Jesus Prays for Us Part 2 Peter Lim Intro: Good morning. These last several weeks leading up to Easter, we have been looking at this lifechanging subject of prayer. Last week we looked at the passage where Jesus was praying for his disciples before he was to be crucified. Jesus would soon leave his disciples. A good pastor friend of mine, who mentored me when I was in seminary, was talking to me about what it was like being a pastor. My friend smiled at me and said: well, you know, being a pastor is hard --- there hours are long, the pay is little ---- but the retirement plan, is out of this world. Jesus was preparing to be out of this world, to leave this world and return to his father. These were his last words this his group of followers. What do people say when they know they will die soon? They certainly don't talk about the weather. No, they share the most important things. They share their heart. The whole night, Jesus was sharing with his disciples so many important things that he wanted to tell them. Then he prays for them in their prescence. He prays for the most important things for them. Last week we saw how Jesus prayed for Glory's glory and for spiritual protection for his followers. Today, let's continue in the prayer of Jesus and see what else he prays for. john 17: 16-26 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 20 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one 23 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. This is God's word. In this passage, Jesus prays about the missionary task that he is leaving with his disciples. He prays for their witness to the world. But what specifically does Jesus pray for? We are going to look at 3 things that he prays for his disciples in light of their mission to the world. 1. First, Jesus prays for holiness. In v. 17 he says "sanctify them" In v.19, he says "for them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified" Jesus prays for our sanctification. What does that word mean? The word sanctifiy and holy are the same. sanctification means holiness. Be holy means being "set apart". Different than the usual, the accepted, common worldly standards. Being holy must be understood in relation to the world. v. 14 "they are not of the world any more than I am of the world" v. 16 "they are not of the world, even as I am not of it So Jesus makes a contrast between himself and the world. And he expects a contrast between us and the world. The bible teaches that we are "IN" the world but not "OF" the world. Holiness is not just turning away from the sinful ways and thoughts of the world. It is much deeper than that. It means that you don't blindly accept the attitudes, the goals, the values of the world. You don't blindly follow what the world thinks is important, what the world thinks you should live for. That means you don't look to the world for your identity, for you affirmation, for your true life
We are set apart ----- for a purpose. In v. 17 as we saw, Jesus says "v. 17 sanctify them" In v. 19 Jesus said "sanctify myself so they will be sancified" what about v. 18? What did Jesus say in the middle of these 2 verses about sancification? v. 18 says: " As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" Right smack in the middle of this verses about holiness is Christ's mission, and our mission to be world. Our call to be a witness to the world is surrounded by Jesus speaking about sanctification, holiness Jesus prays for our holiness. So how does that relate to our witness to the world? Obviously, we cannot be just like the world, otherwise we have no witness to them. We need to be set apart from the world. The way I like to think of holiness is, it is to provide an alternative to the ways of the world. To live and tell of an alternative. And a much better one. Satan has a grip on people and he deceives them and makes them slaves. People think that their career is their life, or some person is their life, or getting high is the only way they can cope, or their bank account is their security, or many other lies. And so people are spiritually blind, they don't know any better, they worship these idols but they never find real fulfillment in them. To be that light in the darkness that Jesus calls us to, we need to provide an alternative. And not just an alternative, but the only true solution, the only true way. To live that true alternative and tell of that true alternative, that is being holy in this world. The 1st century believers, before they were called Christians, called themselves followers of the Way. The way. what way? Well Jesus's way. it was a way of living, an alternate way, an alternative to the world. It is a true alternative. Jesus prays that his followers will be Sanctify them ---- how? by the Truth. v 17. Your word is truth. It is not just providing any alternative, but it is providing the true alternative, which is based on God's word. God's word sanctifies us. It helps to make us holy. It teaches us how to be set apart from the world because it reminds us of God's truth.
So, when considering our witness to the world, Jesus prays for our holiness. What your friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbors need to see is your personal holiness. How you think, act, and live your life differently because of Christ in you. Your attitudes, the things that you delight in, your actions, your response to events or circumstances in your life, Christ changes all these things. As you let Christ work in your life in all these areas, this is how you can be holy and how you can be a witness, an example, an alternative to those around you. I would like to give an great example of this by the Christians in the first few centuries. Dr. John Starks, a Christian history and sociology professor in the States wrote an excellent book about this. Around 160 AD, there was an outbreak of sickness in Rome. Most historians believe it was either small pox or measles. It was the first time such diseases were known in western civilization. This outbreak of disease started with people in the military who returned from a distance country, then it spread to the general population. Another similar outbreak occurred about 90 years later. Historians believe about 30% of the population died from these epicdemics, these plagues. 30%. At the height of the epicdemic, it was said that 5000 people per day were dying in Rome. One of the Roman emperors himself died from the plagues. So many in the military died of these plagues, that the empire struggled to defend itself from outside barbarians. Since so many people in the general population died, the economy slowed and the government's tax base dwindled. Some historians believe the Roman empire never fully recovered from the effects of these plagues and it was one of the major factors that lead to the fall of the empire. The non-christians and the Christians responded to these plagues very differently. The pagans, they fled from the sick, even those they loved. They ran away and left the sick to suffer and die. One eye-witness wrote this about the typical non-christian response: "At the first onset of the disease, they pushed the sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated unburied corpses as dirt." However, Christians responded differently. Christians knew that this life was not all there is, that there is so much more to come in eternity for those who believe in Christ. So they fed and care for the sick and dying. They showed mercy and compassion to them. They laid their lives on the line for them. One church leader wrote how Christians in his congregation responded the epicdemic. He wrote:
Most of our brother-christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of others. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and caring for others and helping others to be cured, transferred their death to themselves and died in their place. This chuch leader goes on and writes: "The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner, a number of presbyters, deacons, and laymen... the result of great piety and strong faith Some of the sick that the Christians cared for actually recovered and lived. They were so impressed with what the Christians did, many accepted the message about Christ. People saw how Christians were set apart from the rest. They saw Christian holiness at work, through their mercy and compassion. This was not only recorded by Christian sources, but even secular Roman sources documented how the Christians reacted. The Christian faith grew by leaps and bounds during and after these great plagues. Eventually the Christian faith became legalized and accepted in the Empire. Some historians believe one of the major factors to this great growth of Christianity was because of how differently they acted, by showing compassion during these plagues. They were set apart from the world. The world saw their holiness. Jesus had prayed, more than a century earlier, for the sancification, for the holiness of all who follow him. Jesus continues to pray that way for you and me today. 2. Second, Jesus prays for our unity. In light of our mission to be a witness to the world, Jesus prays for our spiritual unity. In v. 11, Jesus prays "protect them... so that they may be one as we are one" 20... I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one... 22-23 Jesus prays about his glory "...so that they may be brought to complete unity" Jesus prays for the spiritual unity of his followers. Antioch. A great example of this was the church in
The bible says that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch. Christians means "little Christs" and it was actually first used in a derogotory way by non-believers towards Christians. In Act 13, Luke tells about the leaders of the church at Antioch. It was an important church, it sent out Paul Barnabas. It lanched the missionary travels of Paul and Barnabas to the European continent. And who were these leaders at Antioch. Acts 13 says Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. It say "Simeon caller Niger". This was a man from Africa. Then Manaen -- who was of the same class and background Herod the ruler. He was a wealthy man. And of course Barnabas and Paul. So this was a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-class group of followers at Antioch, and they were given the name of "Christians" by outsiders. There was something much greater than ethnic, cultural, national, or economic background that united these believers. They were united in Christ. They lived out their unity in Christ, which Paul emphasized in Eph 4:4 " There is one body and one Spirit...5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Jesus prays for the spiritual unity of his followers. Finding the right balance of unity is often hard to do. One the one hand, you have Satan and the sinful human nature of people, even believers, working to cause disunity and division in the body of Christ. On the other, our unity with others is based on truth. It is not unity at all costs. It is unity that's based on God and his truth. The NT is full of warnings against false teachers and false leader who would lead God's people astray. So our unity with others must be based on the essential beliefs of our faith. It is a hard tightrope to walk on but Jesus calls us to this and Jesus knew it would be difficult. That's why he prays for our unity, for the right unity, as we carry out our witness to the world.
The unity that Jesus prays for is "that they may be one as we are one" So how is the father and the son one? They are one in mission: They have the same overarching goal to redeem all people and all of creation They are one in fellowhip: And are one in the message of Jesus's witness to the world. That is the third point. 3. The third point is, Jesus prays for the message ------ of our witness. He prays for the message we will tell the world. What is that message? According to this passage, in v.21, Jesus prayed to God that he wanted people to "believe that you have sent me", that God had sent him. Why was it so important to Jesus that people would know that he was sent from the father? Let's say a person came fom another country, let's say they are from North Korea, and they come to your country. This person said he is the ambassador from the North Korea. Well, what if he was a fake ambassador? Hmmm. Why would it be important for us to know that this person really was an official ambassador from his country? Well, the ambassador represents that country and can officially speak for that country. The ambassador may have the authority to make agreements, to sign treaties, and so forth, for that country. But before we do things like that, we need to be really sure that the person is really an official ambassador. Jesus rejoiced because the disciples believed that Jesus was not just an ambassador but something more. You see, an ambassador is just a career, a job. The person can resign from that position or retire. It is temporary. Jesus was much more than an ambassador. John makes it clear in the purpose of his Gospel. John 20:31 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" Jesus is the messiah, the chosen one that would bring salvation. Jesus, john says, is also the Son of God. That's something that will never change, it not like a job as an ambassador. We are talking about family relationships, something much greater than a
career or job. Jesus is God's son. Jesus calls God his father. He says several times in the prayer how there is great love with him and the father. So the message of our witness is all about: who Jesus is ---- that he is sent from the father if Jesus was sent from God, how does that affect those who acknowledge that? those who truly accept and believe that? ---- they will follow him ---- they will obey him ---- they will learn from him ----- they will believe and be swept up in Jesus's mission and witness to the world Jesus prays for the disciples message --- that Jesus was sent from the father Concl So today we looked at the last part this special prayer by Jesus, shortly before he was to be crucified. We looked at how Jesus prayed for his followers' witness ----- to the world. Jesus specifically prayed for: 1. His follower's holiness 2. His follower's unity 3. His follower's message that Jesus was sent from the father And although he went to the father, although he would be out of this world, his retirement plan was to still be at work. He is still praying and interceeding for us before his father. We are going to close with a moment of silent prayer. And if you have never felt that God is close to you or you are not sure if he is in your life, you can know this morning. Pray silently to the Lord and ask him into your life. And then come and speak with me, so I can share with you some more and pray with you. And if you do know Christ is in your life, pray that you can put on Christ's holiness in your lives. Pray for unity with others thru Jesus. Pray for your witness to people you know. Let us pray. Jesus thank you for interceeding before your father on our behalf. It is through your prayers and your sacrifice on the cross, that we can live in your holiness, not our holiness, but yours. And through your sacrifice, we can have the unity with God that you have with your father. Help us
to be faithful witnesses in the world to your glory, as the one and only Son of God, who was sent from the heavenly father. amen.