles. And how I see it makes all the difference. My purpose is to reflect the light of Jesus’s care for me to those around me. Not to bludgeon them but to care for them as He has cared for me.

So let me see If I can summarize what we’ve seen. Jesus prayed for his disciples, and us. He had requests that were specifically for His people, I hope you count yourselves as part of His people. And He asks not for us to be rescued from hard things, but rather He prays that when He sends us into the world that we would seek to only be in God’s name. That our identity would only be in God’s name and all the character traits that are entailed in that. And he prays that while He sends us into the midst of evil, that we would be kept from it. That we would not serve our hearts, or the world, except where that service can be done while in God’s name. And finally He asks that we would be set apart in the truth that Jesus has sent us where we are. And because of that if we are set apart to truth we would marvel at the calling and purpose he has given us.

And we should also be praying for this to be true of each other.

I’m going to finish tonight by going back to verse 13.

13 But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.

Yes, really! I’m back to joy. I may be a broken record on this. Maybe because it is where I have to work so hard to stick to my purpose.

Jesus tells God that He is on His way to be in His presence and He is praying aloud so that His disciples (and we) can see His care and His purpose and see that Jesus delights in us being with Him. And He wants, He is acting, He is doing stuff so that we may have His joy made full in ourselves. I do not want His work to be in vain. I want to have His joy made full in me. That is my prayer. That I can get over myself and see only my purpose given to me by Jesus.

Go out with these words from Paul:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Preached at Holiness Fellowship on July 11, 2021.