John 17:1-26

The Lord’s Prayer

We usually refer to the “Our Father” as The Lord’s Prayer. Actually it would be more accurate to call that The Disciples’ Prayer because it was the prayer Jesus taught the disciples to pray. Chapter Seventeen of John is the real Lord’s Prayer. It is loaded, but let me briefly pull three points to focus on.

Eternal life. What is it? We talk about it and we certainly want it but what exactly is it. Surely it is not just everlasting existing. Frankly, that doesn’t sound like a particularly exciting prospect. Jesus defines Eternal life in this prayer. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” The crown jewel, the meaning, the essence of Eternal Life is simply to know God. It’s the relationship, not the religion.

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Jesus did not come here to rescue a few refuges. He came here to take over. He did not come to take us to heaven but to bring heaven to earth. The idea is that heaven will invade and ultimately fill all in all. Therefore, in spite of admonitions to be separate we are not called to be physically separate and build walls around the kingdom. He doesn’t want to pull us out, but to equip us to be bold while engaged in life in a fallen world.

He made a point of saying that this was not just for those disciples present at the time. This was for all believers. He wants us to be one and to be in perfect unity. This doesn’t mean that we all have to carry the same banner of an institutional nature. We are one in Him. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are three different organizations but they are in a greater measure one and they function best when they act that way. It does not mean that we have to be in unanimity about everything, only unity. If we would only do this imagine all the people living life in peace. How easy would it be to spread the gospel if we started out with everyone knowing that God sent Jesus and that He loves them? We could feed the poor instead of spending so much on programs and campaigns.

There is a lot me here. There are no wasted words. This is the Lord’s Prayer.