Sermon Tone Analysis

Sermon text Elizabeth Vale 20~/04~/2008

 

Text: John 17:9-23.

/ /

/Jesus is praying./

9I pray for them.

\\         I am not praying for the world, \\         but for those you have given me, \\                 for they are yours.

\\ 10All I have is yours, \\         and all you have is mine.

\\         And glory has come to me through them.

11I will remain in the world no longer, \\                 but they are still in the world, \\         and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, \\ protect them by the power of your name— \\                 the name you gave me— \\         so that they may be one \\                as we are one.

\\ 12While I was with them, \\         I protected them \\         and kept them safe \\                by that name you gave me.

\\                                                              None has been lost \\                                                                     except the one doomed to destruction \\                                                                             so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 “I am coming to you now, \\         but I say these things while I am still in the world, \\                 so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

\\ 14I have given them your word \\         and the world has hated them, \\                 for they are not of the world \\                        any more than I am of the world.

\\ 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world \\         but that you protect them from the evil one.

\\                 16They are not of the world, \\                        even as I am not of it.

\\ 17Sanctify them by the truth; \\         your word is truth.

18As you sent me into the world, \\ I have sent them into the world.

19For them I sanctify myself, \\         that they too may be truly sanctified.

20“My prayer is not for them alone.

\\         I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, \\                 21that all of them may be one, Father, \\                        just as you are in me and I am in you.

\\                 May they also be in us \\                        so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

22I have given them the glory that you gave me, \\         that they may be one as we are one: \\                23I in them and you in me.

\\ May they be brought to complete unity \\         to let the world know \\                 that you sent me \\                 and have loved them \\                        even as you have loved me.

\\ Our text is part \\       of what is often called \\             “Jesus' High-Priestly Prayer”, \\       which he prayed in the presence of his disciples \\             just before he was betrayed.

\\ This prayer, recorded for us by John, \\       comes at the end of a long session of teaching \\             given to the apostles \\                    on the occasion of the Last Supper.

\\       This part of John’s Gospel starts in chapter 13.  \\ We are, as it were, listening in on Jesus' prayer, \\       so he can teach us important things.

Here, Jesus prays \\       specifically for those who belong to him, \\             and through him, \\                    to the Father.

I pray for them.

\\                I am not praying for the world, \\                 but for those you have given me, \\                        for they are yours.

Verse 20 tells us \\       that we are included in the scope of his prayer.

“My prayer is not for them alone.

\\                I pray also for those who will believe in me \\                        through their message.

We have believed in Jesus \\       on the testimony of the first disciples, \\             as it is given to us in Scripture.

\\ Jesus is praying \\       for our safety; \\             not for our removal from the world, \\             but for our protection from evil \\                    while we are in the world.

\\ Jesus is continuing this ministry of prayer for us, \\       as Paul reminds us in Romans:

Christ Jesus, who died— \\         more than that, who was raised to life— \\                is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

(Rom 8:34)

 

Jesus sends his disciples (and us) \\       out into the world \\             with the same message that he had, \\                    as summarised in Luke chapter 4, \\                           at the beginning of his ministry:

        “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, \\                 because he has anointed me \\                        to preach good news to the poor.

\\                 He has sent me \\                        to proclaim freedom for the prisoners \\                                and recovery of sight for the blind, \\                        to release the oppressed, \\                        to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Jesus himself, \\       and the salvation he offers, \\             are the content of what we are to proclaim: \\                    Jesus \\                          crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again.

\\       His love for the world should also be in us.

\\             This isn’t love /of/ the world, \\                    but love /for/ the world.

\\ Jesus prays for us, \\       that we may be one, \\              in holiness and love.

\\ Just as Jesus is in the Father, \\       and the Father is in Jesus, \\             we are to be in Christ, \\                    and he will be in us.

\\       We will be included in Christ.

\\       Just as a bride is one with her husband, \\             so will we, as the Bride of Christ, \\                    be one with him, \\                          partaking of some measure of the divine Glory.

\\       We, the body of believers, \\             the Church,

            will be one body, \\                    having one character,

                         though made up of many and various members.

This unity that Jesus prays for \\       is not the same as uniformity, \\             nor is it union.

It is a unity that can contain various ministries \\             and callings \\                    and giftings, \\             different backgrounds and histories, \\       because, in Christ, we are one.

This unity is the one proof that the world can’t ignore.

It is the proof that God has sent Jesus,

                         and that God has loved us,

                                that God /is/ love.

\\ In John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, \\       Jesus gives us what some have called \\             “The mark of the Christian.”

“A new command I give you: \\         Love one another.

\\ As I have loved you, \\         so you must love one another.

\\ By this all people will know \\         that you are my disciples, \\                if you love one another.”

If there is no visible unity,

      it is only reasonable \\             for the people of the world to conclude

                   that the Christian message \\                           is only a sham or a con.

And if there is no observable love \\             among us and between us, \\       it is only reasonable for the world to conclude \\             that we are not Christians, \\                    that we are impostors posing as Christians.

The conclusions that the people of the world make \\       may be wrong in fact, \\             but they are not unreasonable \\                    on the evidence presented to them.

Sometimes, \\ believers will have seemingly irreconcilable differences \\       in matters of doctrine or practice, \\             even after we have prayerfully considered everything.

\\       And if a parting of the ways is unavoidable, \\             the parting must never be with triumph and rejoicing, \\                    but with tears and sorrow that the Body of Christ is broken.

\\ The way we deal with our differences \\       must be different \\             from the way the world deals with differences in its ranks.

We can talk about unity in love,

      but what does it look like on the ground,

            as we live out our lives in the world every day?

John tells us in his first letter:

This is how we know what love is: \\         Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

\\                 And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

\\         If anyone has material possessions \\                 and sees his brother in need \\                        but has no pity on him, \\                                how can the love of God be in him?

\\ Dear children, \\         let us not love with words or tongue \\                 but with actions and in truth.

Here are a few concrete examples of this unity in action:

 

Institutions like the Bible College of South Australia –

      where there is a unity in the common purpose

             of learning and spreading the Word of God

                   without watering down the Gospel,

                         despite all sorts \\                                 of different denominational \\                                 and personal backgrounds.

\\ Or, listening to ‘preachers’ \\       who do not necessarily have \\             the same doctrinal or cultural heritage.

If this were not a display of visible unity, \\             you wouldn’t have invited me here to speak today, \\             and I wouldn’t have wanted to come.

Or, our common support for Christian agencies

      providing relief and support

            around the world and locally

      Things like

            World Vision,

            The Bible Society,

            our various denominational and congregational \\                    mission and relief funds,

            and so on.

When we look at Christian love in action, \\       we can look at the various relief and support agencies.

\\             Their ministries are worthy of our support, \\                    both corporately and individually.

We can support and pray for \\                    (not pray /against/) \\       the ministry of people like \\             the Salvation Army, \\              or Teen Challenge.

These groups conduct specialised ministries \\             that often we are not equipped for.

Incidentally, the current Director of Teen Challenge is a Lutheran,

                   and his ‘other’ job is as a senior official \\                           in Lutheran Community Housing.

The services of Lutheran Community Housing itself \\                    are not limited to Lutherans.

Their purpose statement is: