‍“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:22-26)

Don't you love these verses? Jesus prayed these words to God the Father as He celebrated the Passover in what would be His last meal with His disciples. After He washed their feet, after He predicted that Judas would betray Him and Peter would deny Him, after He declared that He was the way, truth and the life (John 14:6), after He promised to send them the Holy Spirit to be their advocate (John 14:15-17), after He told them that He is the vine and they are the branches, after He said that in Him they can bear much fruit but they can do nothing without Him (John 15:5), after He defined love as laying down your life for your friends (John 15:13), after reminding them that they are His friends (John 15:15) and that they should spend their lives worshiping God by asking for things in the name of His Father and by loving others (John 15:16-17), after all this, Jesus prayed for His disciples. In this incredible prayer Jesus prayed for us too: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that 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” (John 17:20-21). 

Yes! Jesus specifically included us in His prayer the night before He died. What joy to know that not only the prayer, but that all of His Words, life, suffering, death, and resurrection are for us too. These truths, when we believe them, remove all of our fears, selfish desires, and sins as they point us to the glory of God. These truths define our lives and show us how to love. John Piper says, “When God’s exaltation of God in Christ is your joy, it can never fail.” Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). 

This week, to better see these truths as we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection, I encourage you to do these things:

1. Read the Gospel of John where these events are covered in chapters 13-20. 
2. Read this article by John Piper, Did Christ Die for Us or for God?
3. Get up early Easter Morning and read John Chapter 20 again as the sun rises. Go to a sunrise service or worship service where there will be a great celebration of the risen King!
   

Also ... Join us this week at the Center as we discuss how these events impact our every day life and work.