A Prayer of Protection

John 16:31-17:25 April 13, 2025 Pastor Chris Oswald

Thesis Jesus intercedes for believers not merely to preserve them through tribulation, but to protect and purify them simultaneously, so that his keeping power brings him glory while their struggles produce sanctification, joy, and unity.

Series

John

Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticcelebratory

Method

grammatical-historicalcanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

23 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #22

"Oswald applies the sermon's argument to the Lord's Supper, framing communion as Jesus's provision for believers' doubts during struggle — a tangible reminder that Jesus both purchased them and is progressively purifying them. He issues the concrete instruction to participate in the elements."

Doctrinal loci· 10 surfaced

Sanctification · 11 Soteriology · 11 Christology · 8 Anthropology · 3 Bibliology · 2 Hamartiology · 2 Theology Proper · 2 Doxology / Worship · 1 Ecclesiology · 1 Spiritual Warfare · 1

Bible citations· 23

Illustrations· 3

God Remembers Our Frame historical example · unit #7 — Oswald cites Psalm 103:10-14 as illustrative confirmation of the theological dynamic just established — God treats believers with compassion rather than according to desert because he remembers their fragile, dust-formed nature.
The Tug-of-War Flag analogy · unit #9 — Oswald introduces the tug-of-war metaphor to capture the felt experience of Christian struggle — believers know Christ will prevail but experience real back-and-forth tension, raising the question of why God designed this seemingly contested experience when the outcome is never actually in doubt.
The Golden Thread Tug-of-War analogy · unit #20 — Oswald returns to and expands the tug-of-war metaphor, adding the element of progressive transformation — each back-and-forth movement turns threads of the flag to gold, representing sanctification. Jesus allows the perceived struggle because he knows the struggle itself is the mechanism by which believers are progressively transformed until fully sanctified.

Theological claims· 7

Christians simultaneously experience eternal life (the good news) and ongoing tribulation including self-inflicted wounds (the bad news), creating a dual reality that raises the question of why God allows this arrangement. unit #3
A gap between believers' position in Christ and their performance as Christians is inevitable and known to Jesus, who preserves them through this gap by intercessory prayer rather than eliminating the gap. unit #5
Jesus foresees believers' sins and unfaithfulness, accepts them as inevitable, and responds not with abandonment but with proactive intercessory planning aimed at restoration and peace. unit #6
Judas's primary theological function in John's narrative is to demonstrate believers' absolute dependence on Christ's protective power by showing what happens when that protection is withdrawn — complete and irredeemable apostasy. unit #14
God allows believers to experience ongoing struggle because Jesus receives glory through his protective power — the felt experience of struggle is the stage on which Jesus's keeping work is displayed. unit #15
Jesus allows believers to experience tribulation not merely to preserve them unchanged but to improve them — trials become the means by which Jesus delivers joy, sanctification, and unity, so that believers emerge from struggle better than they entered. unit #16
Jesus's protective work is unique because he does not merely preserve believers in their original condition but progressively sanctifies them through the very tribulations he guards them through, delivering them to the Father in a far more glorified state than when he purchased them. unit #18

Quotations· 4

"the life of a Christian is a mingled yarn, good and ill together. Our comforts here are mixed with crosses, our hopes with fears, our joys with sorrows." — Gibbs (unit #3)

"Though the saints may fall into sin, yet they shall never fall from grace, for Christ's intercession is their anchor." — Jeremiah Burroughs (unit #6)

"the loss of Judas shows the power of sin when grace withdraws. But where Christ keeps his own, no power can pluck them away." — John Flavel (unit #15)

"without Christ's continual preservation, we would all perish as Judas did. Our standing is not in ourselves, but in his mighty hand." — William Perkins (unit #15)

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Full transcript

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0 · Oswald frames the sermon by addressing the hermeneutical issue of chapter divisions, using it as a lens to explain the relationship between scripture's perfection and church tradition's helpfulness

And we'll dismiss our kids to children's ministry. We're in John 17 today, and it gives me an opportunity to mention something I've been meaning to mention.

! I try to mention this every few years. You know, I think, right, that there are no chapters and verses in the original manuscripts. This is a—sometimes I want to make sure people know that, because it kind of matters in various moments, especially how we read God's Word.

But also, I think knowing that is a really good way of thinking through the dynamic that exists between the perfect Word of God and church tradition. Every time you read your Bible, you're sort of in that particular dynamic.

The Word, perfectly given by God, is what you're reading. You're reading it translated by faithful men in the past, who also, in addition to translating it, gave you numbers so that you can sort through the particular text.

So there's a really good kind of illustration if you think about how the dynamic between sola scriptura and church tradition works. Well, every time you read your Bible, you're kind of experiencing that.

There's the perfection of God's Word, and there's the division of God's Word that is not perfect, but is generally helpful. And so when you're reading God's Word, you kind of have to remember, oh, well, these verses weren't like this exactly whenever they were written.

So you have to be kind of mindful of that and sort of evaluate whether those verse and chapter divisions serve the text or don't serve the text. That's kind of how we interact with church tradition.

We are grateful for it. It is generally helpful. We are generally inclined to trust it, but we do need to keep it in a second category so that we're able to discern the difference between God's perfect and holy will and his perfect and holy word and what has happened as a result of thousands of years of people, for the most part, trying to be helpful and explaining God's Word.

1 · Oswald applies the hermeneutical principle to the immediate text, arguing that John 17:1's opening phrase demands that readers interpret Jesus's prayer in light of what immediately precedes it in John 16, a connection often missed when the chapter division creates artificial separation

I have the occasion to bring that up because in this particular section of Scripture, it kind of comes into play. Like this whole idea of chapter 16 and chapter 17, that's useful for a lot of other reasons, including Scripture memory and making theological cases and saying, well, look at this verse or that verse.

But sometimes it can mess with our capacity to understand what's going on in a particular passage. I have no doubt that you've heard many sermons over the years on John 17.

This is a glorious passage. But I wonder how many of those sermons were firmly rooted in John 16. And the reason that I wonder that, or I think it's important, is because if you look at John 17, verse 1, it says, when Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, and then we have the prayer of Jesus.

Well, that tells us that John wants us to be thoughtful about what Jesus had said previously and use that to sort of understand what Jesus is doing in his prayer.

2 · Oswald reads John 16:31-33 to establish the thematic foundation for John 17: Jesus predicts both external tribulation and the disciples' own unfaithfulness, then promises peace based on his victory

So what did Jesus say previously? Well, if you'll look at John 16, verse 31, Jesus answered them, Do you now believe?

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. So the high priestly prayer, we see Jesus praying in John 17, which I would argue is a prayer of protection above all else, is rooted in this thing we see in 16, namely, in this world you will have trouble.

And there's an added nuance there, something we've all experienced. In this world you will have trouble. You might be seeing me limp for a few weeks. I have this arthritic condition that just arises, you know, every couple of years, and it attacks a particular joint or a couple joints, and I just have trouble until it passes.

And so every once in a while this just happens. Now, is there something that I have done to cause this? Potentially. When I went to the Philippines, I ate garbage, like sugar, noodles, so forth.

And if any of you know me, you know, like, one of the ways I've managed this whole thing that I've had since childhood is I eat a very strict diet. So it's possible that I'm just suffering the consequences of my own noodle eating down the road.

It's possible. I bring that up to say this. In this world you will have trouble. It's the main idea, what Jesus is saying at the end of 16 there, some of which you will cause for yourself, which can be the worst kind of trouble because you identify too late, like, man, like, this is a self-inflicted wound.

I hate those. I don't like any wounds. I definitely don't like the self-inflicted kind. So that's the context of Jesus's high priestly prayer in John 17. In this world you will have trouble, some of which will be self-inflicted, but I want you to take heart.

I want you to have joy and peace because I have overcome the world.

3 · Oswald moves from exposition to theological claim, arguing that Jesus's public prayer models intercessory response to tribulation and establishes the Christian's dual reality: believers currently experience eternal life while simultaneously experiencing sin, death, and struggle — creating the central tension the sermon will address

Note also, before we get into the exposition of 17, note also that this is a weird prayer in the sense of how we think of prayer.

Jesus doesn't go away from them after saying that to them. He tells them, in this world you'll have trouble, some of which you will cause yourself. You're going to wander away from me is the first one. He doesn't go away and pray for them.

It actually, the text actually says, after he said these things, he lifted his eyes to heaven. It's not closing his eyes, not bowing his head. He lifts his eyes to heaven and he prays the following prayer.

What should we pull from that particular detail? Just this, that Jesus is modeling for us the basic response we are to have to the reality of tribulation and difficulty.

We lift our eyes to heaven and we pray. And Jesus is showing us very transparently. He loves us. He sees this trouble coming and he does what he does. He intercedes for us.

So that's going to be kind of the dynamic as we work through this chapter is we're going to kind of use 16 in the way that I think it was intended to be used to frame and understand 17.

And you could break this down, I think just generally, with the following statement. There's good news and there's bad news for the Christian. The good news is you, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, you are experiencing eternal life right now.

If you've placed your faith in Jesus, you are experiencing eternal life right now. Look at John 17, 1. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your son that the son may glorify you. Since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

And this is eternal life. That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. So this means if you believe in Jesus, your faith is placed in Jesus, then you are right now experiencing eternal life.

That's the good news. The problem is, is that's not all you're experiencing. The good news, you're experiencing eternal life. The bad news, that's not all you're experiencing.

Go back to John 16, 31. You will leave me. You will be scattered, each to his own home, and leave me alone. In this world, you will have tribulation.

Good news, you are experiencing eternal life. The bad news, that's not all you're experiencing. You're also experiencing various tastes of sin, and death, and struggle as you live in this world.

And Gibbs said this, in the bruised read, the life of a Christian is a mingled yarn, good and ill together. Our comforts here are mixed with crosses, our hopes with fears, our joys with sorrows.

So that's really where we need to sit as we think through John 17. Why is it that God is allowing us to live in this experience where we simultaneously experience eternal life, but also go through various kinds of tribulations, including those that are self-inflicted.

4 · Oswald reads John 17:6-8 to establish that Jesus affirms the disciples' genuine faith despite foreseeing their failures, arguing that struggle and even unfaithfulness do not invalidate true salvation — the pastoral concern driving the exposition

Look at John 17, verse 6. Jesus is still praying, and he says, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me.

They have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they received them, and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you have sent me.

Let's get this part straight. They are going to struggle, but those struggles are not signs that they are not saved. That's not the conversation in this passage, and it's not the conversation you should have, first and foremost, when you struggle.

Jesus is acknowledging that they will go through tribulation, some of which are self-inflicted, but that that is not counting against the reality of their faith.

5 · Oswald articulates the core theological framework governing Christian experience: a persistent gap between position in Christ (justified status) and performance as Christians (lived faithfulness), which Jesus anticipated and addresses through intercessory prayer rather than by removing the gap

Think of it this way. There is a gap in our lives between our position in Christ and our performance as Christians. That's just going to be the way it is.

Jesus saved us knowing this would be the case. There's a gap between our position in Christ and our performance as Christians. Christians, I think another way to say it is, Christians will endure, but not with ease, not with graceful ease.

Every Christian will have ups and downs in their faith and in their faithfulness. And when Jesus says this to them, he then prays.

Why does he pray after acknowledging the reality of this gap, this performance gap? Well, he prays for them because that's what's going to keep them safe.

6 · Oswald develops the theological claim that Christ's intercession functions as the anchor preventing believers from falling from grace despite falling into sin

Jeremiah Burroughs, another Puritan, said, Though the saints may fall into sin, yet they shall never fall from grace, for Christ's intercession is their anchor.

Christ's intercession is their anchor. Think of John 16, 31 through 33 for a minute. Jesus foresees your struggles, right?

He says, you're going to desert me and he could just as easily say a thing about you and the same about me, right? You're going to leave me. You're not going to be faithful. You're not going to be perfectly faithful.

What does he do immediately after saying that? He aims for their peace. He aims for their peace. I mean, think of this.

Jesus is so far ahead of us that not only does he foresee our sin, but he has in view our restoration from that sin and is already working toward that eventuality.

So he knows you and he knows that in this world you'll have tribulations and some of them will be self-inflicted, that your faith will go up and down, and he accepts that. He understands that.

And not only has he accepted that and understood that, he's made a plan for that. His plan for you is that in spite of that sin, you would be restored and have a great deal of peace.

It's a crazy dynamic. He's saying, you're going to abandon me, but not only am I not going to abandon you, I'm really concerned for you. And I want you to be blessed and I want you to grow and I want you to be established.

So he immediately intercedes for them.

7 · Oswald cites Psalm 103:10-14 as illustrative confirmation of the theological dynamic just established — God treats believers with compassion rather than according to desert because he remembers their fragile, dust-formed nature

Psalm 103, friends, Psalm 103, verse 10 through 14. If you want to understand what the basic dynamic of being a human under the gaze of God looks like, Psalm 103, verse 10.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.

8 · Oswald applies Psalm 103's logic back to the primary text, emphasizing that God acknowledges the dual reality of genuine faith coexisting with ongoing sin, and that struggle-free sainthood is a category that does not exist in God's design

By the way, you could look at this text and get the same stuff I'm talking about here. This person fears God. They also sin.

You see that? He doesn't treat them according to the way their sins deserve. Not because they are just a terrible... He recognizes that it is one thing to be a saint.

It is another thing to be a struggle-free saint. And that category doesn't exist. So that's the second thing to start thinking about. Why has Jesus decided to let us live this world, this life, where two things are happening?

We're experiencing eternal life. We're also experiencing plenty of evidence that we are sinners and that the world is broken and so forth.

9 · Oswald introduces the tug-of-war metaphor to capture the felt experience of Christian struggle — believers know Christ will prevail but experience real back-and-forth tension, raising the question of why God designed this seemingly contested experience when the outcome is never actually in doubt

Here's how I think it feels to be a Christian a lot of the time.

There's a sense in which it feels like being that flag in the middle of a tug-of-war rope. You know, that flag that indicates the position.

And on one side is the world, the flesh, and the devil. And on the other side is Jesus. And what's confusing about that experience is we know by faith that that's not an even contest.

It's not an even contest. It's not as if the world, the flesh, and the devil are like a legitimate match for the sovereign king.

Why then does it feel like there is a match taking place? Why does it feel like we do a lot, like we're the flag and there's a lot of this activity happening?

Why did God allow that to be the case? Why is that a good and wise plan?

10 · Oswald signals that the answer to why God allows the tug-of-war experience will emerge from careful attention to Jesus's high priestly prayer, pivoting from question to exposition of Jesus's purposes revealed in the prayer

Well, that's coming through in this prayer. His purposes for the various struggles and setbacks we'll experience, not only because of our own sin, but because of the sin of others.

That's coming through.

11 · Oswald expounds John 17:1-5 to establish the first answer to why God allows the tug-of-war: Jesus receives glory through his protective power

See, the interesting thing is, is one day you're going to experience this your whole life. If you're a young Christian, this is the way. Galatians 5 and 6, Romans 7, the spirit and the flesh don't agree.

They wage war on one another to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Paul exclaims at the end of Romans 7, who will save me from this body of death? This is going to be your experience. There's going to be this back and forth between faithfulness and faithlessness.

And the question is, why does that have to happen? Because let's understand something very clearly. It's not because Jesus is actually evenly matched with the world, the flesh, and the devil.

In fact, one day, I really encourage you to meditate on this occasionally. One day, quite effortlessly, Jesus will jerk his end of the rope, and you will immediately be completely free.

Sin and death will lose its grip on you entirely, and you'll be completely free. that moment is death.

That's what death is for the Christian. Jesus yanks on his end of the rope, ends the illusion of the contest, and delivers you into his presence where there is fullness of joy.

And the contest will be obvious to you at that time to have never really been a contest. And you'll just be free, and there won't be this back and forth. So why are we experiencing that now?

Well, in short, one of the reasons we're experiencing this tug-of-war kind of thing now is because Jesus gets glory by his protective power.

Jesus gets glory through his protective power. Look back at 17, verse 1. The main theme of this passage, the starting place for Jesus in his prayer, is his own glory and the glory of God.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom I have sent, I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

How is Jesus glorified? The rest of the prayer provides the answer. I don't think we understand how much Jesus is proud of and self-identifies with his protective abilities.

When he is most self-consciously boasting about who he is and what he does, he routinely pushes to the forefront his ability to keep his sheep.

This is actually the central subject of praise in the Psalms. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are saved.

Blessed are all those who take refuge in him. Jesus is very clear in John 10 that of all the things that he is glad he is, he is really glad that he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his flock.

Jesus is most self-consciously aware of his protective role. In fact, on Palm Sunday, when Jesus sees that Jerusalem will reject him, he weeps over the city and listen to what he weeps for that he is not able to do for them.

Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings?

But you were not willing. Jesus is a very self-conscious protector. It's a central thing for him and it's a central means by which he gets his glory.

12 · Oswald reads John 17:9-12 to demonstrate Jesus explicitly claiming glory through his protective work — he has kept, guarded, and not lost those given to him

Over and over again in the scriptures, you see this. Jesus actually says in our text, I took care of those you gave me. That's one of the things he says, I've glorified you, God, by taking care of the ones you gave me.

Look at verse 9 of 17. I am praying for them. I'm not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All are mine. All mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them.

I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to you, Holy Father. Keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Jesus is very self-consciously proud of his protective power because it is one of the main means by which he gets glory, which brings us to this thing he mentions at the end of that section.

What's going on with Judas?

13 · Oswald explicitly names the two questions the sermon is addressing and signals a shift to address the second question about Judas's theological function in the narrative

You know, we've got one question we're working on, which is, why does God let us struggle in this life? Why is there the back and forth? And the second question is like, what's going on with Judas?

He keeps appearing. What's the deal with Judas?

14 · Oswald interprets Judas's function as primarily literary-theological: Judas demonstrates what would happen to any believer if Jesus removed his protective hand — total apostasy

Well, Judas' purpose in the story is twofold. One, he acts as the agent that accelerates the crucifixion.

Like he's the, he's the linchpin that leads to the crucifixion of Jesus. So God's got him set aside to be served in that purpose. But more thematically, Judas exists in the story to tell you what would happen to you if Jesus took his protective hand off of you.

That's the literary purpose of Judas. This is where you would be if Jesus took his hand off you, if he stopped protecting you.

And you could see this, by the way, when Jesus speaks to Peter and he says, Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. And what's the only thing that keeps Peter in?

But I have prayed for you. Right? So the literary purpose, if you will, the literary theological purpose of Judas is that's how dependent you are right now on Jesus' protective care.

If he took his protection off of you, you would wander away into the most despicable state possible.

15 · Oswald reinforces the Judas interpretation with Puritan quotations emphasizing believers' total dependence on Christ's preservation

Another Puritan, William Perkins, says, without Christ's continual preservation, we would all perish as Judas did.

Our standing is not in ourselves, but in his mighty hand. John Flavel, the loss of Judas shows the power of sin when grace withdraws.

But where Christ keeps his own, no power can pluck them away. So Judas exists to show this powerful protection of Jesus, how central it is to all of us.

And we're starting to get a sense of why does God allow us to live in this kind of tug of war that is almost kind of an illusion. Why does he allow us to experience the struggles that we experience, some of which are self-inflicted, and partly because Jesus gets glory by being our protector.

16 · Oswald advances the second reason for allowed struggle: Jesus not only protects but improves believers through tribulation

And there's a second reason that we see in the text. Not only does Jesus get glory by being our protector, but Jesus gets glory by somehow improving us as he protects us.

This is kind of wild. Jesus gets glory by somehow improving us even as he protects us. I know many of us watch the TV show alone, and they need to double their efforts.

I'm running out of episodes. I've run out of episodes. We need three alone locations all shooting at the same time. And if you're not familiar with the show, it's rooted in just this idea of who can survive the longest in the wilderness.

And there's this one kind of person who you always know is out before they even know they're out. And it's usually because they say this phrase. There's a phrase that's like, there's certain things you see.

It's like, okay, that person's going to be out by the third episode. And this is one of them. There'll be a certain type of person who comes to this barren, desolate place with nothing and has so much confidence they start saying this.

We're not just surviving. We're sur-thriving. Yes. Yes. And you know, chump, that person will be out three episodes in when they're not sur-thriving.

It's just only true of Jesus that that particular thing is only true of Jesus where not only does he take care of us in really difficult situations, but his care actually makes us better.

Jesus is saying, hey, you guys are going to have a lot of trouble. I'm going to pray for you. And that's not only going to result in you enduring, not only in surviving, but also in sur-thriving.

In John 13, he says, I'm praying all this that these folks, these disciples may have my joy fulfilled in them. He prays for their sanctification in verses 16 through 19.

He prays for their unification in verse 20. So here's the crazy thing about trials. In addition to glorifying God and his keeping power, trials actually serve as God's butlers to deliver his blessings into our hearts.

And just three of those blessings are mentioned in this text. See, when you go through difficulty, you're forced to figure out the difference between happiness and joy. And there's really only one way to do that.

You have to go through the tug-of-war season to figure out that difference. When you go through a season of difficulty, a lot of the idols and sins and things that are actually making your suffering much worse get exposed.

So there's sanctification. You get joy, you get sanctification. And a third benefit that Jesus prays through here is that one of the other incredible things about going through hardship is you figure out who your friends are.

And there's a deep unity that forms around difficulty. So this is pretty amazing. Not only does Jesus see that your performance as a Christian is going to be significantly less than your position in Christ, he sees that you will endure but not with ease, and he's got it all figured out.

Now, the only reason he's letting you go through this is on the one hand to give himself glory. He takes great pride in his protective power, but also into delivering you, to giving you certain glory, to improving you, to giving you joy, to helping you get rid of certain sins, to bringing people into your lives who are true friends who stick closer than a brother.

17 · Oswald validates the two-reason framework (God's glory through protection, believers' sanctification through trials) by demonstrating that 2 Corinthians 4 articulates the identical logic

We see all of this actually restated exactly according to the terms I've described in 2 Corinthians 4. So just real quickly, look at this with me. 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is talking about his sufferings, and he says that it's okay.

The struggle, the back and forth, it's okay for two reasons. God is glorified, and I'm being sanctified. Look at 2 Corinthians 4, 7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show the surpassing power belongs to God.

There's the glory of Jesus in the protecting, in the preserving. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body.

Reason number one, suffering is happening, why this back and forth thing is the thing that God has chosen for us to do. He gets glory by taking care of us, by showing us the surpassing power of God in our weakness.

And number two, he uses these hard things to make us better. Verse 16 through 17, Paul says, and we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us the eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. So there's the two things I just pointed out in John 17 in a completely different passage so you know it's true.

18 · Oswald synthesizes the sermon's argument with a personal illustration about protecting a fragile vase

God has chosen to allow us to go through this tug of war kind of thing because it brings him great glory and it also brings us great good which is really the promise of Romans 8.28 which is probably the first promise anybody should memorize if they're a new Christian, Romans 8.28.

Now I want you to just understand how good we have it. And I'll use an illustration that came to mind from a recent experience. So when I was in the Philippines I saw a lot of souvenirs that I would like to take home to my wife.

Lots of stuff. But a lot of the things were too fragile for me to reliably take all the way back. Because as you know there's a certain moment at the airport where you say goodbye to your big bag and you surrender it to the hands of violent men to do whatever God had foreordained according to his definite will.

And so you know there's this moment where I was like well I can't protect like I would like to buy my wife a really nice vase from the Philippines for 50 cents and bring it back but I can't protect it.

And so you know I can't I can't reliably protect it. So like I can't I didn't bring her very many things at all. I brought her like a cloth bag and a t-shirt and you know lame things like that.

Some dried mangoes. All things that could survive. You know. But let's suppose that I was just so committed to getting her this vase which I don't think she really even wants but I was so committed to getting her this vase I did everything right.

Man I bubble wrapped this thing and I didn't even put it in my big bag. I kept it on me the whole time. And you know that's not super safe because I'm pretty clumsy but I manage. I go all the way through all these different airports 20 hours of flying and I deliver this vase to her well if I do everything perfectly right she will get the vase in the same condition that I bought it in.

Think about this friends. Jesus keeps us safe from all of these things including our own sin not to deliver us to the Father in the condition he bought us in but to deliver us in a condition that is far more sanctified and prepared for eternal glory than we were when he first bought us.

this is just a very unique situation we're dealing with here where his protection actually leads to our improvement.

19 · Oswald applies the theological argument to present struggles, directly addressing listeners facing physical, relational, or vocational hardship

So these are some of the answers to a question that we're all going to ask some of us this week because some of us this week have physical stuff going on and some of us this week have relational stuff going on and job stuff going on and you're like why is life not easier?

Number one Jesus gets a whole lot of glory by protecting you and number two in his protective work he is actually purifying you and making you more like what you were always created to be so that he doesn't just deliver you to the Father in the condition he found you in somehow in the process of him guarding you through all the bumps and bruises and all the tribulations somehow as you're in his arms carried through that journey you actually become better you're not simply kept safe you're made sanctified there's nothing like this there's no one like this there's no other religion like this there's no other promise like this

20 · Oswald returns to and expands the tug-of-war metaphor, adding the element of progressive transformation — each back-and-forth movement turns threads of the flag to gold, representing sanctification

another way of thinking about this is imagine that in this tug of war Jesus knows a couple things no one else knows number one he's definitely got this it's it's not even close he can give them lots of slack and recover all of it immediately there's no contest here between he the world the flesh and the devil but what if there's this other thing he knows that's like magic like Narnian magic and that is is that every time this flag goes like this like one or two threads in that flag turn to gold and he just knows that he has this plan for you and it's to go back and forth until you're sanctified to the degree that he has decided to sanctify you and then when he's done he will effortlessly pull you into his presence where there will be fullness of joy forevermore that's the plan that's the story that's what Jesus is praying through in John 17

21 · Oswald concludes by citing Jude's doxology, which celebrates Jesus's ability both to keep believers from stumbling (protection) and to present them blameless (transformation), affirming that the dual-purpose protection-and-purification work is the grounds for eternal praise

the book of Jude ends with a familiar benediction that celebrates this very thing now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy to the only God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory majesty dominion and authority before all time and now and forever amen

22 · Oswald applies the sermon's argument to the Lord's Supper, framing communion as Jesus's provision for believers' doubts during struggle — a tangible reminder that Jesus both purchased them and is progressively purifying them

this table is set up before you because Jesus knows that in the tug of war that is your life you will occasionally wonder am I really his and he has built this objective experience that you can taste and see to remind you that salvation belongs to the Lord and that he has given his body and his blood to not only purchase you but to purify you progressively as you walk with him through life so I would like you if you're a follower of Jesus to come and grab a cup and a piece of bread and come back to your seat and I'll lead us in partaking of these elements

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Apr 6, 2025

For Those with Broken Bodies

The body was designed primarily to glorify God, and this purpose can be fulfilled whether the body is healthy or sick, making physical suffering bearable when understood rightly and sexual temptation resistible when the body's true purpose is remembered.

Apr 9, 2025

IHOP Postmortem, Part 2

The leadership problems and theological errors within the New Apostolic Reformation stem from Arminian soteriology that ties specialness to merit rather than grace, exacerbated by Baby Boomer cultural vulnerabilities to consumerism, psychology, experiential religion, and neglect of church history.

Apr 11, 2025

The Conscience Coach, An Introduction

The Christian conscience must be calibrated against the objective standard of Scripture—the king's cubit—rather than personal preference or tradition, in order to secure personal joy, church unity, and faithful obedience to God.

April 13 · This sermon

A Prayer of Protection

Jesus intercedes for believers not merely to preserve them through tribulation, but to protect and purify them simultaneously, so that his keeping power brings him glory while their struggles produce sanctification, joy, and unity.

John 16:31-17:25

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In John 16:31-33, Jesus tells his disciples they will face tribulation in the world, yet he has overcome the world. What does it mean that b…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we trace how Jesus's intercessory prayer protects believers not by removing struggle, but by transforming it into the very means of our sanctification and his glory.

Prayer

A Prayer for Protection and Purification

Father, we marvel at the vision of Jesus in John 17—our great High Priest who intercedes for us not in distant heaven but with full knowledg…

Family table

Why Doesn't Jesus Just Make Life Easier?

This prompt invites your family to wrestle with the tension between Jesus's power to protect us and the real struggles we face. Listen for w…

Couples

Protected and Purified Together

What struck you most about Jesus interceding for us even when he foresaw our unfaithfulness—and how does that reshape what you believe about…

Memorize

John 17:17

This verse captures Jesus's intercessory purpose: not merely to preserve believers unchanged through tribulation, but to sanctify and purify them through the very trials he guards them through. It anchors the sermon's central claim that Jesus's keeping power simultaneously protects and transforms, delivering believers to the Father in a glorified state far superior to their original condition.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In John 16:31-33, Jesus tells his disciples they will face tribulation in the world, yet he has overcome the world. What does it mean that believers can experience both of these realities simultaneously—the reality of Christ's victory and the reality of present struggle?

John 16:31-33

→ Can you think of a specific area of your life right now where you're experiencing both Christ's protection and genuine difficulty at the same time?
The sermon identifies a 'performance gap'—the gap between our position in Christ and our actual faithfulness as Christians. What does Jesus's intercessory prayer in John 17 reveal about how he responds to the reality that his disciples will fail, sin, and struggle?

John 17:9-12
Why do you think God allows believers to experience ongoing tribulation rather than removing the struggle entirely once we are saved? What does the sermon suggest Jesus receives through his protective work in the midst of our difficulty?

→ How does knowing that Jesus receives glory through protecting you in your struggles change the way you think about your current trials?
The sermon contrasts Jesus's protective work with what happened to Judas (John 17:12). What does Judas's apostasy teach us about our dependence on Christ's ongoing intercession and keeping power?

John 17:9-12

→ What would you lose if Christ's protection were withdrawn from your life right now?
According to the sermon, Jesus does not merely preserve believers unchanged through tribulation—he progressively sanctifies them through the very trials he guards them through. How does this reshape the way you understand your current struggles as a means of transformation rather than merely obstacles to endure?

→ What evidence do you see in your own life or the lives of others in this group that suffering can actually produce sanctification, joy, and unity?
The sermon mentions that the Lord's Supper functions as Jesus's provision for believers who doubt their status during tribulation. How does the objective reality of Christ's death and resurrection—symbolized in communion—anchor your assurance when you feel the distance between your position in Christ and your daily faithfulness?

John 17:1-5

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

This week we trace how Jesus's intercessory prayer protects believers not by removing struggle, but by transforming it into the very means of our sanctification and his glory.

Monday Psalm 103:10-14

The psalmist rehearses God's merciful restraint—he does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us what we deserve. This captures the heart of our dual reality: we are simultaneously beloved children of God and persistent sinners who stumble. Jesus foresees this exact condition in his disciples and responds not with condemnation but with intercessory protection, anticipating that we will wound ourselves even as we belong wholly to him.

Tuesday Luke 22:31-32

Jesus tells Peter plainly: Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. Yet Christ does not prevent the sifting; instead, he prays that Peter's faith will not fail, and promises restoration. This is the pattern of Christ's intercession—not shielding us from every trial or temptation, but praying us through it so that we emerge restored and equipped to strengthen others. We see here that Jesus's keeping power works *through* our struggle, not around it.

Wednesday Romans 7:14-25

Paul cries out in anguish: the good I want to do, I do not do; the evil I do not want to do, I do. This is the Christian's performance gap made explicit—saved in Christ, yet warring with sin in the flesh. Jesus knows this struggle intimately and designed his intercession precisely for believers living in this tension. Our assurance rests not on sinless performance but on Christ's persistent prayer that carries us through the very gap Paul describes.

Thursday Jude 24-25

Jude concludes by doxologically celebrating that God is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us faultless before his glorious presence. Notice the connection: Jesus's *keeping power* is inseparable from his *glory*. Our struggles do not diminish Christ's glory; rather, his protective work *through* our struggles displays his power and majesty to all creation. Every temptation we overcome by his grace becomes a witness to his faithfulness.

Friday 2 Corinthians 4:7-17

Paul testifies that though outwardly we waste away, inwardly we are renewed day by day, and our light affliction is achieving an eternal weight of glory. This is the magnificent paradox of Christ's keeping work: tribulation itself becomes the instrument of our transformation. We do not endure trials *despite* Jesus's protection; we are sanctified *through* trials that Jesus guards us within. He does not spare us from the crucible but walks us through it, emerging us refined and glorious.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

A Prayer for Protection and Purification

Father, we marvel at the vision of Jesus in John 17—our great High Priest who intercedes for us not in distant heaven but with full knowledge of our struggles, our sins, and our inevitable unfaithfulness. We adore him for his tender foresight, for he sees the performance gap between our position in Christ and our lived faithfulness, and rather than abandoning us, he responds with proactive, protective love (John 17:9–12).

We confess that we often cry out, "Why is life not easier?" We grow weary of the tug-of-war between eternal life and ongoing tribulation, between our redemption and our remaining sin. We feel the weight of self-inflicted wounds and struggle, and sometimes we doubt whether Jesus truly carries us through such difficulty. Yet we acknowledge our absolute dependence on his keeping power—like branches cut off from the vine, we can do nothing apart from him (John 10; Luke 22:31–32).

How we rejoice that in the gospel we have a Savior who does not preserve us unchanged but progressively sanctifies us through the very trials he guards us through. His protective work is not ease but endurance with transformation (Romans 8:28). He delivers joy, purification, and unity through our struggles—he carries us through tribulation not to leave us as we were, but to present us to the Father far more glorified and holy (Jude 24–25).

Grant us grace this week to trust that our struggles display Jesus's keeping power and produce our sanctification simultaneously. When we doubt, remind us of the Lord's Supper—that objective assurance that Christ both purchased us completely and is purifying us progressively. Help us to see our trials not as signs of abandonment but as the very stage on which Jesus's glory shines most brightly. We ask for courage to endure, joy in the midst of tribulation, and deeper unity with one another as we suffer together under his protective hand. To him be all glory, honor, and praise, now and forever.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Why Doesn't Jesus Just Make Life Easier?

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to wrestle with the tension between Jesus's power to protect us and the real struggles we face. Listen for whether kids see Jesus's keeping power as separate from their growth, then help them see how the two work together.

In the sermon, Chris talked about how Jesus protects us AND allows us to go through hard things at the same time. That seems like it doesn't make sense — if Jesus is strong enough to keep us safe, why doesn't he just make life easier? What do you think?

works for ages 8+ — younger kids can listen and offer simple observations; older kids and teens can engage the theological tension

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Protected and Purified Together

What struck you most about Jesus interceding for us even when he foresaw our unfaithfulness—and how does that reshape what you believe about his commitment to you?
Where do you sense the 'performance gap' most acutely in our marriage—the distance between who we want to be in Christ and who we actually are—and how might we support each other's sanctification through that struggle rather than despair over it?
As you consider that Jesus allows our trials partly so his protective power can be displayed and we can be purified through them, what is one specific struggle in our life together that you'd like to ask Jesus to work through—and how can I pray that with you this week?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

John 17:17

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Why this verse: This verse captures Jesus's intercessory purpose: not merely to preserve believers unchanged through tribulation, but to sanctify and purify them through the very trials he guards them through. It anchors the sermon's central claim that Jesus's keeping power simultaneously protects and transforms, delivering believers to the Father in a glorified state far superior to their original condition.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Providence Community Church

Lenexa, KS
Sundays · 10:00 AM
About us · What we believe

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# Providence Community Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [For Those with Broken Bodies (2025-04-06)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/04/for-those-with-broken-bodies)
- [IHOP Postmortem, Part 2 (2025-04-09)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/04/ihop-postmortem-part-2)
- [The Conscience Coach, An Introduction (2025-04-11)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/04/the-conscience-coach-an-introduction)
- [A Prayer of Protection (John 16:31-17:25, 2025-04-13)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2025/04/a-prayer-of-protection)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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