Glory to the Father

I want you to turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

!

John 17, verse 1.

John 17:1

Let's pray together.

Father, this morning as we take your word in hand, and we remind ourselves at the very

outset that this word that we have is your clear and direct revelation to us, telling

us about our Lord Jesus, telling us all that we need for life and godliness.

And this morning as we hold this word and as we study it together, we are reminded that

we are dependent upon your spirit.

I'm dependent upon your spirit in preaching the word.

And your dear people are dependent upon the spirit in understanding and applying it that

their hearts may grow in affection for our Savior.

And that those who are here that do not know Christ this morning by your spirit would first

be convicted of their sin and drawn to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom alone is salvation.

And we pray, Lord, this morning that the Lord Jesus would be the one that is exalted and lifted up,

and those of us that know him would grow in our affection and our love and our desire to please him.

And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

As we take up our study of John, we are coming towards the end of the book.

And if I were to ask you this morning what is the central unifying theme of the book of John,

you would tell me that we find that stated very clearly in the very end of the book.

Am I right?

These things are written that you might know that Jesus is the Christ

and that knowing and believing you might come to faith.

And so we are looking at a portion of the Scripture

and underlying the study this morning is this desire

that you who sit here under the hearing of the word of God

would grow in your love for the Lord Jesus.

And as a result of growing in that, you would be transformed from glory to glory,

as it says in 2 Corinthians, and grow to be more like him.

I trust that this morning as you look at this passage in John 17,

you realize that the gospel of John is different from the other synoptics in this sense.

John's gospel focuses primarily on the deity of Christ.

Christ.

The synoptics tell us more about what Jesus did,

what he did in his public ministry,

and how those things played out in the 33 years of his ministry here on earth.

And probably one of the characteristics that helps us see this so radically,

I mean, the difference between the two,

is particularly right here in the hours before the cross.

What we're looking at in John 17 is Jesus' prayer

before he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

all tell us about the prayer in the Garden.

They don't tell us about this prayer,

which many Bible scholars refer to as Christ's high priestly prayer.

Now, that's an interesting comparison, isn't it?

Stop and think with me just for a moment.

What was the spirit that Jesus had when he was praying in the garden?

What was it like?

Can you think?

Let me have you refresh your memories by having you turn.

Keep your finger there in John.

But turn over, if you would, just for a moment to Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 14, verse 32.

Mark 14:32

And they went to a place called Gethsemane.

And he said to his disciples,

Sit here while I pray.

Stop just for a moment.

The prayer that we are going to study the next three weeks

is prayed prior to the Garden.

And we are going to note the radical difference between the two.

So here in verse 32,

Sit here while I pray.

And he took with him Peter, James, and John

and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.

And he said to them,

My soul is very sorrowful.

Even to death, remain here and watch.

And going a little further,

he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible,

the hour might pass from him.

It tells us in the book of Luke

that as he prayed in this very, very earnest

and passionate appeal to the Father,

it says that he was suffering to the point

that great drops of blood came.

And as you read the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane,

you get a picture of Jesus suffering

in a fashion that we can sympathize with as human beings.

We can understand what it is

to have a certain level of anxiety

for what lies in front of us.

We've all been there, haven't we?

With one thing or another,

we're not sure how this is going to work out.

And there's a little bit of anxiety

and, oh man, do I really have to do this?

I have on many occasions

been with different people in our fellowship

prior to their going in for surgery.

And those who are not frequent flyers,

and by that I mean those who have

maybe one surgery in their lifetime,

some of us have been kind of in the environment

where, yeah, you can cut on me.

I know how that worked out last time.

Others like, I've never been here before.

Do I really have to do this?

And a little bit of anxiety.

And here's Jesus in the Garden praying his heart out.

In John, we see a completely different spirit.

And I want you to recognize

that the prayer in John 17

and the prayers in the Garden

were only separated by mere moments.

Very interesting.

In John, remember,

John's goal was to show us

the deity of Christ.

And here in John 17,

you're getting a window

into the heart of the Lord Jesus

as he prays prior to the cross

and he is thinking about the cross

with a divine perspective.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

he is praying

with a very human understanding

of what is coming.

Now, as we put these two together,

we have to recognize

that the Scriptures

see Jesus as entirely human

and entirely God.

Not part human and part God.

Entirely, completely, in totality.

And we, in our finite minds,

struggle with keeping those two pieces together.

Isn't that true?

How many confess

that dealing with something

of this theological nature,

it's hard for us to press together?

We can focus on this part

or this part.

And John is going to help us

focus on the divine.

But remember

that the larger picture

of the Scripture

gives to us

the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ

as our Savior,

the God-man.

With that kind of as a background,

I want you to step now

to what we do find

here in John 17.

We're going to spend time

looking at Christ's prayer

prior to the cross

and a prayer that is not marked

by a single moment

of hesitation or caution.

We find, first of all,

in verse 1,

a personal request.

Here at this stage,

Jesus is praying to His Father,

and He is praying

without lament,

without anguish,

and He is praying

in a very objective way

about what lies

in front of Him.

Here,

He makes a statement there.

He says,

the hour has come.

If you were to work

your way back

through the life of Christ,

you would find

at various times,

He had made the statement,

the hour is not now.

It's not the time.

It's not the time.

It's not the time.

And there were various instances

in His public ministry

where He had made it clear

that this was not the moment,

the primary purpose

of His coming.

It was something

that was in the future.

And now,

here He is

in the shadow of the cross.

He says,

now,

the hour has come.

And as you think

about our Lord's ministry,

I want you to recognize

that from the very moment

of His arriving here

on the earth,

His face was set

towards Golgotha

and towards the ministry

on the cross

and Him dying

for my sins

and for your sins

as the remedy

for the fall.

We look here

and we find

that Jesus looks

at the cross

and look what it says there.

He says,

the hour has come.

Glorify your Son

that the Son

may glorify you.

He looked at the cross

and instead of seeing it

as a gross injustice

and a denial

of His basic rights

as a human being,

He looked at it

and said,

that's going to be my glory.

Instead of looking

with this heartache

and this sorrow

as we sometimes do

and not inappropriately so,

but remember,

there has to be a balance.

Jesus looked at the cross

and He looked at this thing

and He says,

this is the most glorious moment

of all of eternity

in history

and it is the moment

when God's amazing work

of salvation

is going to come

to full fruition.

So listen to what

Jesus says there.

Glorify your Son

that your Son

may glorify you.

Let's take those two pieces together

or one at a time here

just for a moment

and think them through

as we look at the passage.

We mark that Jesus

as He is making this statement,

He looks at

what was going to happen

and He sees

that His dying on the cross

was going to be

for our benefit

and for His glory.

He was glorified.

He was glorified

by dying on the cross

for our sins.

Now what is the glory in that?

Stop and think about it.

What is the glory

of Christ dying

for our sins

on the cross?

If you do something

that is necessary

and is an obligation,

is there any glory in that?

What's the answer?

Not really.

I think about the passage

in Luke

where it talks about

the servants

who served all day

and they did their work

and they did what was expected

of them

and even in the evening

when they came in

from the fields

the master says

I want you to take care

of cleaning up

and then cooking for me

and serving me.

And he says

does the master

thank them?

No.

Just hey,

you did your job.

You did your job.

There is no glory

in one sense

in doing that

which is understood

to be our responsibility

and so where is the glory

in Christ dying for us?

The glory lies in this.

It was something

that he did not need to do

in the sense of

divine obligation

other than the plan of God

and he did it

because of his love for us

and his willingness

to be part of what

the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Ghost

had planned for our salvation.

It's interesting

that when you stop

and think about

this issue of salvation

as being a moment of glory

you stop and set it

against some other

of the spectacular works

that God has done

namely the matter

of creation.

And I want you to think

of what we find

in the book of Job

when it talks about

the angels observing

God in the creative acts

and as the angels

watch the heavens

come into being

and watch every aspect

of this creation

it says that they kind of

burst out in applause,

right?

They were pretty excited

seeing what God

was doing.

They appreciated

that evidence

of his power.

They appreciated

what they were

watching God create.

But when it comes

to the matter

of our redemption

and our salvation

I want you to stop

just for a moment

and think of how

it humbled them

to ponder this

imponderable thing

for them.

Turn over in your Bible

you're going to keep

your finger there

in John 17

but turn over

to 1 Peter chapter 1

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

we're talking about

the glory of Christ

and dying for our sins

and I want you

to understand

that it is a glory

that is transcendent

it is unbelievably

significant.

1 Peter chapter 1

1 Peter 1:12

verse 12

1 Peter chapter 1

1 Peter 1:12

verse 12

I want you to look

at verse 8

one of those verses

that even this morning

as I was praying

and preparing my heart

for this morning

this verse came

to my mind

though you have not

seen him

you love him

though you do not

now see him

you believe in him

and rejoice

with joy

that is inexpressible

and filled

with glory

your thoughts

of Jesus

rightly framed

are characterized

by satisfaction

and delight

let me say that

slowly

your thoughts

of Jesus

rightly framed

are characterized

by satisfaction

and delight

is that true

the answer is

yes

so if you're

sitting here

kind of dull

and indifferent

in your thinking

about Jesus

is the problem

with him

or is the problem

with a heart

that is distracted

by the moment

and distracted

by the life

that you're engaged

in

and you need

to reconcile

yourself

that you need

the enabling

of the Holy Spirit

to think properly

of Christ

that your heart

might be filled

with incredible

delight and satisfaction

Jesus

the very thought

of thee

with sweetness

fills my breast

we look here

and Peter says

listen

you believe in him

and rejoice

with joy

that is inexpressible

and filled with glory

obtaining the outcome

of your faith

the salvation

of your souls

concerning this salvation

wow

it's spectacular

that we're saved

the prophets

who prophesied

about the grace

that was to be yours

searched

and inquired

carefully

inquiring

what person

or time

the spirit

of Christ

in them

was indicating

when he predicted

the sufferings

of Christ

and the subsequent

glories

it was revealed

to them

that they were

serving not

themselves

but you

in the things

that have now

been announced

to you

through those

who preach

the good news

to you

by the Holy Spirit

sent from heaven

things which

the angels

what does it say

long

to look

have you ever

really wanted

to understand

something

really wanted

to understand

something

but it just

wasn't clicking

you ever been there

Andy Manweller

in his Sunday

school this morning

that was a phenomenal

little video clip

it's called

a speed artist

how would we look

it up on Google

or YouTube

a man painting

upside down

in a minute

and a half

it is just

really

phenomenal

he paints

this picture

upside down

in literally

one minute

and thirty seconds

and the last

millisecond

you're sitting there

thinking

what is that

and he turns

it around

and whoa

it's a picture

okay

apart from

God

giving to us

an understanding

of his son

and salvation

through grace

we would be

brain dead

would we not

the angels

don't get it

the angels

don't get it

they look

at the issue

of the holiness

of God

and the justice

of God

and the judgment

of God

and the reality

of sin

and what do

they understand

they understand

this

once and done

we

have received

a measure

of grace

and forgiveness

that angels

cannot get

their heads

around

and here

is Jesus

before he

goes to the

cross

saying this

father

glorify

your son

make me

spectacular

why

that I may

make you

spectacular

doesn't that

give you

cold chills

make me

spectacular

that I may

make you

spectacular

that's

Jesus'

prayer

we're

moments

away

from my

sacrificial

death

for the sins

of the whole

world

and in that

moment

make me

spectacular

that I

can make

you

spectacular

Jesus

was not

only glorified

on the cross

but he also

glorified the

father

in planning

our redemption

and so as

you think

about this

matter

this morning

and you

think about

the example

that Jesus

is to us

you look

at the

model

that our

savior

sets

of having

a singular

desire

that his

father might

be glorified

isn't that

right

and here

is Jesus

praying

I want

you to be

glorified

how

by glorifying

me

and so I

ask the

question that

I want

you to

ponder

in your

own

heart

am I

passionate

about his

glory

about him

looking good

now stop

and think

about that

am I

passionate

about his

glory

am I

interested

in him

looking good

hey

you know one

of the things

I know

from personal

experience

when I spend

a lot of time

thinking about

myself and

my glory

I invariably

end up

quite unhappy

does anybody

identify with

me

how many

of you

understand

the more

you become

a navel

gazer

the less

happy you

become

do you know

what I mean

by a navel

gazer

do I need

to go into

biology

we'll stop

there

here's the

deal

father

I'm really

interested in

your glory

and you

work in me

that you

might get

glory

am I

passionate

like Jesus

was

about the

father's

glory

well let's

look secondly

at verse

two and

three

since you've

given him

authority over

all flesh to

give eternal

life to all

whom you've

given him

we can't

miss the

fact that

Jesus understood

that he was

the sovereign

lord of all

and that the

father had

given him

complete authority

one of the

interesting

lines of

logic in

relationship

to this

is that

in the

apostolic

preaching of

the cross

on

Pentecost

Peter as

he's preaching

to the crowd

he says

listen

the ones

who you've

been

who you

crucified

is the

one who

now has

authority

to judge

you

I mean

can you

imagine

just I

want you

to imagine

this just

temporarily

that you

have been

apprehended

for some

vile

criminal

deed

and you

are in

Franklin

County

court

and you

see some

guy

trundling

through the

lobby

on his

way

and you're

having a

bad attitude

and so you

say something

snarky to

him

you get into

the judge's

chambers

and the guy

who was just

ambling across

the lobby

now has a

black robe

on and in

comes the

bailiff and

he says

oh yeah

oh yeah

whatever they

say you

know stand

up

it's the guy

I offended

that now is

my judge

like bad

decision

Peter

preaching

says listen

the one you

crucified is

the judge

the one you

crucified is

the judge

here is

Jesus saying

you have

given me

authority

over all

flesh

and in

relationship

to this

authority

he says

there to

give eternal

life to

all whom

you have

given him

in a

broad sense

what Jesus

is talking

about here

in verse

two and

three is

the fact

that what

lay in

front of

him was

the work

of redemption

and the

cross that

he was

referencing

earlier was

really all

about this

work of

salvation

and I want

you to

understand

several things

that are

here in the

text for us

to kind of

get our

hands around

for one

salvation is

something he

gives not

something we

earn

look at what

it says there

in verse

two

since you

have given

him authority

to give

eternal life

to all who

you have

given him

where does

eternal life

come from

is it

something that

I earn

is it

something that

I decide

is it

something that

is entirely

up to me

and what is

the answer

in this

passage

it says

hey

it is

something that

I have been

given by his

grace

not something

that I've

ever earned

individual came

up to me

earlier today

and said

you know

pastor

I had an

opportunity to

share the

gospel with

somebody

and actually

I had somebody

say to me

they've been a

pretty good

person

you know

it's like

hey

really

are you

going to go

to heaven

because you're

a pretty good

person

what's the

answer

is this a

Baptist crowd

it is

here's the

secret

you're not

going to heaven

because you're

a pretty good

person

you're a

lousy rat

a couple

weeks ago

when I had

the privilege

of presenting

the gospel

at a

graveside

you know

I have

no hesitation

of telling

people

we're all

miserably sick

and sinful

and apart

from Jesus

we have no

eternal hope

right

and here

is Jesus

explaining the

reality that

salvation is

something that

he has given

to us

we don't earn

it

he gives

us eternal

life

furthermore

mark what

it says

here

the saved

ones are

the ones

that the

father has

given to

Jesus

look at the

passage there

to give

eternal life

to all whom

you have

given him

now

I have to

tell you

that the

passage is

pretty explicit

in explaining

that the issue

of salvation

is something

that is in

God's hands

it is in

God's hands

now can I

put together

the reality

of the

sovereignty of

God in

salvation

and the

responsibility of

man in

calling out

for salvation

and the answer

is no

and I don't

have to

I accept

both of them

equally

the same as

I accept

follow me

carefully

that Jesus

is all

man

100%

and he is

all God

I accept

it

I accept

it

and I don't

have a problem

with that

and when

we get

carried away

on one side

or the other

of this whole

thing

we end up

with attitudes

invariably

that reflect

the fleshliness

of our own

hearts

and argument

of the spirit

and it's

not of the

Lord

I want you

to look a

little bit

more as we

go into

the passage

here

and mark

what it

says there

in verse

3

and this

is eternal

life

that they

may know

you

the only

true God

I want you

to recognize

this morning

listen to me

carefully

so you don't

miss this

everybody

lives

forever

everybody

lives

forever

do you

understand

that

everybody

lives

forever

and so

the real

blessing

is not

that we

receive

eternal

life

the real

blessing

is what

kind of

eternal

life

we

receive

death

would not

be frightening

if those

who died

apart from

Christ

were

annihilated

and

disappeared

into

nothing

the Bible

gives us a

clear indication

that those

who die

apart from

Christ

suffer for

all of

eternity

they have

eternity

they have

eternal

life

and it

is something

that should

give us

pause

when we

stop and

think about

those that

we love

that do

not know

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

our prayers

should be

incessantly

begging for

their redemption

and their

salvation

because apart

from Christ

they will

live forever

and it will

be a heartache

of unbelievable

imagination

so here we

look at the

passage

and we

understand that

Jesus is making

a statement

and this is

eternal life

that they may

know you

the only true

God and

Jesus Christ

that you have

sent

so how is it

that I end up

knowing God

oh brains

yeah

really

really brains

it's just all

about me being

so smart

that I figured

it out

do you follow

that

turn back

in your

Bible

just for a

moment

not turn

back

turn forward

in your

Bible

to 1

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 1

just take

a second

here is

Paul

explaining

the issue

of salvation

and how

it is

that we

have come

to appreciate

the Lord

Jesus Christ

as our

Savior

where is

the one

who is

wise

verse 20

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:20

1 verse 20

where is

the one

who is

wise

where is

the scribe

where is

the debater

of this

age

has not

God

made

foolish

the wisdom

of this

world

did you

figure it

out on

your own

in fact

if you

look around

you recognize

that God

chose

as it

says

there in

verse 28

what is

low and

despised

in the

world

even things

that are

not

to bring

to nothing

things

that are

and verse

29

so that

no human

being may

boast in

the presence

of God

and because

of him

you are

in Christ

Jesus

who became

to us

wisdom

from God

righteousness

and sanctification

and redemption

why

as it is

written

let

know

the one

who boasts

boast in

the Lord

so I want

you to

understand

going back

to John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

we mark

what it says

there in

verse 3

the blessing

that we

have

of our

eternal life

is that

our eternal

life is

marked by

knowing

God

knowing

God

there's one

other piece

that I want you

to recognize

in this passage

and we pick up

on it there

in verse 4

and 5

I have

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

did Jesus

want to come

here to this

earth

yes he did

because of us

because of the

plan of redemption

but here he was

just moments

away from the

cross

and as he was

thinking about

this large

plan of

salvation

and redemption

he was thinking

and when I

finish this

I get to

go home

that's pretty

neat

one of the

things that

has happened

to me on

various occasions

is I'll be

away for a

couple days

from Judith

and from

home and

there's something

about my car

when I turn

towards home

do you know

what it's like

there's one

unrelenting

interest in

my life

it's get

back home

Doug's a

truck driver

the journey

out is not

half as much

fun as the

journey back

am I right

it's man

I am coming

home

and here is

Jesus

looking forward

to the divine

reunion

he's looking

ahead

to being with

his father

again

in his

presence

and having

that absolute

unfettered

communion

in the presence

of the father

he says

I've done

my work

I finished

the job

you sent

me to do

I'm coming

back

and I want

to be glorified

in your presence

with the glory

that I had

with you

before the world

existed

I gotta stop

and ask you

this question

how often

do you think

about the

pleasure and

satisfaction

that you

will have

as a believer

in the presence

of Christ

for all

eternity

does it

occupy

any of

your thinking

does it

let me give

you a couple

passages

to kind of

hold on to

here as we

think this

through

for one

in Psalm

Psalms 17:15

17

verse 15

it says

for me

as for me

I shall

behold

your face

in righteousness

when I

awake

I shall

be

are you

ready

I shall

be satisfied

with your

likeness

hey

Tim

Kenoyer

understands

what it

is to

be a

moody

person

without the

enabling

of the

Holy Spirit

let me

read

Psalm

17

15

again

and listen

to me

carefully

there is

no remedy

for the

soul

apart

from the

sweetness

of the

word

of God

with the

enabling

of the

Holy

Spirit

will you

get that

settled

Psalm

Psalms 17:15

17

verse 15

as for

me

I

shall

behold

your

face

in

righteousness

when I

awake

and I

shall be

satisfied

with your

likeness

turn in

your Bibles

to 1st

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

1st

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and just

follow

as you

read the

text

and follow

along

see

what

kind

of

love

the

father

has

given

to

us

that

we

should

be

called

the

children

of

God

and we

are

the

reason

why

the

world

does

not

know

us

is

that

it

did

not

know

him

beloved

we

are

the

children

of

God

now

and

what

we

will

be

has

not

yet

appeared

but

we

know

that

when

he

appears

we

shall

be like

him

because

we

shall

see

him

as

he

is

and

everyone

who

thus

hopes

in

him

purifies

himself

because

he

is

pure

it

doesn't

yet

appear

where

we're

going

to be

or

who

we're

going

to

be

like

or

how

it's

going

to

all

work

out

but

I

got

to

tell

you

this

it

tells

us

here

that

we

are

going

to

be

like

Jesus

will

that

satisfy

us

will

that

satisfy

us

will

that

satisfy

us

absolutely

and

here's

what

it

says

he

that

has

this

hope

in

him

purifies

himself

even

as

he

is

pure

thinking

about

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

how

the

story

ends

makes

a

world

of

difference

in

the

way

you

think

thinking

about

the

Lord

Jesus

and

the

way

the

story

ends

makes

a

world

of

difference

in

the

way

you

think

here's

Jesus

the

cross

right in

front

of him

and

instead

of

just

he

says

all

right

Lord

father

this

is

the

hour

make

me

look

good

so

I

can

make

you

look

good

thank

you

for

giving

me

the

blessing

of

bringing

salvation

according

to the

plan

that

you

and

I

and

the

Holy

Spirit

put

together

and

Lord

father

I

am

looking

forward

to

coming

back

home

let's

pray

our

father

God

this

morning

we

are

in

awe

when

we

think

about

Jesus

in

the

face

of

the

cross

being

so

caught

up

by

the

glory

of

what

you

had

sent

him

to

do

that

at

this

time

and

in

this

moment

that

we're

pondering