Sunday Recap (What happens when Jesus prays for you?)
John 17:9-12 is both a comforting and challenging portion of scripture. We hear Jesus praying some sweet prayers for us, but believing the things that Jesus prays is the challenge.
Be honest with yourself. There are times that you feel alone and unprotected and perhaps even completely ineffective as a believer. But Jesus says different. This is His prayer.
John 17: 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
For those verses, we asked this Big Picture Question and answered it in this way…
Big Picture Question: What happens when Jesus prays for you? When Jesus prays for you,
Jesus is glorified in you.
The church is one.
You are guarded.
Let’s look at each of those.
Jesus is glorified in you.
John 17: 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
I love Jesus’ language here. It is not just that you and I will glorify Jesus. Jesus prays that He will be glorified IN us. You see, we can fake glorifying Jesus, right? We can say something or do something that looks good, but we also know that there are times when we don’t necessarily mean what we say or do. But here is our hope. Jesus is praying that He will be glorified in you. You, as the Father’s gifted people of God, will glorify Jesus in your person. This is what Jesus does. It is our hope. When Jesus prays for us, He is glorified in us.
The church is one.
11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
Jesus is going to the Father. He doesn’t return to the Father as a disobedient prodigal. He returns to the Father as the obedient Son who has secured the salvation of His people. And that obedience, not only purchases salvation for His people, His obedience makes those people unified. Jesus’ prayer for you, make you and all believers one. The church is one.
And that unity is just like our goodness. You and I are 100% righteous and good before God because we have Jesus’ goodness. But we still sin, so in the day to day, we are working to leave sin behind and be more like Jesus. The church’s unity is like that. The church is 100% unified because the church bears the goodness and righteous of Jesus. But in the day to day, we have conflicts, so we repent and leave those conflicts behind so that we might be more like Jesus. So, just as we learn to live out the goodness that Jesus has purchased for us, we must live out the unity with other believers that Jesus has purchased for us.
When Jesus prays for us, the church becomes one.
You are guarded.
12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
And finally, when Jesus prays for you, you are guarded. You can promise yourself you won’t be lost and you will be guarded by Jesus. And if you need proof, look at how this played out with the disciples.
The disciples were a mess. At times, they were racists, hating on non-Jews. At times, there were misogynistic, hating on women. At times, they even rebuked Jesus for being the wrong kind of Savior. At times, they were power hungry, wanting Jesus to give them a place at His right hand when He came into power. The only disciple that was lost was the one that God promised would be lost, Judas, the son of destruction. So, Jesus guards the disciples and you are guarded as well. Remember this promise, 2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you.
You are guarded. You are protected. You will glorify Jesus. You will be at one with the church. You are guarded.
So, we ended this message with these things. What happens when Jesus prays for you?
Truth: The guarded, unified church glorifies Jesus when because He prays for you.
Application: Living confidently and peaceably knowing you glorify Jesus as part of a unified church.
Action: Start living as a Jesus glorifying, not-easily offended guarded believer. Pray that this would become your identity.