Preparing for Easter: Christ's Love for the Church

Today’s Reading: John 17:9-13

John 17 is typically referred to as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer,” and in the section of the prayer we’re looking at today, Jesus prays for his disciples. After providing the Twelve with some of the most challenging and profound words He ever spoke to them, Jesus now prays to the Father for these friends He loves.

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” - John 17:9-13

Jesus offers several reasons for His prayer in this passage. First, he acknowledges that the Twelve are a gift to Him, from the Father. Jesus spent three and half years with these guys; he knew them intimately and they were very precious to him. Jesus knew that they would soon come to spread His message of grace for all who believe in Him throughout the whole world, so now that he is leaving them, He asks the Father: “Keep them, in Thy name.”

What we need to recognize here is the word “name.” Jesus’ use of this word in this passage stands for all of the power and resources of God the Father! So, I’ll tell you, when I pray, that is exactly what I want the Father to know. I recognize that He, above all, has the power to keep the people that I love!

As Jesus continues praying, he asks the Father, “keep them that they may be one even as We are One.” Here, Jesus is recognizing that all throughout His earthly ministry, it was the Father at work within Him that supplied Him with the power to “keep” – to sustain in His love and grace all who trust and follow Him.

This truth provides a constant reminder to all of us who put our hope in Jesus - it is God that does the “keeping!” Sometimes I have the false impression that I’m in control of all things pertaining to my life, but the reality is - I’m not that powerful! Thank God I belong to Him and He does the keeping! That is God’s promise to any person who will confess their need for a Savior and yield their life to the God who loves them and desires to meet them with grace. (Something Judas failed to do... See John 17:12b)

Last, Jesus prays for His disciples, that they would remain in His word and full of joy as result. He knew that they had received His words of grace and truth and came to believe in Him. As these words took root in their lives, Jesus had seen them become transformed by the words and experience joy as a result. So, Jesus prays to the Father that their flourishing through the word would continue.

Friends, as Jesus’ followers today, you and I can be certain He will keep us by His word! That truth is powerful to fill us with unspeakable joy in every season of life.

As you prepare for Easter, may you find peace in knowing that God has met us with grace in the way we needed it most through the work of His Son on our behalf. He will always keep us. He will never leave us or forsake us.