Devotionals: John Archives

Final Words

By Andrew YoungSeptember 26, 2018Devotionals: John

“…that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them…” (John 17:26) Bible Reading: John 17:25-6 Jesus ends his matchless prayer by touching on a number of thoughts that he has already mentioned. That gives these final two verses the character of a true conclusion. The first idea he recalls is the ignorance of the world. “O righteous Father,” he prays, “even though the world does not know you, I know you…” (John 17:25). The blindness of the world to the true nature of God has been a theme from the beginning of […]

Seeing Jesus’ Glory

By Andrew YoungSeptember 25, 2018Devotionals: John

“…to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me…” (John 17:21) Bible Reading: John 17:24 As Jesus nears the end of this great prayer we have been studying, his thoughts turn again to himself. While not forgetting he is leaving behind, or those who will believe in him through their word, he does, nevertheless, return to praying for and about himself. “Father,” he prays, “I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me…” (John 17:24). His focus is again […]

Loved by the Father

By Andrew YoungSeptember 24, 2018Devotionals: John

“…so that the world may know that you… loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:23) Bible Reading: John 17:21-23 We return one more time to the theme that has occupied us over past devotions, namely, the unity that Jesus desired for his followers. We must let this idea impress itself upon us since it was so very important to Jesus. We have seen that the unity he had in view was to mirror that which he enjoyed with his Father (John 17:11, 21). And that, we noted, referred to their oneness of mind, heart and purpose in seeking […]

Sharing in His Glory

By Andrew YoungSeptember 23, 2018Devotionals: John

“The glory that you have given to me I have given to them…” (John 17:22) Bible Reading: John 17:22-23 This almost startling statement has generated a lot of discussion. In what sense could it be true that Jesus has shared the glory given to him with us? To me, it makes sense if we follow the line that we have taken in explaining verses 6-19. Throughout these verses, Jesus has been saying that his work on earth – and hence, the glory given to him – had been to manifest his Father’s name (John 17:6). No man had ever seen […]

That the World May Believe

By Andrew YoungSeptember 22, 2018Devotionals: John

“…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21) Bible Reading: John 17:20-21 Jesus’ desire for the unity of his followers had a purpose behind it – “that the world may believe that you [the Father] have sent me” (John 17:21). I have often puzzled over this statement. It is commonly understood to refer to the effect that outward expressions of unity among Christians will have upon the world. When the world (unbelievers) see Jesus’ followers loving one another and getting along with each another, they will believe that the Father sent him into the world. […]

One Like Jesus and his Father

By Andrew YoungSeptember 21, 2018Devotionals: John

“…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you…” (John 17:21) Bible Reading: John 17:20-21 In verse 20, we come to the third section of what is commonly called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. Having prayed for himself (John 17:1-5), then his immediate disciples (vs. 6-19), he turns now to pray for “those who will believe in me through their word” (v. 20). That is to say, he prays for all those in all places and at all times who will become his followers through the gospel that he has entrusted to the […]

Set Apart in the Truth

By Andrew YoungSeptember 20, 2018Devotionals: John

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Bible Reading: John 17:17-19 The second thing Jesus asks his Father for his disciples is that they might be “sanctified in the truth” (John 17:17, 19). For many years, I understood this to be a request that his followers would be made personally more holy through the truth revealed in the Scriptures. While there may be an element of that in what Jesus is asking, it cannot be, in the light of the context, what he is really seeking. The term “sanctify,” in its core meaning, refers to being […]

Christians and the World

By Andrew YoungSeptember 19, 2018Devotionals: John

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18) Bible Reading: John 17:15-18 Jesus refers to the “world” frequently in the latter part of his prayer for his disciples. He speaks of them remaining “in” the world, of not being “of” the world, of being hated “by” the world, and of them being sent “into” the world (John 17:13, 14, 16, 18). There are three ideas in this that are of particular relevance to us as his followers today. The first is that Jesus meant his original disciples – and his followers […]

Three Reasons for Asking

By Andrew YoungSeptember 18, 2018Devotionals: John

“…that they may be one… because they are not of the world… that they may have my joy…” (John 17:11, 13, 14) Bible Reading: John 17:11-14 We noted yesterday that as Jesus leaves his disciples, he is deeply concerned that they keep true to the revelation he had given them of the Father. As he prays, he entrusts them into his Father’s care in this regard. He does so for three reasons. First, because he desires that they should “be one,” even as he and his Father were one (John 17:11). The oneness he has in view cannot be the […]

A Prayer for Safe-keeping

By Andrew YoungSeptember 17, 2018Devotionals: John

“Holy Father, keep them in your name…” (John 17:11) Bible Reading: John 17:11-12 We have seen that as Jesus prepares to leave the world and return to his Father, that his heart remains focused on one thing – the glory of his Father in the salvation of those that he has given to him (John 17:1-5). It is this concern that prompts him to pray first for himself, asking his Father to restore to him the glory that he had with him before the world began (v. 5). It is also this that leads him to pray for those he […]