WEEKLY SUNDAY
SCHOOL LESSON
An international
Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday January 11, 2015
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JESUS
PRAYS FOR HIMSELF, HIS DISCIPLES, AND ALL BELIEVERS
(HE
prays for GOD’s protection, holiness, and unity)
(John
17)
After JESUS had ended HIS private teachings to HIS disciples in the
Upper Room, HE left them with the profound statement, that, “HE had overcome
the world”. HE then looked up toward Heaven and began to pray, perhaps, the greatest
prayer that has ever been prayed here on earth. It is the prayer of an over-comer, and JESUS is certainly the greatest
over-comer of all times.
Here in John 17, verses
1-5, JESUS begins this prayer by praying for HIMSELF, but in doing so, HE is
also praying for us. As GOD’s greatest servant, JESUS has every right to pray
for the help HE needed in order to glorify HIS name. HIS request for
glorification includes sustaining HIMSELF in HIS upcoming suffering, acceptance
of HIS vicarious sacrifice, and raising HIM up again, and then, restoring HIM
to HIS pre-incarnate glory. HE had finished all of HIS other divine work, and
now, HE was ready to take on HIS final assignment so that HE could return back
home to HIS FATHER in Heaven, WHO sent HIM.
We, as Christians, now
know and understand that, for JESUS, the only way back to glory was through the
cross, and so it must be for those of us, who follow HIM. With open eyes, JESUS
accepted the circumstances of the cross, so that whosoever believes in HIM,
from that day forward, would not perish, but rather, would have everlasting
life with our FATHER in Heaven.
When JESUS speaks of
HIS actions bringing glory to GOD, HE is referring to the majesty and loveliness
of GOD the FATHER that has been manifested through what HE HIMSELF has done,
and will do, in obedience to the FATHER. And after the FATHER has resurrected
HIM from the dead, that act will also reflect the true majesty of HE HIMSELF,
as the GOD-appointed SAVIOR of all of mankind. This also lets man know that,
when we obediently perform GOD’s will, GOD will joyfully express HIMSELF
through us also. And so we see here, that, even we, can display the same beauty
and majesty that CHRIST JESUS displayed for the FATHER, when we pray for the
strength to be able to perform our appointed duties for the LORD.
JESUS’ disciples obeyed the word of GOD and HE praises them for it
here in HIS prayer to the FATHER. JESUS loved them all the more, for their avid,
positive response to GOD’s Word. HE had prayed for them, even before HE chose
them, and now, this final prayer of intercession clearly reveals HIS loving
concern for their continued well-being after HIS departure. They were HIS
original flock, given to HIM by GOD the FATHER, and HE had taken good care of
them during their three years together. HE had also been successful in taking
them out of the world, and into a spiritual place, where HE HIMSELF had always
dwelled. And while they were not perfect, they were all committed, (except
Judas Iscariot) and passionately devoted to JESUS. They now, all believed in
JESUS’ oneness with the FATHER, and their faith was clearly manifested in their
obedience to HIS teachings.
This section (verses 6-19) of the prayer focuses not only on the
safety of the disciples, but also on the safety of all believers, who have
chosen to come out of the world and into the realm where JESUS lives. Our
safety has always, and, will forever depend on the nature of GOD, and not on
our own conduct, or character. When JESUS was with HIS disciples physically, HE
always kept them safe, and, they could always depend on HIS presence in their
time of need. HE guided them then, the way the HOLY SPIRIT now guides us, and we,
in addition, can still rest assure that JESUS is, even now, still praying for
us from HIS Heavenly vantage point.
We don’t ever need to walk around feeling sad and beaten down by
the rigors of this world. We can, instead, be filled with joy, because our LORD
and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST has overcome the world, and HE is taking everyone with
HIM, in victory, who chooses to come and share in HIS Kingdom.
This final segment of JESUS’ prayer, verses 20-26, is for future
believers who will choose to come to HIM through the teaching of HIS Word. In
this, the “Church Age”, every converted Christian came to be that way, either
directly, or indirectly, because of the work and witness of JESUS’ original
disciples.
We see, all through this prayer, JESUS going out to the ends of
the earth. First HE started with HIMSELF (Vs.1-5). Then HE moved on with HIS
petition for HIS disciple’s safety (Vs.6-19). And now in the final section of
this great petition, we see JESUS praying for the unity of all Christians, for
all times, regardless of their chosen Christian denomination. And just as each
high priest of Israel bore the names of the twelve tribes in GOD’s presence in
the tabernacle, so now does JESUS, in the Church Age, as the GREAT HIGH PRIEST,
carry the names of all present and future believers into the glorious presence
of the ALMIGHTY GOD in Heaven.
JESUS’ request is a request for a “Christian unity” that will
transcend all the differences that can be found among the Christian Church, as
a whole. For, no Christian denomination obeys GOD completely because each of
their teachings about GOD is based on their particular chosen lifestyle. And
even though we may never organize our Christian Churches in the same way, and
we may never worship GOD in the same way, JESUS prays here that “Christian
Unity” would forever transcend all these differences, and bring men together in
fellowship and love, just simply in the name of “Christianity”, the only
doctrine that is “a product of GOD’s mind”.
That’s the kind of unity that JESUS is praying for here in John
17, and it is also the kind of unity that the Apostle Paul would later write
about to the Churches, in all of his doctrinal letters. It is a unity, not born
of bricks and mortar, but rather, it is a unity of “personal relationships”,
not unlike the one that we’ve already seen, between the FATHER and the SON, as
an example to us to follow, for all time.
All believers belong to one body in CHRIST, and our spiritual
unity is to be clearly shown through our behavior, or the way we live. The
spiritual unity of the FATHER and the SON is to be patterned in the Church,
regardless of our chosen Christian denomination. Without union with CHRIST
JESUS, the Christian Church can do nothing in itself. “Christianity” is the
only true religion, because, “Christianity” is the only religion that is a
product of GOD’s mind. All denominations, Christian, or otherwise, are only “products
of men’s minds”.
Through GOD’s “permissive will”, HE allows us to organize
Christian denominations differently, as long as we all have CHRIST in common.
The disciples’ union with CHRIST resulted in the whole Christian community’s
belief in GOD the FATHER. The glory of the Church was born at the cross, but
the unity in the Church was born before that, and it is personified in the
spirit of JESUS and HIS original disciples.
In all, we see four petitions for believers included in this
magnificent prayer; we see “Preservation” (John 17:11), “Sanctification” (John
17:17), “Unity” (John 17:11, 21-22), and “Participation” (John 17:24). After
JESUS prayed this prayer, HE would speak no more to HIS disciple, until after
HIS “Passion” and “Resurrection”. And so we see HIS last words to HIS faithful,
were not words of HIS despair, but rather, they were words of HIS “Glory”.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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