Jesus Disciples

 “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” It’s a kind of barometer of what a person values, likes, dislikes and what is important for him.

Jesus, just hours away from being arrested prayed to the Father His high priestly prayer (John 17). His prayer expressed what He values most. It can also be seen as his ‘report’ to the Father of what He had accomplished and His ‘recommendation’ so that the glory of God would be seen throughout all the earth.

In the middle of this prayer, Jesus prayed for his disciples. Jesus ‘reported’ to the Father how He had revealed the Father to them and how He kept them safe though one was lost. Jesus also ‘recommended’ that the Father would continue to protect them and that they’d be sanctified by the word of truth. He also prayed to all those who would believe through the testimony of His disciples, that they may be united.

Jesus did many things—the miracles, the healings, the signs, the wonders, the demon-casting, the feeding of thousands, the teaching of the crowds, the critic of the religious. He has a list of many out-of-this-world achievements but His ‘report’ and ‘recommendation’ gave attention to His disciples.

In Church, there are many things we can do, but at the end of the day, what is it really all about? Is it about excellent programming, heavenly music, world-class musicals, record-breaking attendance, mind-blowing budgets, state-of-the-art facility, heart-breaking charities or error-free systems? What Jesus commissioned us with is His Great Commission—to make disciples. He modeled it, prayed about it, mandated it and empowered us for it.

Jesus expects and will inspect that we make disciples. Where are yours?  

          “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 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. 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.

          “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. 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. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

          “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”

John 17:6-20