Day 18
Jesus Prays for the Disciples' Protection- John 17:6-11 (MSG) 6 I spelled out your character in detail To the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; Then you gave them to me, And they have now done what you said. 7 They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, That everything you gave me is firsthand from you, 8 For the message you gave me, I gave them; And they took it, and were convinced That I came from you. They believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world But for those you gave me, For they are yours by right. 10 Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, And my life is on display in them. 11 For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world; They'll continue in the world While I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life That you conferred as a gift through me, So they can be one heart and mind
OBSERVATIONJesus prays for the disciples (and all who would become Christ-followers) to be protected so that we could continue to carry out the work He started. UNDERSTANDINGJesus would soon depart to the Father and leave His disciples in the world. They had to stay in the world to carry out God's plan in spreading the good news of redemption and in planting the church.Since the disciples would be in the world, Jesus prayed for their protection. The hostility against God which fell on Jesus would now fall on the tiny band of apostles, and subsequently on many of Jesus' followers. Jesus, in calling on His Holy Father, pointed up God's distinction from sinful creatures. This holiness is the basis for believers' separation from the world. He would protect them from the sin and enmity of the world by the power of His name. In Bible times a person's name stood for the person.Why did Jesus pray for their preservation? It was to promote the unity of the believers, patterned after the unity of the Father and the Son: so that they may be one as We are One (vv. 21-22). The unity here seems to be that of will and purpose. By being protected from the world they would be unified in their desires to serve and glorify the Son.
LIFE APPLICATIONJesus prays for our protection out loud so that we can catch a glimpse of what He is doing now in heaven on our behalf. He wants us to be filled with joy and courage to live out His mission here in this world because He is ever interceding before for Father as He did in John 17. We can take courage and walk in obedience to His commands to Go and preach the gospel; to go and make disciples of all nations; because He is praying for us. So what are we waiting for? We have Jesus interceding for us for protection from the world so that we can live in obedience to His command to multiply Christ-followers everywhere.