Yes, we’re supposed to love everyone—but I think we all love some people more than others. Take parents, for example. No matter how much grief those obnoxious goblins give you, you still love your children with more affection than you can handle. I think this is much like Jesus’ love for his own disciples. He had spent the last three years closely with them; the love he had for them was special. That’s probably why he devoted the majority of his high priestly prayer to praying for his disciples.
The eleven disciples (excluding the traitor) were about to be sent out into the world on a crucial mission. The gospel that Jesus had proclaimed was now in their hands; they were what Jesus left behind for the world. But they were still going to belong to God, so even as they were in the world, they would not be of the world. They could not be totally withdrawn from the evil of creation, nor could they be totally integrated into it. The fulfilling of their mission had to be somewhere in the middle ground. And so the whole responsibility of the gospel and the salvation of the world rested on eleven random, unimpressive men. No wonder Jesus prayed so earnestly for them!
Jesus prayed for four things for his disciples. First, he prayed for their protection. They were going out into a warzone where the devil would try to shut them down by every imaginable scheme. They needed their Father’s protection so as to be strengthened against evil influences that would pull them away. Jesus also prayed for them to remain in unity together, and he prayed for them to have full joy in him. And finally, he prayed that they would be sanctified in truth—refashioned into men of righteousness who walked by the truth of the Almighty God and so represented his wisdom and love and goodness before the whole world.
The Lord did in fact protect and sanctify the disciples so that his gospel would spread across the world—and in fact he has been protecting and sanctifying his church ever since. The disciples are our foundation for truth. Every truth that is from Jesus, the disciples taught to the world. And that means we can trust that the church is still God’s! The Spirit and the wisdom and truth of God are still with us, even though our Messiah has departed. And best of all, God’s mission for the spreading of his gospel is still being day by day fulfilled.
