Kept and Guarded

March 13

Read: Read: John 17 (Jesus’ Final Prayer) (Part 3)

Kept and Guarded

In this last section of the “High Priestly Prayer” I want us to see how Unity / “One-ness”, and what has been “given” is complimented by one other theme in the prayer of Jesus: that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the people of God are actively “keeping” and “guarding” what is the Lord’s. We see that not only are there things “given”, but there are things “kept” and “guarded”. Think of this for a moment. It is not only a matter of handing over but also a matter of holding onto. Watching over. Protecting. This is what God is doing:

KEPT and GUARDED

“Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word…” (v.6)

• The given ones keep God’s words

“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me…While I (Jesus) was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me.” (v.11,12)

• Jesus keeps the people the Lord has given him “in his name”

“I (Jesus) have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (v.12)

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (v.15)

• Jesus guards those whom the Father has given him from walking away from faith

• We are being kept from “the Evil One.”

God is not “passive” in his work, but rather quite “active” and intentional… he is a God who “keeps”. We follow his lead and seek to be “active” and “intentional” in the same way. For us as his children, this looks like “keeping his word”. (v.6) Jesus delivers the word of God to us through the Spirit, and we as the people of God are “keeping it”. This is what the “given ones” do, they hold tight to the words and instructions of God.

There is a humbling counter pat to all this tough - the fact that we must also “be kept”. You see how Jesus and the Father are working together to “keep us in the Lord’s name” (v.11,12) God is actively holding onto his children… guiding them. This is our great hope: not in how tightly we hold onto God, but rather in how tightly HE holds on to us. We truly are “kept”. There are very real enemies in this world that seek to destroy us! For this reason, Jesus “guards” the ones who have been given to him. He is petitioning on our behalf that we may be “kept from the Evil One.” This is God’s plan for us, not that we are extracted from the world, but that we are “kept and guarded” as we travel through it.

Every time you feel vulnerable or exposed… in danger… or attacked remember these truths: you one who is being “kept” and “guarded”. You WILL PERSEVERE. Your loving heavenly Father is watching over you… he is not passive and distant. Your “big brother” Jesus is guarding you and walking with you along the way. Your comforter and helper the Holy Spirit is guiding you and reminding you of these truths. Father, Son, and Spirit - the Triune God who is one - dwelling in us. Have been “made one” with God. We have been given great gifts. We are being kept and guarded for the glory of God. The Lord knew we would need these encouragements, which is why he prayed them for us and has given them to us. May these words rest upon you today in a very real and tangible way. Love you guys. - JDP