Jesus Gives Us His Father's Word

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. (John 17:14 NIV)

In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done".

The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. ​

​"I have given them your word". It must have been an amazing sight when Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth. He was basically reading about himself and having done so he simply sat down. He did not need to preach a sermon or try and explain what he'd read. He just said "today this is fulfilled". Simple, yet powerful. He was the Word of God, reading the Word of God about the Word of God. 

Jesus said the words he spoke were not his own words but they came from his Father (John 12:49). He was a true ambassador, speaking on behalf of another. If we are to know the Father, we have to understand this. Everything Jesus said was, in effect, his Father speaking. The words we have recorded in the gospels are the words of the Father, spoken to us through Jesus. 

In coming to earth, Jesus became the Word of God made flesh, coming as a man, becoming the Father's mouthpiece. The words he spoke give us the gift of life and that life is meant to be full or abundant. It is total and complete, not a half measure. There was a time when the crowds were all deserting Jesus and he asks his disciples if they, too, will leave him. Peter replies: "Where else can we go, you have the words of eternal life".

We have a Father who is always ready to speak to us with words that will bring life, his words will change our lives. Do we have ears that are listening to the Father's voice? He is speaking to each one of us.