Matthew 6:9-13 is generally what we call the Lord’s prayer. It should be called the disciple’s prayer as it is the way Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. Jesus could not pray, “forgive us our trespasses” as Jesus did not sin. That being said, John 17 is really the “Lord’s prayer”
John 17 is one of those passages you could study for a lifetime and discover something fresh every time. Jesus is walking with his disciples to the Mt. of Olives, and as is the tradition of rabbis, he is lifting his eyes toward heaven and praying out loud so disciples can listen and learn. Often, we picture Jesus kneeling in Gethsemane praying, but as we will see when we get to Chapter 18, that is not what was happening.
John 17:1
After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.
Jesus begins his prayer by praying with intimacy, talking with His Father. Their relationship is strong, real, and lifegiving. Now, as He is completing what He came to earth for, He further emphasizes that intimacy so His disciples will understand. So many times, Jesus was in a position where His life was threatened. His response in each situation was, “It is not my time!” (John 7:20 and 8:30 are examples.) Now is his time!
His prayer to be glorified included sustaining Him in suffering, accepting His sacrifice, resurrecting Him, and restoring Him to His pristine glory as He was in heaven. The purpose of the request was that the Father would be glorified by the Son, that God’s wisdom, power, and love might be known through Jesus. Pretty powerful stuff!
John 17:2-4
For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
Because Jesus has authority over everyone, He has the right to sacrifice His life for every person. He presents the way for eternal life for everyone because of this authority. Everything he did was exactly what God had planned and wanted. He did only what he saw the Father doing so people could understand the Father’s heart. Jesus is looking forward to joining the Father back into the fellowship that He had with the Father, without limitations that he had even before creation. Please notice that Jesus had work to do, a call to fulfill, I know that may seem obvious but we need to remember that if Jesus had to work to bring glory to the Father so will we!
Just as a side, when did God begin loving us? Ephesians 1:4
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes
Take a moment to think about that. It is just the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and you are already on his mind, He already knows you, He already chose you, He already loved you!
John 17:6-8
I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
This is a very interesting passage. Peter is about to betray Jesus, and all the disciples except John will scatter. Jesus knows both of these things, yet He publicly thanks God for them. God’s view of us is the long view as well.
God calls everyone to himself; John 3:16 implies that. So, yes, God gave the disciples to Jesus, but at the same time, they, out of millions, chose to leave everything and follow Him. They chose to become disciples and believe Jesus at His word. That blessed Jesus, as does our choosing to follow Him and trust Him today.
John 17:9-12
“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.
At this moment, Jesus is well aware of what is going to happen and from the cross He will pray for the world but His main concern is for His disciples (we will see in a few minutes that includes us) so he is not praying for the world!
Jesus chooses his words precisely and in these verses he calls God “Holy Father” the contrast His holiness with the sinfulness of the world. Why??? Because Jesus reminds us the we have been given his name and are protected by the power of His name, He is reminding us and the disciples what He said earlier, that we are “In Him and He in us” we are chosen to be separate from the world but full of his power because of deep relationship with Him. He loves us so much that as Jesus leaves this world, the Father is committing to being in us through the power of the Holy Spirit so we might live in the love, hope, power, and peace the world doesn’t have.
John 17:13-15
“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
Kind of a severe contrast, filled with joy and hated.
We should be filled with joy and love….
Understanding the intimacy of our relationship with the Lord
Because we are truly loved by God
A place has been prepared for us
We have within us the fruit and person of the Holy Spirit
As our relationship grows, we know his heart so well we can ask for anything and He will make it happen
We are the light and salt of this world
We will be hated because of the same things that should bring us joy….the world is at war with God because the world is ruled by the evil one. We are ambassadors of the one who loves all the people in the world.
John 17:15,16
I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do.
Jesus has tasked us with a mission. We are to bring hope, life, light, freedom and joy to all of the darkness. He doesn’t want us to leave this world but instead to change it without the enemy being able to get in our way. We don’t belong to this world system but instead to Jesus and are called to be his emissaries to this dark and dying world.
John 17:17-19
Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
Jesus had just told them the advocate, who is the Spirit of truth, would come on them. Part of His job will be to bring to our memories all that Jesus did and taught, all that we read in His word. The Spirit of truth will defeat the plans of the evil one in everyone’s lives who is willing to allow Him to fill them.
John 17: 20, 21
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
Everything that Jesus just prayed he is saying is not only for the intimate 11, or the close 120, or the following 500 but for all of us who believe!
Because we are in Him and He in us, we should be growing in our unity as believers. Paul will later write that this unity is not that easy, but that is why we need Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists, as each is necessary for obtaining unity in the Body of Christ. We are called to “oneness” in Christ, but we must be taught to believe it and live it.
This unity is necessary for the world to see really who the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are!
John 17:22-24
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
What is this glory Jesus is talking about here. The Glory of God is the manifestation of his character and presence. The Father did his work through Jesus and Jesus did only that which he saw or heard the father doing. There was complete unity in their relationship and He says as He has given the glory He has been given, God’s character and presence, to each of us, the world will come to revelation of God’s love seeing such a unity in all of us. His love is alive in us, we can feel it and live it so others may see it and be drawn to it because of the love we know and live toward each other.
John 17:25,26
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Jesus ends this chapter and prayer with love. Remember the disciples are all overhearing this. God’s overwhelming love is meant for each one of us. As he is in us so is His love His joy, His peace we just simply need to connect with it rather than connecting with the worry, anxiety, anger frustration and all the other things the world, the flesh and the devil want us to connect with.
We are connected to the vine, the life of the vine flows through us. As Christians, the Lord is one with us through the power of the Holy Spirit and His life can flow through us. We see in the prayer it is Jesus’ heart that we know that life and love every day!