Today, as we continue in our series “3 Prayer of Jesus”, we look further into The High Priestly Prayer, focusing on three key points:

  • Prepared By the Word
  • Protected By the Word
  • Placed  By the Word

Scripture Reference

John 17: 6-19

Sermon Audio

Sermon Notes

Why is Jesus Praying for His Disciples?

  1. John 13: 1 – Jesus’ hour had come. Repeated in John 17: 1 – “the hour has come”
    1. In John 2: 4 Jesus told Mary that his hour has not yet come.
    2. Now Jesus is saying that the time HAS come.
  2. Jesus started this prayer praying for  himself but then shifts to praying for the disciples.
    1. Jesus has been with His disciples for three years. Now he prays that
      1. they are prepared by the Word
      2. they are protected by the Word
      3. and they are placed by the Word

Prepared By the Word (John 17: 6-8)

  1. Verse 7 – Now they know that everything that you have given me is from  you.
    1. But there was a time that the disciples didn’t really get it (John 14: 8-9)
  2. Verse 8 – For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
    1. The disciples now understand that the words Jesus gave them were from God.
    2. We also are all on mission now to go out into the world, are we being prepared as well? We have the Bible and the words of Christ, are you being prepared by the word?
    3. Jesus constantly looked to the Father for what to do next. Are we looking up before we look out?
    4.  Christ manifested God’s name in all He did. Are we doing the same in our mission?

Protected By the Word (John 17: 9-15)

  1. Jesus petitions for the protection of the disciples once He is gone. (verse 11)
  2. While Jesus was on the earth, he protected them in the name of God. (verse 12)
    1. God gave Him the power to protect them while He is on the earth.
    2. Jesus protected all of them (only Judas was lost to fulfill Scripture).
  3. The world hates them. He asks for their protection as the disciples will remain in the world. (verses 14-15)
    1. In our own prayers, we need to continue that prayer for our protection from the evil one (after all we are also disciples of Christ).
    2. We need to be witnesses of the truth. So the world will hate us also. We need God’s protection.

Placed By the Word (John 17: 16-19)

  1. Jesus prays that the disciples are Sanctified. That means “set apart.” They need to be set apart from the world even as they live in it.
    1. We have been sent into the world, but we need to be set apart from the world. (verses 18-19)
    2. God sent Christ into the world; now Christ sends us into the world.

The Word, The Gospel

All of the Scripture points us to Christ. From Genesis to Revelation is one big story about how God sent His Son into the world to die for us. The Bible is not a rule book about what we must do because it’s already been done for us on the cross.

The Gospel message of Christ prepares us, protects us, and places us in the mission field. We are all missionaries. We don’t have to go to far lands to be missionaries. We are missionaries where we have been placed.