Today we are continuing our conversation through the book of John. We have said over and over for the past 27 weeks that John is written to be processed, struggled with, and talked about, not just heard.

John is walking us towards his objective:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

And this opening the door to believing is not passive. It is not something that can just be done to us; it is not something we can borrow from someone else; it is not something that we can wake up one day and just have. It is something that is worked on and dealt with and walked towards. And today we will again come to a moment where we see that it is not about completion, but process.

John has been building this process from his first words. He started off with a huge declaration:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Jesus is God and is distinct in God. Jesus is God with us. Jesus is the overcomer.

John builds on this powerful identity of Jesus: Lamb of God. Son of God. Rabbi. The Son of Man (Daniel 7--a hyperlink to the Messiah that will come and whose kingdom will never end). Messiah. King of Israel. Jesus of Nazareth.

John then builds greater perspective of Jesus' identity by sharing narrative: Water into wine. The clearing of the Temple. The connection with religious authority Nicodemus, where He says that we must be born again or born from above. Jesus’ connection with the Samaritan woman and the Samaritans.

John builds connection to who Jesus is through His presence and interactions at different Jewish festivals: Sabbath (My father is working today, and so am I). Passover (I am the bread of life). The Feast of Tabernacles (I am the light of the world). Hanukkah (My Father has set me apart as the holy one).

The fold of the text is when Lazarus dies and is raised back to life by Jesus.

Then in the section we have been walking through--Jesus’ final discourse with His disciples--Jesus blows up the disciples’ worldview. He washes their feet. He tells them: Love one another as I have loved you. You know the way to the Father; I am the way, the truth, and the life. Keep my commands--love one another as I have loved you. The Father will send the Holy Spirit; I am going away, but the Spirit will be with you and you will not be abandoned. He describes a new relationship with the picture of the vine, branches, fruit, and gardener, telling them: Remain in me and I will remain in you. I no longer call you servant, but now friend. But don’t get confused by the trials you will face; suffering is not a sign of failure. In the moment of even being removed from the temple (a cultural removal from connection with God) I am with you (John 9); don’t be afraid, because I have gained victory over the world.

This is where we are going to be picking it up as we move into John 17.

Before we get there, one thing we talk about here in the Corner Church world is the need for redefinition. John is walking us, the readers, in a process of redefinition. Part of definition and redefinition is knowing where people are at. I am going to ask you for a moment to think outside of yourself to people in your world.

When people in your world think about Jesus, the church and Christians, what do they think and why?

We are all in process, and John is a beautiful partener in process.

Sometimes the doorway into process can be simplified down to something like this: Invite people to a Jesus thing. Tell them about Jesus. Done.

Sometimes that simplification doesn’t allow for the process that John is inviting us to--believing.

Redefinition takes process and is not done, ever. Redefinition is in relationship. Redefinition is the process of discipleship. And this is the mind blowing thing that Jesus has been saying over and over in this final discourse to His disciples: We, as Jesus’ disciples, are called to be part of that redefining process in others.

Jesus says over and over: Love one another as I have loved you.

This is a declaration that Jesus believes in you. Jesus believes in me. Jesus believes in us.

So here’s another question before we move into today’s content:

Why would Jesus want to use you in the redefining process of others?

Why would Jesus want to use others in the redefining process of you?

Today we walk into a moment where we get to see Jesus’ prayers for humanity, for His disciples, and for us. We are going to take a moment to process together.

Prayer is a powerful thing. Maybe you have a picture of what prayer should or shouldn’t be, but here are a couple of points about how prayer shows up in scripture.

Prayer is a physical act that demonstrates trust and dependence on God.

Jesus drew this picture of prayer:

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” (Matthew 6:9-12)

Prayer impacts the pray-er.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

Prayer focuses our hearts and minds, our actions, and our need for God. Prayer focuses being trustworthy in relationship with God.

Prayer has supernatural impact.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. (Psalm 107:28-30)

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

I love the picture of prayer that Jesus draws for the disciples in Luke 18:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Prayer is to be persistent. Feel the impact of that persistence in the things I just mentioned: Prayer is a physical act that demonstrates trust and dependance on God. Prayer impacts the pray-er. Prayer has supernatural impact.

Now we come back to Jesus praying for humanity, for His disciples, and for us. If you could listen in,

What do you think Jesus is praying for you today?

We are going into a few weeks of Jesus’ prayer. Today we start with just a few verses--a prayer of hope being fulfilled. Here’s the last verse of chapter 16 and the start of chapter 17:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:1-5)

I have told you these things so that you may have peace even when life is not handing out peace. Let’s pray. Father, now is the time. The purpose of my coming is at hand. I am ready to walk into it. You have entrusted me to give eternal life to those that follow Me. 

Then He says:

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

We have to remember John’s hyperlink tendencies. This had to be a moment when the readers, who know the book of Jeremiah, would have had flashing lights going off. In Jeremiah 31, there is a beautiful declaration of a New Covenant relationship with God.

The people knew the covenant relationship with Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

The short of it is: after centuries of warnings by the prophets, who pled with the people and nudged them back to relationship with God, the Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon. And the natural thing in that suffering was to think that the covenant with God was broken forever: relationship was over; connection with God was over; hope was over; the last chance had been spent. It was over because of their failing.

The prophet Jeremaih speaks a message to the Jews in captivity in Babylon. There is a lot in chapter 31, but here is just a portion of it:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

New Covenant. Right relationship with God. Restoration. Being God’s people. Knowing God.

It is not over forever. It is not a lost cause. It is not just captivity and exile from now on. There is a new covenant coming. The opportunity to be God’s people again is coming. The opportunity to know God is coming.

And Jesus says in His prayer: It is happening!!!

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

John’s listeners would have had a million reasons as to why they couldn’t really know God, even going back to their ancestral failings. What about you? What about our culture?

What do people (you) see as obstacles or barriers to knowing God?

Now we jump into the deep end of the pool:

What barriers does God see to people (you) knowing Him?

Jesus is looking in the eyes of His disciples. And I feel him saying to His disciples--and to us (the words we started with today):

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I feel the words of Paul:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:5-8)

I hear him saying:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Today we are going to end with a conversation in the tension. This is a question that is a huge leap towards John’s objective:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

Remembering our conversations today on redefinition and on Jesus’ prayers for us; remembering that Jesus is declaring that the New Covenant is here; and remembering our conversations on the obstacles, let’s dive right into the tension. Because in the tenison--the process surrounding the tension--is belief.

How does a person work through the tension of the mystery(s) of God and the opportunity we have through Jesus to know God?

Take It Deeper Questions:

• Read John 16:33-17:5.
• What going away gift have you given or received that still warms your heart today?
• What different things do people in your world think about the concept of eternal life?
• What are some of the risks of ignoring life after this one?
• What are some of the risks of overemphasizing life after this one?
• What does Jesus say about eternal life in this text? What is His intent in sharing this?
• How are you challenged, focused, confused and/or encouraged by this text?

Bible Reading Plan:

• Leviticus 24
• Leviticus 25
• Leviticus 26
• John 10
• John 11
• John 12