Under Attack
Israeli intelligence analyst Ronen Bergman writes of a time in 1962. Egyptian leaders announced the successful test of missiles that gave Egypt the ability to target and destroy Israel.[1] Israeli military intelligence learned of a secret facility in the Egyptian desert—Factory 333. This factory was staffed by German scientists hired by Egypt. The scientists were building build 900 missiles—all pointed at Israel.
In response to this threat, the Israeli’s devised a fear campaign. They hoped to frighten the German scientists at Factory 333 into quitting. Thus, Israeli assassins were sent to take out a few key scientists. The assassins, however, were to make it clear that Israel was behind the killing. Israel wanted everyone to know that they had assassinated the scientists. The hope was that when the other Factory 333 scientists heard of an assignation of one of their own by Israel, they would conclude that they might be next. And, Israel hoped, all the scientists would eventually quit out of fear for their lives.
The plan worked. Factory 333 scientists realized that an attack on just one of them could turn into an attack on all of them. They rightly concluded that they might be next. Thus, when West Germany offered the scientists jobs elsewhere, nearly all accepted the offer. Egypt’s Factory 333 was left without the means to complete its plot against Israel.
Something similar motivates part of Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Jesus’ prayer, especially in John 17:6-18, is driven by the reality of a threat. Jesus speaks about the way the world has responded to him and his followers: “…the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world…They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:14,16 ESV).
Jesus’ prayer takes place in the context of hatred and threats.
We see this in the way Jesus begins the prayer in v. 1 with “Father, the hour has come.” This “hour” refers to the hour of Jesus’ death. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is prompted by the reality that there were human enemies who hated Jesus and who were ready to assassinate Jesus.
But Jesus thinks not only of immanent threats from the world. In v. 15 he talks to God about “the evil one.” Not only do some hating humans have Jesus in their sights. The Devil himself has Jesus in his sights. Jesus knows that he’s the target of a human and demonic assassination plot.
But Jesus also recognizes that the enemy threatening him will also threaten his disciples. The attack against Jesus by these humans and by the evil one will turn into an attack on all of Jesus’ followers. No doubt the Enemy hopes to frighten off the Christians with this attack against the Christ. No doubt these enemies hope Jesus’ followers will conclude that they are next—and then they will run and quit.
And that’s why Jesus does something unusual in this prayer. Jesus is the one facing the most immanent attack. He’s the one that will be the first to be assassinated. Thus, we might expect Jesus’ prayer to focus exclusively on his pain and his need. Isn’t that what we do when we go through tough times? When we lose a job, or we have a health issue, or we struggle in a relationship, or we suffer the death of a loved one, our prayers almost always turn inward. We pray solely for ourselves. And Jesus does this in other prayers of his.
But in this prayer, Jesus models something different. Jesus shows us that even when our lives are endangered, we must continue to pray for others. Because the pain we are experiencing, others are also experiencing or may soon experience. While none of us would blame Jesus if every word of this prayer was in first person singular (me, my, I), two-thirds of the prayer is third person plural (they, theirs, them). When we come to times of pain we tend to pray mainly for ourselves. One thing Jesus teaches us in this prayer is to always, always, always pray for others.
“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. 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.” (John 17:11b-19 ESV)
Jesus prays for the disciples who will remain behind when he ascends to the Father. He prays for the apprentices he’s invested in and trained. Jesus begs the Holy Father to move heaven and earth to rescue those who now wear the name of Jesus. Because just as Jesus is soon to be attacked, so they too will be attacked. Thus even in the midst of his pain, Jesus turns his thoughts outward and prays for others.
Specifically, Jesus prays three things: “keep them in your name” (Jn. 17:11b ESV); “keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15 ESV); and “Sanctify them” (Jn. 17:17 ESV). As Jesus considers his followers and the foes they will face, he prays they will be kept in the Father’s presence, kept from the Devil’s power, and kept for their global purpose.
Thus, Jesus’ prayer in John 17 not only nudges us to be less self-absorbed when suffering and to keep praying for others. It gives us three ways to keep praying for others even when we are the one suffering. Sometimes it’s hard to pray for others because there is so much going wrong in our own lives. But even when we are able to focus on others, we don’t always know what to pray. Jesus gives us the framework for knowing what to pray for others. Even when we are enduring pain, John 17 calls us to pray for others that that they would be kept in the Father’s presence, kept from the Devil’s power, and kept for their global purpose.
Kept in the Father’s Presence
First, Jesus teaches us to pray that others will be kept in the Father’s presence: “keep them in your name” (Jn. 17:11b ESV). The Father’s name is an important part of this prayer. Jesus reminds God, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world” (Jn. 17:6 ESV). He states “I kept them in your name” (Jn. 17:12 ESV) and “I made known to them your name” (Jn. 17:26 ESV).
In Scripture someone’s “name” communicates something central about their identity. Names were chosen in the Bible because they indicated something about the individual. They revealed a person’s identity. Thus to know a name was to know the essence of the person named.
In addition, a person’s name could carry the same authority as the presence of that individual. To come “in the name” of a ruler or a king was to come with the same authority as if that ruler or king were present himself. Jesus earlier stated that he came in the Father’s name (Jn. 5:43; 10:25)—that is, he came with the authority of the Father, as if the Father himself were present.
Thus when Jesus asks God to “keep them in your name” he is praying for God to keep others under God’s care and by God’s power. He’s praying for God to be present with them, and to keep them close by him. In a word, Jesus prays for God to keep them in his “presence.” “Don’t let them out of your sight,” Jesus prays. “Keep them close to your heart and hold them in your hands,” Jesus begs.
Earlier this year an 85 year old Catholic nun got stuck inside a broken elevator.[2] During a power outage the elevator she was in stopped between floors. She wasn’t found until after spending four nights and three days in the dark. Her cell phone was of no use—there was no signal available. All she had was a water bottle, some celery sticks, and some cough drops. Those nourished her for four nights and three days.
But she had something else. She had the presence of God. A reporter for Time magazine wrote, “At first she said to herself, This can’t happen! But then she decided to turn her elevator into a personal prayer retreat. ‘It was either panic or pray,’ she later told an interviewer… She started viewing the experience as a ‘gift.’ ‘I believe that God’s presence was my strength and my joy—really,’ she said. ‘I felt God’s presence almost immediately. I felt like he provided the opportunity for a closer relationship.”
Do you hear what she is saying? Even four nights and three days in a dark elevator can be a glorious experience if you have the presence of God. As long as you have the presence of God, it doesn’t matter what may be wrong in life. As long as you have the presence of God, life is good.
That’s the essence of Jesus’ prayer. Jesus knows that no matter what’s wrong in our lives, if we have the presence of God, we will be all right. Thus, even though he is in pain, he prays for us—that we would be kept in the Father’s presence.
His example should encourage us to do the same. No matter what else may be going on in our lives, we should pray for others to have this comforting and fulfilling presence of God.
Kept From the Devil’s Power
Second, Jesus teaches us to pray that others will be kept from the Devil’s power: “keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15 ESV). Jesus’ prayer is guided by a kind of magnetic worldview. One the one hand, Jesus believes in a Father to whom all should be drawn and in whom all should be kept. On the other hand, Jesus believes in a Devil from whom all should be repelled and from whom all should be kept. Jesus’ prayer has a push and a pull. He asks that others will be pushed closer to the Father and pulled farther from the Devil.
Jesus believes in real evil which emanates from a real Devil. And his concern now is that others need to be protected from that power—the same power that is now threatening him. Jesus knows that he is not the lone figure at the center of the Devil’s target. That bulls-eye is also filled with the name of every person wearing the name of Jesus. It’s filled with your name. This leads Jesus to pray passionately that we will all be kept from the Devil.
A few years ago The Atlantic Monthly ran a story about the guidelines followed by writers, editors, and illustrators who prepare textbooks and tests for K-12 students in the United States.[3] Among the words expressly forbidden by the guidelines were “Devil” and “Satan” (along with “God”!). Children in the United States are fed a worldview which denies that the Devil is real. Jesus prays from the opposite worldview. His example calls us to do the same.
Mario Sepulveda, one of the thirty-three Chilean miners trapped underground for two months in 2010, commented to reporters: “I was with God, and I was with the Devil. They fought, and God won.”[4] That’s the essence of Jesus’ prayer. Jesus finds himself in a deep pit with God and with the Devil. He finds himself locked in a supernatural battle. But he realizes that he is not the only one impacted by the conflict. All who follow Jesus are impacted as well. All who follow Jesus are with God and with the Devil. Thus Jesus prays not only that they will be kept in the Father, but that they will be kept from the Devil.
Jesus’ prayer urges to do the same. If we are to follow in Jesus’ prayer-steps, we must learn to pray against the Devil for the sake of others. We must learn to constantly lift up other people, even when we are in pain, and pray for the Holy Father to keep them from the evil one.
Kept for Their Global Purpose
Third, Jesus teaches us to pray that others will be kept for their global purpose: “Sanctify them” (John 17:17 ESV). Listen to the full prayer: “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.” Jesus is reflecting upon his mission and our mission. Jesus is pondering how he’s been sent into the world to accomplish a greater purpose and how we are being sent into the world for a greater purpose.
In fact, in John 17 “sanctify” and “sent” are synonymous. The word “sanctify” is literally “make holy.” When applied to people and things, “make holy” refers to them being reserved for God and his use.[5] Thus Jesus has been sanctified. He’s been reserved for God and his use in the world. He’s been sent into the world for God’s purposes. Now Jesus prays the same for others. Just as Jesus was set apart for the purpose of being sent into the world, so now he prays for others to be set apart for the purpose of being sent into the world. Jesus prays that they might fulfill their purpose in life.
And it is a purpose that is global in nature. Listen to how much of Jesus’ prayer centers upon the world:
- “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you (Jn. 17:11 ESV).”
- “But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves (Jn. 17:13 ESV).”
- “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one (Jn. 17:15 ESV).”
- “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world (Jn. 17:18 ESV).”
- “…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me (Jn. 17:21 ESV).”
- “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (Jn. 17:23 ESV).”
The reality is that Jesus’ greatest concern in this prayer is not merely for us his followers—it is for the world. The world does not exist for the sake of his followers. Instead, Jesus’ followers exist for the sake of the world.
Jesus thus prays for his followers to remain sanctified—set apart for their global purpose of enabling others to know the Father and the Son. He prays they would remain focused on the bigger picture—their mission to the world. Jesus prays his followers will see beyond their next test, Friday’s game, their cubicle or classroom, their upcoming vacation or their new vocation. He prays they will even look past their own pain. Jesus prays they will be kept in the Father’s presence and from the Devil’s power so they can truly fulfill their global purpose. He prays the Father will sanctify them.
And Jesus’ prayer encourages us to pray similarly. One of our most important prayers to pray for others is that they would live out the purpose for which they were created. It’s a prayer we’ve got to pray for our children—that they would grow and achieve the purpose for which God put them here. It’s a prayer we’ve got to pray for our friends and neighbors—that they’d discover their part in the story and live it out. It’s a prayer we’ve got to pray for this church—that we’d remain focused on our purpose in this world and not get distracted from it.
Above all, this prayer in John 17 urges to pray for others even when we are in pain. It demands that intercession be characteristic of our prayer lives even when we are suffering. It reminds us that the dangers we face are faced by others. And as much as we long for assistance in dealing with our own demons, Jesus’ prayer leads us to also pray about the demons confronting others.
In his book Traveling the Prayer Paths of Jesus John Indermark writes, “The act of being prayed for by another is an extraordinary gift.”[6] One of the greatest gifts you can give a person is to look him/her in the eye and say, “I am praying for you.” And it is an even greater gift when it is offered by one who is in pain. No one was deeper in a pit than Jesus when he prayed this remarkable prayer for us. In the same way, the greatest give you can offer is to pray this prayer for others even when you are in your own pit. Pray for others to be kept in the Father’s presence—and keep on praying even when you are in pain. Pray for others to be kept from the Devi’s power—and keep on praying even when you are in pain. And pray for others to be kept for their global purpose—and keep on praying even when you are in pain.
[1] Ronen Bergman, “Killing the Killers,” Newsweek (December 20, 2010), 33.
[2] Jenny Wilson, “Nun Stuck in Elevator Survives Four Nights on Celery Sticks, Water and Cough Drops,” Time.com (4-28-11)
[3] Diane Ravitch, “The Language Police,” The Atlantic Monthly (March 2003), 82-83.
[4] Perspectives 2010, Newsweek (Dec. 27, 2010/ Jan. 3, 2011), 18.
[5] D. A. Carson The Gospel According to John (IVP, 1991), 565.
[6] John Indermark, Traveling the Prayer Paths of Jesus (Upper Room Books, 2003): 93.
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