Jesus knew what was coming, so He spent four chapters in John’s gospel preparing them. Then, immediately before leading them to the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed.
I was sitting alone in an empty car. A few minutes earlier, I had dropped off my two oldest children at college. They attend the same school, which is convenient. But it also means I get a double dose of the mixed parental emotions that come when you drop your offspring off at college. There was joy, and excitement, and anticipation, (and, to be honest, a little relief). But it was bittersweet. Decades of memories flooded my mind. Time had flown by so quickly. The car felt vacant. I had nothing but a seven-hour return trip home, but I was not quite ready to go. So, I took out a notebook and wrote them each a letter. It took a while. There was much to say. When I got done, I looked over what I had written. I realized that most of it was about my prayers. I told them about my prayers for them—prayers of thanksgiving and joy, prayers for protection and wisdom, prayers that they would study hard and learn well, prayers that they would remain strong in faith and active in love, prayers that they would find good friends and be good friends. I had been praying these things for months, even for years. But before I left town, I wanted to tell them about it. I wanted to share with them my parting prayers.
You are familiar with parting prayers. You prayed them as you watched your toddler skip off to kindergarten. You prayed them at the bonfire the night before you moved out of the neighborhood and left good friends behind. You prayed them in the hospital room as your dad, or your grandma, neared the end. We do not always share our parting prayers with the people we leave. Sometimes only God hears. But on occasion we tell our loved ones about our prayers for them. When we do, we give them a glimpse into our heart.
On this seventh Sunday of Easter, the appointed Gospel reading is drawn from Jesus’ parting prayer. It was his parting prayer before He left His disciples late on Maundy Thursday. He prayed with, for, and in front of them. Thanks to John, He prayed in front of us, too. Like I did in those letters with my children, in His parting prayer Jesus gave us a glimpse into His heart.
[The three-year lectionary divides up John 17 into three parts, with a third to be read each year on the seventh Sunday of Easter. For the sermon, I suggest taking all three parts together and preaching on the entire prayer.]
Recall the context. Jesus was with them in the upper room. They were celebrating their last Passover together. Jesus had come as Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. He had come to establish the rule and reign of God. But save for a few disciples, His people did not receive Him. Instead, they conspired and connived and crafted a way to crucify Him. Jesus knew it was coming, so He spent four chapters in John’s gospel preparing them. Then, in chapter 17, immediately before leading them to the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed.
Like I did in those letters with my children, in His parting prayer Jesus gave us a glimpse into His heart.
Jesus’ prayer could be divided into three petitions.
First, He prayed for Himself. Well, He prayed not so much for Himself, but for what the Father was about to do through Him. Verse 1b summarizes this first section: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” He was talking about His suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus had been showing the Father to His disciples through His actions for a while (see John 14:9), but they still did not get it. It was not until they saw Him lifted up on the cross and lifted out of the tomb that they would fully understand (refer to John 2:22).
Second, He prayed for the disciples. Verse 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.” What did He pray for them? He prayed they would be united. Verse 11: “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.” He prayed they would be protected. Verse 15: “I do not ask that You take them out of this world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” He prayed God would make them holy. Verse 17: “Sanctify them in the truth.” Jesus cared about the disciples He was leaving behind, and His prayers showed it.
Third, He prayer for us. Verse 20: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” Earlier that day, before I sat by myself in the empty car writing letters, I had gone out for coffee with my daughter. During our conversation, Jesus’ prayer in John 17 came up. “I love that passage!” she said. “What do you love about it?” I asked her. She found great comfort knowing that, just hours before He suffered and died, Jesus was thinking of her, that He was praying for her. It is true. There, in the upper room, as Jesus prayed for all who would believe in Him through the witness of the apostles, Jesus was praying for my daughter, and my son, and for you, and me, and the people who will listen to your sermon this Sunday. He was praying for us for the same reason I prayed for my children in that empty car. Jesus prayed for us because He loves us. But notice how He did not pray for us to remain alone. He prayed for us together. Verse 21: “That they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us.”
Earlier, I said Jesus offered three petitions. But, really, this third petition included another.
Fourth, He prayed for the world. He prayed that His people would be united, but not for their own sake. Their unity would be a witness to the world. Verse 21b: “So that the world may believe that You have sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.”
This fourth petition is law. As such, it both convicts and guides. It convicts us for the lack of unity we manifest in our life together, and the negative impact our disunity has had on the mission God has given us. We are all to blame. But this law also guides. It leads us toward a more caring and gentle life in which we do our best to nurture and expand the unity the Spirit has given us.
As you proclaim the saving work and promise of Jesus—the crucified and risen Son of God who prayed for your congregation on the night He was betrayed—you might take this opportunity to encourage them toward the kind of unity that is worthy of Christians who have received true and eternal life in Christ.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on John 17:1-11.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 17:1-11.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
