Title: The Intercession of Jesus
The Gospel of John testifies that Jesus is the Son of God who came to this earth as the Word of God. The glory of God has come to this earth through His Son, Jesus. We cannot glorify God except through Jesus Christ. Only when we believe in Jesus and receive Him can we become children of God. You can participate in the glory of God and eternal life. But those who do not accept Jesus will fall into destruction, the wrath of God.
In John 12, Jesus enters Jerusalem for the Passover. Not to participate in the Passover ceremony. It was only to offer himself as a sacrifice of the Passover lamb on the cross for God's people.
In John 18-19, Jesus dies on the cross. Before dying, Jesus offers one last intercessory prayer to God on this earth for his people. Part of that prayer is John 17:9-19, the text we are going to look at today.
1. The intercession of Jesus, the mediator
1 Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” That is why John 14:13 says, “Whatever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Why pray in Jesus' name The reason (“this”) is that God is glorified only through Jesus. Then why should we pray in the name of our Mediator, Jesus? Let me explain with an example.
When we come before God, we are not praying in my name or with my religious zeal. If we come to God only in the name of Jesus Christ, God will answer us without looking at our sins. This story should not reveal ourselves through prayer, but only the cross of Jesus Christ. This is the mystery of prayer that if you pray according to God's will, he will hear you.
The prayers of Jesus and our prayers cannot be the same. If Jesus' prayer is the prayer of an intercessor as the Son of God, our prayers are the prayers of sinful creatures. God does not accept sinful human prayers.
That is why we receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus and come to God only in the name of Jesus. That Jesus died on the cross “for me” and “representing us”. That death satisfies God's justice by paying the punishment of the curse we received from God Himself.
The qualifications of a mediator must be those who have come from God and must be able to represent and replace humans. But is there anyone on this earth who can bear the curses and punishments from God on our behalf and on our behalf? There is not. So our only mediator is Jesus Christ.
2. “All mine are yours, and yours are mine” (9-11a)
In verses 9-11, the first half says, “I pray for them, not for the world, but for those whom you have given me. We are yours. All that is mine is yours, and yours is mine, and I am glorified in them.
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to the Father.” This prayer is the prayer of Jesus. This is a story about praying for the disciples of Jesus before going to God after being crucified.
When you pray, for whom are you praying? He is praying for “those whom (Heavenly Father) has given me.” God gave His people to Jesus. The people belonging to Jesus are the people of God.
For “All mine are yours, and yours are mine.” These words describe the relationship between God and Jesus. What we see in Jesus' prayer for his disciples is our identity. The status of those of us who have accepted Jesus is that we are God's people.
In John 6:37 it says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” Also in verse 39, it says, “To do the will of him who sent me, this is the will of him who sent me, that I will not lose any of them that have been given to me, but that I will raise them up on the last day.”
Jesus said that “the one the Father gives me” will not be cast out and will not be lost. You must believe this. We must be convinced that we are God's own people. Because we belong to God, God is responsible. God protects you.
3. “You have preserved them in your name” (11b-12)
If you look at verses 11 through 12 of the text, “Holy Father! Preserve them in your name, which you have given me, that we may be one as we are. You preserved and protected them in your name, which you gave me while I was with them. Not one of them perishes, but only the children of perdition, so that the scriptures are fulfilled.”
Jesus is praying that the disciples may become one with one another, just as he is one as the Father and the Son. Disciples can become one with each other only when God protects them. That is why Jesus says, “You have preserved us” (11b).
In verse 12, Jesus is said to have guarded and protected God's people while he was on this earth. Jesus did not destroy any of the people God had given him.
He only protects them from destruction. Only those who were destroyed were already destroyed according to the prophecy of the Old Testament. Except for them, God's people did not stumble and protected and protected them. Take a look through the Gospels, the ministry of Jesus' public life. He saved God's people from their sins, healed them, comforted them, and protected them.
Although Jesus protected God's people when He was on this earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to protect God's people while He was at the right hand of God when He left this world. Whether on earth or in heaven, Jesus protects God's people so that none of them will perish. You must believe this.
No matter what environment we are in, he protects and protects us. Jesus protects and protects us through the Holy Spirit. Are you struggling with financial difficulties? Are there people who are suffering because of physical illness? Are there people who are troubled and worried about their children? Frustration comes when we try to solve such problems.
But leave it to God. Then our Lord will protect us and take care of us. Don't be afraid. Do not worry. Even though the east, west, north and south are blocked, the sky is open. I hope you will depend on God.
4. “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them” (verses 13-14).
Let's look at verses 13 and 14 of the text.
“Now I am coming to the Father, and I say these things in the world, that they may have My joy in them to the full. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
There is not much time left now for Jesus to take up the cross of death “going to the Father.” Even in such a solemn moment, we see Jesus praying for God's people. Even if Jesus leaves his disciples, he is praying that the disciples will not lose heart and that the joy of Jesus will overflow in them.
The next thing he is praying is that he gave the word of God to the disciples, and the world hates them because of the word. It is as if the world hated him because he was not of the world.
The world hates them because the disciples also did not belong to the world. It is a prayer to protect and protect the disciples even if they are hated by the world. That's right. We are not of the world. That's why the world hates us. When we are hated by the world, it means that we belong to God.
Therefore, even if the world persecutes and hates us, there is no need to be discouraged. You have to be strong. In the end, our God will protect us. If we do not believe and keep God's Word, the world will call us friends. But we can never be friends of the world.
5. “Sanctify us in truth” (15-19)
Let's all look at verses 15-19 of the text.
“I pray, not to take them out of the world, but to keep them from falling into evil. As I am not of the world, so they are not of the world. Sanctify us with the truth. The Father's words are the truth. As the Father sent me into the world, so I also sent them into the world, and for their sake I sanctify myself, that they too may be sanctified by the truth.” Amen.
Jesus' prayer is that we do not fall into evil and the world. He asks the disciples to protect the people of God from the evil ones. Next, he prays to sanctify his disciples with the truth. Because the Word of the Father is the truth, I ask you to sanctify the disciples, the people of God, with the Word of the Father.
It is said that just as the Father sent Jesus into the world, so Jesus sends his disciples into the world. It is Jesus' prayer that the disciples sent by Jesus will be sanctified by the truth, the word of God, without being stained by the world. Holiness here means being set apart from the evils of the world. So, what pleases God in the sight of God is called holiness. Are we holy God's people? Let's meditate.