When the 1960s ended, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and most of the hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn't name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing baseball with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school.
That's when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents were asked to apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy's name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.
"Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?" they offered. And later, "Fruit Stand, how about a snack?" He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn't seem much odder than Heather's or Sun Ray's.
At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. "Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?" He didn't answer. That wasn't strange. He hadn't answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn't matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children's bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word "Anthony." (Luanne Oleas in Salinas, Calif., Reader's Digest.)
I think that's hilarious but it shows that names are important. Do you know what your name means? Todd means "fox." Sara means "princess." Bo means "big, mean white dog." But most of the time, parents today don't put a lot of thought into what their kids' names mean. They just like the name or they name them after somebody in the family and that's fine. But in biblical times, names meant a lot more.
When Esau and Jacob were born, Genesis 25 tells us that baby Esau was very red looking so they named him Esau which means hairy. Isaac came out grasping Esau's heel so they named him Isaac which means heel-grabber or supplanter. Names were important in the New Testament as well. Jesus gave new names to Peter and to Paul which better reflected their personalities. And even the name Jesus means salvation or "the Lord saves." In Matthew's account of Jesus' life, God tells Joseph, "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
I bring all this up because in John chapter 14, Jesus makes a pretty incredible promise that has to do with His name. As always, context is important here. In fact, I think you will see that the context of Jesus saying this is most important. We are continuing our look at some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Some of them are hard to understand. Some are hard to accept. And some are just unbelievable. This one may be a little of all of that.
But in John 14, Jesus is preparing His twelve disciples for His departure. He's not going on a normal trip to some neighboring city. He has told them that He is about to be betrayed and killed and will go back to Heaven. And as you can imagine, they aren't taking it too well. They don't understand why or how or much of anything. This whole conversation has been a hard saying of Jesus to them.
So, Jesus starts by telling them not to worry. Trust God. Trust Him. It's going to be okay and He is going to send the Holy Spirit to them and it will be alright. In fact, they will do greater things with Jesus gone than they did with Him here. And then in verses 13-14 He makes a big promise. Read along with me as I read it out loud. John 14:13-14 says, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
Now, wait just a minute. Did you read that? That can't be right. Maybe He didn't really mean it. Maybe the Greek words don't translate to English or something. He just said that all we have to do to get what we want is add, "in Jesus' name" at the end of our prayers and He will say yes. Right? Well, if that's the case, then why aren't we all driving around in new cars with healthy bodies and fat bank accounts? How come I don't have a new bass boat? How come some of you have cancer? Surely He didn't mean it. Maybe He misspoke.
But...if you look in the next chapter, He says it again. In fact, He says it twice. Chapter 15, verses 7 and 16 and then even again in the next chapter, He says almost the exact same words. 16:23 says, "I tell you the truth. My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." That's four times Jesus has said that if we ask anything in His name, it will be granted.
Now, that's a quadruple hard saying. It's hard because every one of us here knows deep down that it isn't true. But it's Jesus saying it so we would never call Him a liar. But how many of us have prayed for something; fervently prayed; fasted and prayed; cried out in prayer for something, ended by saying that it was in the name of Jesus that we are praying...but God did not answer the prayer like we asked? We probably all have.
Well, first, I hope we all know that tacking on, "in Jesus' name" at the end of our prayer doesn't qualify as praying in the name of Jesus. He's not a genie lamp that you rub just the right way and say the right three words and *poof* there's your wish. Thank you, Lord, that it doesn't work that way because I'd be in all kinds of trouble if I had gotten everything I ever prayed for. You probably would too.
So, what does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Well, I have a dozen different commentaries in my office and another dozen online and I have read every one of them this week to find out the answer. I also watched or listened to or read another dozen or more sermons on this passage and every single one of them says the same thing. To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray in His will. To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray like Jesus would pray and to pray for something that brings glory to God in the answering of the prayer.
So...there ya go. I hope that helps you. Be warm and well fed. See y'all later. Okay, hang on. Before you leave, let me ask you a question. Does that satisfy you in regard to this passage? Is there a check in anybody else's spirit that says, "Eh, there's got to be more to it"? I mean, what does that look like? To pray like Jesus would pray. To pray in a way that brings God glory. I mean, again, we have probably all done that the best we could and God has not answered like we hoped.
In fact, not one of those commentaries or sermons I read ever gave me an example of a time when somebody did that and the prayer was answered. So, I was pretty frustrated most of the week as I studied this and so finally I pulled out the big gun and I texted my brother-in-law, Randy. "Hey, Ran, just real frustrated. All the explanations for this passage just don't work for me. What's going on here? What does this look like?"
So, Randy called me and simply said, "Todd, who is Jesus talking to?" And that's all he had to say. I knew he was right as soon as he said it. Jesus said it four times but every time was in the same setting. He was sitting with the eleven disciples -- Judas had gone off Judasing -- and Jesus was telling them that He was leaving but that He was going to provide everything they needed. Just them. This part of the passage doesn't technically apply to us.
Hear me out. It's all about context. It always is with Jesus. I've said it every week in this series that we need to look at the context to help us know how to understand these hard sayings of Jesus. I'm not saying that prayer doesn't work. That's ridiculous. We all know it does. But we also all know that just wanting something or willing something or saying something is in the will of God doesn't mean it's in the will of God. Just saying, "in Jesus' name" is not necessarily praying in the name of Jesus.
How many times have you had this conversation with God? "Dear Lord, if you will just heal my friend, we would all give you all the glory." "If you would just bring my son, daughter, friend, co-worker, whatever to Christ then you would get the glory and you would gain another follower." Surely it's the Lord's will that none should perish. No, not one. I know it is. It says it in black and white in 2 Peter 3. And yet we have all prayed for somebody to come to know Jesus and it seems that God doesn't answer that prayer. And if He doesn't answer that prayer then either we are doing something wrong or Jesus is lying in John 14. Or this promise is not for us like it was for the disciples.
So, how do we know what is for us and what is for the disciples or somebody else? Well, I'll tell you. On May 15th, 2011, I was ordained to be a pastor by this church while we were over in Runaway Bay. As is our custom as Baptist believers, any ordained minister was asked to come to the front and pray over me as I knelt at the altar. A long-time family friend, Harold Meeker, made his way to me and laid his hands on me and whispered some precious words I will never forget.
He said, "Todd, many years ago your grandfather whispered these words to me at my ordination and I want to pass them on to you. Let scripture interpret scripture." Let scripture interpret scripture. That's how we can understand this hard saying as well as any other. Does scripture tell us anywhere else that if we pray in the name of Jesus that He will give us whatever we ask? Does Moses in the Old Testament or Paul in the New Testament or anywhere else give us this promise? Think real hard. Look it up. Research it. Google it. Whatever you need to do. It's vital to understanding this. The answer is no.
Context is everything and I will tell you that it makes me feel so much better because all this time I have prayed for all kinds of stuff and I always say, "in Jesus' name" and I always, or I hope it's always, want it to be for His glory. And sometimes God answers my prayer like I ask and sometimes He doesn't. So, either I'm doing something wrong or Jesus is a liar or...He wasn't talking directly to me in this part of John 14. And 15. And 16.
Now, this ought to be bringing some questions to mind. You ought to be wondering at this point what else Jesus said that maybe doesn't apply to us and so let's grab a few things out of this conversation and look at them.
At the beginning of chapter 14, Jesus says, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in Me." Does that apply to us? Sure it does. You know how I know? Because all through the Old Testament and the New Testament it talks about how God doesn't want us to worry and we can trust Him. Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." And what is the context of that verse? David is writing to anybody that will listen.
Okay, let's grab another one. How about John 14:23? It says, "Jesus replied, 'Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.'" Does that apply to us? You bet. I know because we are told in other places the same basic thing. Also, a hint is that Jesus said, "Anyone who loves me..." Not just, "Hey you disciples, if you love me..." Does that make sense?
Now, how about the passage we looked at last week where Jesus is at the tomb of Lazarus and He tells them to roll back the stone and then to remove the grave clothes and let him go! Does that apply to us? Should we, at every funeral we go to, demand that the coffin be opened and let the person go free!? Please don't do that. That was a one time only kind of deal.
Okay, now...is there any aspect of this promise that Jesus made to His disciples that we can use? Is there anything we can do to make our prayers more likely to be answered? I believe there is. Let's look at it again. "...so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Even though Jesus is not guaranteeing us that our every prayer will be granted, it's safe to say that praying in the name of Jesus would be a good thing.
To pray in the name of Jesus has to do with authority. Jesus is authorizing what we ask for. It's like back in the good old days when stores would give you credit. I remember my mother telling the story of when she and her sisters were little girls. They went with their mother to go do some shopping and went to this one store where my grandmother got a few things and told the man to put it on the bill of Harvey W. Graham. That was my grandfather.
Well, the girls heard that and since the store was close to the house, they went back down there later by themselves and loaded up some candy and told the man to put it on the bill of Harvey W. Graham and walked out. Thankfully, the man was a friend of my grandparents and had a sense of humor and so he just called my granddad and told him about it and they worked it out.
But that's just the opposite of what it means to pray in the authority of Jesus. It was not in the will of Harvey Graham or in the character of Harvey Graham so the owner knew it was a problem. So, I can pray and fast and beg and plead all day long and hope God will give me a new bass boat but that doesn't sound like something that is going to give God the glory He is looking for. It's also probably not in His will or character to give. Nothing wrong with asking for it. God is very generous and if you feel led to ask God for something, then we are told in Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Just notice there is nothing said about a Z21 Nitro XL with a 4 stroke Mercury in there. Bass boats don't usually qualify for mercy and grace in our time of need. And that's okay.
But seriously, what about when we pray for healing for somebody else? What about when we pray for a child that has become addicted to drugs or a family member that has lost their job and is about to be evicted from their home? Why doesn't God answer those prayers like we ask? Surely He would get the glory. And we have seen Him do it before so we know it is in His character! Well, part of it is because of what Isaiah 55:9 says. There God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." God is sovereign and does what He wants to do without asking anybody and the older I get, the more I appreciate that. He has perfect wisdom and sees the end from the beginning and we just have to trust Him.
But, remember when we were going through the book of Philippians? What was it that was Paul's ultimate passion in life? He wanted to know Jesus better and better. He wanted to know how He thinks and what He would do and what His will is and so Paul made it his purpose to do that. And when we know Jesus better, we know better how to pray. We know better what His will is and what His character is and what best brings Him glory. So, the better we know Jesus and the closer we are to Him then the better we are able to pray in His name.
Prayer can seem complicated at times but we all know that prayer is just having a conversation with God. I remember hearing a woman pray many years ago who had just become a Christian and it was her first time to pray out loud. She was an adult but had never been in church so she didn't know how we are "supposed to pray." I don't remember exactly what she said but it went something like, "God, thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for everything. Well...bye."
I love that! What a beautiful prayer! I think God probably has that prayer printed out and stuck to His refrigerator. And I bet the next time she prayed, God couldn't wait to answer her prayer. She didn't say "in Jesus' name" at the end and that's ok. God heard her heart and He hears yours when you end your prayers like that if you really mean it. That's what matters, that you want to pray in the authority of Jesus. You want to pray in His name and in His will and in His character.
If you are a believer, then you are getting closer and closer to God. You should be closer to Him this year than you were last year and closer this month than you were last month. If that doesn't describe you, then there's a problem. Start right now by going to God in prayer and asking Him, like David did (Psalm 139), to search you and try you and see if there are any wicked ways in you. That's a prayer I have found He is ready to answer, right there.
Let's bow our heads and close our eyes and just spend some time in the throne room of God. Tell Him anything you want but don't forget to be still and quiet and just listen. Let Him speak to you today. Ask Him what you should pray for. That is part of praying in the Spirit as we are told to do in Ephesians 6. Don't forget to thank Him and praise Him for what He has done and is doing and is going to do. Praise Him just for who He is. Thank Him for His grace and mercy and forgiveness. Maybe today, you need to ask God for forgiveness of all your sins and to ask Him to save you. Do that right now as the music plays.
