The Prayer

Like an exclamation point at the end of a sentence, chapter 17 is the exclamation point for Jesus’ final words before his crucifixion. These words have been dissected and spoken of in a variety of ways. What is obvious is that Jesus is coming to the end of his physical life. What does one pray about? Jesus prays about himself, his disciples, and the future. He prays that he will finish his work well and that God will honor him. He prays that his current disciples will honor the Father as they live in this world. He prays that future disciples will honor the Father as they love each other. Do you get the impression that Jesus is praying for God to be honored?

What a great way to end life—praying. What a great way to face the hour of trial—praying. But it is the content of the prayer that we want to focus on. Not just the words but the intent of the prayer. Jesus is on a mission. The upper room meal with his disciples, the washing of their feet, the final words, are all part of completing that mission. The cross is the next phase of that mission. But before he goes to the cross, our Savior prays for himself, his disciples, and for us. Even as he faced death, he was thinking of others. The question for the day is this: Life is a mission. Will you know that you completed yours?

Question

Life is a mission. Will you know that you completed yours? Too many are going through life allowing life to be lived out without thinking about life with intent and purpose. Life happens to them but they do not have a clue about what they are doing with life. For too many, life is spent working and playing as if that is all there is. Work, recreate, fix the house, mow the lawn, wash the clothes, cook and eat another meal, go to school, do homework, go on vacation, recover from vacation, give a little money to a charity, mow the lawn, cook another meal, wash another load of clothes—the monotony of life.

Life is a mission. Will you know that you completed yours? I heard someone say one time that we should die with something else to do. I understood the point: don’t quit living, always have something to work on. But we aren’t talking about that. Jesus could have healed some more folks, taught more crowds, walked a few more dusty streets. But he was on a mission and his mission was to be completed at a cross and an empty tomb. He knew what his mission was and he knew when his mission would be completed. He had prepared for this moment in time.

Look at verse 4: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” He hasn’t completed the work yet, but it is in sight. He is so certain that he will complete his mission that he speaks of it in the past tense. I have finished it. The kiss was yet to come. The trials are ahead. Dying still had to be done. But he knew what his mission was and he knew when he had completed it.

Life is a mission. Will you know that you have completed yours? Will you get to the end of life and not know? Will you be on your death bed wondering? Do you know now where you are headed in mission? Challenging questions. From the prayer of Jesus we can learn two things about mission.

Mission

First, mission is lived with joy. In verse 13 Jesus prays for his current disciples. They are going to face many challenges not just in the days ahead but a lifetime of living for Jesus. Jesus’ prayer is that they will have his joy. Understand the impact of that statement. Jesus is going to face betrayal, crucifixion, and death, but he has joy. Nothing can take away his joy and he wants his disciples to have that same joy. Look at Acts 5:41. After being beaten for preaching about Jesus, the text tells us that the apostles are filled with joy because they can share in Christ’s suffering. Do you think Jesus’ prayer was fulfilled? Is it fulfilled in your life? It seems reasonable that Jesus’ words could be applied to us as well.

Life is a mission. Your mission is to live with joy when your faith is challenged. Quit complaining. Allow joy to be seen. Quit asking for change. Be joyful in the middle of the challenge. It is in hostility that our joy is seen and Jesus’ prayer answered. Life is a mission. Will you know that you have completed yours?

Second, mission is lived in oneness. Jesus’ prayer was for unity. We cannot undo a couple of thousand years of disharmony. I cannot explain why there is so much division and how to reconcile it all. What I do know is that unity will not come from human effort or human invention. Unity comes from God and we work either with God or against his will. Our mission is to live in connection with God and through our connection with God to plead for others to be connected to him as well. Not to be connected with us, but to be connected with God. This entire prayer is about bringing glory to God. That is our mission.

We go to work so that people can see God. We go to work to be light. We live to give not to receive. We live to praise God not to be praised. Life is a mission. Will you know that you have completed yours?

Follow Jesus

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