John 17 is very dear to me, because it’s the one chance we get to listen in on the council of the Trinity. Jesus, God the Son, is speaking to God the Father.
Jesus is almost finished with His work on earth, and He knows it. The cross looms ahead, and a borrowed tomb. Jesus is returning to the Father. But for this brief moment of peace He speaks to the Father in this world, in the hearing of His disciples. You can hear the love and concern in His voice.
And what does He say? He prays for us—all of us who trust in Him, including the ones not born yet (see John 17:20). He asks the Father to watch over us and keep us in His Name. Jesus is urgent to protect us, to keep us all in the truth, and not lose any of us to the lies and temptations of the devil. He asks the Father to protect us.
And Jesus asks God to make us one, even as Father, Son, and Spirit are One. When I hear this, I feel ashamed, because who has not blushed at the fighting that goes on in the Christian church? And yet … and yet, there is a unity, isn’t there? There is a love that unites us, across the boundaries of language and nation and denomination. My family received strangers from Asia into our home during a mission conference, and a daughter of our Vietnamese congregation found a home with a Christian lady when she thought she’d have to sleep in a car. The Name of Jesus alone is a passport to all sorts of loving support—and not only for Christians!
Jesus prayed for us, and His prayer has been answered. May the Holy Spirit continue to make the fruits of that prayer spring up among us who belong to Jesus.
WE PRAY: Dear Father, thank You for hearing Jesus’ prayer for us. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Is there one prayer you have heard in your life that sticks out in your memory? If so, what and when was it?
2. Why do you think Jesus is so concerned for our unity?
3. What does it mean to you, to know that Jesus was thinking of you the night before His death?