November 15

My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. — John 10:29 BSB

In the sublime and touching prayer that Jesus, as our High Priest, offered up to His heavenly Father before shedding His precious blood on the cross, there is one request—more like a statement of His holy will—that is filled with unspeakable blessing: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” The shift from Jesus petitioning as a Priest to declaring His will as a King is remarkable. It reveals the gracious nature of His intercession at the right hand of God. On the basis of His covenant, His atoning sacrifice, and His finished work—as well as His perfect equality with the Father and the Spirit—Jesus expresses His sovereign will, which is in complete harmony with the eternal will of the Father.

And how full of grace and condescension is Christ’s will as He expresses it! His will encompasses all His people—all the sheep of His pasture, all those the Father gave Him as His own. Every one of the countless millions given to Him before the foundation of the world, to be His eternal inheritance and the joy of His heart, is included in this statement of His unchanging will. No matter their struggles, sins, or sufferings here on earth, no matter the opposition they face from the world or the devil, Christ’s will holds them securely. They cannot fall from His hand or lose their glorious inheritance.