Prayer was a very important part of the life of the King of Israel. We often read of Him going off and praying by Himself in a secluded place. This is Yeshua’s last prayer, and the longest prayer recorded for us in the Word of God. It gives us insight into the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. What a privilege to be able to listen in to the inner workings of the Three-In-One God! Before we listen in, I’d like to make two observations:

Yeshua spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to Heaven – notice first that Messiah prayed with His eyes open – not closed, and He focused His eyes toward God in Heaven. I mention this because somehow it has become the norm among Christians to pray with their eyes closed, and heads bowed down.

Second, notice that Yeshua spoke these things to His disciples, that are recorded in chapters 13 through 16, and now He speaks to God. Yeshua spoke to His disciples about God. Now He speaks to God about His disciples. Like our High Priest and Mediator, we must speak to people about God, and then we must speak to God about those people. Both are necessary.

He said, “Father, the hour has come: Yeshua’s long awaited hour (and this may very well be the most important hour in human history), the hour of His death, has finally arrived. What is Yeshua doing before He faces this most difficult hour? Praying. Drawing near to His Father, praising the God of Israel. May I suggest that when we are facing our difficult hours, we need to pray and draw near to God as well?

“Glorify Your Son” He requests of God, His Father. Restore My honor to Me, My rightful place at Your right hand, that the Son may glorify You. When My honor is restored to Me, I intend to use that restored honor to honor You. It is my fixed and eternal purpose to add to Your honor and glory, My Father, by being Your loving, loyal and obedient Son. My desire is to honor You, with all that I am, with all that I have.

And I must be restored to My rightful place of dignity and honor, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh. Father, You have given Me authority over all mankind. The nations will be My inheritance, and the very ends of the Earth My possession. I will break them with a rod of iron, and shatter them like clay pottery (Psalm 2). And so, I know that I must be returned to My position of honor to exercise that control over humanity.

And, part of My authority over humanity includes the accomplishment of a very important purpose: that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. Father, You have given certain Jews and Gentiles, specially chosen men and women, to Me. These human beings, who are so precious to us, these valuable treasures, who are made in our image, are given by You to Me. It is My responsibility to give each one of them eternal life, and I have the authority to do so, So, I need to have My honor and glory restored, so I can be that coming King, who is, just and endowed with salvation (Zechariah 9).

What Yeshua is revealing to us is that it is both God the Father and God the Son who are involved in the salvation of human beings. God the Father purposely gives certain human beings, chosen by Him, to God the Son. The Father gives them to the Son, and the Son is the One who gives those elect human beings eternal life.

And, it’s not only God the Father and God the Son who are involved in our salvation. We too must do something – only one thing actually, to receive that greatest gift of all – eternal life. Messiah tells us so simply, what that one thing is that we must do: This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Messiah Yeshua whom You have sent.

Experiencing eternal life (and believe me, you want to experience eternal life!) will not come to us by anything we can do: no good works that we can accomplish, or any kindnesses extended; eternal life can’t be purchased by any amount of money given, or good causes supported, or religious ceremonies observed, or participation in any religious system.

The Son of God tells us (and He knows what He is talking about), that the only way eternal life will ever come to us is by having the correct knowledge about God. That’s why having good theology – the proper knowledge of God, is so important! We must know the only true God – not the many gods that mankind has believed in, but the one and only God, the true God who really exists – the God of Israel, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

But even having the knowledge of that one and true God is not enough. With the same kind of belief, with the same kind of knowledge, we must know and believe in Messiah Yeshua, the Anointed Ruler of mankind, the One that God has most assuredly sent into this world to be the only Savior of mankind. He is equally worthy of our knowledge, our faith, our belief, our trust, our confidence.

Yeshua continues praying: I glorified You on the Earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Father, I honored You while I was in this body, on this planet, by putting all My will, all My strength, into accomplishing the great task You assigned to Me – the work of redeeming humanity. And, I’ve done it! Mission accomplished! And, accomplishing this great task that You assigned to Me brings You honor and glory. Now, and for eternity, men and women, angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim will know what a great and loving and merciful and redeeming and saving God You are!

Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I’ve honored You here on Earth. I’ve accomplished the mission You gave me. Now it’s time for Me to be restored to the same kind of honor that You have, O God, restored to the same kind of honor that We shared before the creation of the universe, when I was seated at Your right hand, in the position of greatest honor, full of power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessings and dominion, surrounded by the Living Beings, worshiped by the Cherubim and Seraphim, and the millions of good angels.

I have manifested Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me. You are the God and Father of all, and the owner and possessor of all, but You gave certain precious human beings, men and women, Jews and Gentiles, to Me. Now these special treasures, the highest order of creation, who will rule the angels, are Mine as well. I’ve taught them, by word, by parables, by miracles, by example, who You really are. I’ve manifested Your name to them. I’ve revealed who You are – that You are real, alive, wise, full of mercy, grace compassion, love and concern for lost humanity.

 And they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

Like Me, these most valuable ones of mankind, have accomplished their mission. They have kept Your word. They have done what You asked them to do, which was to know and believe that I came from You, from Heaven; that I was truly sent by You to do Your bidding. They believe that. They believe that I am Yours, and that everything I have, even the words I have spoken to them, the truths I have taught them, come from You.

Then, after praying for Himself, Yeshua prays for His followers. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;  and I have been glorified in them. Here Yeshua prays, not for every human being, but only for the children of God; those who have believed in Him, and given Him honor, and have served Him. They have been given to Him by God the Father. So, Messianic Believers belong to both God the Father and to God the Son.

In fact, not just Messianic Believers God belong to God the Father and God the Son, but Yeshua tells us in this great prayer that we are privileged to overhear between Him and God, that all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; God the Father and God the Son co-own everything that exists. There is not one galaxy, one star, one planet, one creature, one molecule, that is not equally owned by the Father and the Son. Messiah Yeshua, along with God the Father, is the Owner and Master and Lord of all!

Let’s continue: Yeshua prays for us, He says, because I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father (There is one “Holy Father” and it isn’t the pope!),keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

While He was with them in the Land of Israel, Yeshua was their good shepherd, their protector and guardian. He watched over them, and kept them all out of trouble. He Himself took the brunt of the opposition. Not one of them perished, except for Judas, the one meant for destruction.

But now He is leaving them, and going back to Heaven, and His physical presence won’t be there among them, so He prays for their protection, that God would keep them in His Name. In other words, that they would be protected by God’s almighty power, and His infinite wisdom, His unsearchable goodness, His unfathomable mercy, and His unchangeableness. And what Yeshua prays for happens, which means that we are kept, we are protected by the Name of God – all His power, all His goodness, all the infinity of His wisdom, His loving care and goodness, is concentrated upon us! Wow!

And, Yeshua tells us, God’s name, which stands for His nature and character, His essence as God, has been given by God the Father to God the Son. Keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. God the Father, who is supreme, has given His name, to the Son. Question: When did God the Father give His name to His Son? Answer: from eternity. There was never a moment when God the Father did not give His name to God the Son. The giving of God’s name to Messiah is eternal and everlasting. So, if we understand what “name” means in Biblical Jewish thinking, Messiah is telling us in very strong way, that He is fully God.

Don’t you feel safe, knowing that you are protected by the almighty power of such a great God, who always answers the prayers of Yeshua, our High Priest, who is interceding for us in such a way?

And what is the purpose of us being kept safe by God and Messiah, participants in eternal life? That we may be one, even as God the Father and God the Son are one. You see, God and Messiah are united in a proper relationship, with God the Father the Supreme One in position, and God the Son willingly submitted to Him. God the Father is on the throne, but the Son of God is seated on His throne at the Father’s His right hand, but they are both working harmoniously together, unified in purpose, unified in love, caring for each Other, sharing all things with each Other, honoring each Other.

And, this is very important! This tells us what we must be about. We need to be one, even as God the Father and God the Son are one. We need to be united as a loving community, properly submitted to each other, with all the members of the community adding their gifts and talents and skills, knowing one another, honoring each other, loving one another, helping each other, supporting one another, sharing with each other, working harmoniously together, and then bringing the message of salvation to the world – bring this love and harmony and support and care and unity to the broken world around us. That’s what I want Congregation Shema Yisrael to be about, and that’s what I think God is doing more and more among us. I sense that God is bringing His love, and His unity to us. We are more unified, but we still have a way to go in this regard, but I sense that it is happening.

But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Yeshua forewarns us that we will experience hatred and opposition and persecution from the world, because we’ve embraced the Messiah’s value system, which is so different from the world’s value system. Instead of trying to be rich and successful in this world, we long for the riches and successes in Heaven. Instead of serving ourselves, we seek to serve others. Instead of hating, we want to love. Instead of returning curse for curse, we leave a blessing. Instead of taking, we want to give.

Even though Messiah has returned to His Father in Heaven, and is no longer with us in the same way that He was with His disciples in the First Century, and even though we experience hatred from the world, we can still be happy, because we have Messiah’s joy, the happiness that comes from knowing that there really is only one God, who is good, wise and glorious beyond description!

This Supreme Being so loved this world made up of sinful human beings that he sent his Son, who came to earth, became a man, and lived a blameless life. Our supreme rabbi taught the most exalted truths, accomplished fantastic miracles, and then did the greatest wonder of them all – he willingly died, sacrificing Himself on a roman cross.

Then the Almighty raised Yeshua from the dead, conquering sin and overcoming death, and making possible the complete forgiveness of all of our sins. Those who are joined by faith to the Messiah have peace with God. They are reconciled to the good Creator from whom the whole world is estranged. They are protected by the power of God, who is able to keep them from stumbling and bring them safely to the goal of eternal life. There is no force in the universe that can separate them from the love of God! They are more than conquerors! They will eat from the Tree of Life which is in Paradise. They will live forever in glorious light, seeing and knowing as they are known, possessing new minds and glorified bodies.

Those who overcome will be allowed to sit on the throne of the Son of God, just as he overcame and sat down on God’s throne. They will reign forever and ever as kings and queens over the new Heavens and the new Earth. God will overcome Satan. Good will overcome evil. Heaven will overcome hell. Life will swallow up death. Everlasting joy will engulf all sorrow; every tear will be wiped away from their eyes, and all sadness and sighing will flee away.

No one can take away our happiness, even if they persecute us, and call us names, and make fun of us, because our happiness doesn’t come from our circumstances. Our happiness comes from knowing God, and knowing these great truths!

In spite of troubles that we will encounter, and the opposition and persecution we will face, Yeshua does not pray that we will be taken out of these difficult situations, but that we will be able to persevere through our troubles in this world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. The worst thing that could happen is that because of the troubles we encounter, we lose faith, deny God, turn our back on Messiah, and come under the control of the evil one – Satan.

But our great Intercessor prays that we will be protected from the worst that the god of this world will be able to throw at us. Yes, we might suffer, and he may even kill us, but ultimately we will be more than conquerors! Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God! We will overcome by our faith and the word of our testimony, and by not loving our life in this world, even to the point of death.

Next Messiah prays that we would be holy: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. The word “sanctify” means to be made holy, to be set apart for God’s special purposes. So Yeshua is praying, “Father, make them holy – set apart these extraordinary men and women so that they will accomplish the special purposes that You have for them. Keep them separate from sin, from anything that is unholy, from every moral and spiritual pollution. Keep them far from all the things that will cause them to miss the good goal which You are aiming them for.”

How are we made holy, set apart to fulfill God’s purposes for us? What keeps us from the corruption in the world? It’s the truth contained in Holy Scriptures, this Book of Books. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. This special Book is the inspired Word of the only true God. It is His Word. It comes from Him. He claims the ownership and authorship of it.

This book is not Moses’ book. It’s not Isaiah’s book. They were just God’s messengers. It is God’s word – Your Word is truth!

God is true, and this supreme Book of books communicates the truth – the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There is no lie, no error, in it. God’s word is truth – pure truth, without any errors mixed in. It is reliable. It is trustworthy. It accurately describes reality. It tells us the way things truly are. Your understanding of reality conflicts with this Book? Guess which one is right, and which one is wrong?

God’s Word, which is truth, can set you free. This Word can give you the knowledge of God, Heaven, the way to eternal life. Reading it with understanding is like eating from the Tree of Life. This Word, when it is planted in you, can save your soul. This Word will make you wise so that you can obtain salvation. This word will bless you. This word will encourage you. This word will comfort you. This word will challenge you. This word, if read and meditated on, and put into practice, it will keep you on target, separated from evil. It will make you holy. This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book! And if you don’t read it, don’t study it, don’t believe it, don’t practice it, you will not be not sanctified by God’s word. You will not be cleansed by the washing that comes from God’s Word.

Let’s pray: Thank you, Holy Father, for this great prayer of Yeshua, that You will answer, and which is recorded for our benefit! Blessed are You who have restored the honor that Your Son shared with You before the world began, and that you have given Him authority over mankind, with the authority to give those who believe in Him, and in You, eternal life!

We bless You, O Lord our God, that Messiah accomplished the work You gave Him to do – the work of redemption, the work of salvation. We praise You, Holy God of Israel, that we are protected by Your name – Your great power and goodness and authority, so that we will reach the goal of eternal life!

I pray for each person here at Congregation Shema Yisrael, that the joy that comes from knowing You, knowing Messiah, knowing the great salvation we have, would be ours. Help us, our Father and our King, to be sanctified by Your word, which is truth. Cause us to hunger for Your word, thirst for Your truth. And finally, Almighty One, enable us to fulfill the mission that you have assigned to each one of us.