JOHN 17
I just finished speaking at a Perspectives Class a couple of weeks ago. Perspectives is a class focusing on God’s global mandate throughout the Bible to take the gospel of Christ to all the nations. (I believe Perspectives is a must for every Christian—find one near you!)
The lesson I taught was Lesson #4: God’s Mandate to the Nations. I wanted to share a section out of what I taught that night. I attempted to bring out what the Bible reveals about Jesus’ heart as He was facing the cross. John 17
A.W. Tozer once wrote that “the most important thoughts that a man thinks are his thoughts when he thinks about God.”
He was speaking to the reality that our view of God, whether high and exalted, or low and common, impacts every perspective in our lives.
—If we could get one of the most intimate glimpses of a person—any person—it might be their heart crying out to God as they know they are facing death. —With this one Person, distinct and set apart from all other men—What would His heart cry be in this most secret and intimate time alone with His Father as He is facing death?
—Jesus has lived among HIs disciples for over three years now. They have walked with Him daily. They have heard hundreds of hours of His teachings and lessons.
—They have seen Jesus responding to His harshest critics. They have seen Jesus responding to God-fearing peoples. They have seen Jesus responding to the marginalized and outcast of society.
—They have seen Him turn water into wine at a wedding party. They have seen Him walk on water. They have seen Him heal people with sicknesses, deformities, demons, and leprosy. They have seen Him raise people from the dead.
—And now we come to the end. Jesus knows His time has come that God’s will for His life come to the part where He will be betrayed and captured and crucified.
**At the end of such a powerful story and powerful life—What would be the weighty matter on Jesus’ mind as He knows what will happen in the next few days?
**With all that His mind could be going through—What is it His mind is fixed and focused on?
The Answer: His disciples.
At such a crucial and incomparable weighty and strategic time—Jesus’ heart is fixed on His glory and the Father’s glory being displayed through these lowly men’s lives as they were captivated in Christ.
John 17:1 “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.”
Jesus is well aware of the dreaded cross He is about to face. He has discussed His upcoming betrayal and death several times at this point with His disciples. None of them fully grasping the weight of it.
Yet, facing that hour, He says, “Glorify Your Son.” That is an insanely ridiculous statement if not uttered through the very Son of God. It is not “glorifying” for any father to crush their innocent son to death for the guilt of others. Yet Jesus equates His future sufferings and death as a means to glorify not only Himself—but His Father as well—“that Your Son may glorify You.”
John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life; that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
Many a preacher and person have described eternal life in completely different ideas. Many people think the highest goal of eternal life is being re-united with former loved ones. Others need juvenile accounts to assure them that heaven is going to be fitting enough for them.
Jesus has a clear view of eternal life: It is knowing God the Father and the Son He has sent…period. Those who understand this God do so because they have understood the Son and the Son being sent for one purpose. That purpose was to seek and save the lost and reconcile God and man even though man’s sin had separated each one of us an eternal placement apart (2 Cor. 5:21).
The purpose of Jesus coming was as a propitiation to purchase salvation(1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10)—His innocence taking on the wrath of God for our guilt of sin. Those who understand that deeply view heaven along with Jesus as the immeasurable privilege of savoring time with this Godhead “face to face” for all eternity (1 Cor. 13:12).
Therefore, in Jesus’ summation, the greatest treasure of heaven is not the scenery nor people nor loss of pain nor even absence of sin. The high and exalted glorious treasure and pleasure of heaven is God Himself. Nothing else. Not “God…and.” Not “God…plus.” Clarity. Immeasurable intrinsic weighty glory. God Himself is the reward.
So Jesus starts out this beautiful prayer asking for God’s glory to be displayed and with a clarity on what true eternal life is.
John 17:4 “I have brought You glory on the earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do.”
Notice Jesus is not speaking or referring to His work of atonement on the cross. Later on, in Jesus last words, Jesus says, “It is finished,”(John 19:30) and then dies. At that point, the “finished” work is justification. At that point on the cross, Jesus clarifies a different completed work. The completed work of justification (salvation) bought by Jesus’ death was a one time event. Jesus’ cross “work” is the most intensively astounding event that has happened in all of eternity. God, the perfect, holy One, died.
Holy God died for wretched, filthy, murdering, lying, molesting, raping, gossiping, thieving, jealous, arrogant, proud, self-righteous, drunken, sexually immoral, debased, religious and non-religious man. That is the result of Jesus “finished” work on the cross.
But back in our text, John 17:4, Jesus stresses another work He has “finished” for the glory of God. It is pouring His life and teachings and attitude and treatment of others into the hearts of His closest followers. John 17 reveals Jesus’ elevated and brilliant plan of investing in a few that is still spreading to this day.
In the next 22 verses, Jesus refers specifically to His closest disciples over 45 times. That’s right. Over 45 times. Some people have thought this prayer was focused on the world and all those who would ever be reached by the gospel. But Jesus even clarifies twice, “I am not praying for the world” (17:9) but instead is praying specifically for His disciples, and later distinguishes by praying “for those who will believe in Me through their message,” (17:20).
Three years earlier, Jesus had chosen these twelve men to be His closest companions. He had called them to “be with Him.” Jesus calls them to follow Him and become “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).
Later, after His crucifixion and resurrection, as He is about to ascend to heaven, Jesus tells them that they are to “be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Essentially, Jesus is letting them know that their lives are now going to be all about Him. And this fits since His earlier estimation of that which entails eternal life is the reward of God Himself. Therefore, if eternal life is all about God, life on this planet would be all about God as well.
Jesus’ focus and heart is revealed in His prayer. He has revealed by spending the greatest majority of His time, teaching, and life as pouring into men—not organizing events for people to gather around. Jesus envisioned a movement and force that “the gates of hell could not prevail against” (Matt. 16:18). The “gates” Jesus spoke of were not on the offensive. In Jesus’ mind, His Kingdom would be on the offensive taking back captives that are held in darkness behind the “gates.”
Jesus didn’t expect those behind the gates to come out on their own or even desire to without a clear gospel message that would free them. He expected His Kingdom to advance the gospel by making disciples just like He had commanded (Matt. 28:18-20) and just as He Himself had exampled.
It cannot be put any more clearly. What could Jesus possibly have done to get us to see that making disciples—investing in a few people—with gospel intentionality with our eyes looking upon all of lostness as an area of mission. It was supposed to be communities on mission instead of thinking the mission is creating community. True community will develop, but in process of continuing to make disciples of all peoples. We don’t stop once we’ve developed a little bit of community—whether that a few hundred or a few thousand.
Jesus’ life revealed that making disciples was His plan for extending the gospel message to all peoples.
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 (and others) reveals His heart’s desire to see His message internalized in captivated followers who would live for one holy passion in all peoples.
Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 and Acts 1:8 reveals His command on high from the Father, empowered by the Spirit, to make disciples of all peoples and nations.
So, how are we doing at this clear task?
How much of our time is spent in the busy-ness of Christianeze?
Are you making disciple by investing in a few?
Maybe these help us answer the question, Am i really captivated in Christ and what He has done?
Let us examine our hearts and lives to see where we betray and live in disobedience to this mandate. Let us repent and pray for the Holy Spirit to stir us. Let us say no to the good things to be able to say yes to investing in a few.
Sankie P. Lynch
sankie@nbchurch.info
No comments:
Post a Comment