Who are the True Disciples of Jesus?(John 17:11-19)

Who are the True Disciples of Jesus?

(John 17:11-19)

 

 

John 17:11-19 -

 

11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name You gave me, so that they may be one as We are one.  12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name You gave me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 

13 “I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  14 I have given them Your Word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  15 My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.  16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.  18 As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

 

 

Intro -

 

Today’s Scripture Passage recounts part of Jesus Christ’s High Priestly Prayer that He prayed a little before the Roman soldiers came to arrest Him.  These are prayers for His disciples, but they are extremely meaningful and prophetic prayers.

 

If we examine the content of Jesus’ intercessory prayer that He prayed after He finished His Farewell Sermon, we can know who Jesus is, who God is, and what His purpose if for coming to this world.

 

The reason why the Father sent the Son to this world is to give “Eternal Life” to every person given to the Son from the Father.  Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ, the One He has sent.

 

And then He defines what a disciple is.

 

God distinguishes those who belong to Jesus Christ among all the people of the world.  These are the disciples.

 

These are the ones who know that Jesus Christ came from the Father according to the Word and who believe in the Word Jesus gave to them. 

 

Because Jesus is God in His very nature, there is no real reason He needs to cry out to Heaven in prayer.  But Jesus will no longer remain in the world, while the disciples will still remain in the world.  That is why He offered this intercessory prayer for His disciples.

 

That’s why He prayed that His disciples would experience joy within their lives.

 

And so, He prays in verse 13, “so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”

 

So Jesus prayed this intercessory prayer so that His disciples who were listening would have the full measure of joy in their hearts.

 

2. We can summarize the High Priestly Prayer that Jesus prayed for His disciples to have the full measure of joy into 3 main sections.  We call one another Christians in Jesus. 

 

(You can say Christians are those who are like Christ, people who behave and live with Christ, ones who have Christ as their Model. 

This means people who live as disciples of Christ. 

Then what is the true Christian lifestyle and the lifestyle of a disciple? 

So as we learn about these things, let’s look at ourselves and ask:  Am I living like a true Christian, like a true disciple?)    

 

 

Body -

 

A. First, we must life lives of being one together.

 

Jesus prays in verse 11:  “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name You gave me, so that they may be one as We are one.”

 

We say that God is the God of the Trinity.  In the very first Book of the Bible, God expresses that He is Three Persons by calling Himself “Us.”  In Genesis 1:26-28, it    

says:

 

26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 

27 So God created mankind in His own image,

    in the image of God He created them;

    male and female He created them.

 

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

 

The reason why God calls Himself “Us” in this Passage is because, as you know, God is the God of the Trinity, He is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  I think this isn’t that difficult to understand.

 

We always drive around in a car… 

An automobile is able to operate because it’s made out of 20,000 - 30,000 different parts. 

Electric cars, which will became the wave of the future, is made up of about 15,000 different parts put together.

Even a married couple is a kind of single system made up of 2 different people.

 

That’s why Jesus prays in today’ Scripture Passage that the disciples would be one just as “We” are one!

 

What would happen if the 20,000 different parts of your car failed to operate properly together? 

What would happen if a screw was loose or a nut and bolt didn’t match and fit together? 

Then the car couldn’t drive properly. 

And if the driver found it about it, he would be way too afraid to continue to drive that car.

 

There was a recently an Internet news article that said that the front bumpers of several Tesla electric cars started making a strange noise and then suddenly fell off as they were driving so that their drivers were shocked. 

The front bumpers of these Tesla cars, which usually cost more than $50,000, just suddenly starts making a strange sound and then falls off as they are driving on the road. 

They discovered that one of the major screws was not properly screwed in. 

This became a case example of a major manufacturing fault.

This one fault made the car into a piece of junk. 

The workers did not do their due diligence in assembling the cars together. 

Even some Hyundai and Kia cars as they travel down the highway will have their engines catch on fire or have oil start leaking or have aluminum powder will come out of the air conditioner. 

All the different parts must become one and show its capabilities well for it to be a good car.

 

What is the total number of disciples in the world?  There are many even within our own Church.  We must become one.  The way to become one is to love one another in Christ.  If there is no love, it means nothing in the end.  We must have mercy for one another, understand one another, pardon one another, encourage one another, compliment one another, and hold onto one another.  We must accept one another.  We are people who have lived in different environments and have different educations, different Families and different ideologies.  Even my children don’t turn out the way I always want them to.  Even if believers are different from one another, we must accept one another.  Even if we have different thoughts, we must accept one another.  As long as they don’t go outside of the Bible, we must say okay to them.  As long as they don’t go outside of Jesus, we must say okay to them.  Then the divisions in the Church will disappear.  Whether you belong to Paul or to Apollos…  When there was so much noise in the Corinthian Church…  The Apostle Paul reproached them.  He said, Look, you are so miserable and immature!     

 

Ephesians 4:3-6 - “3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

 

We become like Jesus when we become one in Him.  Hallelujah!

 

 

B. Do not fall into evil.

 

In verse 15, it is recorded, “My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.” 

 

In Jesus’ prayer, He said that the disciples who hear the Father’s Word no longer belong to the world and no longer follow the world.  And so, He said that the world will hate them. 

The identity of the believer is this.  Because we do not belong to the world nor follow the world, the world has no choice but to hate us.

And so, in Korea there is a popular word they use on the Internet, which translates to “Dog-like Christian.”

Even if a believers does something slightly wrong, people will slander them by calling them a “Dog-like Christian.”

Why?  Because Christians and Church Leaders who do evil are so numerous.

Internet forums are full of news about fake believers, fake deacons and fake pastors.

There are too many Roman Catholic Priests who have committed sexual crimes while in office.

There are too many Pastors who fall into adulterous relationships.

There are too many Pastors who are greedy.

There are too many Pastors who are seeking a fancy house, a fancy car, a huge annual salary.

Many Pastors say, My Church needs to be a Mega-Church, a rich Church, but the Pastors underneath him have Church Plants that are pressed and going through so many hardships.

There are so many Churches that are doing missions just for show in front of others.

There are too many things that are embarrassing before the people of the world.

This is not being a model to the world.

Why?  Because we are not living lives that are rightful for a true disciple.

There are too many cases of deacons who cheat other deacons out of their money.

Even the fake worldly Christians who get mentioned on the Internet are not exceptions to this.

But even the disciples who diligently pray, evangelize and devote themselves become wholesale a part of this maligned group.

The many true ones get smeared with the few fake ones.

And so, the doors to evangelism get closed.

But Jesus did not pray that that the disciples be taken out of this kind of world.

You don’t become a true disciple when you fall into evil.

That’s why Jesus prayed for them to be protected from evil.

The representative example of this is Judah Iscariot.  He was a disciple who sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

We must not fall into money, self-indulgence or greed.

That is not the lifestyle of a true disciple.

The disciple must be the salt and light of the world.

 

Everyone… I truly hope you do not fall into evil.  A believer must not come up on the news with handcuffs on being escorted by the police to jail or to trial.  

 

 

C. Remain inside of Jesus, inside of the Truth.

 

Third, our Lord prayed that God would make the disciples holy inside of the Truth.  Let’s look at verses 20 and 21:

 

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

 

Being sanctified means being made holy. 

Being holy means that our personality and character are distinct from the world. 

Then how can disciples and believers be distinct from the world and be holy? 

We become holy by believing in and following the Word of God the Father. 

What is the Word of God the Father? 

Believing in Jesus as the Son whom Father has sent. 

Believing in and following the Word of God, who is Jesus.

That’s why we must believe in Jesus.  

Jesus’ ministry is to send out the distinguished disciples who follow the Word of Truth so that they will multiply and make more disciples.

 

And so, in verse 18 Jesus prays, “As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

 

Even now, Jesus is constantly praying for all of us living today, for all of us who are those who would believe in Him through their message as He mentions in His prayer.

And so, without Jesus, there can be no such thing as a disciple. 

Then what is the way we can be one with Jesus and remain in Jesus? 

By following Jesus and listening to His commands. 

Then what are His 3 representative commands to us?

 

1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). 

 

2. And Jesus said, “Come, follow Me…” 

 

3. And lastly, Jesus commanded us to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

 

 

Conclusion -

 

Who are the true disciples today, among all the people who are living in the world?

 

1. The people who are one in Jesus and in His love.

 

2. The people who live separated from evil and who distinguish themselves in a holy way by the Word of Truth.

 

3. The people who live like ones who have been sent into the world, who work together, devote themselves, make sacrifices and who pray for the sake of the Gospel.

 

When you examine yourself as this kind of Word shines upon you, are you a true disciple of Jesus?  Or are you one who has nothing to do with disciples but is just a Sunday Christian?

 

I believe we must pray that all of us and all the Churches of the world will rightfully become true disciples of Jesus Christ.

 

 

080220 Translated by Jonathan Hon