“Holy Father, Protect Them” [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“Holy Father, Protect Them”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

September 29, 2024 :: John 17:6-19

We are listening to Jesus pray.

We are listening to our Lord talk to His Father on the night right before the Cross.

This is, perhaps, the most important prayer in human history. It is definitely the longest prayer of our Lord recorded in our Bibles for us to read today. I’m glad that John was listening and writing it down for us to study together here.

Because it really reveals Jesus’ heart. We said last week that you can really learn a lot by listening to someone pray. And that’s true.

What was the main prayer request of verses 1 through 5? What did the Son pray to the Father in the first part of John 17? What did He pray for? He prayed for glory. “Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify You” (v.1).

Jesus prayed, for Himself, that He would get the glory (the shining beauty of His greatness) in His crucifixion, in His resurrection, and in His ascension and present session at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Jesus prayed that He would get the glory that was His, is His, and will be His forever. And that that glory to the Son would bring glory to His Father forever and ever, as well.

Glory was Jesus’ number one priority in His prayers. And it should be ours, as well.

But Jesus didn’t stop there. Not only was that prayer for His glory good for us because it means the gift of eternal life for us, but Jesus continued to pray in the next few verses directly for His disciples. Jesus prayed for His disciples circled around Him. How encouraging that must have been! To hear their Lord praying for them. How encouraging!

But also scary. Because His main prayer request is for their protection. Jesus believes that His disciples are in grave danger. That’s why He’s praying for them. And so He’s praying for their protection. Look at verse 11. Here’s where we get our title for today.

“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name.”

That’s the central thrust of this part of the Real Lord’s Prayer. The prayer our Lord really prayed. Not just the one that He taught His followers to pray, but the one that He prayed Himself right before He was arrested.

“Holy Father, protect them....”

Your version might have “keep them,” and that’s a good translation, too. The Greek word is “tayrayson” from “tayreo” “to keep.” It means to “attend to carefully,” “to take care of,” “to protect” or “guard” or “watch over.” “Holy Father, keep them safe.”

Jesus believes that His disciples are in some kind of danger, and so he prays this prayer to his “Holy Father.”

Notice that! Notice what Jesus calls the Father here. This is the only place in the entire Bible where the Father is called this particular name, but it so sums up Who He really is so well!

He is Holy! He is transcendent. He is perfect. His above all things. He is separate from sin and wholly other. There is noone above Him! Holy. And, yet, He is Father. He is close. He is near. He cares. He loves. He provides. He is “Daddy.” The perfect Father. Perfectly Holy and totally Father at the very same time. Just the Person you want to bring your prayer requests to. And Jesus does. And He asks His Holy Father to protect His disciples.

Protect them from what? What’s the danger?

Jesus is afraid that His disciples are going to be blown apart from one another and sucked back into the world and knocked off course from their mission. So He prays that they will not be lost. “Holy Father, Protect Them...”

I have four points this morning to summarize this part of Jesus’ prayer, and I could have many more. There is so much here! But here’s the first one.

“Holy Father, Protect Them...”

#1. IN YOUR NAME.

The prepositions in this section are very important. As we’re studying it together, pay special attention to the prepositions in this passage. The words like, “in, by, from, of, into.” Those sorts of words that show the nature of the relationships here.

You see in verse 11, Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name...”

Literally, that could be simply translated, “...keep them in your name...” That’s what some of your versions have. Jesus prays that His disciples would be protected by and in and through the very name of God! Which is something that He’s been talking about all along, hasn’t it?

In fact, that where He starts this section in verse 6. Let’s start in there. Verse 6. Jesus is praying.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”

Now, let’s make sure we know who are all the pronouns here.

When He says, “I,” He means Who? That’s Jesus. The Son.

When He says, “You” Who does He mean? That’s the Father. The Holy Father. This is a prayer from God the Son to God the Father.

Whose are the “those” and the “they” in verse 6? That’s Jesus’ disciples. Peter, James, John, Nathaniel, Thomas, Phillip. Those guys. There are eleven of them. One is now missing. What is his name? Judas has slipped out in the darkness to betray Jesus. Jesus is praying for His disciples, and He’s praying for them as the Father’s gift to Him. He’s reminding the Father how He gave the Son His true followers. Verse 6 again.

“I have revealed you [literally, that’s “your name!”] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”

That’s like a description of what Jesus has been up to all along for the last three years. He has been revealing the Father’s name, making the Father known to His disciples.

Remember, a name isn’t just a label. It’s the Person that the label stands for. That’s why the NIV has, “I have revealed you...” "I’ve been showing these guys Who You really are. I’ve been giving them a sense of Your name. And they have obeyed your word. Unlike the unbelieving world, these guys have believed the good news about Who I am." Verse 7.

“Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.”

What a great description of conversion, isn’t it? These disciples have heard Jesus teach Who He is. The seven I Ams. Everything from chapters 1 through 16, and while they are still confused on details, they have accepted it as true. And they have believed that the Son was sent from the Father.

These disciples believe that this is the truth. And that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So that’s whom Jesus is praying for. Verse 9.

“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.”

There’s that glory again! Jesus is praying for His disciples because they are His. Because they belong to Him.

Or do they? Do they belong to the Father or to the Son?

The answer is, “Yes.” They belong to the Father, and He has given them to the Son. Because they share everything. “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” I love how the old King James says it here, “...all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them” (Jn. 17:10 KJV).

But they are in trouble. “I’ve told them they are in trouble. ‘In this world you will have trouble...’ And now I’m praying for their protection in this world because I’m leaving this world.” Verse 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...

Jesus is going, but the disciples are staying. And so the Son prays that the Father would keep them in His name. He says it’s (v.11), “the name you gave me...”

So it’s not just the name of the Father. It’s the name of the Son, too. It’s the very name of God, the triune God Himself. It's being kept and protected in the very Person of God. Is there anything more powerful than that?!

It’s what’s been protecting them so far! Look at verse 12.

“While I was with them [He’s so close to going, He’s already gone in this prayer!], 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.”

Jesus hasn’t lost any of them yet except the one that He was supposed to lose.

And, no, I don’t understand exactly how all of that works, except that I know that Judas fully chose to betray Jesus and that’s on him and that he was always was going to in the perfect plan of God (Psalm 41:19, Psalm 69:25, Psalm 109:8).

The name of God wasn’t “keeping” Judas even though he was hearing all about it for several years. But it was “keeping” these that Jesus is praying for here. And Jesus prays that the Father would continue to keep them in that name. To protect them and keep them safe in that name. There is no other name that is safe.

And here’s what will happen if they are protected by this name above all names. Number two.

“Holy Father, Protect Them...”

#2. FOR THEIR UNITY AND JOY.

Look back up at verse 11 and see the purpose clause at the end of it.

“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.”

Jesus was afraid that they were going to be blown apart from one another. Jesus was afraid that His little band of brothers were going to break apart and go their separate directions. He was afraid they were going to scatter and not come back together. He was afraid of disunity and discord and conflict. He knew that together they would stand but divided they would fall.

So He prayed against it.

“Protect them...so that they may be one as we are one.”

What a thing to say! How unified are the Father and Son? He just said, “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.” That’s oneness!! Their oneness is so close that it’s is-ness, right?

Jesus prays that His followers oneness would be so close that you could see that they are in each other.

“We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord...”

We’re going to see more about this next time because He has more to say to the Father about this at the end of the prayer. But this prayer for protection is protection for unity. Not organizational unity. But spiritual unity. Relational unity. For profound deep, God-reflecting unity and togetherness.

Do you pray for this?

You can learn a lot about a person by listening to their prayers. Do you pray like your Lord did that His followers would be unified? That we would love one another. It’s not easy!

It’s hard to love other Christians sometimes. That’s why Ephesians says that we need to, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3 NIVO).

We have to work at it. And we should pray for it. Jesus did! Pray for that other Christian that you are struggling to love. Pray for our church that we would love one another. That’s one of my prayers the Fall Retreat. That we would experience sweet fellowship and unity and oneness that weekend. Pray for other churches. Especially ones that are different from ours. Jesus prayed for their unity in the very name of God. And He prayed for their joy. Look at verse 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.”

Wow! What a phrase? “So that they may have the FULL MEASURE OF MY JOY within them.” The joy of Jesus and not just a little bit of it!

Remember, we get that joy, His joy, by remaining in Jesus. We learned that in chapter 15. He just said that to them a few minutes ago.

We get that joy by dwelling in the truth. “I say these things while I am still in the world (the Farewell Teachings), so that [as they dwell on them] they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”

That’s why we can “take heart,” right?

Not because we are out of trouble but because Jesus has overcome the world. Not because we are loved by the world, but because Jesus is defeating the world for us. We’re still under attack. Look at verse 14.

“I have given them your word [the Father’s word, the Father’s teaching, the gospel] and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” That’s number three.

“Holy Father, protect them...”

#3. FROM THE EVIL ONE.

You see how important those prepositions are? Aren’t you glad that Jesus didn’t pray that they would be kept “in” the evil one? Or “for” the evil one? No, Jesus prayed that His followers would be kept from the evil one.

He knew that Satan hated them and wanted to eat them for lunch. Satan hates the followers of Jesus and wants to destroy them. But Jesus loves His people and wants them to be safe from Satan.

Do you pray for this one?

It’s no wonder that Jesus included this request in prayer He gave His disciples, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Or “from the evil one.” [Same phrase in the Greek.]

You and I should be praying that sort of prayer regularly. Because Satan is not our friend. He’s a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. And the main way he wants to do that is to suck us back into the world. He will use oppression where he must, but Satan loves to tempt us. Satan loves to attack us through temptation.

I think that’s the main thing that Jesus was praying against in verse 15, that the Father would protect His disciples from the temptations of the evil one. So that they didn’t get sucked back into the world.

Because they were still in the world. Right? Jesus was leaving this world by death and then later by ascension, but He was leaving His disciples in the world.

And in fact, He wasn’t praying that they would be taken out of the world. But that while in the world they would be kept from the evil one. You see that? Look at verse 14 again.

He says that the disciples are hated because (v.14), “they are not OF the world any more than I am OF the world.”

They are foreigners to this world and citizens of the world to come.

Now, verse 15. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” So, He’s not praying that His disciples would get to escape from the world. They didn’t get to be raptured and escape all the tribulations of the next several decades.

But Jesus prayed that they wouldn’t go backwards and give in to the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil either. Point number four.

“Holy Father, protect them...”

#4. IN AND INTO THE WORLD.

You see, there are two fundamental mistakes we make with the world.

They are ISOLATION and ASSIMILATION. And Jesus wants us to reject both.

We are not supposed to be isolated from the world. We are not supposed to insulate ourselves from the world. To escape, run away, become monks, withdraw from the world. Jesus says that we are “in the world.” And He says in verse 18 that we are sent INTO the world. No isolation!

But we aren’t supposed to get too comfortable with the world, either. We are IN but not OF. Right? Look at verse 16.

“[Protect them from the evil one.] They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”

We don’t belong here. We are not worldlians any more. We don’t have the same goals, same values, same laws, same mindset, same desires. We march to the beat of a different drummer.

What did we learn this summer in Romans 12:2 at Family Bible Week?

“Do not be conformed to this age [this world], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2 CSB).

Don’t be assimilated. Don’t be sucked back in. Instead, be sanctified. That’s verse 17.

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

We don’t use that word enough these days so that we don’t really know what it means. But to be “sanctified” means to be set apart for a special use. It means to be holy which means to be set apart as God’s own for God’s own use. It’s not just what we don’t do but what we do. It means separate from sin, separate from the world’s approach to things.

Jesus wanted His disciples to be different. Our teens learned that at Challenge this summer. Jesus wants us to live as citizens of the kingdom and that’s a whole different way of living.

So He prayed for that. Jesus prayed that His followers would be protected in the world from being like the world. And He cared more about that than their lives.

Let me ask you a question, do you pray for your sanctification more than for your protection from danger? We can pray for safety from car accidents and flooding and looting and cancer and warfare. We should pray for that. But Jesus was more concerned that His disciples be holy. Jesus was more concerned that His disciples fought against temptation by the promises of God.

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Jesus prayed that His disciples would know God’s word and believe what it says and say no the temptations to be just like the rest of the world.

That’s what He was scared of. Jesus wasn’t scared that His disciples would be persecuted by the world. Jesus was scared that His disciples would just start acting like the rest of the world.

“They are not OF the world, Father, keep them from acting like it.”

“Don’t let them get sucked back in.”

“You’re holy, Father. Make them holy, too.”

Do you pray for that?

We need to pray that we would live like citizens of the kingdom to come and not like the denizens of this unholy world. We shouldn’t expect much of them, but we should expect it of ourselves and pray for it. While we are here.

The answer is not assimilation, and it’s not isolation. We aren’t supposed to just go off into our little holy huddles.

The answer is mission! We are sent INTO this world. Look at verse 18. We are set apart but not to live apart. Verse 18.

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

We are not just in the world. We are sent into the world. You see how important the prepositions are? We are not just present in the world. We are sent into the world on a mission.

Jesus is concerned that His disciples were going to get knocked off their mission. So He prays that they would be kept on track. Just as the Father has sent the Son on a mission of salvation, the Son has sent the Church on a salvation mission, too. I’m praying that our Fall retreat would be a time to gather together but not to hide from the world. But to gather together in unity and oneness for the world. To be sent back out into the world to reach the world for Christ. Neither isolated nor assimilated but on mission.

Do you see yourself as on mission for Jesus? Wherever you are? Whatever you are doing. He hasn’t taken you out of the world yet, so He’s got mission for you to do. He doesn’t want you to become like the world. He wants you to be sanctified. But He does want you to go into the world with His gospel.

It’s why He came. And it’s why He sanctified Himself. Look at verse 19, last verse for today.

“For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

Jesus was sanctified like nobody else. He was set apart, consecrated, for the most special work every accomplished. He’s talking about the Cross. He’s saying that He fully consecrated Himself to give Himself up for us. That was His mission–dying for our sins and rising again to give us eternal life.

So that (v.19), “they too may be truly sanctified.”

Saved from sin and set apart for our mission into the world!

What a prayer request, huh? Let me ask you a question. How did the Holy Father answer this one?

Jesus prayed that the eleven would be protected by the name of God Himself, for their unity and joy, from the evil one, and in and into the world.

Read the book of Acts and you will see that the Father said, “Yes” to this prayer. It wasn’t straightforward, and it wasn’t easy. And they all lost their lives for Jesus. But they were all protected where it mattered most. They were not blown apart, or sucked back in, or knocked off course in their mission. They were one, they were joyful, they were holy, and they turned their world upside down for the name of Jesus Christ.

May we do the same.

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Messages in this Series