SENT!

Yesterday I read through John 17 and it was very radical. The 26 verses of John 17 are having more impact on my heart right now than maybe anything else that I have read/meditated on in quite some time.

There are two themes in John 17:
First, Jesus prays and Jesus prays thoroughly. In this one chapter we witness Jesus praying for himself, his disciples, and for all believers. The second theme, and the one I want to spend some time in is this, We are a sent people.

Lets dig into the word a bit.

John 17:3 (Jesus is praying for himself) -- "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
John 17:18,19 (Jesus is praying for his disciples) -- "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctified myself, that they too be truly sanctified."
John 17:23 (Jesus is praying for all believers) -- "I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

In these prayers Jesus seems to pay a great deal of attention to the fact that He has been sent to this world by God the Father and that in-turn by us being his disciples (followers) we are sent to the world to communicate the necessity of Jesus' existence and that God sent Jesus, he did not just show up on accident.
Jesus' prayer is that there will be a realization that He is not here by chance but that He was sent by God. Jesus is intentional and moving and He has purpose.

There is intentionality in the use of the word sent as well. The dictionary defines the word sent and/or send as: to cause, permit, or enable to go: to send a messenger.

Being sent brings responsibility.

RECAP:
(17:3) God sent Jesus, (17:18) Jesus sent disciples into the world, (17:23) Disciples tell world God sent Jesus.

We are designed to be sent and we are entrusted fully with that responsibility as Christ followers.