John 17:11-15
 
John 17:11 (KJB)
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
 
Jesus now speaks of His physical separation from the disciples as if it has already happened. He prays that the disciples will be kept through the power of God’s name. (1 Pet 1:5 KJV) Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Jesus prays that they will be unified in their spirit as both God the Father and God the Son are. If they remain unified in the strength of the Lord, they will be as one and will be strong testimonies as the Gospel will begins to go to the world through them. When Jesus was with them in body, they could count on Him to help in any situation, such as when they were in the midst of the storm on the lake of Galilee and Jesus calmed the storm and water. Now they will have the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives to guide them but they will not have the Lord in person. Jesus cares much for them and desires that they remain strong until their job is finished.
 
John 17:12 (KJB)
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
 
Jesus guided His disciples and kept them through His power so nothing would happen to them because it was through them that the beginning of world evangelism would start and they would also be testimonies to the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only one which was lost was Judas who remained an unbeliever. (Psa 109:8 KJV) Let his days be few; and let another take his office. (Psa 55:12-14 KJV) For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: {13} But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. {14} We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Judas is like many today as many pretend to be Christians but bring in false gospels and teachings into churches and pervert the true Gospel.
 
(Rev 2:9 KJV) I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
 
(Rev 3:9 KJV) Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
 
The Bible speaks of the Christians as being the Israel of God which means what is in view in Revelation 2:9 & 3:9 are not physical Jews but false Christians. Many in churches today believe they are saved and yet they are not and just as Judas walked with Jesus and gave indication that he was one of the disciples, there are those who are fraudulent Christians which means unsaved. We can see these people by their greedy fruits. Just like Judas who lusted after the money box, the false preachers of today also lust after the money and that gives indication that they are false Christians in the category of Judas. Whenever anyone adopts a false gospel or a false Christianity, they are betraying Christ just as Judas did.
 
John 17:13 (KJB)
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
 
Fulfilled - Completed, supplied fully, or make full
 
Here Jesus prays the Father that the disciples will not only be strongly unified in the true Gospel but that the joy of the Lord would be fulfilled in them. If you notice the word “fulfilled” carries with it the meaning of “fullness.” Jesus is not praying for a partial joy but a full joy and it will be His full joy that they will be filled with. Remember in Hebrews 12:2, where Jesus looked beyond the shame of the cross to the joy that was before Him? (Heb 12:2 KJV) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus is basically praying that the disciples will view this life as their cross and look beyond the humiliation of it to the eternal joy set before them in Christ. (Luke 9:23 KJV) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. The true Christian who emulates the life of Christ, their life will be their cross.
 
John 17:14 (KJB)
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
 
Here Jesus prays that He gave them all the words which God the Father gave Him. As a result of being a true follower of Christ, the world has hated them. The word “hated” is in the aorist tense and active voice which tells us that the hatred this world has for Christ, the Father, and Christians is one that is not limited. The aorist tense tells us that time does not factor into this hatred, in other words, the hatred will be active throughout all time with no end and the active voice tells us that the hatred is not going to be just a hatred of words but it will be a demonstrative hatred. We saw that manifested in the 10 Roman persecutions and in the Middle Ages when true Christians were murdered by the Roman Catholic institution. Today Christians are persecuted in many countries and even in the western countries they are persecuted with the tongue and by ways such as being fired from a job or held back for promotion. However, we look beyond that persecution to the joy set before us.
 
John 17:15 (KJB)
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
 
Keep - Protect, guard, or watch over carefully
Evil - Wicked, depraved, malicious, evil one, wicked person, that which is evil
 
Jesus is not asking the Father to remove them from the world because the task of sending forth the Gospel to the world will begin with them in 52 days. What Jesus is stating here is that He prays that the Father would keep them or guard them from the evil which is in this world. The disciples will run into much opposition and the temptation for them to compromise with the world will always be there. Jesus is praying that the Father gives them the strength and fortitude to remain faithful in the presence of evil men. We see this in modern Christianity where many Christians have compromised with the false gospels and false teachers under the guise of phony love. Here we have the prayer by Jesus to the Father for His followers to remain faithful which means that the true Christian can remain faithful in the face of massive opposition and persecution. All one has to do is look at men like Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, (both martyred in 1555) John Hus (martyred in 1415) and the young Christian girl, Blandina, who was martyred for her faith in 177 A.D by being slowly roasted and then thrown to wild animals. This was what the Lord had prayed for, to keep the Christians from compromising and to maintain a good testimony for life.

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