And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. — John 17:3

Have you ever heard the saying, ‘They don’t know what they don’t know’? It’s a popular phrase to describe a group of people who are so unaware of a situation they don’t even know what they should be focused on. This phrase aptly describes the disciples as Jesus prays at the Last Supper in John, chapter 17. The disciples were unaware of their own eternal life, or that Jesus was true God as well as true man. And they were certainly unaware of the events just around the corner in Jerusalem that would change the world forever as Jesus made His way to the cross. Even after His crucifixion the disciples didn’t know what to expect, though Jesus had been teaching them.

How comforting it is to realise that Jesus knew what was to come. He knew He was true God and He knew our eternal life with God depended on Him enduring suffering, shame, death and resurrection. Even knowing the anguish to come, Jesus still set His face toward Jerusalem for us.

Today,we all have non-believing friends and acquaintances who ‘don’t know what they don’t know’, just like the disciples at the Last Supper. But thanks to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, we know what they don’t know and we can share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them so they know, too!

Heavenly Father, give me the courage and the right words to speak to let others know what I know about the saving grace of Jesus Christ for our eternal life with the only true God. Amen.