John 17:15–16 (ESV): I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus asks the Father to keep his followers from the evil one? He is helping us understand that as long as we are in this world, the evil one will be pursuing us.
This is the third request Jesus makes of the Father for his followers in this high priestly prayer.
The first is found here.
John 17:11 (ESV): Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
The phrase “keep them in your name” is not Jesus asking to make sure that they do not lose their salvation. Instead, the phrase means “protect” them.
The second is found here.
John 17:13 (ESV): But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus is asking the Father to give to the ones who were given to Jesus the fulfilled joy that he has. The joy referred to here is not the feeling of joy but fulfilled joy, meaning that joy is the result of something. What brings Jesus joy is what he is asking the Father to give to them. The joy-producing mechanism is what Jesus wants you to have, not simply the joy. Do you know what that is or what the text infers that mechanism to be?
And the third is here.
John 17:15 (ESV): I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
The request from Jesus to the Father is that we stay here on earth and be protected from the evil one. Clearly, Jesus considers the evil one a threat to those here. I believe it is a no-brainer that the evil one threatens the lost, but Jesus isn’t praying for the lost. He makes this clear in a preceding verse.
John 17:9 (ESV): I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
We can understand from this intentional prayer by Jesus that the evil one is a threat to us. Certainly, the evil one cannot take us from the Lord; Jesus makes this clear in another passage.
John 6:37 (ESV): All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
The evil one can deceive us and take us off track in many ways. The evil one’s chief objective is what Jesus is praying about in verse 17. We will get to verse 17 at another time – but suffice it to say, the method of stopping the evil one working in our lives is through believing in and pursuing unity.
Allow me to show you God’s end game as far as the evil one is concerned, and notice how it is accomplished.
Revelation 12:11 (ESV): And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Key in on the term “they.” They were together. They approached the enemy the same way. They conquered the evil one, Accuser of the brethren, by the blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony. Do you see it? They were together.
Together – This is what makes the joy of Jesus fulfilled. Unity is much more than attending a service with the congregation once a week. Unity is the norm in heaven; it is God’s way. Unity is the bedrock of God’s spiritual kingdom being built right here on earth.
Unity is from God, and all those who are his will pursue unity. We will have a God-given hunger to be one with God and each other. Without hunger for unity, there is no God in you. The evil one pursues division and disunity. Jesus prays that we are protected from that.
Let’s be one!
Father, we are one with you as believers in your Son, Jesus. Through you, we have become citizens of heaven, and even though we were born here on earth, we are invited to be citizens of heaven forever. Thank you, Jesus, for praying for us. Thank you that even as I read this, you are still praying for me. Your love is unlike anything this earth can point to as love. Thank you for dying for us and washing away our sin. We truly are one with each other and one with you.
Blessings,
Pastor D
