Jesus’ heartfelt High Priestly prayer to God in John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father that those who are His be kept in the world and kept from the evil one, for they are not of the world, just as He is not of the world, but sent into the world (John 17: 10,15-16, 18). Jesus prayed, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:21-23).
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 also reveals the purpose of believers’ existence in the world. He asked the Father to sanctify them with the truth (John 17:17), and He sent them into the world with a clear mission. This mission includes not loving the world, as the world system, with all its desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not from the Father but from the world (1 John 2:15-17). This underscores the distinctiveness of believers and their mission to live according to the truth, not conforming to the world’s ways. But be one even as Jesus and the Father are one perfectly, so that the world may know that God sent Jesus and loved them even as God loved Jesus (John 17:21). Being united as one. The union with God may cause the world to believe the Father sent the Son. This unity is shown by loving one’s brothers and sisters in Christ, proving that one is His disciple (John 13: 34-35). Read and study Jesus’ High Priestly prayer in John 17 and reflect on what it means to you as one of Christ and the Father’s own. Blessings and love from the Father.
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