Road Trippin With Rachael

As we have been continuing our journey through the Gospel of John, we are seeing how John demonstrates the change in tone of Jesus’ teaching. Where previously he had been performing miracles, traveling, and speaking in figurative language to make those listening think more deeply about what he said, Jesus is beginning to speak in a more straightforward way; he is going to speaking with the disciples in plain language (whether they will understand what he tells them is a different story).

Although we didn’t touch on it in the last blog, as we go from chapter 16 to chapter 17 we move from Jesus holding a conversation with his disciples to him being in prayer. As we go through what Jesus prays for, we see three categories: himself, the disciples, and all believers. This particular post will be taking a deeper look at prayer and exploring the practical application.

Jesus Prayed for Himself

I don’t know if anyone else has ever felt this way, but I will sometime feel guilty about praying for myself. I’m not talking about struggles like doctors appointments, or things that I’m worried about. I’m talking about things that I want – like really want. I know that prayer is having a conversation with God, and that God already knows the things that are on my heart, but sometimes I still can’t quite shake the feeling that I’m being selfish for asking for the things that I want.

But when I look to John 17, and I read through Jesus’ prayer, I’m reminded that its okay to ask for the things that we both need and want. Jesus wanted the Father to be gloried because the Son was going to be glorified (remember that Jesus was going to be raised from the dead on the third day). What the Son would receive, so would the Father. This harkens back to the discussion about the Trinity, as well as a cultural statement. Let’s take a short side trail –

Culturally, if something was important for a family, the father may send his son to go and be his representative for the business transaction. Think Jesse sending David when his brothers were fighting the Philistines ( I Samuel 17: 17-18). A son is not his father, but since he is acting his father’s representative he carries the same level of authority. I don’t really know if we have something similar for today’s modern western culture. If I were to try and identify something similar, it would have to be within the business world. If a company rep says something in business negotiations (or puts it in writing) the as a whole is responsible for those statements. There is a binding authority with the words and statements.

Back to the original conversation….

As Jesus continues his prayer, He states his purpose – “this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you sent – Jesus Christ” (John 17:3 CSB). He asks as he prays for himself, that this be the outcome. Glory going to God, as people come to faith in Christ.

Application

What can we learn from seeing Jesus pray for himself? We learn that it is a good thing to do. Now we aren’t going to be praying that we receive glorification – that is reserved for Jesus – but we can ask that God be glorified through us. Yes, we are sinful people in need of a Savior, but God can still use us imperfect individuals to showcase his glory. In light of this, I think we need to remind ourselves of the Gospel. In the last few chapters, I’ve been bringing up the importance of knowing that life is going to be hard, one of the ways that we are able to make it through those hard ties and having joy is reminding ourselves of who we are in Christ. We have been rescued from a life of sin and death to a new life where we are new creations created in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus Prayed for the Disciples

As the heading would indicate, Jesus prayed for his disciples. This was a specific group of people who had been traveling with him, and learning from him, and believed him to be the Messiah, the Son of God. We tend to think of the 12 Apostles only, but realistically this group was much larger than that – the apostles were disciples, but more like a subgroup of disciple. (All apostles were disciples, but not all disciples were apostles.)

If we back track to Chapter 15, Jesus refers to the disciples – likely this statement was specifically to the twelve – as “friends”. John 17:9 he says that at that moment he isn’t praying for the world, but he is praying for specific people. Yes, we should be praying for the world – people, current events, natural disasters, global powers and leadership, etc… But there is something special when you are praying for specific people, naming them in your supplications to God, that cannot be replaced through a blanket prayer.

When Jesus was praying for them, he prayed that they would be ready to take on what the world is going to be throwing at them. As we covered previously in John 15:18-25, Satan will be after them, and the world is going to hate them because of who they are associated with. He’ll be sending the Holy Spirit to be with them (John 16:7), but he will not be there with them in person anymore to protect them (John 17:11-15). He is sending them off on a mission – the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) – and as each of them end up on their own path to share the Gospel, they are still going to be working as a team to accomplish God’s will.

Application

I think that knowing that Jesus was specific in who he prayed for brings into perspective how we can be praying for those who are around us. If you are like me, when you are praying for someone specifically – especially for those things that Jesus was praying for – you pray that they be kept from problems, trials, and from other types of persecution. But in reality, if we are following the example that is set by Jesus, maybe we shouldn’t be praying to be kept from something, but that they be protected while they are going through it for the sake of God.

Jesus Prayed for All Believers

It wasn’t on himself or the disciples that Jesus prayed for; he was also praying for the Church. When we discuss the Church, we mean the Church in a universal sense – those who have had faith in Jesus post Pentecost, and we also include believers of the Old Testament who had faith in the coming Messiah. Jesus’ prayer is that all people who eventually believe will be united (John 17:21), that they will all be a part of the mission, and that they will be protected while they are sharing the Gospel (John 17: 23). As previously stated, the world is going to be coming for them, because they do not care for the one who sent them.

But Jesus also acknowledges that the Church is going to be identify by various factors – primarily in how they interact with each other and the world. We can go back through previous chapters in John and see some examples that Jesus had previously given.

1. John 13:35 (CSB) – By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one anther
2. John 15:2b (CSB) – He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.
3. John 15:9b (CBS) – Remain in my love

Jesus is and will be glorified through those who believe in him. Has has made his name known to the disciple, which in turn they will make known to those who will come after them (Acts 2), and through it all God’s name will be glorified.

Application

The Church is called to be his representatives to the world, and the way we live our our faith is going to be what draws people to us, and that creates opportunities for Gospel conversations. We need to be specific when we are praying for fellow believers. Yes, need to be praying for the Church at large, but we also need to be specific in praying for those Christians that are going to be coming. i think of the small children that are back in the preschools, or the students that are not Christians going to Christian universities – there is so much potential for the church to love on them, and share the love of Christ with them, and to have those important conversations that are going to play a role in them coming to Christ.

Final Thoughts

Jesus gives us an example of how we are to pray. We can pray for ourselves: that we are doing God’s will, going where he calls us to go, and it’s okay to pray for the things that we desire. Christians are also called to pray specifically. Jesus prayed for the disciples, and we can pray for specifics, too. Finally, and this one is a bit odd, but still makes perfect sense: we are to pray for the church to come. There are those who we will never sit in a pew with, who will become missionaries, teachers, preachers, deacons, elders, and workers in the field that we won’t ever know – but we need to pray for them the same way we lift up specific people in our prayers. Our specific people just happen to be those we don’t yet know.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you pray for when you are praying for yourself?
2. How are you praying for others?
3. Do you pray for future Christians? If so, how? If not, how can you start?