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Christ prayed for all who shall believe on Him (Jn. 17: 20-26)

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word;  21 That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.  22 And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one:  23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.  24 Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.  25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.  26 And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn. 17: 20-26).

Was Christ’s high priestly prayer only for His disciples?   No.   Very clearly, the Lord proclaimed, “Neither pray I for these ALONE, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.”   When He uttered this prayer, the Lord had in mind all who had believed in Him, and all who shall believe in Him.  He knew the names of everyone whom God the Father had ordained to eternal life, and whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of life (Acts 13: 48).    No one - however weak, however young, however lowly - will be overlooked by Him. 

“Salvation is a gift, and a fruit of electing grace.   Our Lord knew that there would be a number, in all successive generations that would believe in Him, through the ministry of the Word; and for these persons, and their conversion, and the success of the Gospel, to the good of their souls, He prays”- Gill

Christ interceded not only for great and eminent believers, but for the meanest and weakest.  The smallest child with a loving heart for the Saviour, the condemned criminal who turned in repentance to the dying Lord on the cross – each of these was remembered by the Son of God in His petition before the Father: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their Word.”  What a comfort to know that we are the objects of our Lord’s intercessory prayer before the Father’s throne of grace.

The Lord prayed for unity – that “all may be one.”  All are children of the same God and Father.  All have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Son of God.  God’s children will one day meet in Heaven.  Family ties are important, but “there are no ties so tender as those which bind us to the Gospel.  There is no friendship so pure and enduring as that which results from having the same attachment to the Lord Jesus” – Albert Barnes. 

Hence, Christians in the New Testament, are represented as being mutually dependent on one another as they are parts of the same Body and members of the same family.  The apostle Paul described this beautiful similitude in I Corinthians 12:  “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ … But now are they many members, yet but one body … That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (vv.  12, 20, 25 cf. Acts 4: 32-35; Rom. 12: 5; Eph. 2: 20-22).

On the basis of this blessed union, believers are exhorted to love one another, to bear one another's burdens, and to “follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Rom. 14:19).   The Lord prayed that the dark and hostile world may see the power of Christian love and be drawn to Him (v. 23).  “That the world, so full of animosities and fightings, may see the power of Christian principle in overcoming the sources of contention and producing love, and may thus see that a religion that could produce this must be from heaven. … Such was the attachment of the early Christians to each other, that a heathen was constrained to say, ‘see how these Christians love one another!’” – Barnes.

In verse 24, the Lord prayed: “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.”  Do we pray this same prayer for ourselves?    Do we desire to be with the Lord?  Do we desire to behold the glory of our Saviour?

“There are many who desire to go to heaven that they may escape from pain and grief; but only those who believe in Jesus desire to behold His glory. And He desires that they shall behold it, and He prays that they may.  Can His prayer be refused?  Impossible.  When Jesus shall be seated on His throne of glory, and shall survey the vast multitude of the redeemed, He will know if any one of them is missing.  He has loved each, He has died for each, He has prayed for each; He could not forget ONE. …   It may be that we have loved Him but a little while, a few years, or only a few days; but He loved us before the foundation of the world.  Our prayers to Him have been short, and feeble; but His prayers for us were offered up before we were born, and ever since we were born. While we sleep He prays; and even when we sin He prays” - F L Mortimer.

Thank God for our faithful Saviour who ever “liveth to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7: 25).  May we respond appropriately to love and serve Him, and to love our brethren that there may be unity in the Body of Christ.

- Pastor