Not Sugarcoated

John 17:14-15, 20

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The life of a Christian is not always an easy one. Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat the matter when he describes what their life is going to be as disciples after he leaves them, he talks about how they’ll have to bear their crosses, how the world will hate them. He talks about how they’ll cast them out of the synagogues and even murder them and how people will be turning against them. Even their close friends will turn against them. It’s not sugarcoated. It’s a very dark and difficult time that Christians will face. After describing what their life is going to be like, though, and preparing them for how difficult all of this is. Jesus goes and he prays to his father. In John chapter 17, verse 14, Jesus prays to God, and he says,

I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (John 17:14-15)

And he goes on and he says,

I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. (John 17:14-15)

So Jesus prays for his disciples, knowing how difficult it will be for them. He doesn’t just prepare them, but He prays to the Father. These words are recorded for us that we see that he was concerned for his disciples. He wanted to take care of them. He wanted them to be comforted. He wanted them to be provided for by His Heavenly Father. He knew what difficulties they could, they would face. He knew how many of those apostles would die for the faith that they were proclaiming for the truth about him, that they were proclaiming. He could look ahead and see that. And he was preparing them for that. But he was also praying for them.

A few verses later, though, I want you to hear these words too. In verse 20, Jesus says,

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (John 17:20)

Over this text now see Jesus eyes looking directly at you. He’s not just concerned about those difficulties that those apostles would face. He’s concerned for you. He has comfort and compassion for you, that he is offering you strength. He is praying to his father for you. He did that before he went into his death so that as he went into that, those hours of suffering and persecution that he himself was cast out. He himself was murdered for this truth. He had you on his mind and he had you on his heart. So that now when you go forward and you are joined to him and suffer the same things, in many cases, when you suffer being called a bigot for your beliefs, when you suffer being shunned by your family members, if you even suffer physically for this faith, however you suffer, Jesus not only knew about it, but he went and suffered the same things. He suffered hell for you so that he could himself bear you through so that at the end, beyond this cross comes the resurrection that he has promised for you.

He prays to God not only to deliver you out of this, but as we pray, deliver us from evil, he’s delivering you even now through the word he provides you in all of this difficulty until that final deliverance comes. When yes, you do die, but this death is a sleep. He delivers you from this evil world to give you the comfort of heaven. And then on the last day, he will deliver you from all your suffering and pain and rejoining your spirit to your body. He delivers you to that eternal joy of heaven. And Jesus prayed for that already. We pray for that now, and we know that He has promised he will come again just as assuredly as he did die for your sins and rose to give you life. He will come again to bring you to that blessed comfort that he has promised to give you.