Pastor Scott Jonas
John 17 I am Guarded
3/18/18
We have been going through the Gospel
of John using the “I am” sayings as a guide.
Jesus has said “I am” the Resurrection to Mary and Martha. “I am the light of the World” to the woman
caught in adultery. “I am the bread of
Life” to a crowd at the temple. Jesus
said, “I am the true vine” and you are his branches.
Wherever there has been a chapter
without an “I am saying” I’ve inferred one about our identity. Because of Jesus I am known. I am Satisfied. I am healed. Last week, Jesus proclaimed that I am joyful. This week Jesus asks the Father that I am
guarded.
Friday night I did not feel
guarded. I made a few mistakes. Mistake #1
My family was out of town and I decided to have a hungry man dinner and
a beer with coffee in it. We will call that
only one mistake though that is debatable.
Mistake #2 I decided to watch a movie that my family would never watch,
the movie “It.” It is about evil lurking
under the town of Derry, Maine in the form of a killer clown. Even though I read the Stephen King book
twenty years ago, I still was shook by the disturbing images late at night all
by myself. Afterwards, I went to bed
with one shitzu on my right and one on my left standing guard. Maybe not standing guard more lounging guard.
Between the coffee and the horror
movie I had a hard time sleeping.
Normally, I have no problems sleeping.
I hit the pillow and I’m out until morning. Not this night. I felt unsettled. I felt uneasy. I felt vulnerable.
I believe that is why people enjoy
scary movies. They allow us to
experience death and survive. We open
ourselves up to our biggest fears but in a manageable way. These kind of films are like roller
coasters. We give up control momentarily
but we know that everything is going to be alright in the end.
Today’s chapter in John is about
vulnerability and protection. The night
in which he was betrayed, Jesus prayed for his friends, the men and women who
followed him. He was teaching them about
their sorrow turning to Joy. Then he
stopped. He lifted his eyes up. He opened his mouth and he started to talk to
his Father.
It actually is the longest prayer of
Jesus’ in the Bible. The Lord’s prayer
is more famous but this prayer is more in depth. It’s been called the high priestly prayer
because Jesus in intervening like a priest.
A priest is a conduit between the people and God. He is connected to the God of Heaven and the
congregation below. He takes the
concerns of his fellow believers and lifts them to the Lord. He has been chosen for this task by God. Jesus the High Priest is speaking to the
Father on our behalf.
Jesus says that his Father gave him
authority over all flesh. That means not
just over all the church, not just all humans but all created things. Jesus took that authority seriously. In his ministry he protected jews and
gentiles, birds and flowers. Jesus is
the new adam who does what the first man was supposed to do, guard everything
that was created in the first 6 days, that includes the earth, plants and
trees, creatures of all types and people.
Jesus came to give eternal life to his creations. Eternal life is not defined by length of time
but by quality. Jesus came to bring a
quality of life that can only be realized at hand of the creator himself.
The Father gave everything to the
son. That is what made the devil’s
proposal in the desert so ridiculous.
Bow down and all of this can be yours?
It is not the evil one’s to give.
And the Father has already handed it over to the Son. This includes the universe as far as the eye
can see and every man and woman. The
devil tried to take advantage of a vulnerable man who hadn’t eaten in
weeks. But Jesus would not betray his
calling.
Jesus prays to the Father and says
that he has passed on the Father’s words to his followers. The Father said at Jesus baptism, “This is my
Son, listen to him.” These are the most
important words we hear from the Father.
Jesus’ life is dedicated to passing on this plea from the Father, “This
is my Son, listen to him.”
There is a lot in those words. To believe just those seven words creates a
whole creed in and of itself. To believe
that the Father speaks is unique. Most
of the world believed in many gods. Only
the Jews believed in God as Father. The
foreign gods were blood thirsty and cared nothing for creation. But the Father spoke words of love to his
people. His people only needed to humble
themselves and be open to his words.
They had to be vulnerable.
The son listens to the Father and we
are called to listen to the Son. When
Jesus had one last opportunity to pray with the twelve he prayed that his
followers would receive his teachings.
He prayed that you would listen to the Son. That you would be vulnerable enough to allow
Jesus to change your heart. Being
vulnerable is scary but it is necessary for growth.
Tonight we have the baptism of Abel
Theodore Lauber. His parents Joe and
Tamara have listened to Jesus. They want
for their Son what Jesus wanted for his students. They want Abel to hear Jesus. So they open themselves up to the Lord. They brought him to the church. They hand him over to a pastor who baptizes
him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are trusting that God will give their
son eternal life with Jesus and all that comes with it. They are not hiding their son away from the
world. Instead they are asking Jesus to
guard their son’s heart. It’s beautiful.
Jesus prays “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.”
You and I have a choice. All flesh has a choice. Either you guard you heart or Jesus guards
your heart. Do you trust yourself to
keep yourself true or do you hand that duty over to your creator?
It is natural for us to learn from an
early age to barricade our hearts against the outside world. When you think about it, all sin is a coping
mechanism to try to guard our own heart.
We lie because we don’t want people to be disappointed in us because
that would break our hearts. We seek
intimacy outside of marriage because we are afraid of rejection. We turn to drugs and alcohol because it numbs
our innermost places. It makes us feel
less vulnerable. We focus on achievement
and self glory because it is easier than letting others see the real us. Isn’t it exhausting to guard your own heart.
Judas guarded his own heart. He couldn’t trust Jesus so he tried on his
own. Jesus here calls him the son of
destruction because when we do the guarding everything we care about gets
destroyed.
The other option is to be completely
vulnerable to the Lord and let him watch over our most private inner
places. In this high priestly prayer,
Jesus is sharing his deepest longings with both the Father and the twelve who
are listening in. He is totally exposed
to both. He is totally vulnerable.
Jesus’ whole ministry was built on
vulnerability. In heaven before the
creation of the world, nothing could hurt the Son. He had a perfect relationship with both
Father and Spirit. They loved each other
perfectly. They communicated as
one. There was no vulnerability in
existence. Then they crafted a
creation. Now they were vulnerable. Sin was an inevitability. The love that they felt for creation would be
rejected. Creation would betray
them. The Son opened himself up to this.
Then Jesus came to earth and made
himself a human. Now he was even more
vulnerable. He could feel pain. He could be hungry, thirsty, and tire. He could even suffer the supreme
vulnerability death. In John 17, Jesus
is open to that consequence but he is also open to the Fathers will.
Make yourself open to Jesus. His opinion of you is the only one the truly
matters. Let him guard you and keep
you. He does not promise physical
safety. We know that Jesus was not
physically safe on good Friday. But He
promises that you will be connected to Jesus.
This is the only path that leads to eternal joy.