What Does Jesus Pray For? – Unity (John 17:11-12)

This sermon was preached on 30/8/2012

In these verses, Jesus is continuing to pray for his immediate group of disciples, and while there are applications to his people in general, we also have to remember that he is praying particularly for his apostles because they had a most crucial role to perform once he had returned to heaven. Their particular function is detailed in verse 14, which was to have received from Christ the word or information or doctrines that belonged to the Father. For three years Jesus had been instructing the disciples about these matters and in the upper room he had promised that the Holy Spirit, when he would come after the Ascension, would bring these teachings to the minds of the apostles. So these apostles had a particular function to perform that was unique to them.

The main concern of Jesus in the verses we are considering is that his disciples should be kept by the Father. No doubt we can ask, ‘Kept from what or whom?’ We could also ask, ‘Kept for what or whom?’ and ‘How does the Father keep his people?’ Was Jesus praying this particular request for the apostles or is it a petition that is relevant for all disciples? We will consider such aspects later. 

Jesus states here the limitations of his humanity when he says in verse 11, ‘And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you.’ Whatever he means by ‘world’, he is no longer in it which raises questions for us about the doctrine of Christ’s omnipresence. As God, he is omnipresent and is found everywhere simultaneously. Yet he says that in some way, as a man, he is not in the world. When we think of the omnipresence of Jesus we are not to think that his humanity, which is now in heaven, is present everywhere. It is certainly possible, because of the work of the Holy Spirit who is the link between heaven and earth, for believers everywhere to benefit simultaneously from the human activities of Jesus in heaven. Yet the human feet of Jesus are not walking over the earth today nor are his hands literally touching people today.

Of course, Jesus was still physically in the world when he said these words. So how can we understand what he means when he says that he is no longer in it? He was speaking in anticipation of a radical change in his circumstances. It is not an exact illustration, but we can imagine a person in an office who is asked to perform a different role from that usually performed by those in the office. Although he is in the office physically he is not in the office functionally because he is engaged in other activities. Jesus had been in the world teaching his disciples. Now he was moving on to the important role of dying on the cross, which would be followed by his ascension to the Father. Although he was still on the earth he was about to leave his disciples and would not be for much longer in the world in which they and he had been together.

The role of Judas

Jesus mentions the example of Judas which shows what the devil could do to a person who is not kept by God. Of course, the destiny of Judas is a great mystery. His evil actions were foretold in the Old Testament, as were the evil actions of others at the cross. The treachery of Judas is foretold in Psalm 41:9: ‘Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.’ Here Jesus calls him ‘the son of destruction’, even although Judas is still alive at this point. 

Sometimes we want to come at this experience from the point of view of God’s sovereignty, but that is to come from a direction we cannot fully understand. Instead we should note what kind of person Judas was. The New Testament reveals that he was a thief, that he was deceptive, that he disapproved of Mary’s act of devotion to Jesus (John 12:1-8). It indicates that he had no personal love for Jesus, that his motive in joining the disciples was to fight against the Roman authorities and when he saw that Jesus was not going to do this he decided to betray him. Unlike the other disciples, who still dreamed of an earthly kingdom under the authority of Christ, Judas realised that Jesus had no intention of creating such a kingdom. So he betrayed his Master.

In addition to Judas’ personal desires, his soul was under the control of the devil. He seems to be an example of the person whose heart is swept clean, but who does not give his heart to Christ and instead finds himself indwelt by greater evil than before (Luke 11:25-26). In a sense, Judas’ heart had been swept clean when he became a professing disciple of Jesus, but since he did not give his heart to Jesus, the devil returned to it and found a suitable place to live. There are many examples of individuals, later outspoken opponents of the Christ of the Bible, who at one time were influenced by the gospel but they rejected it.

The main difficulty that many have with Judas is why did Jesus chose him to be an apostle. Jesus was not ignorant of the spiritual state of Judas; on the occasion when many stopped following him after the feeding of the 5,000, he told his disciples that one of the twelve was a devil (John 6:70-71). We are not given any answers to this question, which I suppose is a divine way of saying that it is none of our business.

Given what happened to Judas it is not surprising that Jesus’ prayer for his true disciples is that they should be kept from the attacks of the evil one. In relation to being kept he mentions two aspects of their Christian life: oneness and joy. 

The reverence in Christ’s approach

Jesus addresses the Father as holy. This is similar to what he taught his disciples to say in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Hallowed be your name.’ While it is not possible to say why Jesus used this title, some comments can be made as to its meaning. What we can say is that Jesus would not have used a specific title without a purpose. When we wish to receive grace from God, it is appropriate to address him as ‘Gracious God’. If it is peace that we desire, then we can address him as ‘the God of peace’. When Jesus addressed the Father as holy, he would have wanted his disciples to reflect on the holiness of God.

When we say that God is holy, we state that he is elevated above everything else. We are used to contrasting holiness with unholiness because that is the spiritual environment in which we live. Yet the heavenly hosts, who have not experienced sin in themselves, also stress the holiness of God when they worship him (Isa. 6). They know that the Lord is infinitely superior to them. Holiness is the sum of God’s attributes. All the abilities of God are included in this term. It is almost a shorthand way of describing who he is. When we say the word, we should not merely think of his separation from sin or even his loftiness above all actual and possible creatures. In addition we should keep in mind his power, his wisdom, his love and all else about him.

At the same time, there is an expression of intimacy in the holy God being addressed as Father. It is probably true that the difference between the experience of believers of the Old Testament period and the New is that those in the Old were more aware of God’s holiness than of his fatherhood. Jesus, of course, interacted with God in a perfect way, far above what any New Testament believer can experience. Nevertheless, there is a sense in which his people should follow his example and interact with God reverently and intimately.

Jesus, the Keeper

Jesus asks that his disciples be kept through the name of the Father. I suspect he means God’s character and abilities when he mentions his name. For example, if I need help because my house is being robbed, I will ask the police to help me because they can act with the authority or in the name of the government. God has all authority, therefore he is able to keep the disciples of Jesus. Describing the manner in which Jesus kept his people, Marcus Rainsford writes as if Jesus had said the following: ‘I kept them by thine appointment, I kept them at thy charge, I possessed them, I surrounded them with all the fullness contained in thy holy, holy, holy name…. The Shepherd of the sheep keeps his people in the eternal power of God, in the eternal wisdom of God, compassed in the eternal faithfulness of God, enshrined in the eternal love of God, quickened with the eternal life of God, possessed with the eternal grace of God, and to be crowned with the eternal glory of God.’ In other words, all that God is will be used to keep his people from the world and from the evil one.

The relationship of Jesus and the eleven apostles can be described in many ways. We can think of Jesus finding them, of Jesus teaching them, of Jesus correcting them. Yet we don’t often think of Jesus keeping them. Perhaps that was why he spent nights in prayer, or why he highlighted particular sins in his teaching so that they would know how to deal with their faults. We know that both intercession and correction of personal sins were part of the keeping of Simon Peter. The description of Jesus here is a reminder that not even the apostles could keep themselves from their spiritual enemies.

Further, this description of Jesus about his keeping work reminds us that Jesus did not let them go, even although they deserved such a response. He was determined to keep them, he was delighted to keep them, and he was devoted to keeping them. Their spiritual preservation was always the focus of his attention. This was the case because he loved them.

Moreover, Jesus kept them personally. One of the most frustrating jobs must be that of a shepherd because there is always one or more of his sheep wandering away from the safety of the flock. The apostles of Jesus were continually wandering along all kinds of unhelpful roads. Yet Jesus did not let any of them perish by their enemies. He knew how far to let them wander and then he went and got them. They were allowed to wander not because he approved of their roaming but in order for them to understand their complete inability to defend themselves. Jesus looked after each of them.

The request

Jesus prays in particular for the unity of his disciples. Since he is praying primarily for his apostles here, it may be that he has in mind their unity in the doctrines of the faith that he had spent the previous three years teaching them. Also he would have in mind the unity of purpose in fulfilling the great commission that he had entrusted to them. As we think of the Saviour praying about these matters, it should make us realise how much it means to him that the church be one in its beliefs and purpose. Often today, a form of unity is achieved by finding the lowest common denominator; with Jesus, unity will be preserved by maintaining the highest common denominator. As Paul reminds his readers in Ephesians 4, they are to maintain the unity, not create it.

We can extend the principle to ourselves and ask if are maintaining the unity of God’s people. I don’t think the answer is found in getting rid of denominations. Divisions were present among the believers in Corinth even although there were no denominations then. The best way to achieve unity with others is by being united among ourselves. If we are not united to one another, then it is impossible to have unity with someone else because our lack of unity will have grieved the Spirit.

One way in which we express unity is at the Lord’s Supper. This meal was instituted by Jesus as a means of expressing the oneness of his people. Obviously, when a true believer is not at the Lord’s Table, perhaps because he or she has not yet professed, or because they have decided to do something else on that day, then their actions are denying the unity of believers. 

Another way of expressing unity is by adhering to the doctrines of the Bible. We have a confession of faith, but we don’t believe the doctrines are true because they are in the confession. Rather, we believed they are true because they are in the Bible, which is why they have been placed in the confession. The Westminster Confession of Faith was originally designed as a set of doctrines about which the Reformed churches in England, Scotland and Ireland could unite.

A third way of expressing unity is by living according to the vows that were made at times of baptisms. I’m not referring only to the vows put on parents or on the child’s obligation to keep them. Others too make commitments at a baptism, and they are the other members of the visible church. We maintain the unity of the congregation when we keep these promises, mainly by praying regularly for each child whose baptism we observed.

A fourth way of expressing unity is by mortifying the sins that are likely to spoil it. Which sins are they? They included anger, pride, self-importance, an unforgiving spirit and, sadly, many more inward attitudes. One writer puts it this way, ‘If there were no lusts within, there would be no wars without’ (George Newton).

Why did Jesus make this request? Many answers could be given. One obvious one is that unity makes church life comfortable and enjoyable. How many persons does it take to spoil Christian unity? One, and he or she can do it for a variety of motives and reasons. Another answer is that church unity is a way of receiving divine blessings. God is highly pleased with harmony and very displeased with disunity; he will bless the former and chastise those who do the latter. A third reason is that Jesus knew that there would be the ever-present danger of disunity. The realism of the situation made him pray precisely for it. A fourth reason why Jesus mentioned unity is that he is our example in what to pray for.

Thomas Manton, the Puritan author, put it as follows: ‘How contrary are they to Christ that love strife and sow discord among brethren; they are the devil’s factors, agents for the kingdom of darkness; they wholly frustrate the design and undertaking of Jesus Christ. He was incarnate, preached, prayed, died, etc that his people may be one. Yea, they do not only what in them lieth to frustrate Christ, and make void his aim, but do also disparage him before the world; he holdeth out to all the world that his people are one body, one family, one house, and yet they are crumbled into factions. Divisions in the church beget atheism in the world.’

Jesus says that the union of his disciples should be like the union that exists in the Trinity. Obviously he does not refer to the aspect of never having had a beginning because that would not be true of the disciples. But we can say that the union should be intimate (each divine Person enjoys one another’s company), functional (each has his role to fulfil), and dedicated (they work for the glory of the others). If a congregation has this unity, it will know the blessing described in Psalm 133, which is the blessing of the Spirit being poured upon it.