That Jesus prayed is quite clear. All four Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed. At least 8 times are mentioned, though not usually the words he used. He also spoke and taught about real prayer and gave models for us.
So - like this, we are told Jesus prayed:
Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed (Luke 5:16, CSB). The report comes from a busy time when people wanted more of him. Note "often".
What did he pray? Except for one detailed example, the records do not usually tell us (more below).
There is a brief recorded thanksgiving of Jesus. He was grateful that his so ordinary, non expert followers could know God’s truth. At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, and he said: My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you (Luke 10:21, CEV). Still today wise and educated people may sadly be blind to Jesus. For Jesus to pray thus indicates a potential danger - all theory; no belief.
In a way, the best and worst known word of Jesus about praying comes here: Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,[b]
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:1-4, ESV).
Those are words given by Jesus for his followers. Note - Luke again tells us Jesus had been praying - something. He himself might have prayed all except the “our sins” component of the above prayer, although maybe could he perhaps represent ("our") the body of believers?
(The model for prayer comes in two comparable, but different, versions: Matthew 6 and Luke 11. That similarity is a topic for another forthcoming post…)
Jesus: The Prayer
John records a unique and remarkable prayer by Jesus - for his followers, and for
In the following I look at some "world" aspects of Jesus' prayer recorded in John, chapter 17. [FYI - this post is an extension of the previous one, Jesus: the World.] The John 17 moment follows comparatively lengthy teaching of the disciple band, and just precedes Jesus' arrest. Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all people,[a] so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent —Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed. “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:1-6, CSB).
Jesus was not taken by surprise. He knew. The hour had come.
Over the preceding months and years he had imparted eternal life to those given to him by God. All people answer to him. He had(has) power to offer salvation to all. Now he will depart (ie, via crucifixion) to unveil his glory, the glory he always had before the world existed. (This recalls the opening words of John.)
In the world Jesus had completed God's work. He had revealed God's name to those people of the world who put their trust in him; those given him by God. I can not identify the labels of all of those people; many were Israelites, some were Samaritans (see John 4 - previous post). Others may have been from border regions like Tyre and Sidon, or even "Greeks" from afar.
"Revealed your name". If this passage were a public utterance, I suspect there would have been an outcry (another one) at this. The name of God was a sensitive topic. This was a culture which had absorbed the prohibition against taking the Lord's name in vain. Safer then to not utter the name. So much so, when the Bible reader came to God's own name (as per Exodus 3) they always substituted another word. Pronunciation of the special (Exodus 3) name was actually lost. However, the Jews believed they of all people knew God, in effect, knew God's name. They needed not to be shown who God is, so they thought.
In fact, Jesus had poured revealing light on just who God is and what God is like. Moreover, he wanted us to pray: hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9 & Luke 11:2, NIV). Can God's name be not holy, not hallowed? We only need to consider happenings around us to know the sad truth.
Jesus had acted in harmony with God's plans, for Jesus' Father is the only true God.
Jesus: I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17:9-11, ESV). Belonging to Jesus brings about a relationship, a special relationship. To belong to Jesus is to belong to the only true God. To belong to the only true God is to belong to Jesus. He has a special concern for those given to him. What God is like can be seen in those who belong to Jesus. Jesus wanted them to be kept safe by God's power. He wanted them to be a unity.
A unity. To be and remain a unity. A oneness comparable to the unity between Father and Son! To me, all of God's true people, all of Jesus' real followers, are a unity. They may look different or sound different, etc. That is not the point! This is not a question of "religion". It is the truth of the matter. However, in the claimed name of Jesus we see there are many discords and rejections. Did Jesus want that? Hardly.
What we see is complicated by the enemy, who has planted fakes amongst the real (Matthew 13:25).
In the world is harmony possible? I received a seasonal greeting card with the emphatic message, "Peace on earth". A nice sentiment, for sure. It is derived from part of a version of the angelic birth message: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[a] (Luke 2:14, NRSVUE). Amongst those who please God there can be peace. Everyone who pleases God... [The famous words start with wanting God to have glory, and then there are alternative words.]
So Jesus was asking for his followers who would be(are) in the world in his place: 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[a] 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 (John 17:14-19, NIV). To belong to Jesus is to belong to God's Kingdom, and not to the world. This is a matter of internal alignment or mindset. It means adherence to a higher ruler. Those who are God's children take God's truth into the world. Their presence is the equivalent of Jesus' presence - they are his hands and feet today, his voice. In their mission they will be opposed by the evil one, the same evil one who was defeated not long after Jesus prayed these words. Jesus asked for his own to be protected as they took his word, the truth, to the world. He had made himself a holy sacrifice for his people, that they might be made holy.
For whom did Jesus pray? Clearly it was for his followers, who were right there. But he prayed for those who are now, today, his followers: “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,[a] so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:20-24, NRSVUE). Jesus wanted the world to know the truth about God. (The Holy Spirit is key - see previous post, Jesus: the World, re John 16: 7-11.) There was to be an unrelenting campaign stretching across the ages. His followers were (are) to make God known. How? By argument, or learned discourse? By powerful sermons or talks? No. By the unity of his followers; by his followers reflecting the nature of God, who is one. By their one-ness the followers of Jesus will give evidence that Jesus was indeed sent by his Father into the world. By their one-ness the followers of Jesus will show that they are truly loved by God. They are gloriously one. Again the one-ness need - to attain and retain... One! Who? Those given to Jesus by his Father. Jesus prayed that their oneness would be a reality; that our oneness would be evidence. Thus, I assume it is not just a simple matter to be one. It is even unnatural. [I resist my temptation here to comment re denominations and organised religion, with its "unhappy divisions". By all means send a question if you really have one.]
Jesus prayed so long ago. Before that, he knew that his Father had loved him even before the world began. I think Jesus was referring to before there was anything. That reminds me of the opening lines in John:
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it[b] (1:1-5, NLT).
Modern knowledge of the universe tells us it is more than vast, and is incomprehensible. The age of the universe is an ongoing issue of study and speculation. Before all that, the Word was with God and was loved by the Father. Simple, and profound!
Jesus' prayer crosses the barrier of time and is for his followers today, and for this world, today.
As always, I hope this post has been useful to you. I have been very selective, with the "world" as subject. As always, I think it better to actually read the whole in context. In this case that is at least John, chapter 17, or even John chapters 13-17.
May God bless you .
Allen Hampton
Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
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Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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