“Christ’s Farewell Prayer”1

John 17:11b-19
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (ESV)

 

 

   If you were about to die, what would you pray for?

   The prayer of Jesus in our text is his high-priestly prayer, his longest recorded prayer, and his final prayer before he entered into his Passion. He was still in the upper room. He had already washed his disciples feet. He had already said to them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”2 He had already instituted the Holy Supper and given the Eleven3 his final words of instruction. Before, however he would enter into the agony of Gethsemane and permit himself to be arrested, he took the time to pray.

   He knew that his earthly life would soon be over, for, in his prayer, he says to his heavenly Father, “And now I am no longer in the world ... I am coming to you.”4 Yes, Jesus knew that he was as good as dead. He knew that he was a dead man walking, if you will. He knew that he was on death row, due to be executed in the morning by the Roman state. A man’s final words are important. He concerns himself, not with petty matters, but with weighty ones. Final words are a window into the deepest recesses of the soul. They reveal a person’s deepest concerns, wishes, and feelings.

   What was on Jesus’ heart were his disciples. He had called them, and they followed him. He had taught them; he had protected them; and he had loved them. He had reached in and touched their hearts as no one had ever done before. He had changed them from the inside out so that they no longer belonged to the world, but to the Father. But he was getting ready to leave them in this world. They would be planters of God’s seed in a world that hated God. They would face the fury of those who were hostile to Christ.

   And so Jesus prayed for them. He prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in your name.”5 Here, he is asking the Father to sustain the faith of his beloved disciples after he departs this world. While he was with them, he was the one who guarded them. He protected them. He fed their faith with the “bread of life,” i.e., with the bread that gives spiritual and eternal life, namely, himself and, with himself, his teachings as well.6 Do you think it was easy for Jesus to leave them? I don’t think so. He knew they would be subjected to fear, sorrow, and doubt after his death. He knew the troubles and struggles they would face after he had ascended into heaven. It must have been hard for him to leave them. Our Lord was like a father going on a long journey. He prays that his children would be kept safe from the assaults of the world and temptations of the evil one.

   Such a father prays, “Heavenly Father, protect them while I am away. Protect them from the many dangers that they know not of, namely, from false teachers, the devil’s seductive lies, and their own sinful flesh. Oh, my Father, protect him.”

   In that same spirit Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them. Protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth”7 In this prayer, Jesus was praying specifically for his disciples. But let us be sure to understand that his prayers also apply to us. Jesus was praying for us. Jesus was praying that the Father would protect us--that he would protect us from the evil one--that he would sanctify us. He was praying for us because, although we are in the world, we are not of the world. We do, indeed, conduct our affairs in this world, but our allegiance is to him who created the world. So Jesus prays for us, that the seductions of the world do not become the things that rule our hearts and lives. So Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them. Protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth.”8

   My friends, to know that Jesus constantly intercedes for us is a very comforting thought. And we are grateful for that. Yes, we are grateful that God has called us to faith, that he feeds our faith through Word and Sacrament, and that Jesus prays for us constantly.

   But, if the truth be told, we are really not satisfied with that. We yearn for more. Though we never vocalize it, though we rarely even think about it, the truth is that we’re really not content. On the one hand, we are glad that our eternity is secure. We really are. But, on the other hand, our unspoken prayer may sound something like this:

“Thank you God for the new life in Christ, but what I really want is the good life and financial security.…

Salvation is nice but it’s in the future. What about now?
The Gospel is good, but I want goods, you know, stuff I can use now.
Forgiveness is great, but I want greatness.
You’ve given me spiritual blessings, but I want material blessings.
You’ve given me a roof over my head, but what I really want is to get ahead.
You’ve given me life but not happiness.
You’ve given me responsibilities but few rewards.
You’ve given me faith but not fun.
You’ve given me prayer but not peace.”

   And so, we become unhappy. We get angry ... and often depressed Why? There are three reasons, viz., the devil, the world, and our flesh, i.e., our sinful nature. All three urge us to embrace the idea that, if God really loves us, he should give us what we love. Television teaches us to indulge ourselves. “If only you will satisfy your desires,” it says, “you will be happy.” Really?

   Those who love the world and the things of the world often pursue happiness with reckless abandon. You see, they are not content with what they have. But, often, happiness is ever-elusive. Sometimes a worldling may find wealth and financial security. But his money does not bring happiness. Howard Hughes, emaciated and an addict, was worth two billion dollars when he died, but his money brought him only grief, sorrow, and regrets. If wealth is the only asset one has, such people don’t die happy because they can’t take their money with them.

   Some years ago, for example, a wealthy young woman lay on her deathbed. Only her father was with her. Shortly before she died, she said to him, “Father, why didn’t you tell me there was such a place?” “What place?” he replied. “A hell,” she said. Trying to calm her, he said, “Jenny, there is no such place. God is merciful. There will be no future suffering! She cried out, “I know better! My feet are slipping into it at this moment. I am lost. Why didn’t you tell me there was such a place?” And with that, she breathed her last.9

   My friends, we will never find happiness by looking inward and trying to indulge our desires. That is the way of sin. The way of God is to trust in him and to serve him by serving others. Yes, render to God that which he requires, viz., faith in Christ. And render to your neighbor what he needs, viz., your deeds of love. In this way, your life is properly directed.

   But if you continue to look inward to serve and indulge yourself, you are terribly misdirected. One day you will wake up to find yourself profoundly miserable! As such, you are headed for trouble. And you never know what might happen next.

   But please remember Christ’s prayer for his disciples and us. “Holy Father,”he prayed, “protect them. Protect them from the evil one. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth.”10 His prayer is not for things material, nor for things emotional, but for things spiritual. Yes, he would teach us that the primary purpose in life is to make it to eternal life. And so to the Word of truth we go to be fed with spiritual bread. Jesus says to us,

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall never hunger; and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”11

   When our soul is parched, he promises to give us living water, for he said,

“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”12

   When we kneel at his supper and he says to us,

“Take eat; this is my body. Take drink, this is my blood of the new testament given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.”13

   What a wonderful Savior we have! He prays for us. He reminds us of what is important. And on the day following this prayer, we find him stretched out on the cross. What Jesus did for you and me--paid for all our sins; earned our forgiveness for us--becomes our own personal possession through faith alone in Christ.

   And each morning, whether I’m consciously aware of it or not, I arise forgiven anew. I am a new man, a new child of God, cleansed by his blood. I will be, then, by the grace of God, the honest, truthful, loving, forgiving, committed child of God ... daily in his Word, growing in his grace, transformed from within.

   May we all be sanctified in the truth by being in the Word of truth. After all, in the upper room, this is what our Savior asked from the Father, that we might be kept in the truth of God’s Word.

   In the name of Jesus,
   Amen.

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

 

 

Endnotes

1        Note about capitalization of Trinitarian pronouns. In my written sermons, I usually do not capitalize pronouns referring to God. I believe, teach, and confess that there are three divine persons in one divine essence. I choose not to capitalize them for two reasons: (1) The original Greek and Hebrew texts are all written in (what we would call) capital letters. Thus the original texts of Scripture do not make distinctions of capitalized personal pronouns with reference to God; and (2) Almost all English translations with the exception of the NASB (1977 and 1995), the NIV (1973, 1984), the NKJV (1982), and the HCSB (1999, 2004) do not capitalize pronouns referring to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Thus the capitalization of divine pronouns are a rather modern practice. But when translators capitalize a personal pronoun they must interpret whether they think a pronoun is a reference to one of the divine Persons. Sometimes this is a difficult task. It is not the job of translations to interpret; they should only translate and leave the references to divine pronouns uncapitalized so the reader will have to determine from context whether or not the pronoun’s referent is to one of the three, divine Persons. It is worth noting that two very good translations do not capitalize, namely, the KJV and the ESV. I have no objection if translations choose to capitalize but place a footnote saying that the original does not capitalize the particular pronoun.