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JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS OWN (Part 3)
January 27, 2008
John 17:9, 18, 20-26 (TNIV)
Pastor Bob Sanders
John 17:9, 18, 20-26 (TNIV)
9 "I pray for… those you have given me. 18 As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
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. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
Our Compass
You may recall the story of the airline pilot who got on the plane’s intercom and said to his passengers, “I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is we have a tailwind and we’re making excellent time. The bad news is our compass is broken and we no idea where we’re going.”
It can happen to churches as well as airplanes. We can make excellent time – lots of activities and programs, lots of movement and energy. But do we have any idea where we’re going? Where we find a sense of direction? We need a spiritual compass – and I believe Jesus’ words in John 17 provide such a compass.
In this chapter we have the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the entire New Testament. Jesus the Son speaking freely with his heavenly Father just a few hours before he goes to the cross to die and we get to overhear what’s most important on his heart. And what does Jesus pray for at this crucial moment? He prays for his disciples who have followed him for the past three years and come to believe in him. And that’s not all. In verse 20 he says, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Jesus prays for the men and women who will come to believe in him down through the ages as a result of these original disciples.
That includes you and me. Jesus is praying for us.
As we consider this great prayer we get a glimpse of Jesus’ vision for his church. Two weeks ago we looked at the first part where Jesus prays for the Father to be glorified in and through him. And we saw how the first priority is all about knowing him, seeking him, bringing him glory. And we saw how this has major implications for our worship and for our deepening knowledge of God. Getting changed in a transforming vertical relationship with our Lord.
Then last week we came to the second section of the prayer where Jesus prays for the people God gave him, the disciples who followed him – for their protection and their joy and their sanctification. And we saw how the second priority in Jesus’ vision for the church has to do with community – getting connected to the people God gives us in loving supportive friendships. Getting connected.
This morning we come to the third part of the prayer, and we hear Jesus praying about our mission in the world. Some might say, “What does mission have to do with this? I don’t even see that word in the text.” Ah, but it’s there. Look at verse 18 where Jesus says, “As you, Father, sent me into the world, [so] I have sent them into the world.” Notice that word “sent.” He uses is two times in that verse, and seven times in this chapter. In Latin, the word for “sent” is missio. It means to be sent on a mission. Jesus says the Father has sent him into the world. He is a person in mission, and so is anyone who follows him. God sent the Son, and the Son sends us into the world. That’s the focus of this third part of our Lord’s vision for the church: getting going in his mission in the world.
To see it, I want us consider three questions. First, “Why missions?” Then, “What is purpose of this mission?” And finally “How does mission happen?” Why mission? For what purpose? And how?
Why Missions?
Let’s start with “Why missions?” To be honest, the idea of missions and missionaries is very unpopular. Any time Christian mission is depicted in books or movies or TV it always comes off insensitive and sanctimonious. Lots of people would say, “I think Christianity has some very good points, but why do they try to convert people?” Some Christians say things like, “I’m a Christian but I don’t think I have to shout it from the rooftops so everybody knows about it. To me it’s a private thing and I don’t much like the idea of missions.”
So why do we hold it up. Well, there are lots of reasons, but let me mention just two. The first reason why we do mission is because Jesus wants us to. Here’s our Lord’s praying at the end of his life, and he’s talking about sending us just as he was sent. Jesus is a man in mission, and if you belong to Jesus, then you share in his mission. And that means we can no longer turn up our noses at the idea of mission or say only certain kinds of fanatical Christians do mission. Jesus prays that we’ll be his “sent” people, and that literally means missionaries. Mission is not an optional extra. It’s the very essence of being a Christian. Why do mission? Because Jesus says so.
A second reason is because we need it. Without some kind of mission outward, what happens to us? Eventually we become selfish, cranky people in a selfish, cranky church. If all we do is share in worship and go to Bible studies and develop deep friendships with those in our circle – what then? We become like so many churches out there today – ingrown, self-absorbed, angry and arguing over trivial details. We need something bigger. And so do you. Look, if you live all your life furthering your own interests and those of your family – your comfort, your happiness, your security – you may very well have a cozy, comfortable existence. But you won’t have any fulfillment. Your life won’t have any lasting significance. And as your days wind down you’ll be left with that haunting question Peggy Lee used to sing about: “Is that all there is?” If you want a full life, a significant and joyful life – you’ve got to have a mission that’s bigger than your own fulfillment. You and I need mission.
What Is the Mission?
Now think with me about a second question: What is this mission? What is it Jesus calls us to be about? What does he send us into the world to do? What’s the purpose of our mission?
It’s very easy when we look at Christians in mission to get lost in the details. When you look at the details of what Christians do sometimes we look like liberals. We get involved with the poor, we provide clean water, we heal the sick and feed the hungry and advocate for justice. We work to meet physical and social and economic needs.
On the other hand, if you look at Christians in mission sometimes we look like conservatives. That is, we preach the word, we proclaim the Gospel, we teach the Bible, we call for repentance, for change in the heart. We try to get other people to come in and join our community. We do evangelism. We talk about our faith. We try to persuade others to believe in Jesus.
But if you only look at the details, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. Of course Christians are supposed to feed the hungry and help the poor – because Jesus did. Of course Christians are supposed to preach and call people to repent – because Jesus did.
But we’re supposed to do all that and everything else we do not as an end in itself. Our mission, according to verse 21, is to convince the world of Jesus’ mission. Look at verse 21. Jesus prays that his followers may all be one. We talked about this last week – how Jesus prays for this loving, supportive community, this visible unity among his followers. Look now at the purpose of it. Why do we as Christians do all the things we do? Verse 21 says, “so that the world may believe that You have sent me.” Our mission is to get the world to believe in Jesus’ mission. Whether we’re doing it with deeds of compassion or words of evangelism, whether we’re building a loving community here or going out to the ends of the earth – whatever we do, our mission is to get the world to believe in Jesus’ mission. To believe that Jesus was not just born, but that he was sent. To believe that Jesus was not just some great man born into the world to teach us to love one another, but that he was sent into the world, the Son of God, to break down the barriers, to bring in the Kingdom, and to transform everything.
Now why is that so important? Why is that such a big deal? To answer that you have to see how the Gospel is so sweeping. You have to see how the Gospel is far more optimistic than the other religions of the world, and far more pessimistic than the secularism of the world. What do I mean? When you look at most world religions you see the purpose of most of them is to escape from the world. If you live in a certain way, someday you get to go to heaven. When you’re here on earth you get comfort and help, but the goal is to leave, to escape. There’s a profound pessimism: the world is bad but someday you’ll get past it and go to paradise. Or this world is an illusion. It isn’t important. You’re stuck here for a while but if you do the right things then on you go. I realize that’s an oversimplification, but it does describe the trajectory of a number of world religions – up and away from this earth.
On the other hand, secular people are naively optimistic. They say, “We can make this world a better place if we just pull together. If we just love one another. If we educate people, if we provide adequate resources, we can make this a great world. We can do this.”
Christianity is far more sweeping. To secular people it says, “Please. There is something radically wrong here. The world is broken. There’s death. That’s our big problem. Death and disease and decay. It’s physically broken. And it’s socially broken – look at the injustice, the conflict, the violence. And there’s psychological brokenness – the emptiness, the alienation, inner disintegration.” Volunteerism isn’t going to fix that, says Christianity. Technology isn’t going to fix that. There’s something terribly wrong at all levels. The world is much more broken than secular people want to admit.
But on the other hand the Gospel says to the other religions, “God loves this world.” This world is broken and sin has distorted everything. But God has not abandoned this world. God is not just going to save people out of this world. You find this not just in the Gospels but especially in the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Amos and Micah. They say someday the Lord will come. The King will come, and he’s going to heal the brokenness – the physical and social and psychological brokenness. He’s not going to abandon this world. He’s going to rehab this world. Restore this world. Renew this world.
And Jesus Christ says, “I want you to preach. I want you to teach. I want you to heal. I want you to feed. I want you to do all these things so that the world may know that I’ve been sent from the kingdom of God. That I am the King. That I am the fulfillment of what the prophets always said – that the Lord himself will come.”
That’s what Jesus’ mission was all about. Look at the incarnation. Does that mean just that he was born a sweet little baby in a manger? No. It means he broke the barrier between heaven and earth and came all the way down. Then he dies on the cross. He breaks the barrier of guilt and sin that separates us from a holy God. Then he rises from the tomb. He breaks the barrier of death. What’s he doing? Jesus says, “I’ve brought the kingdom and I’ve done it through sacrifice. I’ve done it not through politics and not through technology. I’ve done it not through legislation, not through the market. I came and I died and I rose again to break all barriers, to bring in the kingdom.
“And now,” he says, “as I have come on the mission of God to restore the world, I ask you to join me. As the Father sent me, so I send you.”
How Does It Happen?
Which brings us to the final question: How does that happen? It happens like this. When you become a Christian you join the mission of God. That’s what it means to be a Christian. It’s not a department. Missions isn’t an extra when you find the time. It’s what Jesus is about, and it’s what you’re about if you belong to him. When you become a Christian, what happens? You repent, you believe. You conform yourself to the pattern of his mission, to the way of the cross. You say, “Not my way, not my agenda. I confess I’m a sinner, and I give my life over to serve you.” That’s the opposite of the way the world operates. And when you conform yourself to that mission, to the pattern of the cross, in comes the kingdom. You begin to be transformed. Your values are changed. And your heart starts to heal.
And you turn to other people. You open your mouth. And you open your heart. You begin to care. You begin to listen. You begin to make yourself vulnerable. You’re willing to talk about what Christ means to you. And yes, some people will think you’re a fanatic. Yes, you’ll get snubbed. But you’re willing to do this, to lay down part of your life to help people find him because that’s more important. You’re conformed to the pattern of his mission, the pattern of the cross. And through you, the kingdom comes. And because of you, people start to see. People start to believe. People start to get healed. People in your family. People in your neighborhood. People in your office or classroom.
And then you turn not just to individuals but to places of need in the world – economic and social and emotional and spiritual need – like low income seniors in Lake Oswego and AIDS orphans in Zambia and unreached people in Senegal – and instead of pouring all your time into your career or pouring all your money into the biggest house you can afford, you conform yourself to the pattern of the mission, the pattern of the cross. Your needs, your freedom, your happiness, your comfort all come second. You begin to serve other people. You go and visit so you can understand. You get close enough to get your heart broken. You give. You sponsor. You advocate. And through you the kingdom comes. Through you comes a measure of healing, a measure of hope.
And this is going to go on, the Bible says, until someday the kingdom will completely come. Every tear will be wiped away. All the disease and decay will be gone. That’s part of our goal: destroy death. All social injustice, all hunger and poverty and oppression will be gone. That’s part of our goal: all the world’s children able to have a future with hope. No more tears, the Bible says. And that’s our goal. Nothing less. We’re part of the mission of God.
And that’s the reason why we do all the things we do. Do we preach? Do we teach the Scriptures? Do we try to get people to come to church so they can believe? Do we try to feed people and educate people and heal people? Yes, all that. But why? Jesus says, “Your mission is to get the world to believe in my mission: the mission of God – the Lord coming down, restoring the earth, bringing the kingdom. And when you receive me,” says Jesus, “when you believe in me, the kingdom comes into your life and you’re swept up into the mission of God.
“Father, as You have sent me into the world so I send them into the world.”
Come back next Sunday for the Missions Fair and see where he’s sending us. Some to seek justice in Rwanda or to set the captives free in Thailand with International Justice Ministries. Some to our partnerships in Senegal and Zambia with World Vision. Some to Honduras with our Agros partners. Some to build homes for the homeless right here with our upcoming Habitat for Humanity blitz. Some to bring food and support to migrant worker families in Woodburn. Some to reach out to international students at Portland State University. And each of us to be missionaries in the neighborhoods and workplaces where the Lord has sent us. That the world may believe the Father has sent the Son.
* * * * *
As you look back over John 17 and see Jesus’ vision for his church, I hope you begin to recognize these three priorities:
First, getting changed in a transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.
Second, getting connected in a loving community of the people of Christ.
Third, getting going in the mission, the work of Christ in the world.
That’s our compass, you know. That’s what gives us direction. And I hope it doesn’t surprise you to learn that’s exactly what you find in the mission statement of Lake Grove Presbyterian Church:
Get changed. Get connected. Get going.
May the Lord keep us faithful in his vision in the months and years ahead – until he comes. Amen.
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