John 17:13-19

Introduction:

Recap:

vv 13-16) Request for joy and away from the evil one

[13] This is the second time Jesus states “But now I am coming to you.” He prayed this prayer in full recognition of the soon accomplishment of His earthly work.

Jesus was concerned not only about the unity of the disciples but also their joy. He deeply called for and prayed for joy filled lives.

Why is joy and unity so important for the apostles?

Jesus had a life filled with joy; He could speak of “My joy.” Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief:

Isaiah 53:3 ESV

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Nevertheless there was joy and satisfaction in the life experience of Jesus that surpassed the joy of any other who ever lived. How?

His joy was rooted in unbroken fellowship with God His Father.

His joy was the fruit of true faith and confidence in His Father.

His joy came from seeing the great things God had done.

His joy was never diminished by His own sin.

His joy was never diminished by deception.

His joy was never diminished by allowing even the smallest foothold to the devil.

Jesus was so concerned for joy among His disciples that He prayed for it, we can know that He was also concerned that we have joy.

God’s purpose is to multiply joy in our lives, not to subtract. The world, the flesh, and the devil would tell us something different, but God wants joy fulfilled in our lives.

[14] The Lord gave God’s word to the disciples, and they received it. We are not merely talking about oral teaching, but the whole revelation of the Father as manifested in the words and acts and personality of Jesus Christ.

“See how the Lord Jesus Himself takes all His teaching from the Father. You never hear from him any boast about being the originator of profound thoughts. No, He just repeated to His disciples the words He had recieved from the Father: ‘I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.’ If jesus acted thus, how much more must the messengers of God receive the word from the Lord’s mouth, and speak it as they received it!” - Spurgeon

Because the disciples had recieved the word, the world turned on them and hated them. They had the characteristics of the Lord Jesus, and so the world despised them. They didn’t fit in with the world’s schemes.

[15] The Lord did not pray that the Father should take believers home to heaven immediately. They must be left here to grow in grace and to witness for Christ. But Christ’s prayer was that they might be kept from the evil one. Not escape, but preservation.

This part of the prayer of Jesus cautions us against seeking refuge in Christian isolation. Our goal is to be in the world but not of it or of the evil one; even as a ship is to be in the ocean, but not allowing the ocean to be in the ship.

If we were taken from the world, the world would be in utter darkness and would perish; Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” So, shine.

If we were taken from the world, the world would not have us as a witness, top be a means of salvation unto them. So win others to Jesus.

If we were taken from the world, we would be denied the opportunity to serve Jesus in the same place we have sinned against Him. So, serve Jesus.

Is we were taken from the world, we would not see that there are aspects of God’s wisdom, truth, power, and grace that are better appreciated on earth rather than in heaven. So, see the glory of the Lord.

If we were taken from the world, we would be denied the place to prepare from heaven. There is no purgatory; our preparation is now. So, get ready for heaven.

If we were taken from the world, we could not show the power of God’s grace to preserve us in the midst of difficulty. So, continue on.

Job, Moses, Elijah, and Jonah all prayed that they would be taken out of the world, but God did not answer those prayers. He wants us to stay in the world, to complete the work He gives us to do.

Family God is simply not done with you.., You are to: shine, win others to Jesus, serve Him, seeing His glory, preparing ourselves for heaven, and pressing towards the prize.

Jesus definitely wanted us to be in the world, but did not want us to be evil or marked by the evil one. Jesus didn’t pray that we would be taken out of the battle, but that we would be strengthened and protected in the battle.

Jesus in praying for the disciples to be kept from the evil one, the world he rules, and from all of his evil schemes and strategies.

Kept from the evil of apostasy.

Kept from the evil of worldliness.

Kept from the evil of unholiness.

It is not to be kept from the evil of trouble or hardship.

The devil, apparently, often operates through the hatred of the world, and the disciples are going to need protection against such malice.

“Keep” We all need to be kept from sin. We might think of it as a young person’s battle to abstain from passions, lust, pressure to conform to the world and so much more.

Most of the time in scripture it is the middle-aged who struggle the most. David, Solomon, Lot and many others.

In a sermon speaking on this text, Spurgeon spoke to those who are in sin, yet do not feel it to be evil: “ There are some of you who do not feel sin to be an evil; and shall I tell you why? Did you ever try to pull a bucket up a well? You know that, when it is full of water, you can pull it easily so long as the bucket remains in the water; but when it gets above the water, you know how heavy it is. It is just so with you. While you are in sin you do not feel it to be a burden, it does not seem to be evil; but if the Lord once draws you out of sin, you will find it to be intolerable, a heinous evil. May the Lord, this night, wind some of you up! Though you are very deep down, may He draw you up out of sin, and give you acceptance in the Beloved! -Spurgeon

[16] Because Jesus could see His disciples as in Him, He could see the mas not of the world, even as Jesus was not of the world. His call to His disciples was for them to be what they really were in Him.

It is possible for someone to not be of the world, but in a very different way that Jesus was not of the world. They can be crazy, they can be violent, or strange, or a plethora of many things. But there was a particular way Jesus was not of the world.

Jesus was not of the world in His nature.

Jesus was not of the world in His office.

Jesus was not of the world in His character.

We should remember this when tempted. Whether or not it is some worldly pastime or us entering into worldly associations where the name of Jesus is unwelcome.

vv 17-19) Request for sanctification

[17] What does sanctify mean? and what is an example?

Sanctify means to be set apart for God’s special pleasure and use. It implies holiness, being set apart from the corruption of the world and for God’s use.

The greek word “hagios” means to set-apart-and-devote- to-God: Whether it be things, or sacrificial animals, or men for His service.

My favorite part of this verse is that Jesus didn’t leave the disciples to sanctify themselves. He prayed for their sanctification. This process, as the keeping process, is not left to us alone; it is a work of God in us and through us.

The Word of God has a sanctifying effect on believers. As we read it, study it, and obey it, we are set apart as vessels suitable for the Master’s use.

Jesus wants people who are set apart to God from the world, useable by God.

“The more truth you believe, the more sanctified you will be. The operation of the truth upon the mind is to separate a man from the world unto the service of God.” - Spurgeon

[18] The Father sent Jesus into the world to reveal the character of God to men. As the Lord prayed, He realized that He would soon be going back to heaven. Future generations would still need some witness concerning God.

This work must be done by believers, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Think of how Jesus came, and connect it to the way that He sends us into the world:

Jesus didn’t come as a philosopher like Plato, though He knew higher philosophy than them all.

Jesus didn’t come as an inventor or a discoverer, though He could have invented new things and discovered new lands.

Jesus didn’t come as a conqueror; though He was mightier than all.

He came to teach.

He came to live among us.

He came to suffer for truth and righteousness.

He came to rescue men!

Remember in;

John 17:9 ESV

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.

Jesus doesn’t pray for the world specifically, yet his prayer for the disciples involves hope for the world.

[19]We cannot think that Jesus was unsanctified up to this point. He is talking about the cross, and finishing the work that the Father sent Him to complete. It was through that finished work that the word of God and work of God would become fully effective in the lives of the disciples.

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.