John 17:24
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: Jesus continues to address the Father in this prayer. I was wondering the other day "how is that we have this prayer?". In other words, how is that we get to read this? That God would have John know these words from Jesus and His prayer and that it would be related to us. I think the only explanation that makes sense is Jesus told the disciples about this incident. They spent much time together and He obviously wanted these words, this prayer, to be recorded and knew the recording of Scripture was going to happen - so we can see that these are words He wants us to know. He wants us to know that He has prayed for us, that He desires His children, His followers to Know God and to know God loves and cares for us. Therefore, these words must be important to Jesus - he must have wanted these words preserved.
The instructions we receive from God
Remember, what we have in our Bible is not a play by play or a movie script. It is not everything that is going on, but what is mentioned I believe is what we need to know. It provides us with principles and I believe with the Holy Spirit as our guide and let's acknowledge today the Holy Spirit is present with us and guiding us into our understanding of truth. As we read the Bible we have direct instructions and we also have principles to apply to our lives.
When I was finishing college, I would often ask the question - what does God want me to do with my life? It was like I wanted a writing on the wall experience or lightning bolt to come down and tell me what to do. I've always remembered a sermon message that Norm Boshoff gave about knowing the will of God and his point in that message was God gives us boundaries or parameters and tells us to stay within those parameters. Sometimes we don't get clear instructions, but sometimes we do. But we know we need to stay within those parameters.
When I finished college, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and there was a Bible teacher I loved in Denton and I would listen to his messages. I was active at the time in sharing my faith and that teacher had gone to Dallas Theological. I had another close friend looking into Southwest Seminary in Fort Worth and also Golden Gate Seminary outside of San Francisco. I started the application process to DTS but as I did I prayed and waited on God because I wasn't sure. As I did my sense from God that He was saying to me - the peace that He was giving me at the time was - I don't want you to be paid full-time ministry - rather I want you to be an active lay person. So I think again often with scripture and our personal time with God what is important is that we are regularly going to God and talking to him about life and what is going on and asking His direction, waiting for His peace that surpasses all understanding.
I desire/I want
Getting into this text, Jesus says, "Father, I desire." This is the reality of most of our prayers, our desire. When coming to pray, we desire to ask God for something, for Him to do something. And Jesus was no different in His prayer. When I look at prayer requests that are made in church, it seems the biggest desire people have is health related needs. Beyond that, it is job and work, and often children's decisions and jobs and work. And there is prayer for people to come to know Jesus as Lord. It is interesting to me that this is how we pray. I think there is an acknowledgement there that God is the one that takes care of our needs. But I think we are also acknowledging what is important to us. And what we want God to do in our life. And I wonder if this is what God believes is number one in life.
I have seen that Jesus is also using this prayer to explain truths and to speak and tell God what He has done. And overall that has been a big reminder to me of the importance of praying in this way. Is what Jesus desires what we desire for one another? Is our desire for truth, for people to know God, foremost on our lips when we pray? Other versions of this verse state, "I will" or "I want" but it takes on the same meaning I believe for it expresses what Jesus wants for us.
I have been looking at Psalm 89 this week and its words and how it is a prayer of claiming the promises of God. The Psalm begins, "
I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever." The Psalm mentions God's faithfulness, Thy wonders, no one is comparable, no one like the Lord, greatly feared, awesome, rules, stills the waves, scatters enemies, heavens are His, strong, mighty, exalted, righteous, just, blessed are those who know Him. This reminds me of the importance of acknowledging this. We do this in our singing each week - praising God. But this is more than thanking Him for how he has impacted us, we are also to praise Him simply for Who He Is and what He has done and continues to do. Chris Tomlin's song "
Faithful" is a great song.
We are His Gift
He speaks that his desire is for the benefactors of the gospel, "I desire that they also, whom You have given Me." Once again, we see the gift we are to Jesus. I believe God loves the world. Like John 3:16 says, I think we know that God loves the world clearly. Everything in scripture I believe points to this love He has. But I also believe within that world, there are gifts or called ones. Verse 20 is interesting for it transitions from his talk prior to verse 20 and Jesus says, "I do not ask in behalf of these alone (v. 6-19 was his disciples), but for those also who believe in Me through their word." So I think those that believe in Jesus are the gifts. He loves everyone but we who believe are His gifts.
I get lost at times thinking about this, for maybe in my life that desire to be wanted has been a big one for me. I remember standing in the courtyard at school, elementary school, and having that need to be wanted, to be included, to not be chosen last when they are picking sides to play kickball. I wanted to be seen by my teacher. And for me, at least, it continued throughout growing up years.
When I was in college and even beyond, I felt a need to fabricate the truth of me, to change stories of myself, to twist the truth. I couldn't believe that people would want me as I was. I had red hair which few had, I was skinny. I wasn't a good student and struggled. When I looked at me I often did not like what I saw. So I felt like I had to change something about myself, to make me sound more impressive, or unique or different. For me, it took going through a book called the Search for Significance to help me really believe I could be wanted and ultimately that it is God who accepts me.
One of my favorite songs is by Benny Hester, "Nobody Knows Me Like You." The lyrics will say, "though some know me well, nobody knows me like you."
We are valuable to Him
There is a beauty in scripture and in these words for Jesus is telling in many different ways the value we are to Him. But this value didn't start with Jesus. One thing Jesus is doing continually in His words is to point us back to God and to know to us the special relationship we have with God. These ideas have been expressed to us throughout scripture. God's desire for Adam and Eve. Abraham's extreme love for Isaac. Saul and David's commitment to one another. Job's love for God despite trials. Solomon's love for wisdom and his great love for the value of living. Even the minor prophets, often sent to a people that didn't want anything to do with them or God and yet they desired the best for them. And now Jesus and his extreme love for us that then gets passed to the disciples, Paul and throughout the ages in the church.
I can't help but think in our world today that this is what people are struggling with often. That there is a need to change themselves - so that they will see themselves as valuable and others will also. Oh that people could see that they are a gift - that who they are, who God created them, is a gift and they have value and worth as they are and they don't need to change themselves. They don't need to make up a lie or make them out to be something they are not.
To Be With Him
And His specific prayer is that they may "be with Me where I am." His desire is for us to be with Him. (1) He desires us; (2) we are a gift and (3) He wants us to be with Him. This is the creator of the world and He wants us to be with Him. There is always something special when someone reaches out to you. One of my favorite stories of this is when there is a huge crowd of people and Jesus says, "someone touched me." Luke 8:42-46. "the multitudes were pressing against Him." "a woman touched the fringe of His cloak." "Who touched me?"
He wants me to be beside him. To sit next to him. To be near him.
I remember John 14:2-3 and Jesus says, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also."
In several earlier instances of John, Jesus actually told people that where he was going or was, they could not come. John 7:34 - "You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” John 13:33, "Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’" The King James says, "‘Whither I go ye cannot come.’ But shortly after this is the statement in verse 36, "Where I go, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow later." So what we have here in these first statements are temporary words, but there will be a permanent state later of where He is, we are there. But in those words of verse 33 is something interesting - I think there is a sorrow that Jesus is communicating that He must leave, though temporarily.
In Jesus, we know we have someone transformative and we see it often in people's reactions to Him, but we also see it in His reaction to us. And I think in these words from Jesus of not being able to with Him we have words of sorrow. Everything Jesus has done up to this point is showing us an extreme love for people. The thing about Jesus is no one has loved like Him and no one will love like Him. And this impacts us.
In Psalm 23, we have those words, the Lord is My Shepherd. There is a closeness we have with Jesus that is different from anyone else. He is Mine. But, I want you to think also of something - His closeness and desire for us.
One of the things I love about a church is seeing people experience God and I must tell you, I am a watcher. I'm impacted by people and how they experience God. Debra is one of those people I love to watch. I sit behind her in church. And to watch her worship is such a sweet joy. She puts all of herself into worshipping. There are several people, I love to watch their expressions (our neighbor up the street; there is another man, near her that attends at times). It is another reason I like a choir. I like to watch the choir and see people worshipping God directly. There is an encouragement I see here. I am not very expressive in my worship. Sometimes I can be, but I am more reserved, but that doesn't mean I am not impacted by those that are. That extreme love is just so awe inspiring to watch. Dave McKinney is one I've enjoyed watching. I was at his house and saw his desk - with His Bible in the center and commentaries to the side - and then to hear him speak on June 10th here in this class and simply share about the wonderful name of Jesus and that extreme love and impact in what Jesus has done for him.
Have you gone through the love languages book. I love this book only because it validates maybe the people we already knew, but it gives a recognition. Look it's no secret that I like touch. Now, I'm not fond of anyone's touch, so please don't feel a need to come up and hug me, but I do desire touch. And I have this habit of touching people on the shoulder. My wife's love language is not touch. Her love language is me asking her to go out to eat. Her fondest memory is going to Dairy Queen Sunday afternoon or evening.
So where is this closeness with Jesus?
John 1:12 - to them He gave the right to become children of God. - The closeness of your child.
John 1:14 - Dwelt among us - He is near and with us.
The disciples see Jesus and follow Him in Chapter 2.
No wine at the wedding and Jesus meets the need with the best wine ever.
And we see His love for the Father in cleansing the temple of those using it to sell things.
To Be born again; to use the language akin to a mother bearing a child - God sent Jesus to save us.
To the woman at the well, he speaks of water given that will produce no thirst again - eternal life. Healing the son of the royal official. Healing the paralytic man at the pool, afflicted 38 years.
Walking on the water, with the storms and darkness all around you, He says, 'Don't be afraid. It is I."
And yet in our Bible, there is a presence of God that is separate. Psalm 24:3, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?" There is a respect that God deserves. We cannot see Him, but His love lives in us. Jesus is in Us. We cannot go with Jesus as He goes to God, but we will be with Him and see His glory.
Why? "so that they may see My glory" realizing that this glory "You have given Me." Why? "for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
Glory continues to be mentioned by Jesus. The Glory of God is something Jesus wants to show us and deliver to us. This is glory given by God to Jesus. What kind of glory is this?
John 17:5 - "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." and now here "Before the foundation of the world." This is the glory that existed before the world.
You know I don't know what this is completely, but one thing I know is Jesus wants to share with me. I love sharing. I am a fan of potluck. We have a mini potluck every morning in the form of goodies that get shared with us. the "Yum Yum" of the morning. I grew up at Heights Baptist Church and my memory is every Sunday night we had a potluck. My guess is we had a Sunday night service. Maybe. I don't know, but what I do know is we had a potluck. And I loved them. Coming together as a group and sharing food made by one another was a thrill for me. It was that sharing. And going to share food with internationals. Each one bringing food from their own country.
And all I really know for sure here is Jesus wants to share something extremely valuable with me.
Summary: Jesus desires through this prayer for us to be with Him, where He is at and to experience His glory, given by the Father to Him.
Promise: God wants His people in His Presence, where we will be blessed forever.
Prayer: Lord, it has taken me weeks to get through this message, though you and I know my faithfulness in getting through this lesson has not been consistent each day. Traveling some as well as other days recovering from that travel and then also Lord, I admit, just a struggle at times to stay with this. But, I think now this is a lesson that may be a center point for the lesson I will teach on July 9 at Sunday School. Lord God, I thank you for your son Jesus and His prayer here and what it continues to teach me about your love for me, and your desire for me to be with you always but also how great You are and how you are to be praised in my life. Thank you for your love for me and wanting me as your child and desiring me to be with You. And to experience your glory. I don't really know what that means completely, but what I do know is you have a desire for me. You want me. Help me to know this always.
