This is not how it was supposed to end. Jesus’s disciples loved Him, believed in Him, left all to follow Him. But now their faith is shaken because after three full years of intimate fellowship, the Lord tells them He is leaving.
Jesus Himself is deeply troubled, but the disciples don’t notice. They bicker bitterly with one another as their hopes and ambitions collapse and disintegrate around them. Jesus’s departure comes at the height of hostilities, both internal and external.
So in His final prayer, Jesus prays for their comfort. Though they’re blind to His sorrow, He cares for theirs—and in this we see the gracious, compassionate, merciful, loving heart of God. Jesus prays that the Father will bring to pass everything He’s promised, not only for the twelve, but for all who will ever believe in Him throughout human history, and that includes you and I. Let us continue to pray for one another, our country and our world.
Shalom,
