I was asking myself this question lately , " Why did Jesus say " I pray not for the world "...
Something I have been pondering...
...xox...
Hello Rosemaryx,
What a great thing to be pondering indeed. To answer this completely and in a way that honors God, would take up a good part of Holy Scripture. It is also the truth that the world hates the most. Why? Because, to understand it means, that the person is willing to come to grips with the fact that everything God is doing, is for HIS glory and NOT for ours. His people are the partakers of His eternal plan but not the sole focus of His plan. The focus of His plan is His Son. Why? Because He loved His Son above all else. His eternal plan, given in part, in His revealed Word, is the expression of His love for His Son. That plan included giving all things unto Him.
(Rom 11:36) For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.
Included in this plan, is the redemption of fallen man. For the express purpose of giving Him (Christ), an eternal gift of loving worshipers. The one thing we know, by studying the Scriptures, this was never fully obtained because of the hardness of man's heart. Therefore, the Father Chose some from before the foundation of the world.
(Eph 1:4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
These individuals, who are only known by the Father and the Son, until it becomes manifest by the witness and life of the believer, for others to see. For proof of this choosing out, let's look at the following verses:
(John 6:44)
No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.
(the better translation here would be, "no man is able to come to me"). Not that a person can't come to Christ but that a man is not able of his own self to come. This harmonizes with Rom. 1:21-23; 3:10-12. The main point to remember is "There is NONE that seeks after God.". Not that man does not seek after a god, but not the God of Scripture, as portrayed in the Scriptures. Just as he often wants to create a savior that is not the Savior as portrayed in Scriptures. Also, in this verse, note where our Lord said, "....the Father who sent me DRAW him..." (In the greek text, the word translated "draw" is "elkusn". This word carries the meaning of: To lay hold of, to pull or drag.) This is where the New Birth comes in. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us into repentance and the Truth of Jesus Christ.
Let's look a little further at God's choosing of some
for His Son. Note what our Lord said to the religionist of his day, which still applies today.
(John 6:36,37)
But I said unto you, that ye have seen me, and yet believe not. All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
(John 6:65)
And he said, For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it be given unto him of the Father.
Now again, our Lord makes it clear, that He has a particular group in mind, He knows them, they know Him and most importantly, He is dying for them and not for the whole world. This is only one area of Scripture that states this great and hated truth by those of the world that can't hear His voice.
(John 10:26-28)
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
Many people want to shove these great truths back into darkness, by saying, well the audience was Jewish and therefore the Sheep were Jewish and this has nothing to do with us gentiles. DON'T be fooled by this. Our Lord said He laid down His life for the Sheep. By their reckoning, putting this all on Jewish ground to be ignored, then non of the Gentiles were included in Christ's death and this would be foolishness.
Now as to the often quoted and abused John 3:16, The use of "world" here is limited in it's scope but I am not going into that now; rather I would like to point out the "whosoevers" of this verse. Based on what I have been writing to you, who do you think the whosoevers are? This verse by the way is not a promise for the future. While it does hold true that those who are believing shall have eternal life. The verb tense, in the greek text, for the word translated "believes" is not in the Future Tense. It is a Present Active Indicative Verb, so our Lord was stating a fact, not a promise. He was saying then, "whoever is believing (right now as he was talking), shall (future), have everlasting life.
So that brings us back to Christ's high priestly prayer of John 17. Jesus did not pray for the "world" because He had nothing to say, to His Father, in regards to the world system or those that were not His own. Plain and simple fact which the world hates. Only the Sheep readily accept this Truth and do not kick against it because we, the sheep, know it is not about us, it is about our Great and Glorious Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. For we know that God does as he pleases and thank God for that.