John 17:1-5: A Prayer for Glory

This morning we're going to take a different tack from the last five weeks, but not all that different.

We're going to stay in the Gospel of John.

We were blessed by that series, The I Am Statements of Jesus.

And it was a powerful exposition of God's Word, but God has led me to stay in the Gospel of John, chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

And so you can turn in your Bibles there or find the text printed in the bulletin.

We are going to look the next three weeks at what has been called the high priestly prayer of Jesus.

So we're going to continue to look at who Jesus is, as you have been, but we're going to make a connection in some new ways between his identity and his mission.

And so the first part of this sermon this morning, we are going to just unpack what Jesus mean when he prayed this prayer for himself.

And then we're going to make some application for our lives a little bit later.

Reading God's holy, precious word.

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 have sent.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

This is the reading of the holy, infallible, inerrant Word of God.

Let's ask the Spirit to do his work in us.

Father, you were glorified through the mission of your Son.

You are glorified today before countless angels, the saints who praise you in heaven, the saints who glorify you and praise you on earth.

Holy Spirit, search us, show us, convict us, convince us of the very truths that you know we need this morning in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Jesus high priestly prayer.

If you're paying close attention, you'll see this the sermon series is titled The Lord's Prayer.

Now, I don't mean to confuse you, but this really is the Lord's Prayer.

You say, Well, wait a minute, I thought the Lord's Prayer was in Matthew 6.

Our Father who art in heaven.

Well, that's true.

I'm one of those people that tend to think and agree with commentators who say that that was really more the disciples' prayer.

The disciples said to Jesus, Jesus, teach us how to pray.

Now I have no problem calling that the Lord's Prayer as well, but if we want to get down to the nitty-gritty, the last night on Jesus' earth that he was on this earth, this is the prayer he prayed.

It's a powerful prayer.

There are three parts.

We're going to just take the first part this morning.

He prayed for himself in verses one through five.

And then he prayed specifically for his disciples because he knew what they were about to face.

And then week three, we're going to look more specifically at what he prayed for all of his people, for his whole church.

That includes you and me more specifically.

So what exactly did Jesus pray for himself that last night before he went to the cross?

By the way, of the three prayers contained within this chapter, his prayer for himself was by far the shortest.

It was the most brief of the petitions.

We're going to look at five petitions, some commentators divide it into six petitions.

This morning we're just looking at the first petition.

What he prayed for himself, and how that might bless us.

Verse 1.

When Jesus had spoken these words, now we have to ask ourselves, what is he referring to?

He's referring to chapters 14, 15, and 16.

And I would suggest that this week, if you are so led, that you would go back to the Gospel of John and read chapters 14 and 15 and 16 to get more of the background that fueled this prayer.

He said, Father, he lifted up his eyes to heaven.

Knowing what he was about to face, the most painful, the scariest thing that he ever encountered.

He didn't look down.

He didn't look within.

He looked up because he knew that's where his help came from.

What about us?

When we hit rough patches, when we go through hard times, have you noticed that sometimes our response is to just look within?

What can I do to change the situation?

Or sometimes we just look down in discouragement.

How about looking up to the one who was there for him and the one who's there for us?

Father, I need you, and this is what I need of you.

What was it?

The hour has come.

Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you.

That's what we're looking at this morning.

Glory, that word, that little word so powerful in the Hebrew language, so powerful in the Greek language, and yes, in the English language, appears five times in five verses.

This petition is all about glory.

Glorify your son.

Because you know what your son is about to go through, so that your son may glorify you.

Jesus is thinking of the glory that he had before his incarnation, the glory that he had in heaven from all time and eternity.

He's thinking about the glory he had on earth.

He's thinking about the glory that he will experience once he is ascended back to his Father.

And then he says these striking words, Father, the hour has come.

Some of you know that that is a pregnant word in the Gospel of John.

Jesus used that word before.

The hour has come.

Is he thinking about sixty minutes?

Is he thinking specifically of one hour?

No.

If your Bibles are open, you might want to turn back to John chapter 12.

John 12 · chapter mention

He references this very specifically.

Verse 27, listen to what he said.

Now is my soul troubled.

And what shall I say?

Father, save me from this hour.

But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Father, glorify your name.

Then a voice came from heaven.

I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

You see, the hour that he's referring to is the hour of his suffering.

The hour even of his abandonment by the Father on the cross, which is coming within hours.

This hour, now is my soul troubled.

What shall I say?

Save me from this hour.

Get me out of here, Father.

Father, I know you and I talked about this.

I know you and I discussed this.

I know you and I agreed on this plan long ago.

That you were going to send me on this mission, and I was going to come to this earth to save these people.

I know we agreed on it.

But Father, it's frightening.

As I look and stare into the horror of the death I am about to experience.

Save me from this hour?

No.

No.

But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Father, glorify your name.

I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

The hour is the appointed time for Jesus' death.

The journey will include a shameful and painful death.

Jesus prays that he will finish his mission.

That's what he's praying.

I, Father, don't let me abort this mission.

When I feel weak, give me grace to stay the course.

He prays that he will finish well.

He prays that as he finishes his mission, that his father will be glorified in even new ways.

That he will be glorified in even new ways.

He doesn't fall apart.

He prays.

He looks up.

How about you?

Because there's times when your life is going to fall apart.

Or it's going to feel like it's falling apart.

Look up.

Glorify your name, Father.

Glorify me, Father.

This word glory.

Some of you know this last year has been the theme of our church.

Every year we have a theme.

The theme this past year has been all to the glory of God.

We came into this new building almost a year ago.

This building was dedicated to the glory of God.

We've been praying this last year that our worship will be for the glory of God.

We've been praying this last year in sermons that our work would be to the glory of God.

That our families would be to the glory of God.

Because that's what it's all about, isn't it?

And sometimes we lose that, don't we?

Sometimes we drift.

We drift.

And without even noticing it, we start living for our glory.

We start living for our reputation.

We start living for the glory of other people's praise of us.

Glorify your name.

Glorify me, Father.

We've looked at that word.

Remember back in January, we looked at Moses in Exodus chapter 33.

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

Show me your glory, Lord.

I need to see new glimpses of your glory, or I'm not going to make it.

Can you say that?

Of all the things that you need in your life, when was the last time that you thought to yourself, what I most need in my life is to see the glory of God.

How many Christians think that way?

How many Christians pray that way?

He wants us.

Glory.

Father, may your name be praised.

May your name be honored for who you are.

You may recall, I gave you a definition last year on this, we were talking about this.

What is the glory of God?

Many many scholars and commentators would say the glory of God is the sum total of all of his attributes.

Our Westminster Shorter Catechism captures it well.

Who is God?

God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, and his being, his wisdom, his power, his holiness, his goodness, his truth.

God's glory is every time and any time an attribute of his breaks out and captures you in a new way.

God's glory.

You say, I think I'm learning something new about his patience, about his kindness, about his love, about his holiness.

I like the way the way scholar D.A.

Carson puts it.

God's glory is the ways that he is clothed in splendor.

I love that description.

Clothed in splendor.

The many divine garments, if you will, that he wears.

And you look at him, and you're just taken with his holiness, his mercy, his majesty.

And the list goes on.

This is what Jesus is praying.

Father, as I complete the mission that you sent me on, I pray that your glory will resound, will reverberate in the heavens and the earth and even new ways as people stand back and watch and see what we have done on their behalf.

That's what we're here this morning to do.

We're here to look with fresh eyes to see what Jesus accomplished so that we could be here and give Him glory and give the Father glory.

Father, return to me the splendor that you shared, that I shared with you before the incarnation, before I left heaven, the glory that I've had throughout all eternity.

Restore all of the visible manifestations of that glory to me when I finish my mission.

Jesus said in John chapter 12, verse 31, we looked at, now is the judgment of the world, he said.

John 12:31

Now will the ruler of the world be cast out.

And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.

Wow.

When I am lifted up, when the cross is raised, the cross that he carried on his back to Golgotha until he basically passed out and had to be carried by another.

The cross that he carried to Golgotha, the cross that was laying on the ground, the cross that would be raised up by the Roman soldiers.

When I am lifted up, and there would be a further lifting up, but in the ascension.

When I am lifted up for the purpose, this purpose that I will draw all people to myself.

Does that melt your heart?

This is why he came.

This is why he prayed.

The disgrace of the cross will be the very means by which the Father and the Son will be glorified and will be praised forever and ever by the people who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

Our praise will never end.

The song we will sing in a few minutes.

You are the glorious Christ.

You are the glorious Christ.

No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life.

We will join the songs of angels and who praise you day and night.

Do you know that the Father and the Son never have a moment where they are not hearing the echoes of praise of their people?

There's never a moment in heaven and probably on earth where they are not rejoicing in the praise of their people who are covered by the blood of Jesus.

What a beautiful sound that must be to them.

And we get to make that sound every Lord's day together.

The song goes on.

You are now seated in heaven enthroned at God's right hand.

You shattered death and you freed us from our fears.

And all will be made right when you appear.

We're waiting for that day.

But the praise has already begun.

To give eternal life.

Look at this.

You see this in the prayer.

Don't miss this.

To give eternal life to all whom you have given me.

Did you know that you are a gift from the Father to the Son?

Did you know that?

Take that in this morning.

Long ago the Father said to the Son, I will be glorified when I pick out people, when I choose my sons and my daughters to bring them into my family, to give them new hearts to believe, new hearts to worship, new hearts to rejoice.

I am going to give you, son, people with names and faces.

It's not generic.

It doesn't just say dear occupant on the letter.

Your name.

Who I'm going to receive.

Be glorified.

You are God's gift to his son.

Don't ever get over that.

God is clothed in splendor in the eyes of those who understand the magnitude of the gift.

May the gift become increasingly more precious every day you live on this earth until the day you die.

May you be more amazed by his grace.

Thankful for his love.

There was no emptying of his divine attributes.

He was not less than God.

No emptying of his divine attributes, but the emptying of certain prerogatives of his status.

You could say this.

Much of his glory was hidden.

We could not take it all in.

And he was okay with that.

He was okay with people treating him like dirt.

He was okay with people seeing him.

And what's so special about him?

Isn't he the son of a carpenter?

What's the big deal about him?

And he was okay with that.

He was okay when people overlooked him because he was secure in who he was.

Jesus asked the Father to return to him his previous position of glory to exchange his humiliation for glorification.

And he was glorified in that.

Jesus is glorified both through the cross as well as the crown.

Boy, I'm tempted to just stop.

Let's just take this in.

Holy Spirit.

I don't know about you, but I in studying for this passage, there's so much I have to repent of.

How quickly I can be drawn into living for my glory and not even know it.

How about you?

The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

That's why you're on earth.

That's why you're here this morning.

Let's make a few applications in closing.

Verse 4.

Jesus said, I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do.

What Jesus is saying, Father, I thank you that as I come to the end of my mission, and I will finish my mission, I have done everything you gave me to do.

To that I say, Wow.

Nobody else will ever be able to say that but Jesus.

Do you have unfinished projects?

Sorry, I don't mean to take you down the guilt trip now.

Get off that, okay?

You've got a list.

You've got things you want to do.

You've got a list for today.

You've got a list for this week.

Put that down.

What does he have for you to do?

How could Jesus say that?

I have done everything you gave me to do.

How could he say that when there were still so many people that were not yet saved?

How could he say that when there were so many more people that had not yet been healed?

Why?

Because he was in such contact and relationship with his heavenly father that he did not miss one assignment.

To which I say, Glory be to God.

So I've got some questions for you and me.

Got some questions.

First of all, who are you?

Are you a son?

Are you a daughter of God?

Still in John chapter 13, before he washes his disciples' feet.

John 13 · chapter mention

How does the king of glory get down on his knees, take off his clothes, pick up a towel, and wash the dirty feet of these disciples?

I'm glad you asked.

Listen to this.

Jesus, verse 3, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, put aside his outer garments and picked up a towel.

You only do that when you know who you are and you're secure in your identity.

You never become a servant until you've been served first by Jesus.

You're secure.

You don't serve for the applause of other people.

You don't serve to be noticed.

You don't serve to be praised.

Your identity is secure in who you are as a son, as a daughter of God, and you can take off your outer garment and you can pick up a towel and you can serve people.

You're not serving out of your neediness.

You're serving out of the fillness, the fullness of the Spirit and what He's given you in your position in Christ.

That's how Jesus did it.

That's how we do it.

How did he know?

Daily dependence upon the Father.

He said, I do nothing apart from the Father.

I need to go to my Father every single day.

And I need to say, Father, what is it that you have for me?

What is my assignment today?

That was not just for Jesus, that is for you, and that is for me.

Let's learn it.

First of all, who are you?

You're his.

You're his gift.

Give him the gift of your life, of your service in return.

Second question: what's your calling?

What are your assignments?

There's a fascinating verse tucked away in the little book of Colossians, chapter four.

And if your name was Archipus and you were in that worship service, if you were dozing off, you would have woken up when you heard this.

Because remember, the letters were red in the churches as they gathered.

Tell Archipus to finish the ministry that he received from the Lord.

How would you like to be called out in a worship service that you haven't finished the work that God gave you to do?

I speak to the archipesses of APC.

To myself.

What is the unfinished work that the Lord has given you to do?

Don't walk away from it.

Your service is to the Lord.

Don't walk away from it.

I think too many people do that.

Way too many people do that.

You know, in my opinion, some of the worst are ministers.

I've been a minister a long time and I've seen a lot of ministers.

How quickly ministers can say, you know, I think God's will is for me to leave this church and go to another.

It's the Lord's will.

Stop it.

Stop blaming the Lord for the assignments that you won't finish.

How many times do ministers go because they get paid better?

Because they're going to run away from the problems in the church.

Happens a lot.

Oh, I love the lessons I learned from my father who stayed 38 years in the church in Pittsburgh.

And he faced many problems and many challenges, but he never walked away.

He waited on God to meet him and show him.

Don't walk away from your assignments.

How do you know what your assignments are?

In daily dependence upon the Father.

You get up and you go to the Father and you ask the Father to show you, just like He showed His Son Jesus.

You ask Him to show Him, show you what's not mine, wisdom to know what is not my assignment, wisdom to know what is my assignment, and He will do that.

He did it for His Son, He will do it for you and me.

He will know our assignments to be with our Father.

To be with our Father more than what we do for our Father.

Let's repent of all the things that we're going to do for Him.

That may not be His assignments.

Let's start with being with Him so that we can hear Him.

We can discern His assignments and stay with it.

Don't walk away from it.

I accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

David, it was said of David at the end of his life.

That he served God in his generation.

He fulfilled all the tasks that God gave him in his generation.

The memorial service for my mother is this Thursday.

Hundred years old.

I saw her finish a lot of assignments.

She still had assignments in the last days of her life.

And she knew she did.

Man, that was a powerful example to me.

My father as well.

We can really be helped by watching other people.

That's why we need one reason to be in the body of Christ: to see people stay at their task, looking to the Father for their assignments.

These are a few applications.

I want to close though with the heart of Jesus' prayer.

I want to share an illustration, true story, Jonathan Edwards' life.

How one day he had an extraordinary experience of the glory of Christ.

Reading from his journal, one day as I rode my horse into the woods for my health, the year was 1737.

I got off my horse, I went to my place to pray and read the word of God, as was my custom, to spend that time in divine contemplation and prayer.

And then I had a view of the glory of God that was extraordinary.

I saw the glory of the Son of God as the mediator between God and man and his wonderful, great, full, pure, sweet grace and love, his meekness, his gentleness.

This grace appeared so calm and sweet, I felt as though I had went to heaven.

The person of Christ appeared ineffitably excellent, with an excellency great enough to swallow up all my thoughts, which I continued to think is near I can judge for about an hour.

This kept me the greater part of the time weeping with tears of thanksgiving and delight, weeping aloud.

I felt an ardency of soul to be what I know otherwise I didn't know how to express.

I felt emptied, I felt annihilated by the glory of God.

I wanted to lie in the dust.

I wanted to be full of Christ alone, to love him with a holy and pure love, to trust in him, to lean only on him, to serve only him, to follow only him.

I wanted to be perfectly sanctified.

And I wanted to be made pure with a divine and heaven purity.

Now let me just say a couple comments before we close.

That was an extraordinary experience.

That was not a typical experience for Jonathan Edwards.

But those extraordinary experiences are available for the people of God.

But notice how it comes often.

Don't chase the experience.

And when you are in the Word of God and the Word of God is in you, and the Holy Spirit is making the word of God come alive, and you are in prayer.

Those are the ways that God normally shows us, these glimpses of his glory in new ways.

Oh, you get along with him this week.

You get along with him, and you ask him to show you his glory in new ways.

The older I get, the more I want this.

I want this in my ministry.

I want this in my life.

I want this in this church.

I think God wants it.

After the service, we're gonna have pastors up here to pray.

You may be led to come and just pray.

Pray with someone to pray that God will give you this vision for your life in a new way.

Join me in prayer now.

Father, glorify your name in this worship service.

Jesus, be glorified in this worship service.

Holy Spirit, you said, Jesus said that you were given that we he might glorify him.

Holy Spirit, would you lift up Jesus before the very eyes of the people in this room?

May we come to love our Savior in new ways.

May we come to serve you, Father, in new ways.

May we repent of the things that we would glory in otherwise.

We come this morning to repent.

We come this morning to rejoice.

We come this morning to be captured by your glory.

Amen.