John 17:1-11 ~ Yours they were, and you gave them to me

John 17:1-11

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 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.

Today, in the middle of a perfectly good sermon, my husband passes me a note in Church and he has scribbled on it - how do we know how much was Jesus in the Trinity and how much was the Father. Now God has given us all gifts, but that question is .... unanswerable.

I've heard a perfectly good explanation of the Trinity and I like it Very Much. I've like it so much, I can remember the explanation. Father God is One. His Word went forth to Create, Jesus is His Word. His Holy Spirit hovered over the water during Creation. Jesus came to us, living among us as Truth and Grace, Jesus is the physical manifestation of God's Promises. The Holy Spirit was given in us to fulfill God's purpose. God is always present, His Trinity sent forth to accomplish One Plan - One Will - His. To His Glory.

Can I explain it further. No. Nope. I'm part of the body of Christ, but I am not the head. I trust God to answer the question further. I'll be glad to lean on His understanding. Happy to be the chick standing under His Wings.

How to take this passage telling us we've believed and we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and not just soak in it this. Which we should. We are sealed with Jesus and Father God's own Holy Spirit. Soak. Soak. Soak.

Ephesians 1:13
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

Because we can believe, permanently, we are sealed in the Holy Spirit; we can say this when the world is all we hope it can be and when the wild winds of life howl:

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me!

Which neatly brings us back to this passage Jesus told us about.

Luke 6:12-13
In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles

Did Jesus decide His people, His chosen people surrounding Himself, by Himself - famously - the answer is no. Given to the Son, by Father God.

John 6:68-70
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”

So, we are again, like Jesus. Dwelling as a human being. God puts people in our path. And we have an idea by their actions and words (their fruit), and God knows, not all of them are .... wheat. (Can you tell our sermon was on a rare subject at our Church - Hell and the physical reality Jesus spoke of Hell.)

In Matthew 13 and in Matthew 3, Jesus gave us wheat analogies. It is God's plan the wheat and the chaff grow up together. And he gave us seed analogies about some people hear the word of God, some fall away, some let the seed wither.

Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Now, importantly, Matthew 3:12 is Jesus. Not us. He is the only one who is good. We sometimes spend a lot of time in Christian circles figuring out who is the wheat or the weed or the chaff. We shouldn't. Proverbs says only that person and God knows the heart. Because we are not Jesus' head - He is. Alone. He is God.

This passage calls us to remember. We are like Jesus, our people in our lives are not always specifically chosen by us. Just given by Father God. And no where in Scripture, not even once, does Jesus come to blows with Judas. Neither did Jesus change Himself for Pharisees or Disciples. Jesus spoke truth with mercy, day after day, at cost to Himself. Jesus speaks God's words. Jesus lives God's promises. Jesus prays. Because we are not Jesus, we will not decide anyone's fate. We will do like Jesus, we will hold the people in our lives in our heart and lift them to God. Jesus told us He is the Prince of Peace. He decides. We pray. And Father God, I am grateful to be the chick under Your Wings. I abide in You. Willingly and with gratitude.

Blessed are You, Jesus. I abide in You, Father God. I give You praise for giving me the tools to live the life You want me to have. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. I give You my gratitude You are at work and hear our prayers. I thank You, endlessly, You told us to pray and always have hope. Amen.


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