11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 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. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
This week I was visiting in the home of a member and saw a Mother’s Day plaque displayed. It said, “God can’t be everywhere at the same time so he made Grandmothers.” I would imagine you could say the same thing about mothers. Surely God uses mothers and grandmothers to care for his children!
The member I was visiting saw me looking at the plaque and said, “Pastor, that’s not quite right, is it? It says God can’t be everywhere, but he is.” What a mystery this is! Our Savior is true God and true man in one person. He ascended into the heavens and is sitting at the right hand of God. Yet he is always present everywhere. He is with us in our worship this morning and at the same time with the saints in churches around the world - just as he promised. He tucks us in at night and rises with us in the morning. He is with us always and will be to the very end of time.
When the Bible says that Jesus is “sitting at the right hand of God,” it is not describing where Jesus lives. It is telling us that God has given his Son, Jesus, all power and authority in heaven and on earth to carry out his threefold office as our Prophet, Priest, and King. The prayer Jesus prayed in our text shows us the heart of our Prophet, Priest, and King. Consider this theme for our sermon today.
At The Right Hand Of God
I. As our PRIEST, Jesus prays for us
I hope that you will read all of John 17 today, which is the whole prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples that night in the garden of Gethsemane. When he had so much on his mind, so much to ask of his Heavenly Father, when in his agony his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground, he still took the time to pray for his disciples.
It is a comfort to know that someone is praying for you! During these last three weeks as I have been deliberating the call that I received, many of you have said, “Pastor, we are praying for you and your family.” Some time ago, when I told a missionary that I kept him in my daily prayers, he had a look of joy and relief on his face. He said, “You don’t know how much it means to us to be in your prayers.” It is wonderful to know that someone is praying for you.
Friends, this Savior who prayed for his disciples is now at the right hand of God and he is still praying. He is praying for you and me. Listen to these passages. Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
When you are being tempted by Satan, and your sinful flesh is weak, and you do not know how much longer you can hold out, even before you have cried out to the Lord for help, Jesus has already stepped before the throne of his heavenly Father and prayed for you. When you faced one of life’s many hardships and you endured more than you ever thought that you could bear and you began to doubt if God still cares or hears or answers prayer, through every step of your hardship, Jesus stood at the right hand of God and prayed for you! When you come to a realization of a sin you have committed, and you know how terribly you have offended your God, and you step before the throne of God and make your confession, the one who made the sacrifice that paid your debt pleads to the Father for your forgiveness.
II. As our KING, Jesus protects us
A twelve year old boy that I was teaching privately for confirmation taught something very profound about Jesus’ office as our King. I asked him what it meant when we say that Jesus is our KING. I expected the classic definition from our catechism: “He rules over us with his Word.” That is not a bad definition. But instead he said, “Jesus watches over me and protects me.”
I thought about his definition for a long time. What made David the best king of all kings in the Old Testament? What set him apart? When he presented himself to Saul and offered to fight Goliath, David told him how he had been in the field with his sheep and a bear and a lion had attacked his sheep. With nothing but his sling and his staff, David killed the lion and the bear. Such was the heart of a shepherd. You were willing to risk your life for your sheep. When David became the king of Israel, he didn’t lose his shepherd’s heart. His job was not to RULE OVER God’s people as much as it was to BE A SHEPHERD for them and watch over them and protect them.
The Son of David, as they called Jesus, has his father’s heart. Listen to his prayer. “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” Remember when Jesus prayed this prayer. It was the night he was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. That night he would be separated from his disciples. They would strike the shepherd and the sheep would be scattered. For this brief time, these disciples Jesus loved would be without his protection. Just as a faithful shepherd doesn’t leave his flock without first making sure they will be watched over by someone else, so Jesus calls upon his heavenly Father to protect his sheep.
But remember the promise Jesus made before his ascended into heaven? Matthew 28:18,20 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The Good Shepherd has been given his throne in heaven and God has placed all things under his feet. In his glory, the Good Shepherd is present everywhere. Never again will the sheep be without a shepherd! And what power our Good Shepherd has to be our Shepherd / King! Ephesians 1:19-23. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
If Jesus is watching over us as our Shepherd King, and if he rules everything in heaven and on earth for our benefit, do you know what that means? Paul did. He was in prison when he wrote these words. Christians in Rome avoided him like a plague because they didn’t want to risk being seen with Paul. The trial was over but the verdict still wasn’t in. Paul didn’t know if he would be set free or executed. That verdict still remained in the hands of a corrupt emperor. Yet listen to his confidence. 2 Timothy 4:17-18 “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever.” Paul didn’t question the Lord’s wisdom in putting his number one missionary in a prison. Nor did Paul believe for a moment that Jesus had forgotten about him. He only knew that Jesus would stay by his side and eventually bring him home to heaven.
Are you trapped in a place where you don’t want to be? In a job that gives you little satisfaction? In a marriage that is not working the way you dreamed a marriage should work? With a sickness or a handicap that you don’t know why you should have to bear? Remember that your Good Shepherd is also your King. He rules from heaven and he is by your side. He will rescue you from every evil attack and will bring you safely to his heavenly kingdom.
How does he sustain us? How does Jesus keep us safe in his flock even when are tempted from inside and out? That brings us to the third office of our ascended Savior.
III. As our Prophet, Jesus gives us his true Word
Listen to Jesus. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 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. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. First, notice that Jesus does not pray that his Father would take us out of the world. If God did that, who would be left to preach the gospel? Who would visit the sick and bring them his Word? Who would teach the children and help them to grow in their faith? Jesus didn’t ask God to take his disciples out of the world even though he knew that the world would hate his disciples just as it hated him.
Instead, Jesus gave his disciples something that would keep them in the faith. “I have given them your word,” Jesus said. He gave it to the disciples, who in turn by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has given it to us. This book, the Bible, is the tool that Jesus uses from God’s right hand to accomplish his purpose among us. This is what he uses to protect us from the evil one. This is what he uses to “sanctify us” - to set us apart as God’s holy people.
Friends, this Word is truth, just as Jesus says. That is so important to remember in our generation! It is important to remember because the world would have us believe that we can make up our own morality and everyone choose for themselves what is right and wrong! It is important because the world today would have us believe that there is no such thing as an absolute truth, or that every religion in the world has its own version of the truth and that somehow they are all correct. It is not reasonable to accept that everyone can be right, is it?
There is truth. There are promises that God makes which are true and will not fail. There are stories that God tells us about his people that really happened. They are not myths and fables. There are commandments God’s gives which are the right way for us to live. As we study this precious Word and God leads us to believe the promises and to live according to his commandments, then Jesus’ prayer is answered. “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
When I think of Jesus’ life and his ministry, I imagine there was nothing Jesus loved to do more than to teach his word. Alongside the heart of a priest and a shepherd-king was the heart of a prophet. He loved letting Mary sit at his feet so he could teach her, even more than he loved Martha’s meals. When the crowds pressed and pressured him, he always found a little more time to teach them. I imagine that today, sitting at the right hand of God, there is nothing that Jesus loves more than when he has people at his feet. He loves it when families gather in the morning for a devotion before school. He loves it when his people gather here for worship, and when we sit in the rocking chair and read a chapter. We still have this Word today, and Jesus is still teaching us!
So when you think of Jesus “sitting at the right hand of God,” don’t think of a Savior who is “just sitting there.” As our priest, Jesus is always praying for us. As our king, he watches over us and protects us. As our prophet, he is teaching us through his Word. To him be praise and glory forever. Amen.
