John 17:6-19 (NRSV)
Read John 17:6-19 on biblegateway.com
Verse 6"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Verse 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; Verse 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. Verse 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. Verse 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
Verse 11And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. Verse 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. Verse 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. Verse 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Verse 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. Verse 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
Verse 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. Verse 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. Verse 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Devotion
In Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John we find several striking images. We note how Jesus prays for his disciples that “they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” As contemporary disciples of Jesus, we might think about sharing in Jesus’ confidence or power or hope. But what if you and I could experience the fullness of Jesus’ JOY?
We know that Jesus had many moments of joy and exuberance in his ministry. But often in the church, we lose sight of that joy and concentrate instead on the more serious or even somber side of Jesus’ work and message. But while we do need to recognize that some moments call for seriousness, we also need to open ourselves to moments that surprise us with pure joy. The joy that Jesus experienced—and that Jesus promises to share with us—is life-changing. May that joy find you and enrich your life today!
Prayer
Savior of the World, we thank you for the promise that we might know your joy in our lives. Open our hearts and minds to receive and share that joy today. Amen.
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