TEXT: John 17:13-19 KJV 13 And now come I to thee; and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath
hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not
of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of
the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also
might be sanctified through the truth.
John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the
world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus continues to speak concerning the disciples that were with Him there. He expresses a desire, maybe a little more intense than before.
The first phrase of this verse indicates that His prayer is much more earnest than previously. He has spoken while He was still present and as they listened to the desire of His soul because He loved them in a peculiar way, as a church.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself for it; (KJV) In this Ephesians passage we find just how intense that Jesus loved His church. It demonstrates how that a husband should love his 32
wife. The love of a husband for his wife should be very intense and deep. If he is going to be a good husband, that's how his love for her should be. He would die for her. He would do anything that he could for her. He would provide for her. He would care for her in every way.
That is the love that Jesus had for His church. Husbands have an example to follow concerning how they should love their wives and that example is Jesus. Honestly, I would suppose that a husband’s love for his wife, no matter how deep it may be, cannot come close to the love that Jesus had for His church. Because of the love that He has for His church, His desire is for them to have His joy completely fulfilled in themselves. This, however, cannot happen without the return love for Him.
John 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated
them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world.
In this passage, Jesus states a truth that has remained to this day.
That truth is "the world hath hated them because they are not of
the world."
Untold millions have died because they refuse to turn against Jesus.
It first started with the stoning of Deacon Stephen. The event is recorded in chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Acts. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to be deacons in that first church in Jerusalem.
It is believed by many scholars that he was a Grecian Jew. After the naming and ordaining of these seven men, the number of the 33
disciples increased dramatically, verse 7 of chapter 6. Verse 8 of this same chapter relates to us that he was full of faith and power.
He, according to this same verse, "did great wonders and miracles
among the people." The power that is referred to here was a supernatural power. This power was greatly challenged by the Sanhedrin.
Stephen was disputing with several of the synagogue of the Libertines. These were from Cilicia and Asia, as well as Cyrenians and Alexandrians. The word "disputing" carries the meaning that they were differing sharply, emotionally, with strong opposition toward the teaching and preaching of Stephen regarding Jesus Christ.
Because they were not able to stand effectively against Stephen, they stirred up the people and hired false witness against him and he was finally brought before the Sanhedrin. Given the opportunity to speak for himself, Stephen very clearly and eloquently related a history of the Jews from Abraham to the time of Solomon when he built the first temple.
Acts 7:51, Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye
do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
To be such to an Israelite was to be a heathen. This was Stephen's charge against those who had sanctioned the crucifixion of Jesus and persecution of Peter, John, and the other apostles of the twelve.
They were proud and very obstinate. They rejected the spirit and voice of God. They were destitute of any genuine disposition to honor God in spirit and truth, of which fleshly circumcision was supposed to be a sign.
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The matter of rejecting the message of God's prophets was a matter of resisting the Holy Spirit by which His prophets spoke. He told them that just as their fathers had done, so did they. He was pulling the cover off the hypocrisy of those of Israel who worshipped God with lip-service but hated His Son and the church which He had established.
He continued by challenging them to name those prophets that had not been persecuted by their fathers. They had mocked, despised, and misused them. They even murdered those true prophets who told of the coming of Jesus, the last of which was John the Baptist.
When he finished, verse 54 relates to us that "they were cut to the
heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth." The truthful charges related by Stephen indicted them as morally and ethically unclean, as enemies, lawbreakers, and murderers of holy men of God. Their affections were grieved, as the heart when penetrated by a sharp instrument, or pricked with a needle.
Their spiritual emotions were convicted by the Word and Spirit of God. Like snarling dogs that show their teeth, these guilty and convicted Jews of the Sanhedrin showed their hate for and rejection of the message of Stephen, with derision and scorn. They threw off their composure and restraint usually required in a judicial court.
This characterized the attitude or tendency of Judaism toward Jesus and the early church. (No wonder Jesus was praying for the disciples as He was!) Unable to stand any more, they cast him out of the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death.
This was not very long a time after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. He had already ascended by this time, but 35
the disciples had been very, very busy in spreading the gospel in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.
This persecution would only get worse. History would record the persecution and death of all the apostles, except for John, the one who recorded the Lord's Prayer.
Conclusion: Before we continue with the Lord’s Prayer, I want us to look at history to see how the Apostles were treated because of their stand and service to their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
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The Lord’s Prayer