John chapter 17, this evening we will be focusing on verses 6 through 19. Before we hear God's word, let's go to him in prayer. Please pray with me. O Lord our God, we pray that you would sanctify us by truth. Your word is truth. Lord, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for the inspired scriptures that you've given to your church. Indeed, the love letter from Christ to his bride. We pray, Lord, as we hear your word read and preached, we pray that we would receive it with joy, that we would receive this implanted word and store it up in our hearts so we might not sin against you. Bless us this evening as we submit ourselves to your precepts and commandments. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. John chapter 17, verses 6 through 19. Beloved, this is God's holy word. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were and you gave them to me. They have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me. And they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you. And they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine. And I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. 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 you 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. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. This is God's holy word. And we continue this evening through Jesus' prayer before he is arrested and crucified. In the first several verses, we get a beautiful glimpse, the first several verses of this prayer, we get a beautiful glimpse into the intimacy and the inter-Trinitarian communication between the Father and the Son. In that prayer, in verses one through five, Jesus prays for himself, and we get a beautiful glimpse of communication between the Father and the Son. He now, in this section, he moves into praying for his disciples specifically. In the next section, Lord willing, we'll look at next week, in the next section he will pray for all of the elect, but in this section he primarily prays for his disciples. And the point of this passage is this, Jesus prays that his disciples would be sanctified by the truth of God's word. We see this in verse 17. For instance, sanctify them in the truth, Jesus says, your word is truth. Jesus begins this part of the prayer by saying, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Jesus starts this part of the prayer by speaking of manifestation of God's name to people. Now, people is translated in, that word is translated people in the ESV, but it's translated men in the King James Version in the New American Standard. I think men is a better translation considering the context of Jesus' prayer here. And the men he is speaking about are the now 11 disciples who are with him at this moment. The fact that he is praying for the disciples, for the disciples primarily here, the fact that he's praying for the disciples can be proven by verse 12 when he prays for them. And the them he is referring to is described in this way, 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. So the them that Jesus is referring to is the 12 disciples minus Judas Iscariot, called here the son of destruction. And then we see Jesus extend this prayer out to all of the elect, all people, all Christians across, all people who would belong to him, all Christians across time. He extends it out in verse 20. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me. And look at that, Lord willing, again. But here he's praying for his disciples, and he says, I've manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. I've manifested your name to the men you have given me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you, for I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them, and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. Now Jesus here speaks of his entire ministry in all of his words in this way. He says, it is a manifestation of the Father's name. In Jesus' works and words, the one true God has been revealed to the disciples. Jesus said at one point, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Jesus continually referred to himself as the one sent by the Father. For example, whoever, he says this, whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me. Now this is the same type of work that God did through Moses, whom he sent to manifest his name among his people and among the Egyptians before Pharaoh. We see this in Exodus, for example, in chapter three, the Bible says this, and Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they ask me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever. And thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Jesus then comes as the greater Moses, who is not only sent by God, but who is one with the Father. He manifests the name of the Father because he is one with the Father. In the name of Jesus, we see the love of the Father and the essence of the Father's love for his disciples. Jesus is the anointed Savior sent from heaven. He is the anointed Savior. sent from heaven, who we see in verse 19, for their sake, consecrated himself as the spotless lamb to be slain. Jesus manifested the name of the Father, the name of the one true God to his disciples. So he's both the greater Moses sent by God, he's the greater Moses sent by God and also one with God, but he's also the Passover lamb. He's the Passover lamb who sheds his blood for these disciples and draws them to himself. They were given to Jesus by the Father. Verse 6, you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Jesus said, I gave them the words that you gave me and they received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you. Now receiving and keeping the words of Christ and therefore the words of the Father was the mark of a true disciple. These disciples for whom he is praying are those who have been given new hearts by the Holy Spirit to receive the words of Christ and to keep them, to obey them and to love to obey them. Judas, on the other hand, Judas, the son of destruction, was such a one that heard the words of Christ. He was in the vicinity of Christ's ministry, but did not receive them by faith. He did not obey them. Jesus, they heard things like this. Judas, the son of destruction, heard things like this after he washed the disciples' feet. Jesus said to them, you call me teacher and Lord, if I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Jesus said, serve one another, love one another, give in secret, love your enemies. These are the things that Judas Iscariot heard, but he did not do. He did not keep Jesus' words. He served himself and his own evil intentions. His true disciples, those who truly loved Christ, kept his word. This is who he is praying for. In the popular hymn, The Church's One Foundation, we sing in the last verse, the church shall never perish. Her dear Lord to defend, to guide, sustain, and cherish is with her to the end. Though there be those that hate her, and false sons in her pale, against or foe or traitor she ever shall prevail. There will always be false sons in her midst, but the true church, and there will always be enemies that come against the church, enemies of the church that hate her, and false sons in her pale, but the true church will never perish. She will never perish because each one of them has been given to the Son by the Father. Each one of them have been given to the Son by the Father, and they believe the words of the Son. Through Spirit-created faith, and they keep those words. Jesus is praying for these disciples who are among those who have been given to him by the Father. Now Jesus, in these first few verses, he gives an account of his work on earth. He gives a summary of his work on earth, that he had received these men, that he had taught them, He gave them his words, the words of the Father, and they believed. And it's from this account of what Jesus has done in this prayer that Jesus then begins to directly pray for them. He enters into intercession for them. He prays, I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine. I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." Jesus begins to pray for these disciples from the context of his approaching return to the Father. I am coming to you, Jesus said. Holy Father, keep them in your name. The disciples, up until this point, the disciples have been guarded, they've been kept, they've been watched over by Jesus, they've been guarded by Jesus while he was with them in this pre-resurrection mode. He shepherded them, he taught them, he shepherded them and protected them from the evil one while he was still physically with them, as he was here praying for them. but he would soon be gone. He would soon be gone and the world, which all those who remain in the world, he's referring to all those who remain in the world who are hostile to Christ and do not obey his world. This world would turn their hatred toward the apostles after Jesus was gone. Jesus would send them into that world. He knew their destiny. He knew what they were about to face and he's praying for them. And therefore Jesus does not pray here for that, All those in the world who hate Christ, who do not belong to Him, do not keep His word, He's not praying for that world, but for those given to Him from that world. Now Jesus here, in just praying for His disciples who have been given to Him from that world, it does not mean, friends, it does not mean that Jesus no longer has any concern for the world. Jesus came into the world, that the world might be saved through Him. does not mean this at all. He does have a concern for the world. This is why the apostles are later sent into the world, for the sake of the elect. But not all would believe. Not all do believe. Some here and some believe. Some others do not believe. Not all would believe. Not all will believe in our ministry in the church. And so he prays, Jesus prays, not for those, Not for those who do not come to the Father through the Son, not for the Judases of the world, but for Peter, for John, Matthew, and the others. This is who he prays for. Now consider here, friends, consider for a moment the infinite love of Christ for his disciples. Jesus is about to lay down his life for these men. He would undergo intense sufferings to pay for their sins and redeem them from hell. And yet, as if this wasn't enough, knowing that after He was raised, after He was raised from the dead and after He had returned to heaven, they too would suffer for the sake of His name. So before He goes to save them from their sins, to lay down His life for their sins, before He does this, before redemption is accomplished on the cross, He prays for them. He pleads to the Father for them, for their sakes. And he asked the Father that he would keep them in his name. That is to say that he asked the Father to keep them as sons in the name of the triune God who rules heaven and earth. They had been adopted into the family of God. Keep them in your name. God places his name on us when he claims us as his own. And Jesus is asking the Father to keep them in his name. Now this keeping of the sons results in a unity that flows from the eternal unity between the Father and the Son. It's a supernatural work of God that keeps the brothers and sisters in Christ united as one. It keeps these apostles united together as one, no matter what the world throws at them. It is a supernatural work of God to keep them united. Jesus is asking the Father to do this work, to do that work in them. This unity flows from the eternal unity between the Father and the Son, that they may be one even as we, is the literal translation, that they may be one even as we. It is this fellowship with the Father and the Son by the Holy Spirit that the disciples would in fact be guarded. They would be guarded and kept safe from the evil one no matter how much he would throw at them in this hostile world. Now Jesus here is praying specifically for his disciples, but this doesn't mean that he has no place in his heart for the saints that would come to him in all of the world. So I mean right here, he's completely shut his thinking out of all the elect from all time across ages. He says, all mine are yours and yours are mine. And he is praying specifically for his disciples here, but he mentions all of the elect, all mine are yours and yours are mine. To be possessed by the Son is to be possessed by the Father. This is the case for all believers, for all of us sitting here this evening. All mine are yours and yours are mine. To belong to the Son is to belong to the Father, to be kept in the Father's hand, to be held by the Son as well. We are possessed by the Triune God. to be possessed by the Son is to be possessed by the Father. Now, this was the case for these appointed leaders in the Church, and it's the case for all appointed leaders in the Church for all ages. Jesus continues His intercessory prayer for us in heaven now. He prays for us now in heaven. And He prays also for the officers in the Church, that they would be one, even as He and the Father are one. And friends, this should be our prayer and our goal, both as members and as pastors, elders, and deacons, that we would be one even as the Father and the Son are one. Jesus did not consecrate himself over to death. He did not sanctify himself over to death to give himself for the sake of the church so that we would be divided and quarrelsome, that the church would be filled with strife, He gave himself over so that we would be united. And that means we have to die to ourselves, to submit to one another in love, and pray for each other. And this is what Jesus is doing, praying for the apostles, that they would be one, even as he and the Father are one. This is what the evil one wants to do. He wants to kill unity. But Jesus prays against these futile efforts of a defeated foe, and he is a defeated foe, though he continues to rail against the church. Jesus prays against these futile efforts of a defeated foe, and his prayers are answered by the Father. Now, beloved, Jesus is praying for these apostles. He's praying for the apostles who endure many trials. This happened 2,000 years ago. But at the same time, it's recognized that your pastors, your elders, and your deacons, they endure many trials. Now, for elders and deacons, they do this without pay. They need your prayers. They need your prayers. They need you to plead to the Father through the Son on behalf of them, that they would be one, even as the Son and the Father are one. They need your love and your support. In the same way that Jesus is praying for these eventual leaders in the church, pray for them. Pray for them just as Christ here prays for the apostles. These apostles will be sent into a hostile world. They will be sent to a hostile world by the Spirit in order to become the foundation of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus prays for them. But for all believers, for all believers, just as with these apostles, for all believers, for all those who face trials, Jesus is always guarding us. He's always guarding us and keeping us in His name, and He's praying for us. There will always be strife, there will always be some division in our relationships with one another, but know that Jesus is praying for us. He guards us, He keeps us in His name. We should pray, pray for one another, that we would be one, even as the Son and the Father are one. Jesus said, while I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I've guarded them. And not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the scripture might be fulfilled. Now Judas Iscariot is described by Jesus as the son of destruction. Everyone had been guarded except for the son of destruction. He calls him the son of destruction simply to mean that he was destined to be lost. Judas was destined to be lost to fulfill the scriptures. that the scripture might be fulfilled. Now, Judas was destined to be lost, and we see that the false teachers in the world and the false sons and the pale of the church in the world, they are destined to be gone. We see this in the Holy Scripture, that their destruction is not asleep. They will come against the church at all times, but their destruction is not asleep. The Bible tells us. In the same way, Judas was destined to be lost. He's a son of destruction, but he is not lost against his own power. He is lost because he loved darkness. It was ordained by God in eternity as part of the work, the sovereignty of God in all of history. But he is lost also because he loved darkness. He is responsible for his lostness. He deserves his destruction. But the action, friends, the action was nevertheless, his betraying Jesus was nevertheless determined by God from eternity and prophesied in Scripture. And here we see a reference to the sovereignty of God, to his power over all things. All things that happened in the church and the life of the church, all things that would come against the apostles after Jesus had been raised and returned to the Father, all things happened as a result of God's sovereign power. He ordains all things. All things that bring us through trials, that cause us to suffer, he ordains them, to sanctify the church in his truth, to draw them to himself. Even the same way Judas had been destined to be lost, destined to give Jesus over, he's the son of destruction that the scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus had given this same lesson earlier in chapter 13 on the son of destruction being lost when he said, I am not speaking of all of you. He said, if you know all these things, blessed are you if you do them. I'm not speaking of all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. Judas was destined to be lost. He is the son of destruction. But the apostles, the apostles were kept in his name, guarded by Jesus. Jesus then prays, but now I'm 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. Jesus spoke this prayer in the world before his death. He spoke this prayer in the world before his death and it's recorded in holy scriptures so that he spoke it in the world so that his apostles would hear. It's written down so that we would hear. He spoke it in the world before them so that they would hear it and know the joy of Christ. They would hear it and know the joy of Christ and know the joy of seeing this prayer being answered in their ministry. He wanted them to hear this prayer and he wants us to hear this prayer from the pages of Holy Scripture and to know the joy of Christ when we see his prayers answered in the life of the church. The apostles would see this very prayer answered on their behalf as they did battle in the world armed with the gospel. Jesus wanted his disciples to know the joy of Christ, that his joy would be fulfilled in them as they see The prayers answered, the prayers of Christ for the church answered. The apostles would know the joy of seeing this prayer answered in their ministry flowing from the Holy Spirit. Now it is precisely that the Helper Spirit would come into them, and had come into them, was working in them, but he would come into them in a fuller way after Jesus was gone. It is precisely that the Helper Spirit would come into them and possess them that they would no longer belong to this world. They are not of the world, Jesus said. They are no longer of the world. It is because the Holy Spirit would come and possess them that they would no longer belong to this world. They belong to Christ, they were united to him. This Jesus who came down from heaven, therefore they belong to heaven. They would belong to heaven just as we belong to heaven by faith. Now it was true for the disciples and it's true for all believers that our citizenship is in heaven. We are truly not of the world. We are not of this world in all of its unbelief and all of its wickedness. We do not belong here. As part of the suffering as a Christian is a deprivation of glory. The glory that is to be ours at the end of the age is not yet possessed by us in this world. We do not belong to this world. We are citizens of heaven, but because of God's love for the elect, Because of God's love for the elect, for all who would believe, who all have yet to believe, the Holy Spirit keeps the church, he keeps these apostles, he keeps the church, you and I, in this hostile world, of the elect, to proclaim the gospel and to draw those who belong to him out of the world. And it's precisely because of God's love for the elect that these apostles are not immediately taken to be with Jesus in heaven, but are left in the world. to draw the elect out of the world. This is why we suffer in this world, for the sake of the elect. These apostles would be the object of the hatred of the world. The hatred of the world towards God and His Son, it would come upon them. It would come upon the apostles and they would suffer and they would be persecuted as a result of the hatred in the world. And the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen to them in this environment was not death, It was not persecution, it was not suffering, but it was being snatched by the evil one, snatched by the devil, drawn away from worship of Christ. This is what Jesus prays for. Not that they wouldn't die, but that the evil one would not snatch them away. This is what happened to Judas. Judas was always who he was. He was always who he was. But Jesus, in this prayer, points us to our true enemy in the world, who would seek to draw us away from the worship of Christ towards worship of creation. My friends, this is truly the most dangerous thing that could have happened, that could happen to these disciples. of this world is something that we often desire in the midst of trials, that we would be taken out of the world. Lord, take me out of this suffering and pain. We saw this in the case of the prophets of old in the Old Testament, Jonah and Jeremiah, plead with me out of this world. They cursed the day that they were born. But Jesus prays for something in his disciples. He prays not to take them out of the world. He prays to the Father, don't take them out of the world. Don't free them from persecution. Don't free them from the suffering, though that's what they want. Jesus prays for something in his disciples that would take place for as long as they would be in the world, enduring trials. He says, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. Now, to sanctify here means to set apart, to be set apart. Jesus is praying that the Father would set them apart as holy, as holy objects in service to God, in service and worship to God. They would be set apart and consecrated to the worship of God in Christ, in service to God in Christ. This is what Jesus is praying for. Now, this setting apart in the world is the work of the Holy Spirit. This would happen as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit. It's the work of the Holy Spirit cuts off the dominion of sin in the lives of his people, he would cut off the dominion of sin in the lives of these apostles, he would draw them to the resurrected Christ, he would cause them to die to themselves, and this is what he does in each one of us, he cuts off the dominion of sin in his people and he causes us to live to the resurrected Christ. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, setting us apart, service to Christ. And He, the Holy Spirit, He does this by the truth of God's Word. The Holy Spirit recreates His people. He recreates His people by the Word and He renews them by the Word, which is truth. The disciples were separated from slavery to the unbelieving world's demands. They were separated from slavery to the world's demands and prerogatives to obey the will of Christ. And from this obedience, It's from this obedience and proclaiming the truth of the Word of God that they would draw others into this sanctification process. The Holy Spirit always works with and by the Word in the life of the Church. He always conforms us to the Word. He conforms us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He conforms us to the teaching of Holy Scripture. He works with the Word, for His Word is truth. This is how we are set apart in the world. Now friends, we, in thinking of this teaching here from Jesus, from Jesus' prayer, we should remember and appreciate the Word of God, its preservation across history. We should learn to appreciate the Word of God and to receive it with joy, receive it with joy in our worship and community, and to feed on it all week long. The Spirit sanctifies us. He sets us apart in this hostile world so that we would not be drawn away He does this by his word, opening the Bible and focusing on the words of Christ. This is how the Holy Spirit sets us apart in the world and claims us as his own, keeps us from the evil one. It's what Jesus was praying for in the lives of his apostles, that they would be sanctified by his word. The apostles would be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, sanctified by the word of God, by the words of Christ as they took this word out into the world. It's here in this part of the prayer that we see the church universal come into view. All those who would believe across time, including you and I sitting here this evening. All those who believe would benefit from the answered prayer of Christ here. It's recorded here in scripture that he made 2,000 years ago, before he goes to the cross, this prayer would be answered in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit and in the apostles that are sent in the world with the truth. He says, you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. It is the sending of his apostles into a hate-filled world that God establishes his kingdom on earth. And there we see the church universal come into view. I've sent them into the world. They take the word of God into the world to draw the elect to himself. And this is what has happened all across time. Pastors and ministers and evangelists and the church at large have Proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the elect, all those who belong to Jesus have come through, come to him as a work of all of Christians across time. Jesus' prayers are answered as we get drawn to him. His prayer is answered here. We see it answered here this evening as we have come to him and hear and worship him. It is the sending of his apostles into a hate-filled world that God establishes his kingdom on earth. Now we notice here, too, that the union with Christ that the apostles had by the Spirit. We notice that the union with Christ that they had by the Spirit, and that it was Christ by himself, by his Spirit, who sent them into the world armed with the gospel. He said, I have sent them. That union, the union with Christ, after the Helper Spirit would come, that union would ensure their safety from the evil one. It would ensure their safety from the evil one. As Jesus Himself, by His Spirit, sends them into the world, but it would also ensure the suffering that they would endure, which is why Jesus prays. He knows what they're about to face. We praise for them. And when thinking of this union that all believers have with Christ, this is also why this prayer is recorded in scripture for us, friends. That we might have the joy of Christ fulfilled in us, knowing that he is praying for us, always, and that we are always guarded by him. And that the union that we have with him, it guarantees our resurrection, but it also guarantees our suffering. It guarantees that we will suffer in this life. Jesus is always praying for us, We know from this recorded prayer that one day, because we are united to him, one day we will be raised with him. His prayer is answered in us. His joy is complete in us. We see this prayer answered in our lives. Finally, Jesus says, for their sake, and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in the truth. for their sake points to the fact that Jesus lays down his life as a substitutionary sacrifice for his disciples and for all his children. We see this in 2 Corinthians. For our sake, Paul says, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Beloved, it is this sin-atoning sacrifice, this gospel of Jesus and the truth of this gospel that truly sanctifies the apostles. It truly sanctifies the apostles to his service, and it sanctifies us to Christ's service in the kingdom. The gospel of God set these men apart. It is this gospel they received. It's this gospel they believe. And it's the truth of this gospel that they proclaimed. And it's the truth of this gospel that we have received, that we have received and believe, and that truly sets us apart from the world, shapes us. It sets us apart from the world and sanctifies us. And it's the truth of this gospel that continues to shape us. To shape us as those who belong to heaven. It shapes us as those who belong to heaven. And it's this gospel that guards us from the evil one. Jesus began this part of the prayer with a reference to his work. He said, I have manifested your name. And he ends the prayer with a reference to his work. I consecrate myself. Brothers and sisters, it is on this finished work of Christ that our prayers are answered. It is on this finished work of Christ, based upon this finished work of Christ, that our prayers are answered. It is based upon this finished work that Jesus' own prayer was answered in the apostles as they are sent into the world to be a light to the nations. Those out of the world who would believe are the focus of the next part of Jesus' prayer, including you and I sitting here this evening. But friends, don't forget, don't forget that Jesus consecrated himself for your sake so that you might be sanctified in the truth. This is the case for you and for the leaders in the church.