Jesus' Prayer for His Disciples

                                                               Sunday School Lesson

                                            

Lesson: John 17:6-21                                                                                                 
Golden Text: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).

 I.  INTRODUCTION.  Most people think of the prayer in Luke chapter 11 as the Lord’s Prayer.  In that passage, the Lord gave us a model for our praying, but it was not really the Lord’s Prayer.  As we shall see, the text in this week’s lesson was actually Jesus’ Prayer as He prayed for His disciples then as well as those who would later become disciples or followers.  We are sure that He offered this prayer in the presence of the disciples because John recorded it.  The Holy Spirit inspired John to write the exact words (see II Timothy 3:16), so there is no error or omission.  We believe and know that this is the prayer the Lord Jesus uttered.  From this prayer we learn what the Lord’s will and desires are for His disciples throughout all time.  We should commit to making His desires our desires.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.  On the night He was betrayed and shortly before His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus finished His last Passover meal in the upper room (see Luke 22:7-20) with His disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper.  After washing the disciple’s feet and teaching them about true servant-hood (see John 13:2-20), Jesus predicted His betrayal (see John 13:21-35), foretold Peter’s denial (see John 13:36-38), gave them words of comfort (see John 14:1-14) and promised the Holy Spirit’s indwelling.  Then they left the upper room (see John 14:31), but before leaving Jerusalem for the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:32; Luke 22:39; John 18:1), Jesus prayed this special prayer in our text for His disciples and all who would believe their ministry going forward.  Jesus began His prayer by praying for Himself: announcing that His hour had come to be glorified so that He could glorify the Father (see John 17:1).  This was a reference to His death.  He then spoke of the eternal life that the Father had empowered Him to give to all who believe (see John 17:2-3).  Jesus declared that He had glorified God by finishing the work that He was given to do and now asked His Father to restore to Him the glory He had with the Father before the world was created (see John 17:4-5).  Now Jesus turns His attention to praying for His disciples.  This is where our lesson begins.
III. PRAYER FOR GOD’S GLORY (John 17:6-8)    
A. Through keeping God’s Word (John 17:6).   In this verse Jesus prayed “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.”  The phrase “I have manifested thy name” means that Jesus had fully revealed God’s “name,” meaning His nature and character.  This was done through Jesus’ words and His works.  Jesus had revealed who God was to His disciples whom He identified as “the men which thou gavest me out of the world.”  God had chosen these men out of the world and given them to Jesus.  Jesus told His Father that these men had “kept thy word.”  In other words, they lived lives of obedience for the most part, except for Judas who had already left them to betray Jesus (see John 13:21-30).  From this point on, the disciples would be called the Eleven until Judas was replaced.
B. Through knowing the truth (John 17:7-8).  
1. (vs. 7).  Jesus continued His prayer saying “Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.”  The Lord stated that “Now” or at this point in time, the disciples understood that everything Jesus had been given was given to Him by the Father.  The specific reference is to Jesus’ teachings which the disciples had received as we shall see in the next verse.
2. (vs. 8).  In this verse Jesus prayed “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”  Jesus' words are God's words (see John 3:34; 14:24), and they bring life and judgment (see John 6:63, 68; 12:48).   In essence Jesus was saying to the Father, “I have passed on to them the commands you gave me; and they accepted them and they now know for sure that I came down to earth from you, and they believe you sent me.”
IV. PRAYER FOR THE DISCIPLES (John 17:9-19)      
A. Praying that God confirm the disciples’ position (John 14:9-10). 
1. (vs. 9).  In this verse Jesus says “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.”  Here, Jesus told the Father that He prayed for “them which thou hast given me.”  The word “them” refers to Jesus’ disciples whom God had given to Him.  These apostles were specifically chosen men and, regardless of their shortcomings, and they had many, they still enjoyed the full love of both the Father and the Son.  The Lord said that He prayed for His disciples and also said “I pray not for the world.”  This doesn’t mean that we should never pray for those in the world.  Jesus Himself prayed for His enemies (see Luke 23:34), but if we look ahead in the prayer, we see that everything Jesus prayed for was not appropriate for the world, only those who belong to the Son and the Father.  Therefore Jesus said “for they are thine.”  Although the apostles were the Father’s gift to Jesus, they still belonged to the Father.      
2. (vs. 10).  Jesus continued to say in this verse “And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”  With the statement “And all mine are thine, and thine are mine” Jesus was confirming that what belongs to the Son belongs to the Father, and vice versa, because they are equal in essence.  They have forever lived in perfect unity.  The further statement “and I am glorified in them” seems ironic in light of the fact that the Eleven would soon forsake Jesus.  However, the Eleven would become the instruments for revealing the glory or character and message of God in the world.  Jesus was so certain that His disciples would glorify Him that He said it in the past tense as if it had already been done.  We should be encouraged to know that the Lord uses people who are faithful not perfect.
B. Praying that God give the disciples unity (John 17:11-12).
1. (vs. 11).  In this verse Jesus says “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.”  Looking past His imminent suffering, death, resurrection and ascension as if it had already happened, Jesus said to His Father “And now I am no more in the world.”  Jesus knew that He would soon leave this world and told His Father “and I come to thee.”  Jesus said that He would go to His Father “but these are in the world” referring to His disciples who would be left behind in the world.  He knew that once He returned to the Father, His disciples would face some of the harshest satanic opposition to the Lord’s work.  Therefore, Jesus prayed “Holy Father, keep through (or in) thine own name those whom thou hast given me.”  The description “Holy Father” is only used here in Scripture.  It emphasizes God’s separateness from all evil.  The phrase “keep through (or in) thine own name those whom thou hast given me” implies that God keeps or preserves His own by His name, or in faithfulness to His name.  Jesus then asked the Father to keep them “that they may be one, as we are.”  God preserves those who are in Christ not simply to save our individual souls, but also to unify us in one body.  The oneness or unity that the Son and the Father share is an inward spiritual one and believers experience this same unity as we are made sharers of God’s holy life (see Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 1:12: Hebrews 3:14; 12:10; II Peter 1:4).  Note:  As God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost have always been one, Jesus’ prayer was that believers would also continually be one.  God has given believers unity but it’s up to us to maintain it (see Ephesians 4:1-6).  As we individually draw closer to God, we also draw closer to one another, and the unity of the Spirit is maintained among us.
2. (vs. 12).  Jesus went on to say to the Father “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”  Jesus again speaking as if it was already done said that while He was with His disciples “I kept them in thy name.”  No doubt Jesus meant that He had “kept” or protected His disciples from evil, or the evil one, the devil.  Jesus had kept them up to this point and now He asked the Father to keep them (see John 17:11).  Jesus said that He had “kept” or protected “those that thou gavest me” referring to the Eleven.  He then stated that since He had kept them from evil “none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.”  The description “son of perdition” means one who is doomed to destruction and refers to Judas.  He is likened to the antichrist (see II Thessalonians 2:3-4).  Judas was “lost” because He betrayed Jesus and never really believed in Him as the Christ.  Judas by his own choice rejected Christ and sealed his own doom (see John 13:18) “that the scripture might be fulfilled.”  The Scripture that was fulfilled is Psalms 41:9 where the Psalmists declared “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”  Note:  Some people may think that since Jesus’ betrayal was prophesied, that Judas had no choice.  It’s important to remember that although Jesus’ betrayal was prophesied by the psalmist, the Scriptures don’t identify the one who would do it.  It could have been any of the disciples.  However, Judas’ character made him fit to be the betrayer.  Being a thief (see John 12:6), Judas no doubt loved money and sold Jesus to the Jewish leaders for thirty pieces of silver (see Matthew 26:14-16), the amount paid to an owner who’s slave was killed by an ox (see Exodus 21:32).  The priceless Messiah was sold for the price of a slave.  Therefore, Judas submitting himself to Satan, made his own choice to betray Jesus (see Luke 22:1-6). 
C. Praying that God give the disciples joy (John 17:13).  Here Jesus says “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”  Jesus looking ahead to the joy He would soon experience in the presence of the Father (see Hebrews 12:2). This verse could also be read as “And now, Father I am coming to you. I have told my followers many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy.”  Joy is a common theme in Jesus’ teachings.  He wants us to be joyful (see John 16:24).  Jesus prayed that His disciples might experience the fullness of His joy (see John 15:11).
D. Praying that God protect the disciples (John 17:14-15). 
1. (vs. 14).  Jesus continued to pray “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  Since Jesus had given His disciples God’s word or message, they were hated by the world, meaning those who oppose Christ.  The disciples had been given God’s message and had accepted it and that identified them with God and His Son.  Therefore, like Jesus was “not of the world” and was hated by His opposition, so His disciples would be hated “because they are not of the world.”  Jesus’ disciples couldn’t expect any approval or acceptance from a world that hated their Lord (see John 15:18-19).  Note:  The world hates Christians because our values differ from the world’s values.  Since Christ’s followers don’t continuously cooperate with the world by joining in their sin, we are living accusations against the world’s immorality.  The world follows Satan’s agenda and Satan is the avowed enemy of Jesus and His people.
2. (vs. 15).  In this verse Jesus said “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  Since the disciples would be left in a world that hated them, Jesus asked His Father “not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”  The disciples had a mission to carry the gospel so they needed to remain on earth.  But they would also need protection “from the evil” or the evil one, the devil.  Jesus had previously prayed that while He was with them He kept or protected them from Satan and evil, but now He was asking His Father to “keep them” or protect them from “the evil” or again, the evil one---Satan.  Note:  The disciples needed God’s protection as they faced the temptations and attacks from Satan that would surely come as they proclaimed the gospel message to others.  We too, have been entrusted with the gospel (see I Corinthians 9:16; I Timothy 1:11) and as a result, satanic attacks, opposition and temptation will come.  We should continually pray for God’s protection knowing that this is what Christ prayed for us as well.
E. Praying for God to sanctify the disciples (John 17:16-17).
(vs. 16).  Here Jesus went on to pray “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  With these words, Jesus repeated what He stated in verse 14.  Since He was not of or from this world, neither are His followers.  Like the Eleven, our home is in heaven (see II Corinthians 5:1-2; Hebrews 11:16).
2. (vs. 17).  The Lord continued to pray saying “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”  Since Jesus’ disciples would be left in a hostile world, they would not only need protection from Satan, but they would also need God to “Sanctify them through thy (His) truth.”  To “sanctify” means “to make holy” or “to set apart for special use.”  It is most often used when speaking of someone or something being set apart from sin and unto God for His use.  The word “sanctify” implies being separated from the standards and desires of the world and unto the mind of God.  Jesus indicated that this separation is accomplished by or “through thy (God’s) truth.”  Then Jesus identified what God’s truth was.  He said “thy word is truth.”  Jesus as the living Word (see John 1:1) is the Truth (see John 14:6) and so also is the written Word (see Ephesians 5:25-26).  Note:  Sanctification is the continuous setting apart of believers unto God as they grow in holiness or purity.  This type of sanctification is accomplished by the Word of God (see Ephesians 5:25-26).  As the believer immerses himself in Scripture, which reveals Christ, he is drawn away from the world and is focused on divine truth.  He or she is gradually transformed into Christ’s image (see II Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:9).  The truths or “word” that Jesus gave His disciples are now contained in the complete revelation of God---the Bible.  God has called us to holiness, or sanctification (see I Thessalonians 4:7) which is His will for us.  However, it will only be accomplished as we read, absorb, and submit to the teachings of Scripture (see II Timothy 3:16-17).  Day by day as we apply God’s truth to our lives it will have a purifying effect on us and call sin to our attention leading to confession and restoration.
F. Praying to God to equip the disciples (John 17:18-19).
1. (vs. 18).  Jesus goes on to pray “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”  Jesus told His Father that just as He was sent into the world by the Father, “even so have I also sent them into the world.”  Jesus compared His sending or commissioning His disciples to spread the gospel to the Father sending Him into the world.  Both Jesus and His disciples were sent with authority to take God’s message of salvation to a hostile world (see Matthew 28:28-20; Acts 1:8).  The sanctified Christian is also sent to the world to reveal Christ through life and word, just as Christ revealed His Father (see John 1:18).
2. (vs. 19).  In this verse Jesus continued to pray “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”  Jesus said that it was for the disciples’ “sake” or on their behalf that “I sanctify myself.”  The phrase “for their sakes” refers to Jesus’ obeying the Father’s will that brought salvation, and also set the pattern for His people’s obedience to His will.  Jesus did sanctify Himself to God’s service as He set Himself apart through death (see Hebrews 13:12) giving His life so that His disciples could be “sanctified through the truth.”   In other words, the disciples would be made holy as they obeyed God’s Word (see Ephesians 5:25-26; I John 2:20-21).  Note:  The disciples could only be sanctified or set apart for God’s service because Jesus set Himself apart to complete God’s mission by dying on the cross. If Jesus doesn’t die, believers would not be sanctified.

V. PRAYER FOR FUTURE BELIEVERS (John 17:20-21)
A. Jesus prays for you and me (John 17:20).  Here Jesus says “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”  After praying that the Eleven be sanctified or set apart to a mission of evangelism, He said “Neither pray I for these alone.”  With this phrase Jesus was telling the Father that His prayer was not only for the Eleven who had been with Him for the past three years.  He then declared who else His prayer included.  He said that He was praying also “for them also which shall believe on me through their word.”  In other words, Jesus prayed for those who would be converted to Him through the disciples’ preaching.  Of course this would include believers today, you and me, as well as the original converts in the early church.  It was through Jesus’ apostles and their personal ministries and writings that future believers would come to faith in Christ.  Jesus was praying for all these future believers, including you and me.
B. Jesus prayed for our unity (John 17:21).  Our lesson ends with Jesus praying “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”  This verse is a continuation of the previous verse where Jesus said that His prayer included not only His present disciples, but all those who would come to Him as a result of their message.  He then says He was praying for them so “That they all may be one.”  Jesus’ great desire for all His followers is that they become unified as one body (see Romans 12:5; I Corinthians 10:16-17; 12:13, 18-20; Colossians 3:15).  The Lord likened this oneness or unity among believers to the unity between Himself and the Father as He continued to say “as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.”  This unity has to be demonstrated through a selfless love (see John 13:35).  Christian unity is essential for a consistent witness.  Jesus continued in His prayer saying “that they (His followers) also may be one in us.”  As believers continue to be unified with each other, we are therefore one with the Son and the Father.  Jesus then stated why unity among believers was so important.  It was so “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”  As we remain unified in love and purpose, many people in the world will believe in Jesus.  Note:  If our world does not believe that Jesus was sent from God, it’s our fault.  According to this verse, what will convince people that Jesus was sent by God isn’t a great evangelistic crusade, or a fool-proof argument, or even showing compassion toward the lost.  It’s the unity we have as we love one another as Christians.  That will convince others!  But why is unity so hard?  When a church splits causing an unhappy divorce among God’s people, it provides the world with one more reason not to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.  Such conflicts among believers send the false and shameful message to the world that Jesus’ claims can be doubted.  Psalm 133:1 declares “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  Think about it.  Is your church a pleasant place?  Do the believers love one another?  Are they unified in purpose as Jesus was unified with God, testifying to the world that His Spirit of love is within them?  People need to know what to believe and whom to trust.  They need to know that as unified believers we all speak the same thing (see I Corinthians 1:10) and believe in the same God (see Ephesians 4:3-6).  But who will believe the message if the messengers don’t speak with one voice or act in one Spirit?  The unity of believers, nurtured through the truth of the Word is a powerful witness to the world that draws unbelievers to faith in our Saviour.  The glorious unity of the Father and the Son is the unity Jesus wants to give us as a witness to the world.  A global church of believers who are unified by Jesus’ love would change the world!  Sometimes it’s easier to love the lost than it is to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and that’s a shame.  But if we want to be like Jesus, love and unity must be a priority.                            

VI. Conclusion.  As Jesus prepared to face the cross, He was very confident that in spite of what would happen to Him shortly, there would always be those who believe in Him.  Even though His passion (suffering) would begin only a few hours later, Jesus prayed for the Eleven and all who would ever accept Him, including you and me.  His foremost request for us was that we be unified in love and purpose, just as He and the Father are.  How encouraging it is to realize that when believers are struggling to be unified, Jesus is praying for us about that very thing!  As we remain in the love of God, the world will recognize that Jesus was truly God sent.