John 17- Lesson 20 –r1

Final Words

Lesslie Newbigin, an Anglican leader and missionary to India writes: When a man is going on a long journey, he will find time on the eve of his departure for a quiet talk with his family, and --- if he is a man of God – will end by commending to God not only himself and his journey, but also the family whom he leaves behind. Very surely will this be so if his journey is the last journey.

- What words would you share with you closest friends and family if you knew they would be your last words?

- If you prayed for them at that time, what would be in your prayer?

I expect those words would be fully honest, carefully spoken, expressing hope, love, and concern. Like a “Last will and testament” – it is something we would take very seriously and thoughtfully.

Jesus – who understood the future days more than any of us, prayed to his Father

Sometimes it helps me to understand something if I rewrite it in my own words. Peterson did that for the whole Bible. I have done it for here for Chapter 17- possibly not fully accurately.

Jesus Prayer – A paraphrase:

Father, I have finished the work you assigned me to do. Eternal life is now available to all because you are now knowable. Now, give me again my former splendor, that all may see your splendor in me.

I pray now for my followers – honor them because they have learned and obeyed. They know the good news - that I and my words come from you. In future times, my splendor will be shown through these followers. As I leave, they must remain in an evil world and many will hate them. Help them remain united with us and with each other. Keep them safe – especially from Satan - and fill their hearts with joy. Dedicate them to yourself by the truth I have given them.

I also pray for those that will believe in the future because of my followers witness. May they also be united in us and with each other so all the world will believe in your Son and will know you love all people. They too will be made magnificent

Father, I want all those that follow me, now and in the future, to be with me and see the splendor you have given me.

Righteous Father, even though the world does not know you now, these followers do know you because I have introduced you to them. I will continue to share your love with them so that I also may be a part of them.

Parts of the prayer

- His relationship with his Father

- His concern and hope for his present followers

- The future followers – he prayed for us

Some themes of the prayer

Glory

“Glory or glorify” is used 9 times in this chapter- it sis not a word that is common in our everyday use of English.

Webster says: Glory and Glorify mean:

1. To bring Honor or Praise to someone.

2. Refers to the beauty, splendor, and magnificence of someone or something.

(We say the glory of Greece was its architecture and its laws, the glory of Rome was its power and organization.)

The Message expresses v1 and v5 as follows:

Father, it’s time. Display the bright splendor of your Son so the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.

5. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your presence, before there was a world.

v22 says “I have given them (future believers) the glory you gave me”, that they may be as one (so that the world may believe – prev.)

Gary Burge has a very interesting discussion of what we and the church should be like to glorify God.

“As Jesus turns in the prayer toward the life of his followers and the church that follows, his chief concern is that they too live a life that glorifies God, that they will exhibit in all of their worship, their words, and their work the same glory that Jesus exhibited on the earth.”

Burge then speaks to 4 specific areas:

Transcendence. People everywhere are looking for the reality of God.----People are seeking places where God seems present, where he can be felt, where spiritual ecstasy and mystical realities are commonplace occurrences.

Teaching. But religious quests must be anchored in truth. Men and women intuit there are many false paths, charlatans ----.Jesus prays, sanctify them by truth.

Fellowship. –they are looking for community. People feel alienated, lonely, and disconnected from place and kinship. Jesus prays that the church will be a genuine community of strong unity.

Mission. The church possesses a mission, a cause, just as Jesus had a mission in the world. The unity of the church and the quality of its life and experiences lead not only to the glory of God but to a powerful testimony to the world (17:22)

Question for thought –What will people say was St. Andrew’s glory or your “glory”? If there is no “splendor” in St. Andrew’s or in our lives now, how will it come?

The disciples were God’s gift to Jesus

Does this surprise you?

Warren Wiersbe notes that seven times Jesus says the disciples and future believers are God’s gift to him – v.2, 6,9,11-12,24. We typically think of Jesus selecting his disciples. Here Jesus calls them a gift from God. If Jesus disciples are a gift from God, how much more are our members a gift from God, and not “ours”?

Question for discussion: What does that say about the church’s relationship with believers?

Jesus work is completed (v4)

We often think of Jesus work as his death and resurrection. Jesus prays this before his death although knowing what is coming. Gary Burge writes – Jesus understands as he prays this prayer that he has already accomplished much of what God had called him to do. The key lies here: Jesus saving work began in Bethlehem, not on Golgotha. The incarnation, God’ union with our humanity, in itself was a saving deed. I think we can identify some of Jesus work, by looking at the questions he answered:

What is God like”

· How do we pray? (and how not to pray)

· Where must we worship?

Class discussion – complete the list of – What was Jesus work?

God’s Word is Given

John begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” Now Jesus says: “I have given them (the disciples) your word.” The “word” is not written but is in human form. For 20-30 years after that prayer we believe there were no written words from Jesus. Humans, with all their imperfections, were “the word”.

The gospel spread – not from the page but from one person to another. The written word (Bible) develops over a long time.

Question: How much of “the word” is in us? Are we too dependent on the written word?

Unity of Jesus Followers (v11, 20, 22, 23)

What did Jesus mean by “unity” or by being “one” with Him and the Father?

In His prayer, he points to “knowing God and his Son, believing Jesus came from God, and obeying the words I gave them”. In his three year ministry Jesus provides much more direction.

Jesus followers today take many forms Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and “non-denominational”. Even within any one denominations there are varied opinions of what worship should look like, how our mission should be conducted, what is moral, how the church should interact with society, etc.

Does this diversity of church names and Christian thought damage our witness “so the world will believe”?

What unity does Jesus pray for?

Barclay says it so well and I will quote a bit:

“The cause of Christian unity at the present time and indeed all through history has been injured and violated and hindered because men loved their own ecclesiastical organizations, men loved their own creeds, men loved their own ritual more than they loved each other.---Only love implanted in the hearts of men by God can tear down the barriers which men have erected between each other and between their churches. ----It is our individual duty to demonstrate that unity of love with our fellow men which is the answer to the prayer of Christ.”

Gary Burge writes: “We understand unity. We at least know what we ought to do. The problem is that we also know that there are times when unity comes at a high cost. That is, when individuals have differences, unity can only be achieved when concessions are given and someone at least “gives way” so that peace can be restored.”

Discussion: Are there specific steps we can and should take to build unity of St. Andrew’s? What steps can we take to build the unity of all Christians?

Pray for each other

Jesus often prayed alone and he taught us to pray in private. Once he taught the disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer. In John 17, he prayed for them with them present. Imagine their thoughts as he prayed for them. Remember, he also prayed for us as “those who believe in me through their message”.

I would like each of you today in your group to pray for each other. I know you do that, but let’s do it a new way – remembering Jesus prayer.

Divide up into groups of two or three if necessary.
Ask your partner, “What concerns or hopes do you have for your personal future?” Talk about them for a moment.
Each pray for the other(s) as Jesus prayed for his disciples and their future.
Then – agree to pray for each other’s future in the week ahead.