Reflections on John 17

On November 24th, 1572, the sun had set on the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, ushering in an end to what had been a rather peaceful day. However, just around the corner, in the home of one of the most influential men in church history, the scenery was vastly different. The beloved reformed minister John Knox, stricken with pneumonia, lay on his deathbed. Sensing the end of his life and his last breath was near, he gathered his remaining strength to look at his wife Margaret and said, “Go. Go where I cast my first anchor.” Immediately, she knew exactly where he wanted her to turn. Without hesitation, she opened the divinely inspired pages of Holy Scripture and read to her dying groom the following words from the gospel of John, chapter 17:

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,  2  since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  3  And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  4  I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.  5  And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6  “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  7  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.  8  For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.  9  I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.  10  All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.  11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.  12  While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  13  But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.  14  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [a]16  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  17  Sanctify them [b]  in the truth; your word is truth.  18  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  19  And for their sake I consecrate myself, [c]  that they also may be sanctified [d]  in truth. 20  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,  21  that they may all be one, just 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 have sent me.  22  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.  24  Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  25  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.  26  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

This text is what many have called the High Priestly Prayer. Like Knox, Jesus too knew his time had come, that the end of his life on earth was near. And what does Jesus do but utter quite possibly the most significant earthly prayer that has ever been prayed, so important that it continues in heaven today as Jesus intercedes for his people. This prayer, from the Savior of the world, served as an “anchor” for men like John Knox and Martin Luther (who also had this read to him three times the night before he died). And brother or sister, this prayer is an anchor for YOU and for ME.

As blood-bought believers in Christ Jesus our Lord, the only comfort we have in life and in death is the sure reality that we belong to our Savior. We are his, and he is ours. And brethren, our union with Christ is rooted in this very prayer. Pastor Mark Jones stated in his book, Knowing Christ, that “the contents of this prayer are more important than the air we breathe.” The reason we were granted the gifts of faith and repentance and can be assured of eternal life is because Jesus prayed this prayer.

The reason we are reconciled to the Creator and Sustainer of all things is because the prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. This is our anchor. God made promises to the Son in eternity past; in John 17, the Son asked God to fulfill the promises he had made. And God did, and continues to, based on the prayer of the Son. What a blessed hope!

My encouragement to you, whether you are nearing the end of your life or know someone who might be, or perhaps you simply desire to reflect on the assurance of salvation you can have in Christ. Let this prayer wash over your soul. Let this prayer give you boldness to face tomorrow. Let this prayer stir up new depths of joy in your life. Let this prayer direct how you minister to those in your sphere of influence. Let this prayer be your anchor.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do. Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Jordan Embree