The High Calling

What this episode covers

John 17:18-26 We greet you with Grace and Peace from Jesus Christ. We are honored to be teaching His word via radio, and we are very thankful you have joined us. This is Hope for Today, and this program is produced by Heralds of Hope. Heralds of Hope began back in 1967 with the goal of broadcasting expository Bible teaching on American radio stations. Five years later, the international broadcast was started, and to this day, we continue to broadcast expository Bible teaching. By God’s grace, the ministry has grown since then, and we are currently broadcasting in about 20 different languages. We continue to seek God for direction and pray that He will use us to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Study Questions As you remember, we are studying through the Gospel of John, and today we will finish up the high priestly prayer from John 17. This last section is titled the High Calling, and Jesus makes some very amazing statements in this passage. Before we begin today’s teaching, I’d like for us to think some more about a phrase from verse 21.  In this verse, Jesus says, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…” In this verse, Jesus declares His oneness with the Father. This is a big deal because when He said He is one with God, He means He is God. How can this be? There are so many questions that pop into our minds when we try to grasp the idea that Jesus was God. Questions like, why would God limit Himself to a body? How could Jesus have been both God and human? Or if He was human, could He have sinned? But He was God, and God cannot sin., How can we explain that? We won’t be able to answer all the questions, but we know enough to have faith and trust Him and believe He is God. For me, it is helpful to think about some other possibilities. So, Jesus declared His oneness with the Father. If I would hear someone say this today, I would be very skeptical and think it’s a lie. Could Jesus have been lying about this? If Jesus said this, and it is not true, then it disqualifies the rest of what he said. If you have ever been lied to, you know how that person’s credibility is totally ruined with you, and rightly so. If they lie once, you can’t be sure when or if they are telling the truth. “When I look at the record of Jesus’ life and see its effect on the world in the last 2000 years, I can’t convince myself that all His teaching was good,” but this statement was a lie. The possibility that Jesus was lying does not line up with reality. You may think Jesus was crazy; only crazy people think they are God. Again, I would say look at the rest of what we know about Him. The world He came to was crazy, and the way He was treated was crazy. But this word does not describe Him; in fact, His teachings were very accurate and full of truth. It does not line up to say, some of His teaching is good; some of it is crazy. Possibly one or the other, but not both. So, Jesus was not lying, and He sure is not crazy. Let’s imagine that He was telling the truth, and He actually is God. Then His life should have been incredible; history should revolve around Him. If He were God, I’d expect Him to be alive and stronger than death. If Jesus were God, surely there would be lots of people today who know Him. I am sure you realize Jesus has done each of these. His life has changed the world like no other, and there are millions who love Him and would give their life for Him, and I have found Him to be very alive. I don’t think we will ever be able...

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