I have put off studying my Sunday School lesson until today, so whoever reads this will get to follow along with the study. Ain't you lucky?! Max Lucado's The Gospel of John the is the study guide.
John 17:1-26 is the text, and as with a lot of this type of study material there is a list of discussion questions that follow. I will not attempt to delve into all of them in the blog.
1. Who is Jesus praying for in these verses? At first blush, it would appear He is praying for the disciples. But further in the passage, Jesus "prayer is not for them (disciples) alone. I (Jesus) also pray for them who will believe in me through their message . . ." So Jesus is also praying for future converts. Here are my wonderings. Was Jesus praying for a set of specific, predetermined group of people who would be saved in the future, or was this a group prayer for all who might be saved? Was this for just those saved through the disciples actions, or for the millions who would accept Christ from then to the present day? Now that Christ is in Heaven with the Father, what is role does He play? Does He still "pray" for believers, or is that now relegated to the Holy Spirit? So many questions from just one verse. Aaarrrrggghhh!
2. What does Jesus desire for his followers? One part of the answer to this question can be bit depressing, but is realistic. In verse 15, Jesus prays, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." I wonder if most believers have had times where they wish they could just be caught up into heaven. No more mortgage payment. No more 5:30 a.m. dog walks to take. No more trips to the doctor to receive devastating news. But we see in verse 15, that is not the lot for Christians. The world around us is in a state of decline and, many say, past the tipping point. Think how much quicker that decline would be if not for the influence, love and charitable work of Christians. Our desire to be taken out of this world is understandable, but not God's plan.
So what thoughts, wonderings, questions do you have about Jesus' prayer in John 17?
Jesus praying for the lost....Now that He is in heaven, his praying days are over. He is right beside God and I don't think their conversations would still be labled "prayers." When Jesus returned to heaven, the work of praying for and witnessing to and loving on lost people was left up to us. (By the way, when we feel led to witness to the lost, should our motive be (A)guilt if we don't; (B)anticipation of earning points from God if we do; or (C)love and concern for the target of our witnessing? And when we pray for the lost, shouldn't the motive be the same?)
ReplyDeleteWill the world eventually "go to hell in a handbasket"? Will Armegeddon occur? Will Christians undergo extreme persecution? YES! We can't change any of that. Where does that leave us? With the task of reaching out to individuals and rescueing as many as we can before that. (The story of the boy on the beach with the star fish fits here.)