That They May Be One (John 17:11-26)

[Sing Psalm 133]

We stopped last time in verse 12, right in the middle of Jesus' prayer for the eleven. We have seen how Jesus' prayer draws on the themes of the sermon that he has just preached in chapters 13-16. He told his disciples that "whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." And now he is giving them an example of the sorts of things to ask.

Jesus prays first for himself (verses 1-5), "glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." This should be the center of all prayer–that God would be glorified in his Son.

But then Jesus prays for the eleven (verses 6-19). Jesus' mission depended entirely on these eleven men. If they failed, then the gospel of Christ would never be known. If they didn't "get it," then no one would get it. And we should continue to pray for the spread of the apostolic teaching. As we see so powerfully throughout the history of the church, if those who preach the Word get it wrong, the church suffers horribly. When pastors are led astray by their own folly, then the blind follow the blind, and both end up in a pit.

And finally Jesus prays for all "who will believe in me through their word." (Verses 20-26) This prayer is for the whole church throughout all ages.

In other words, he prays for you and for me...