Those You Have Given Me

I was reading John 17 the other day and this phrase kept standing out to me - "Those You have given me". Jesus was praying to His Father in sort of a farwell prayer and the course of His prayer Jesus kept refering to the people that God had given Him during His life on earth. During Jesus' ministry on earth He ministerd to thousands and saw them healed from sickness, delivered from demonic possesion, raised from the dead, etc. However there were 12 men that were specifically close to Him, the 12 disciples. These were men that Jesus shared His life with for three years. Look at some of the verses concerning Jesus' relationship to those God Had given Him out of the world. The principle and truth that is revealed in this chapter is that God gives us people out of this world too disciple and we should look at Jesus' and His relationship to His disciples as a pattern for our lives.

Verse 2-3 - That He (Jesus) should give eternal life to as many as He had given Him. (3) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus whom You have sent.
The way to Eternal life was given by Jesus to his disciples. Notice Jesus equated eternal life to knowing the one true God and Jesus whom He had sent. How did the disciples find eternal life? - Through Jesus sharing and living His life with them in relationship. Notice something Jesus didn't do in showing His disciples the way to eternal life. He didn't get them to recite a sinners prayer and because they recited said sinners prayer ensured them that they had eternal life.

Verse 6 - I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You have them to Me and they have kept Your word. Jesus considered the men that God had given Him as the personal property of God Himself. Notice the end result of Jesus relationship to His disciples - they have kept your word. Our responsibility to those God has given us is to teach them to keep and obey God's word. Jesus didn't do this from a pulpit. He did it everyday as He walked together with those God had given Him. He shared His life with them and they shared their life with Him.

Verse 7-8 - Now they know that all things which You have given Me are from You, for I have given to them the words which You have given Me: and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You sent Me. Jesus gave the things that were given to Him by God (freely He received, freely He gave). The thing that Jesus gave were not just Gods word but His life. Jesus gave His way before He gave it on the cross. Through Jesus laying down His life, the disciples could see that Jesus was from God and that God had sent Him.

Vere 9 - I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me. for they are Yours. Jesus prayed for those God had given Him

Tomorrow I will look at the rest of the chapter. Needless to say we should look at people that are in our lives differently. We have a huge responsibility to look at the people God has given us. Jesus was a disciple who was making disciples. The great commission is to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus has given us the pattern we have the responsibility to obey!!!!