Jesus' High Priestly Prayer

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
John 17 (click the link)


REFLECTIONS:
For as long as I can remember, this has been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I'm not exactly sure why I love this chapter so much. But it has always captured me. Maybe it has something to do with a feeling that we are being invited to listen to an intimate conversation between Jesus and his Father. 

The Gospels tell us repeatedly that Jesus was a man of prayer, but they hardly ever tell us what he prayed or how he prayed. But here, in this chapter, we are allowed to partake in the intimacy between Father and Son. Throughout John's Gospel, we've heard Jesus repeatedly say that he and the Father are one—they are intimately connected in every possible way. But here, in this prayer, we are allowed to hear Jesus verbally express his heart-connection with his Father. And it's a marvelous thing!

The prayer of this chapter has become known as Jesus' "high priestly prayer," for in it, our Lord takes upon himself the task that had always been the high priest's task: interceding on behalf of the people of God. In this prayer, Jesus prays for his own disciples and the spreading network of others who would come to believe through their work. We see Jesus standing between the Father and the rest of us. He is the One through whom the love of God flows to us, and through whom, astonishingly, our response of love to the Father flows back again in gratitude.

In a "technical" sense, Jesus' prayer has three sections. The first section of his prayer is a celebration and a request (verses 1-5). Jesus is celebrating the fact that his work is done. Yes, there is a huge and horrible task awaiting him the next day. But he has completed the deeds and the words that the Father gave him to do. He has laid before his chosen disciples all that the Father has given to him. And this is something to be celebrated. But it's also the foundation of his request.

Because he's been so faithful, his request is that he might now be glorified—that he might be exalted, lifted up to the place of honor and authority at his Father's right hand. As the Son of Man, the true Messiah, the king of all the world, he yearned to take his seat on the throne and to assume his rule over the whole world. This was the "coming age" that the prophets had longed for, and had taught would appear at the "present age." Jesus knew that his being seated at the Father's right hand would lead to a time of new life—life of a new type and quality, life of an eternal quality.

This "eternal life" is not just something that we can have after our death. This isn't just some future state that takes place in a distant heaven on the far side of the moon. No! The "eternal life" is available to us all right here and right now through Jesus Christ. If we trust in Jesus and believe that he has come from the Father, we can "know" God right here and right now. We can experience an intimacy with him that can only be described as "eternal life" (verse 3).

In the second section of his prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples (verses 6-19). He knows that he is about to be going away and returning to the Father (13:1), and so he offers a prayer in which he entrusts his disciples into the care of his Father. He has known the care and protection of his Father throughout his earthly life and ministry, and he now knows that the Father will provide the same care to his followers. Jesus is a realist—he knows that the disciples are in grave danger. The world, which hates him, will in turn hate his followers. The disciples will be threatened and abused, and they'll need protection. So that's what his prayer is about.

I find it interesting that the way in which Jesus asks the Father to protect his disciples is by making them holy. He says: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (verse 17). The word "sanctify" essentially means "make holy." While he was with the disciples, Jesus had sanctified himself in order that they might be sanctified (verse 19). Now that he was going away, he's asking that the Father might protect his disciples by causing the "word of truth" to bring a deep and lasting change to their lives.

This is significant for us today, too. One of the primary ways in which God protects and sanctifies us today is through his "word of truth." As we study the Scriptures—which reveal the truth about God, the world, the people around us, and ourselves—we are not only enabled to withstand trials and temptations, but we are nourished and strengthened in our faith. As God's word of truth sinks down into our hearts, we are filled with wisdom and life. As we meditate upon God's truth, we are enabled to see things from God's perspective and to grow to bear his love and character. In sort of a divine conspiracy, God does a dynamic work within us through his word of truth and causes us to grow strong and mature from the inside out. And this is all part of his intimate love and care for the followers of Jesus.

The final section of Jesus' prayer is most extraordinary (verses 20-26). In this part of his prayer, Jesus is talking about you and me. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message"—that's us. 

So, what is Jesus praying for as he thinks about you and me and the millions upon millions of others who have believed in him in this and every generation? He longs that we should be unified. Jesus asks the Father to knit our hearts together with a dynamic unity that is akin to the oneness he shared with his Father. Just as the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, so we are to live in that unity. 

This is all so mind-boggling! It's an amazing thought, something I struggle to get my mind around. Jesus yearns for us to experience such a oneness of heart and mind, that words are incapable of fully expressing the dynamic. He wants this for us. But he also wants this to serve as a testimony to the world. As we come together in love—united across all barriers of race, custom, gender, or class—the world will know that this is only possible through the gracious work of God. "Then the world will know that you sent me" (verse 23).

This follows right along with what Jesus said in 13:34-35: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Unity is vital! Unity is essential! I'm struck by the fact that Jesus could have prayed for anything, he could have asked for anything for us. But he chose to pray that we might experience unity. This simple fact alone should stir us up to strive for unity in all our relationships.

I'm fully aware that unity can't be forced, it can't be rushed. There can be no bullying or manipulation in an effort to reach a place of unity. Unity only comes about through the work of God's Spirit. But there is a mindset that we can embrace, a posture that we can settle into that will help lead us into a place of oneness of heart and mind. And, it all starts with humility. We can't take ourselves too seriously. We have to be willing to be authentic, to sincerely step into the open, and to embrace a vulnerability that oftentimes frightens us. If we will think of ourselves correctly, and if we'll view others with the right mindset—he's made in the image of God; she's a daughter of the king, a sister of mine—we will more easily and naturally move into a place of unity. If we'll refuse to jump to conclusions, if we'll set aside judgment and the casting of stones, and if we'll be quick to offer much grace to one another, then we will steadily grow into a family that is one with each other and with God. And if we will pray, if we'll cry out to the Father and the Son and the Spirit, eagerly expressing a desire for a closeness of heart and mind, God will rejoice to work within us. And as he does so, not only will we be changed, but the world will know that God is in our midst.


PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, make us one in your Son. By your Spirit's power, sanctify us and fill us with eternal life. We so desperately need your life at work within us. We long to experience the oneness of life with you and with one another. Graciously work within us. Infuse us with your love, so that we might know you and that we might love one another. Strengthen us to follow Jesus in the way of self-giving love, so that the world might know that he is your Son, and so that he might be glorified.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and we are currently in Maine with Kate’s family. After a long and harried trip, we’ve been enjoying ourselves quite a bit. Our little guy was especially excited about seeing snow for the first time. He loved catching snowflakes with his tongue, making and throwing snowballs, and “surfing” down the hill on his new sled. But most of all, he was excited about EATING the snow. So, as a precaution, we had to have a talk about NOT eating the YELLOW snow. J Today’s activities included building a snowman with Grammy. It’s been a lot of fun watching him experience all of this.