THE HIGH PRIEST’S PRAYER

On the night of His betrayal, “Jesus … looked up to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you’ ” (John 17:1). He started this intimate conversation by praying for Himself.

He then turned His attention to the Apostles, those men that had spent just over three years in His shadow. “Oh Father, He prayed, ‘they were yours, you gave them to me … I pray for them … Holy Father, protect them … Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth’ ” (John 17:6–19).

Jesus prayed for Himself. He prayed for the Apostles. Remarkably, Jesus didn’t stop there. “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word” (John 17:20).

Who are these that would “believe … through their word”? It was, of course, the first-century church in Jerusalem, those who trusted in the saving power of Christ when Peter and the others preached at Pentecost and beyond. It included those who heard the Apostle’s message “in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, KJV).

But Jesus continued. He prayed “for those who believe in me through their word” … their written words, inspired by the Holy Spirit and canonized in the Holy Bible. And who is that? That’s every born-again, Bible-believing, Spirit-filled Christian for the past twenty centuries. And … that’s me and you!

On the night the Lord was betrayed, arrested, condemned, and crucified, Jesus took time to pray for us! Wow!

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).