Jesus Prays for His Apostles (John 17:6-19)

In the second section of his prayer Jesus prays for his apostles. He reveals two things about them: first, he has prepared them for their future roles and, second, he is praying for them in their future roles. As we look at the details, there will be some aspects that do not apply to use because we are not apostles and there will be other aspects that do because they apply to all believers. Yet even the details that apply to apostles are also relevant for us because they are God’s servants for the benefit of the entire church.

Prepared by Jesus (vv. 6-8)

The first thing we can note about the apostles is that they were a gift from the Father to Jesus. I assume that Jesus is referring to what took place in the covenant of redemption when the future of all things, including the church, was arranged. In that mysterious transaction, the apostles were given to Jesus not only as his people, but also as his particular servants. This was a great privilege for them to be, as Paul says in Ephesians, the foundation of the church, with Jesus being the chief cornerstone.

Second, Jesus summarises his teaching of them with the statement that he had manifested the Father’s name to them. This means that he revealed to them what the Father was like, or as he says elsewhere, ‘he that has seen me has seen the Father.’ Obviously, Jesus taught a great deal about the fatherhood of God, and we can only mention a few features of what he said. He taught that the Father pardons sinners (the parable of the prodigal son), that the Father is prayed to by his children (the Lord’s Prayer), and that the Father made great promises to them (‘Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’).

Third, Jesus affirms that they have made spiritual progress. After three years, they know a great deal about him, about the discussions the Trinity had before the Son came into the world, about what the Father had promised to him, about who Jesus truly is, and because of that understanding they all believed that the Father had sent the Son into the world.

Sometimes we are prone to imagine that the apostles had made little progress and we probably assume this to be the case because of their spiritual state at that time. Yet they had made some progress and had accepted his message even although they had not fully grasped what he meant. It is interesting to note that their personal knowledge of Jesus led them to accept that there was more than one divine Person (the Father as well as the Son). We cannot help but notice how kind Jesus is as he makes his assessment of them.

Prayed for by Jesus

It would be helpful if we thought briefly about the prayers of Jesus in general before looking at some of the details of what he prays here. We can say that his prayers express his interests, that they show his intensity (Gethsemane), that they reveal he was informed about those for whom he prayed, and that he identified God as his Father. As far as this prayer is concerned, I would mention six details that Jesus prayed about regarding his people.

Specific

From one point of view, when Jesus says that he is praying specifically for his disciples he is stating what could easily be deduced from the rest of what he says. Why does he pray for them specifically? One suggested reason would be that he loved them, but that description could be applied to each of the six details that we shall consider. He prayed for them specifically because they had particular roles to perform that were not required of other believers alive at that time. No doubt they would be very grateful that he had done so. Imagine the feelings of the apostle John as he writes out this prayer six decades later, a period in which he had repeatedly seen the answers given to this prayer by Jesus.

Shared (vv. 9-10)

Having stated that the Father had given the apostles to him, Jesus then says that they still belong to the Father. They had not been given to Jesus by the Father because he wanted rid of them. Although he had given them, he had not disposed of them. Instead he entrusted them to his Son that he would provide for them what they needed.

As Jesus prays here, he is fully aware of the fact that everything belongs to him and to the Father. From that point of view, they are a partnership as they live together in perfect harmony. Of course, since all things belong to them we might suspect that other things could be of more interest. Yet here is Jesus praying confidently that the apostles are of primary concern to the Father as well at that moment. After all, is prayer not when someone shares with the Father what concerns him or her in the knowledge that the Father too will be concerned about the matter?

Jesus then says something very surprising about those apostles when he says that he is glorified in them. After all he knows that they are about to deny that they know him and he knows that they will abandon his cause for a short time. How can he be glorified in them? Sometimes the present tense can be used to express certainty about something that has not yet happened. At that moment there was no sign that they would ever bring glory to Jesus, yet Jesus knew that they would do so in the future. In the world it is great to know that someone has confidence in another person because that individual has shown evidence of his capability and loyalty. In the church it is great to know that we can have confidence in what Jesus will do in the lives of those who yet have not shown that he will do great things for and through them.

Shielded (vv. 11-12)

Jesus was aware that the apostles would face troubles and dangers and would have to do so without his physical presence. This would be a totally new experience for them. It is not clear what Jesus means when he says that he had guarded them. The reference to Judas indicates that Jesus probably protected his true apostles from attacks by the devil.

What does Jesus refer to when he says that he had received a name from the Father, a name that was also a name of the Father? Some commentators say that Jesus is referring to the Father’s character and abilities, and that suggestion may be true. I wonder if Jesus has in mind the title ‘Lord’ which he would receive when he returned to the Father and he speaks here as if it were an accomplished reality already.

The danger that faced the apostles is connected to attempts to cause them to be no longer ‘one’. Is Jesus praying for unity in the sense that they would have harmony as they served him? Or is he praying that they would remain together numerically, that not one of them would cease to be an apostle no matter what would happen to each of them? After all, he knew that they would be the foundation on which the church would be built.  The reference to Judas does suggest that Jesus did not want another of the apostles to be lost.

An interpretation of security can be deduced from Jesus’ statement that the oneness of the apostles resembles the oneness of the Trinity. It is impossible for any creature to disrupt that oneness, and for similar security to be extended to the apostles would certainly ensure their security whatever dangers they faced. Here we have an example of the authority with which Jesus could pray.

Superlative satisfaction (v. 13)

We often say that prayer is a means of grace through which God works in order to bless his people. If that can be said of our feeble, often ignorant, prayers, how much more could be expected from the perfect prayers of the Saviour. It is often the case that what we ask for people to receive from God in a time of crisis is his peace. Of course, there is nothing wrong with such a petition. Yet it is striking that Jesus does not request that the apostles would have a sense of peace. Instead he prays that they all would have his joy. It is striking to observe how often the apostles in the Book of Acts experienced divine joy freely given. And we can note how often those that wrote New Testament letter also knew and recommended that great experience of joy direct from Jesus. And we cannot fail to observe that this is what Jesus wanted his apostles to know as they served him as his representatives. His prayer was a means of grace for them for decades.

Separated from the world (vv. 14-16)

Jesus continues praying for the matter of spiritual protection for his apostles. He knows that they are and will be hated because they are the recipients and the declarers of the message that Jesus received from the Father. It is not possible to obey that message and be part of the world. The world has its own values and objectives and the message from the Father is in conflict with them.

In the immediate context the world would include self-righteous religion (the Pharisees), anti-supernaturalism (the Sadducees), political power (Herod and Rome), violent nationalism (the Zealots), traditions in religious practice not authorised by the Bible, and pursuit of selfish pleasure. Most of life was dominated by aspects of the world. The message from the Father is a call to another way of life in which God is served as the God of love who rescues sinners from the penalty of their sins, makes them holy, forms them into a community marked by brotherly love, and promises them eternal life in a perfect environment.

The world is led by the devil and he will want to attack the apostles. Jesus does not pray that they will be removed from the world but that they will be preserved while in it in order to pass on the message from heaven. We can read in the Book of Acts how this was done.

Sanctification (vv. 17-19)

Jesus mentions three essential details for their service. First, there has to be divine change through the truth (the message that they will declare will also change them as well as those who hear them). The Father will work in them as well as through them.

Second, they needed a divine commission, one that is modelled on what the Father required of his Son when he sent him into the world. The Son became incarnate and lived among those he was sent to help. So too with them. It is not a call to shout from a distance but to minister among people.

Third, they needed ongoing divine care and Jesus arranges for this when he consecrates himself so that they will be sanctified by the truth. This is a reference to the cross, but what happened there was the first moment of that consecration. He would care for them when he rose from the dead and after he ascended to heaven. Because that would be the case, they would find spiritual success.