I can’t even begin to imagine everything Jesus was thinking about on the night he was betrayed and handed over to Roman authorities for execution by crucifixion. Let’s be clear: Jesus knew what was going to happen to him later that night and throughout the following day.
He knew he would suffer unbelievable physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual torture. His closest friends and followers would betray, abandon, and deny him. He would be ridiculed, mocked, spat on, beaten, flogged, humiliated, degraded, and ultimately crucified. He would be forsaken by God and bear the punishment for the sins of the whole world in our place.
He knew all of that. And yet . . . sometime after he shared the last Passover meal with his disciples and instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus prayed these words:
“My prayer is not for them [his disciples] 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. 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.
(John 17:20-21,24-26)
“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.”
Let those words sink in.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed for you. Jesus prayed for you and revealed his greatest desire: ultimately, that you (and all believers) see him in all of his glory, face-to-face, and be with him in heaven forever.
For us and for our salvation . . . That beautiful phrase is confessed in the words of the Nicene Creed and highlights what Jesus did and why. He came down from heaven, lived a perfect life from first to final breath, suffered the punishment we deserve for our sins, died an innocent death, and rose again, triumphant from the grave. For us. For our salvation.
Dear Christian, no matter what is happening in your life right now, don’t lose sight of the fact that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead for you because he loves you and wants you to be with him in heaven. His prayer in the verses above from John reveals that amazing desire, as do his incredible, grace-filled actions.
May he continue to comfort and strengthen you through his Word, and may he bless you as you share the love that he has for you with the people in your life.
Dive into Jesus’ comforting words, prayers, and promises with These Words Are Written. These 170+ brief devotions cover the entire book of John and point you to your Savior Jesus and what he has done for you.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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