Daily Devotions
John
John 17 : 1 - 26 "A PRAYER FOR SAFEKEEPING"
Day 260 – John 17
A PRAYER FOR SAFEKEEPING
Jesus mentioned His Disciples to His Father in loving prayer! But what did He pray about specifically? The following text reveals to us what He prayed for His beloved Disciples.
“Now I am no longer in the world, but these
are in the world, and I come to You.
Holy Father, keep through Your Name those whom You
have given Me, that they may be One as We are.”
John 17:11
When Jesus informed His Disciples that He would soon be returning to His Father, they were troubled indeed (John 16:6). They were not entirely wrong to have felt disturbed and sad at the thought that Jesus would leave them soon.
Jesus was most concerned about the welfare of His Disciples. He knew the limits of their faith and strength. He was concerned, but not worried about how His Disciples would fare. He had already promised them the Spirit of Truth to abide with them. The ministry of the Holy Spirit would be just as significant as His own Ministry.
Nevertheless, it was natural for Jesus to pray that His Father would keep the Disciples. This must not be misconstrued as a lack of faith in the ministry of the Spirit of God. Rather, we must seek to understand this text as the most natural thing that Jesus as Son would do in His communion with His Father.
PLEADING THE HOLY NAME OF THE FATHER
How well Jesus knew and treasured the Name of His Father. He had proclaimed that Name to the multitudes. He had manifested that same Name to His Disciples. He now pleaded His Father’s Name in prayer!
What was the significance of pleading His Father’s Holy Name? He had especially pleaded the Name of His “Holy Father” in prayer. What did Jesus mean by making this statement?
Jesus would never have used His Father’s Name in vain! His Name was too precious and sacred to be used callously. Let us consider the following things that Jesus appealed to when He said, “Holy Father, keep through Your Name those whom You have given Me”.
1. A Special Appeal
There was no need for Jesus to proclaim the Name of God the way Moses did in this text.
“For the Lord your God is God of gods,
and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty
and awesome, who shows no partiality…”
Deuteronomy 10:17
This was a very formal way of speaking of God. There was a time and place for that. To the children of Israel who always seemed to struggle with proper respect for God, Moses used the most formal of terms to speak of the Lord.
But there was no need for Jesus to do that. By speaking His Father’s Name, and calling Him “Holy” He showed that He had truly understood the lesson that the Book of Leviticus sought to teach the Levitical Priesthood. Throughout the Book of Leviticus, God emphasized to the priests that they must know who He was. He was “Holy” and all who approached Him must recognize that special attribute of God.
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord Your God am holy.”
Leviticus 19:2
(Leviticus 11:44-45)
2. A Confident Appeal
Jesus showed that He truly knew God’s name, for He knew God’s heart. He knew that when He appealed to God’s Holy Name, there was absolute assurance that God would respond to that prayer request.
Every prayer request would be examined carefully by God Himself (Psalm 26:2). He who appeals to the holiness of God must Himself be holy. The heart of the person who appeals to the holiness of God must meet up with all His requirements of perfect holiness. Jesus met those requirements! There was every confidence in Jesus that His intercessory prayer for His Disciples would be answered.
A PROFOUND PRAYER FOR ONENESS
Jesus desired more than just safekeeping. He prayed that the Father might keep the Disciples as “One”. He had in mind the superb sense of “Oneness” He enjoyed with His Father. He also knew that His Disciples did not always find it easy to get along with each other! Thus He prayed that they might be One with each other even as He was One with the Father.
This was a prayer that the Apostle Paul made more than once. He wrote to the Ephesian Church to do its utmost to be One in the context of the Church.
“…endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.
There is One body and One Spirit, just as you were called
in One hope of your calling; One Lord, One faith,
One baptism, One God and Father of all…”
Ephesians 4:3-6
On another occasion, he wrote to the Philippian Church urging them to cultivate a great sense of Oneness within the community of faith.
“Fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having
the same love, being of One accord, of One mind.”
Philippians 2:2
How Jesus must have longed that His Disciples have that special sense of Oneness that would truly glorify the Father. How we need to make this our prayer too.