Continuing the prayer that Jesus prayed
Friday, March 3, 2006 .
John 17: 9-19
On the night of his arrest Jesus prayed. How do we know what Jesus prayed for? Because he prayed aloud. Perhaps he prayed similar prayers more often than once. His close companions remembered the prayer, Jesus intended them to. This prayer would be amongst the most important memories they shared together and carefully repeated to other people.
We are at verse 9 of this public prayer. It is surprising to I read; “I am not praying for the world.” (It is coincidence that we are reading this passage on the first Friday in March, a day which has been named World Day Of Prayer and when many Christians do just that; pray together for the welfare of the world.)
On this night Jesus concentrates his prayer requests on one special group of people: the people who believed he had been sent by God and that his message was true.
He asks great things for these people, the people who had listened to what he had to say and accepted his message. On this night of all nights he talks about joy. “I am saying these things while I am still in the world that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” What was his joy? His strong faith that God was in control of all that was going to happen to him and would resurrect him in three days. Jesus was deliberately and knowing allowing himself to become the climax of all the sacrificial offerings people made to God when, in the past, they had tried to lessen the gap between humanity and God. Jesus was very joyful because he understood that his death would close that gap.
“I am coming to you” he said to God, but these people who believe me are staying here in this world. They are different now to the world around them, I don’t ask you to secret them away to a safe place, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the evil one. Why do you think Jesus talked about the evil ‘one’ when there were at least two groups of people who wanted him dead?
His close companions heard the prayer but couldn’t comprehend what he was talking about. In three days they were going to be astonished, and constantly become more astonished as part by part the tremendous consequences of Jesus’ vicarious death became apparent.
That night he prayed, something he may have often prayed before: “In the same way you sent me into the world with your message I am sending them.”
We, who believe, have been given a mission to be messengers and witnesses of the deep love that God has for the world. By and large we don’t do an awfully good job of it, but in and through our rather feeble efforts God himself acts. This peaceful method of witness and message is the method God has chosen to call humanity to himself.
God’s love is pervasive, persistent and powerful, in spite of the weakness of the messengers the message gets through. ‘God wants you back home with him’. We who believe are joyful when others believe, we are joyful when another human makes friends with God and we are still astonished at the difference it makes.
Old Testament reading (Psalm 22)
For years people have asked why did Jesus cry out, “My god, My God, why have you forsaken me.” We know from scripture that God does not forsake people who endeavor to please him. The answer has always been that when the sins of humanity were transferred to Jesus God could not look upon him because God is so pure and sinless. It is a valid answer. But here is another one. This explanation comes to us from the people who study Aramaic and Aramean customs. At the time when Jesus was alive the psalms were not numbered. To identify a psalm you referred to its first line. According to this explanation Jesus called out, 'Psalm 22 is what is happening to me now.' Read it and see if you agree with this explanation
John 17: 9-19
On the night of his arrest Jesus prayed. How do we know what Jesus prayed for? Because he prayed aloud. Perhaps he prayed similar prayers more often than once. His close companions remembered the prayer, Jesus intended them to. This prayer would be amongst the most important memories they shared together and carefully repeated to other people.
We are at verse 9 of this public prayer. It is surprising to I read; “I am not praying for the world.” (It is coincidence that we are reading this passage on the first Friday in March, a day which has been named World Day Of Prayer and when many Christians do just that; pray together for the welfare of the world.)
On this night Jesus concentrates his prayer requests on one special group of people: the people who believed he had been sent by God and that his message was true.
He asks great things for these people, the people who had listened to what he had to say and accepted his message. On this night of all nights he talks about joy. “I am saying these things while I am still in the world that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” What was his joy? His strong faith that God was in control of all that was going to happen to him and would resurrect him in three days. Jesus was deliberately and knowing allowing himself to become the climax of all the sacrificial offerings people made to God when, in the past, they had tried to lessen the gap between humanity and God. Jesus was very joyful because he understood that his death would close that gap.
“I am coming to you” he said to God, but these people who believe me are staying here in this world. They are different now to the world around them, I don’t ask you to secret them away to a safe place, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the evil one. Why do you think Jesus talked about the evil ‘one’ when there were at least two groups of people who wanted him dead?
His close companions heard the prayer but couldn’t comprehend what he was talking about. In three days they were going to be astonished, and constantly become more astonished as part by part the tremendous consequences of Jesus’ vicarious death became apparent.
That night he prayed, something he may have often prayed before: “In the same way you sent me into the world with your message I am sending them.”
We, who believe, have been given a mission to be messengers and witnesses of the deep love that God has for the world. By and large we don’t do an awfully good job of it, but in and through our rather feeble efforts God himself acts. This peaceful method of witness and message is the method God has chosen to call humanity to himself.
God’s love is pervasive, persistent and powerful, in spite of the weakness of the messengers the message gets through. ‘God wants you back home with him’. We who believe are joyful when others believe, we are joyful when another human makes friends with God and we are still astonished at the difference it makes.
Old Testament reading (Psalm 22)
For years people have asked why did Jesus cry out, “My god, My God, why have you forsaken me.” We know from scripture that God does not forsake people who endeavor to please him. The answer has always been that when the sins of humanity were transferred to Jesus God could not look upon him because God is so pure and sinless. It is a valid answer. But here is another one. This explanation comes to us from the people who study Aramaic and Aramean customs. At the time when Jesus was alive the psalms were not numbered. To identify a psalm you referred to its first line. According to this explanation Jesus called out, 'Psalm 22 is what is happening to me now.' Read it and see if you agree with this explanation
posted by Jessie Coates at 9:17 PM
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