John 32 Farewell Prayer
FAREWELL PRAYER
#32
John 16:23-33
“23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 17:1-26
“1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
In My Name
Jesus is finishing one of His longest recorded conversations in all the Bible. He has disclosed what is about to come, He has comforted and promised the Holy Spirit, He has washed His disciples’ feet as an example of loving service, He has warned about persecution, He has revealed more of His identity, and He has promised divine answers to prayer. He just promised them “if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you... you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father” (John 16:23-28; cf. 14:13; 15:7, 16).
Jesus gives comfort and encouragement to go to God in His name. That is really a remarkable addition to what prayer has always been. Prayer has always been offered to God. Reading through the Hebrew Scriptures there are amazing, insightful, and deep prayers offered by people of faith. However, Jesus has changed the whole world. He's changed everything, including prayer.
This is more than just some closing formula to add to your prayers: In Jesus’ name, amen. This is a radical shift in what it means to address God. This is a remarkable amount of trust Jesus is placing in His disciples. He is allowing them to address God "in His name." If I allow someone to speak for me or speak in My name, I want to know exactly what they are going to be saying. Jesus, however, is so confident in them that He doesn't need to address God for them; they can do it themselves in His name because He knows His Father loves them, and He knows they believe in Him.
A Closing Prayer
That is not to say Jesus will not speak to God on their behalf (John 17:9). He concludes this conversation by speaking to God for each of them. John 17 is a fitting and beautiful prayer that ultimately concludes His ministry with His disciples. From this prayer, they get up and depart to a garden where Jesus is betrayed, arrested, and abandoned by these men. Thank God the final thing He does with them is pray.
This prayer is pretty easily divided into three major sections: Jesus prays for the Father and His glorification (John 17:1-5), for his disciples’ faith and protection (John 17:6-19), and for the unification of all who will believe through the preaching of His disciples (John 17:20-26). If you are looking for a keyword running through every section of this prayer, it is the word "glory."
The word "glory" or "glorify" is used eight times in this one prayer (John 17:1, 4, 5, 10, 22, 24). The glory of Jesus is a major theme in the Gospel of John, but it is nowhere more vividly depicted than, surprisingly, through being lifted up, exalted high, and "glorified" on the cross. While the cross looks like shame to most of the world, Jesus is praying in this fateful hour that God will glorify Him with the glory He had before the world began (John 17:5).
In this way, the words are fulfilled that God spoke from heaven. Earlier, after entering Jerusalem for the final Passover, Jesus knows the hour of His impending death has come. He prays, “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). The crowd gathered around Jesus and did not know if it was thunder or an angel that they heard from the sky, but the voice was for them to hear. They needed to know that through the death of Jesus, Satan would be cast out of power (John 12:27-33), and God and Jesus would be glorified.
He prays this God-given glory would also be lavished upon those who believe in Him, all future disciples and believers, for the sake of a powerful unity that will convict the world (John 17:23).
This prayer defines eternal life (John 17:3), expresses confidence in His disciples (John 17:6-8), and petitions for their continued unity, protection, joy, long life, and sanctification (John 17:11-19). Tragically, Jesus recognizes one of those disciples will miss out on this life and protection. Though unnamed, Jesus calls him "the son of perdition" (John 17:12). Judas has been called a devil (John 6:70-71), a thief (John 12:6), unclean (John 13:10-11), a betrayer (John 13:21), and now a "son of perdition" (John 17:12).
That word perdition is used for the destruction of the ancient world through the flood (Luke 17:27), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:29), and plots to destroy Jesus (Mark 3:6). Sadly, it's also used in John as something removed for those who believe. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 10:28: "I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." Judas could not overcome his lust for earthly wealth. Judas traded his own life for money.
Unity Among Believers
Another theme mentioned is the unity of believers. Jesus wants this unity to be the defining characteristic setting His people apart from everyone else. Jesus is one with the Father and Their unity is the foundation of what all our relationships in Christ are to be. He prays His disciples are "one" as He is with the Father (John 17:11). He prays all future believers will "be one; even 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 sent Me" (John 17:21). He wants us to be "perfected in unity so that the world may know that You sent Me, and love them, even as You have loved Me" (John 17:22).
There are many hurdles to this radical call for unity. Jesus has already hinted at several of them. "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one Shepherd" (John 10:16). Jesus wants to open the door to all men, Jew and Gentile alike (see John 7:35). Jesus says, "I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." Even Samaritans, who Jews have no dealings with (John 4:9) and who Jews directly compare to the demon-possessed (John 8:48). Jesus comes to unify all.
A beautiful foretaste of this unity is seen in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Among those going to the Passover feast were some Greeks who said, "We wish to see Jesus" (John 12:21). Jesus answers with a parable describing how a seed must first die to grow into a plant that produces fruit. Similarly, Jesus will die and will bear fruit. His fruit is anyone who gives up this world in service to Him: "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:23-26). Jesus opens the door to anyone who serves Him. Jesus is willing to accept these people into His fold and into His service. Are we?
Honoring Jesus' Prayer
Read again the prayer of John 17 in its entirety and ask yourself these questions: Am I honoring Jesus' prayer with the life I am living? Am I so enamored with money, wealth, and excess that I am traveling down the road of perdition? (John 17:11). Have I given it my all to keep my ways from the evil one? (John 17:15). Am I seeking to live a life set apart by the truth of the Word of God? (John 17:17). Am I "one" with my brothers and sisters in Christ? Have I prioritized unity over my ambition, desires, and prejudices? Have personal insults caused me to ignore Jesus' prayer? Have politics caused me to ignore Jesus' prayer? Will I only share unity if others agree with me on every point? Can I be united with someone who doesn't have my level of understanding (Or just maybe I don't have theirs)?
I think if we work at putting the unity of the body above ourselves, it will not only be a spiritual encouragement to us, but it will make evangelism indescribably more effective. Perhaps Jesus is right and we can show the world, through our unity, that He truly is from the Father.