“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” - John 17:11
There are many who think that everything in life happens by chance. They believe that each day is like the rolling of dice and you never know what the results will be. From a human perspective, we don't know everything about the future. Tomorrow may be a wonderful day. But then again, it could a challenging, heartbreaking day. Each morning, we face a day of uncertainty. We may have high hopes and good intensions, yet this does not guarantee us that the day ahead will be good. I am reminded of the old Don Williams country song that was entitled, “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.” That title summarizes our approach to each day.
Yet as that song title indicates, there is One who does know the future. He is in control of our world. Nothing happens by accident. God is sovereign. Although He is not the source of evil, pain or sorrow, He does permit it at times.
In our text, Jesus is praying to His Father about His disciples. As Jesus was nearing the cross, He prayed, “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” In regards to His disciples, He prayed about two things: their protection and their purpose.
The critical moment has arrived. His death upon the cross was imminent. That's why Jesus said, “And now I am no more in the world.” The time for ministry on earth was drawing to a close. Just ahead, Jesus had an appointment with the cross, where He would die for our sins.
Yet Jesus was acutely aware this His disciples were going to remain on the earth a while longer. He prayed for them. “... but these are in the world, and I come to thee.”
Since the disciples were being left in a sin-saturated world, Jesus prayed for their protection. “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me ...” When we pray, we tend to pray for our protection and for the safety of those we care about. Yet our prayers tend to focus primarily on physical protection. We pray for traveling grace. We ask God to keep us safe from dangers, seen and unseen. We want to be protected from burglars and murderers. We ask the Lord to keep muggers away from us.
Yet when our Lord prayed for the protection of His disciples, He was focused more on their spiritual protection. The Holy Spirit would not arrive until the Day of Pentecost. The disciples were being left in a vulnerable situation, having no spiritual help available till the Spirit would come. Thus, Jesus prayed for their protection.
Keep in mind that many of them would eventually suffer physically. Some would even die for their faith. God's will does not always provide us a haven from danger or pain. There are times His will is accomplished through persecution or problems. Thankfully, we are spiritually secure in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit, who came at the Day of Pentecost, has sealed us unto the day of redemption. Praise the Lord!
When Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17:11, He also prayed for about their purpose: “... that they may be one, as we are.” Jesus prayed for His disciples to have a unified spirit. He wanted them to be in agreement on the work they needed to do. After Jesus died, arose and ascended, the disciples worked in unison. They had a mandate to carry the Gospel to all the nations. They established churches, encouraged believers and evangelized as they went.
Here in the twenty-first century, we are failing in this area. Rather than focusing on the primary things, we get side-tracked and focus on the small things. We emphasize what we disagree on instead of seeking common ground in the primary aspects of Christian doctrine and purpose. We've created labels that have separated believers. Many of these areas of disagreement did not exist in the first century. Even missionaries focus on the primary issues. Rather than winning the lost, we'd rather win an argument. Instead of changing the culture, we are trying to change opinions about minor issues. One day we will stand before the Lord. I can't help but believe that most of us will be ashamed how far off-course we lived.
It is possible to have denominational distinctives and yet remain focused on the primary things. My job is not to make Baptists out of everyone. Neither is it my job to make Republicans out of people. It is my job to exalt the Lord Jesus and spread His Gospel to the lost, while encouraging believers to do the same. I haven't done as well as I should have. What about you?
The disciples were kept by the power of God and mobilized to do the will of God.
May that be true of us today!
No comments:
Post a Comment