The Lord's Big Prayer Part 2

John 17:6-18 Jesus Prays for his Disciples

How cool is this - that Jesus prays to his dad on the disciples' behalf! Why do we pray, why is it so important? Because Jesus not only said it was important, he did it. Not in a stuffy way, but rather he spoke to God as he would with a person. Jesus prays about what he has done, what God has done, and what he wants God to do. Though our circumstances are different, this is a good template for how we should pray! We tell God what is going on with us, we remember what he has done for us, and we ask Him to do stuff.

Jesus refers to the disciples as "yours", that God "gave them to him" and he "kept them" and revealed God's name to them. God picked out the 12 guys who followed Jesus around on the earth, and told Jesus to choose them as disciples. Isn't that amazing! Out of the thousands of people around, only 12 were needed for God to send his message to the entire world. God didn't have Jesus put an ad on Craig's list, rather he had these 12 guys in mind from the day they were born. "These are my men," God thought. And Jesus asked them to follow him, they left their lives, jobs, families and went with him.

Jesus talks about this kinda like the shepherd - he is guiding and leading the guys God have him. He is teaching them about God (knowing God's name means you KNOW him, not just read some facts about him on Wikipedia), and sharing his life with them.

"They know all things you have given me are from you, because the words you gave me, I have given them. They have received them and know for certain that I came from you. They believe that you sent me".

Kinda confusing way to say it, but there is tons of truth here! The short is that the disciples believed what Jesus told them. The "things God has given Jesus" are the ability to do miracles like walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, etc.

Astonishingly, some people saw the miracles, but didn't recognize that they were gifts of God. . .moreover, some people wanted to kill Jesus because the amazing things he did were so popular. It upset their ideas of religion, politics, and how they thought God should work. God was in the middle of them, and they didn't recognize Him!

Not the disciples though! Jesus did his miracles where they could see, he explained God's truth to them, and they received it. "They have received them and know for certain that I came from you. They believe that you sent me". The disciples Know For Certain that Jesus came from God. After Jesus is killed, ten of them will likewise be killed for believing in him so strongly. They knew with such certainty what their eyes had seen and ears heard that they were willing to die for that belief! If they had not received, believed, and known for certain, then the bible would have never been written, the truth that Jesus showed them would have been lost. And if Jesus hadn't prayed for them, would they have had the spiritual eyes to see his truth and the hearts to believe it? Jesus's prayer is a big, big deal!

"I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name you gave given me so that they might be one as we are one".

Jesus is at the end of his "earthly ministry" which is the three years that he spent teaching, performing miracles, and leading the 12 disciples. So he says I am no longer in the world, because in a short time he literally will not be. He will be killed and after he rises, he'll go back to heaven. And the guys who followed him for the last few years will be left to fend for themselves. Jesus is concerned about this and prays for them, that God would protect them and unify them.

"They might be one as we are one". Jesus picked 12 disciples so that they could lean on each other and work together after he was gone. In marriage the bible says "the two become one".  Jesus is talking about a similar sort of unity, he wants the disciples to be as close as he and his Father are. Surely the disciples would need each other in the months and years ahead if Jesus prayed like this. Surely we need each other too! Christians are not meant to live in isolation, we need other Christians to lean on.

"While I was with them I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I have guarded them and none has been lost except the son of destruction, so that the scripture may be fulfilled".

Jesus is essentially saying to God, "mission accomplished!". He looked after the disciples, led them in the faith, and protected them with God's name. That's a pretty cool image, that we are given the family name - we call ourselves Christians, which literally means "little Christ". We are part of God's family, Jesus has given us His name, and we get all the benefits that come along with that - oneness with Jesus, eternal life, the power of the king of the universe dwelling in us, a direct line to God so that when we pray, he hears and acts, just as with Jesus.

The son of destruction. Judas, the one disciple who did not keep the faith. He sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, leading directly to Jesus's death. Judas is definitely infamous, and maybe the most epic fail of the entire bible. Only he wasn't an epic fail, this verse explains. Judas was part of God's plan, and parts of the Bible written hundreds and thousands of years earlier told what would happen.

Psalm 41:9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Zechariah 11:12-14 - And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.

What is the point of the Bible, according to Jesus? To reveal God's story and plan. The crazy stories of the old testament are not just stories. They tell of Jesus's coming to earth, and what will happen. Jesus thinks the Bible is VERY important and that is why we do too!

There is a little bit of chicken and egg happening here. Was scripture fulfilled because God determined that it should happen beforehand or because Jesus knew scripture so well and followed it so that prophecy "would be fulfilled"? Like the prophecy about the king riding a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). Did Jesus really just want a donkey ride, or did was he fulfilling scripture in a Jedi like fashion? "Go into the city and find the donkey tied up, and bring it to me. If the owner asks what you are doing, say 'the Lord needs it'". Yes, Jesus does have mind control powers. . .he and his dad created our minds, why shouldn't they?

At any rate, Judas acted as the prophecy said he would, and as Jesus commanded him. Bad men were needed to accomplish Jesus's mission on earth - to die on the cross and take away our sins. Judas was one of those, a son of destruction. As for the rest of the disciples, Jesus's prayer was answered, they acted and worked as one, and the story of Jesus consequently went out to the world!



**Matthew's description Jesus's triumphal rail-slide into Jerusalem