The High Priestly Prayer - Part 1

All right, so before I go into reading it, just to kind of let you guys know this is Jesus' prayer.

And he starts off by praying for himself, and then he transitions on praying for his disciples, and then he prays for those who will believe.

And I'm going to take a pause when he's switching themes on who he's praying for, just so you guys can see that shift.

All right, so I want you all to hear the Lord, like Jesus Christ, trust in the Father's sovereignty in this passage.

So John 17, starting in verse 1.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted 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 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 to me to do.

And now 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.

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.

Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them,

and I have come to know in truth that I come from you.

And they have believed that you sent me.

I am praying for them.

I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me.

For they are yours.

All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me,

that they may be one, even as we are one.

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me.

I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the Son of Destruction,

that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world,

that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them,

because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,

that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

The glory that you have given me, I have given to them,

that they may be one even as we are one,

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one,

so that the world may know that you sent me and I,

and loved them even as you loved me.

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me,

may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me,

because you loved me before the foundations of the world.

O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you,

I know you, and these know that you have sent me,

I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known,

and the love with which you have loved me may be in them,

and I in them.

Amen.

So we're going to get through all that today.

Really just the first five verses.

We're going to start a series on John 17.

It's one of those passages that have just mesmerized me over the years,

and it's kind of just tucked inside the Gospel of John,

and it's really just always stirred my heart when I read it,

and really just elevated my mind toward the eternal realm.

You know, I've been feeling this week,

even as I've been studying,

for some reason,

just have felt very alone,

and very isolated.

And even though I've had people around me,

I've had my wife around me,

I've had friends around me,

I've even had a warm, furry,

little chocolate lab puppy named Doc

that was studying with me most all week,

but even he didn't really do the job.

He doesn't even talk back to you.

He just sits there and looks at you.

But I have felt just really alone,

and I just want you to look,

in chapter 16,

just before this,

and this was something that was just

brought to my attention last night.

But look at verse 31 of chapter 16.

He says,

Do you now believe?

Behold, the hour is coming.

Indeed, it has come

when you will be scattered,

each one to his own home,

and will leave me alone.

Yet I am not alone,

for the Father is with me.

And I got a little emotional last night

as I thought about this,

but not to the same intensity

or degree at all,

but I feel like God's allowed me

just to feel a little bit,

a tiny fraction of how

Christ must have felt in this hour,

to feel really alone.

But then he's like,

All of you are going to desert me.

Can you imagine just all

your closest companions

just leaving you

after they swore

they wouldn't leave you

and been just sitting

in the dark by yourself?

He says,

I'm not alone though.

The Father is with me.

And so I've tried

to keep that in my mind.

As I was saying earlier,

John 17 has been really revered

and treasured by many,

many, many people

throughout the history

of our family,

the history of the church.

And one old Puritan said this

about this prayer.

He says,

If it be lawful

to prefer one Scripture

above another,

we may say

that though all be gold,

this is a pearl in the gold.

And though all be like the heavens,

this is as the sun and stars.

And I believe that's true.

I think that many people

have found that to be true

as they've studied this passage.

On my various pilgrimages

to Scotland,

I've had the opportunity

to visit the home

of John Knox in Edinburgh

there on the Royal Mile twice.

Knox was the reformer

who brought the teachings

of the Reformation

back to Scotland.

God used him

in a mighty way

to preach the gospel.

But I've been to his house there

on the Royal Mile,

the house he actually,

I believe,

passed away in.

And while he was

in that house,

he had his wife,

mainly his wife,

but also other people,

read to him various passages

of Scripture

while he was laying

on his deathbed.

So the Psalms,

different Psalms,

Isaiah 53.

But then,

this is what he said,

But most of all,

please read John 17,

because that is the place

where I must first

cast my anchor.

And so,

God used John 17,

I think it was even

being read out loud

when he crossed over

into the next life,

to go and be with the Father.

And it's such an overwhelming,

immense passage.

And I really just want

to give you,

you can spend a whole message

on just an introduction

to this chapter,

so that you can really

get your teeth into it.

But I'll give you a little,

try to give you

a little introduction.

So,

this passage has ministered

so much to me

over the years,

and I really pray

that it does for you

as we look at it

over the next few weeks.

But,

in all truth,

this is the real,

the true Lord's Prayer.

You may say,

well,

what about,

you know,

the Lord's Prayer

in Luke 7

and in Matthew

where,

you know,

Father,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

etc.

Like,

isn't that

the Lord's Prayer?

Well,

first off,

the disciples

are asking Jesus

to teach them

how to pray.

So,

He's like,

how should we pray?

So,

that's how that starts.

But then,

secondly,

there's a petition

in that prayer

that Jesus

could not pray

and would not pray.

Does anybody

take a guess

at what it is?

Forgive us

our sins.

Right?

Jesus could never

pray that prayer.

He was the sinless

Lamb of God.

Peter wrote of Jesus,

He committed no sin,

neither was any deceit

found in His mouth.

So,

it's more accurately

called the disciples'

prayer in many ways

because it's a pattern

for us to follow

and for us to think of

as we pray.

And Jesus taught them

to pray in that way.

But this before us,

John 17,

is the real

Lord's prayer.

Though we know

Jesus

was constantly

in prayer

and devoted

His life

to prayer,

very little

if we don't know

much of the content

of Jesus' prayer.

What did He pray?

And here we have

a whole chapter

of what He actually

spoke to the Father.

So,

very little

is recorded

about the content,

but here we have

all of this.

And here we are

ushered into

the very throne room

of God

by Jesus,

our great

high priest.

And we are

permitted to

eavesdrop

on this beautiful,

intimate,

secret communion

with the Son

and the Father.

And the veil

is drawn back

and we are admitted

into the Holy of Holies.

it's almost,

if you remember

those of you

who have been

doing our Bible

reading plan,

if you read

some of Exodus

where Joshua

would sit

near the tent

of meeting

just watching

Moses engage

with God

and was just

mesmerized

by that interaction.

That's sort of

the privilege

in a greater sense

that we have here

to sit and listen

to this exchange

between

the Son

and the Father.

And here

we are admitted

to the secret place

of the Most High

is open

for us

to listen.

So,

a very

amazing,

amazing text

before us.

So I pray

that we would

listen to it

and go through it

with humble hearts

that we would,

our hearts

would be stirred

in reverence

towards God.

But,

again,

to get our

hands around

this fully,

we have to

look at the

setting

of where this

is a little bit.

But,

I promise

it won't

be the whole

message,

but let me

just think,

just hold your

hand there,

look at John 13.

Just go back

a little bit.

John 13

is what

has been called

Jesus'

farewell

discourse,

or even

the discourse

of the upper

room.

It's John 13

through 16.

And it's

basically

this long

discourse

on Jesus

basically preparing

to leave the

world and to

encourage his

disciples.

But if you

look at

13,

verse 1,

it says,

Now before

the feast

of the Passover,

when Jesus

knew that

his hour

had come

to depart

out of this

world to the

Father,

having loved

his own

who were in

the world,

and he

loved them

to the

end.

So this

is near

the feast

of the

Passover.

He knows

that the

time he's

been on

earth is

coming to

a close.

And I

love the

fact that

it says

that he

loved all

who were

given to

him,

even to

the very

end.

And the

disciples

are anxious,

they are

afraid,

worried,

confused,

listening to

him,

saying like

I'm about

to leave

you and

go back

to the

Father.

If any

of you

have had

a hero

or a

leader or

mentor in

your life

that's

really invested

into you

and was

getting ready

to go

and die

to be

with the

Father,

and you

would feel

so alone,

this is

how they

felt.

In John

13,

they shared

the Last

Supper,

and Jesus

humbly

washed

their feet

and gave

them the

commandment

to love

one another

as he

had loved

them.

He even

tells Peter,

you will

deny me.

In chapter

13,

you will

deny me

three times.

It's a

heartbreaking

moment for

Peter.

Then in

chapter 14,

the discourse

continues.

Jesus tells

them,

I am the

way,

the truth,

and the

life.

No one

comes to

the Father

except

through me.

And he

speaks of

the promised

Holy Spirit.

He's saying,

I'm not

going to

leave you

alone.

The

helper,

the

comforter,

the

teacher,

he's

going to

come and

teach you

all things

and remind

you of

all that

I have

said.

So a

very amazing

passage in

14 on

the Holy

Spirit.

And then at

the very end

of the chapter,

close to it,

verse 31,

he says to

them in the

upper room,

rise and

let us go

from here.

So they

leave the

upper room,

begin that

long walk

to

Gethsemane.

And in

chapter 15,

Jesus continues

to share

with his

disciples as

they walk

through the

small,

closed-end

streets of

Jerusalem.

And we

know that he

would have

walked because

of where he

was going.

He would have

walked right by

the outer

core of the

temple.

He would have

gazed up at

the temple

on that

night.

And no

doubt a

stirring

emotional

sight to

think that

all of the

lambs,

other things

that have

been offered

there,

I'm about

to bring

all of that

to a

close.

I am

the final

lamb of

God,

the sacrificial

lamb.

And he

tells the

disciples that

since the

world has

hated him,

they also

will hate

his disciples.

They will

persecute

them.

And finally

in 16,

so you can

imagine just

the intensity

of all the

stuff they've

been hearing,

they're quite

frankly panicking

in some

measures.

But one of

our favorite

verses,

some of you

are troubled

today,

some of you

are really

having a

rough time.

And I

feel like a

whole book

could be

written on

this one

verse.

But look

at just the

end of

chapter 16,

the last

verse,

before we

get into

the prayer.

Jesus

closes this

discourse by

saying,

I have said

these things

to you,

that in

me you

may have

peace.

In this

world you

will have

tribulation.

Take courage,

I have

overcome the

world.

So that's

his final

words to

them.

That's how

he wraps

up this

whole

discourse.

So that's

how he

ends up the

time of the

twelve,

and he's

like,

yes,

I'm going

to die.

Yes,

on my

account you

will suffer

and you

will be

persecuted,

but I

promise you

I've

overcome

this world.

So hold

fast to

me,

because I

will triumph

in the end,

and you

will triumph

in me.

This is what

he's told

them.

So we

look at

chapter 18,

you look at

verse 1,

and it

says that

Jesus

kind of

pauses

right before

he goes

over

Kidron

Brook

that led

to the

Garden of

Gethsemane.

He stops

right there

and he

prays.

He lifts

his eyes

to heaven

and he

prays.

And think

about the

tone of

Jesus'

prayer.

The fact

that even

just in a

few minutes

he'll be in

the garden

praying alone

and sweating

great drops

of blood

was such

a huge

cosmic

burden

laid on

him at

that time.

The thought

of the

cross

and bearing

the wrath

of his

father

all on

his

shoulders.

Yet,

okay,

yet all

that is

there.

The tone

of Jesus'

prayer is

one of

confidence

and quiet

trust in

his sovereign

father.

Deeply

intimate,

deeply

reverent,

deeply

humble

and bold.

So,

right before

he's about

to be

betrayed,

arrested,

beaten,

crushed,

crucified,

Jesus

prays.

And as

Caleb told

you,

sort of

an outline

for this

prayer is

one through

five,

Jesus prays

for himself.

The key

in this

is the

father's

glory.

And in

six through

nineteen,

he prays

for his

disciples.

And the

key for

that passage

is preservation.

And then,

this will be

an emotional

week for

me,

but Jesus

actually

prayed for

you and

for me.

And the

key to

that is

oneness,

our unity.

He prays

for that.

So,

we're going

to go over

a few

points here.

We're going

to go over

four facets

of God's

saving

purpose.

Four facets

of God's

saving

purpose.

Each that

is centered

on the

cross of

Christ and

his redemptive

work on

the cross.

Alright?

So,

number one.

Well,

let me just

read that.

Let's go back

and just read

one through

five again

really quick.

when Jesus

has spoken

these words,

he lifted

his eyes

to heaven,

a sign

of reverence,

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

know you,

the only

true God,

and Jesus

Christ,

whom you

have sent.

I glorified

you on

the 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.

So,

here we

go.

Facets of

God's

saving

purpose,

each centered

on the

cross of

Christ.

Number

one,

the

reverence

Christ

deserves.

The

reverence

Christ

deserves.

You see

this in

verses

one and

verse

five.

So,

the main

burden on

the heart

of Jesus

in this

prayer is

glory.

The

Father's

glory,

and in

turn,

his own

rightful

glory.

We could

spend forever

unpacking what

the glory of

God means,

but I just

want to say

this morning,

simply put,

God's glory

is the sum

total of

all he is

and all

he has

done.

His

attributes,

his

character,

his manifold

perfections,

his excellencies,

his works,

his accomplishments

in creation,

redemption,

how great

he truly

is,

how awesome

he is,

all summed

up into

one word,

glory.

Glory in

the Bible

is an attempt

to put into

words what

cannot be

contained in

words.

That's the

immensity of

just the

word itself.

So,

as fallen

human beings,

you and

I,

we struggle

with the

idea of

someone

asking for

glory.

So,

if I came

in here

and I

said,

worship me,

glorify me,

I am

awesome,

hopefully I

would be

kicked out

of here.

But why?

Why would

it be wrong

for me

to ask

that?

Or for

you to

ask that?

The answer

is,

every one

of us

in here,

myself,

you,

we have

countless

imperfections,

failures,

and sins.

We are

broken people.

We are

not worthy

of that

kind of

attention,

that kind

of glory.

That's why

we struggle

with that.

I like

you,

but not

that much.

You're not

worthy of

that amount

of glory.

However,

we mistake

God seriously

when we

put him

in that

category.

He's the

only being

in existence,

period,

that is

completely

flawless,

infinitely

perfect.

He alone

is worthy

of all

our worship,

all our

praise,

all our

love.

So I had

to get a

quote in

from Jonathan

Edwards,

my homeboy.

God,

in one

of his

books,

he wrote

this,

and talking

about why

we should

glorify

someone and

why we

should not.

Our

obligation

to love,

honor,

and obey

any being

is in

proportion

to his

loveliness,

honorableness,

!

and authority.

God is a

being of

infinite

loveliness

because he

is infinitely

excellent and

beautiful.

honorable.

He is a

being of

infinite

greatness,

majesty,

and glory,

and therefore

he is

infinitely

honorable.

So in

short,

what he's

saying is

that it

is right

for us

to give

glory to

someone in

proportion to

that person's

excellence.

So our

excellence ends

at some

point,

but God

does not.

He has

infinite

excellence

and therefore

worthy of

infinite glory.

glory.

Get your

head around

that.

So he

prays for

the Father's

glory and

uses the

term glorify

three times

in these

two verses.

Simply put,

again,

no big

analogies,

no much

time to

spend on

this,

but to

glorify

really just

means to

expose,

unveil,

put on

display one's

glory that

was formerly

kind of

hidden,

if you

would,

to put it

on display.

So Jesus

is simply

saying,

Father,

at this

time,

reveal,

unveil,

put on

display the

greatness of

all you

are through

this cruel

death I'm

about to

endure.

And also,

Father,

at this

same time,

expose and

reveal who I

truly am as

your Son.

If you

remember,

Christ's glory

has been

hidden.

Much of who

he is has

been hidden

throughout most

of his life.

We had

glimpses of

that from

time to

time,

but most

of you will

recall the

phrase that's

repeated a lot

throughout the

Gospels.

What is it?

My time has

not yet

come.

The hour

has not

yet come.

It's not

time for my

true identity

and my true

mission to

be revealed

yet.

Right?

But,

remember,

Christ's glory

was hidden,

but now is

it about to

be made

known.

So,

how would

this happen?

The Father

on the cross

would display

both his

perfect justice,

his perfect

righteousness,

and at the

same time

reveal love

and mercy

and grace

to sinners.

At the same

time,

he would be

both the

just and

the justifier

of the one

who has

faith in

Christ.

So,

we saw

glimpses of

Christ's glory

even at the

transfiguration,

salvation,

but the

cross,

the time

had now

come for

Jesus to

face it,

and the

cross was

the climax

of the

Son's desire

to glorify

the Father.

and it

would result

in the

Father

glorifying and

honoring the

Son.

Only a few

places to

turn,

but look at

Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Hold your

hand in

John 17.

And I want

you to see

in Philippians

Philippians 2:6–11

2,

verse 6

through 11,

that Christ

had our

desire,

though He

was equal

with the

Father,

had our

desire to

glorify His

Father through

His work here

on the

earth.

But then,

the Father

would turn

around and

honor the

Son for

that work.

Look at

verse 6.

He's talking

about Jesus,

who,

though He

was in

the form

of God,

did not

count equality

with God

a thing

to be grasped,

but emptied

Himself by

taking on

the form

of a

servant,

and being

born in

the likeness

of man,

and being

found in

human form.

He humbled

Himself by

becoming obedient

to the point

of death,

even death

on a cross.

Therefore,

God has

highly exalted

Him,

and bestowed

on Him

the name

that is

above

every name.

So at

the name

of Jesus,

every knee

should bow,

in heaven

and on earth

and under

the earth,

and every

tongue confess

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord,

to the glory

of God

the Father.

Do you see

that?

This was

Christ's

humility.

He came,

though He

existed in

the form of

God,

He stepped

down from

the high

place and

came and

walked among

us in

human flesh,

took on

the form

of a

servant,

doulos,

bond

servant,

or bond

slave.

He walked

among us

and He

humbled

Himself,

He was

obedient every

minute,

every second

to the

Father here

on earth,

and that

climaxed,

right,

even to

death on

a cross.

And so

because of

that,

right,

the Father

then glorified

the Son,

gave Him

that name

above every

name.

Then eventually,

right,

every tongue

will confess

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord.

So,

amazing

passage,

amazing

passage,

that the

giver of

life gave

Himself

to die,

and that

the one

who honors

the Father

will in

turn be

honored.

So,

Jesus is

asking for

that.

But go

back to

John 17.

This is

probably one

of the

verses in

this little

small text

that I've

been particularly

caught by.

Look at

verse 5.

Jesus takes

this idea

for glory

even further

by asking,

Father,

glorify me

in Your

own presence

with the

glory that

I had with

You before

the world

existed.

Jesus is

not being

selfish here.

It's not

selfish to

ask for

what rightfully

belongs to

You.

Jesus is

praying for

that intrinsic

glory that

belongs to

Him by

virtue of

being the

Son of

God.

Do you

see that?

Do you

see what

He's asking?

Jesus

existed

eternally

with the

Father before

you and I

ever existed,

before the

world was

created.

Ponder that.

He existed

in sweet,

joyful

oneness and

communion with

the Godhead.

So that

means that He

didn't create

us because He

was lonely

and because He

needed us.

He was

perfectly

satisfied in

all His

glory before

the world

existed.

He did not

need to

create anything.

So why

did He?

St.

Augustine

wrote this,

talking to

God in

a prayer.

He said,

God,

what would

have been

lacking in

your good,

which you

yourself are,

even if these

things of

creation had

remained

unformed?

You didn't

create them

out of any

lack,

but out of

an abundance

of your

goodness.

You ordered

them and

turned them

toward form,

but not

because your

joy had to

be perfected

by them.

So out of

abundance of

His goodness

God created,

not because

of a need.

So Jesus is

saying He

existed eternally

with the

Father and

all the

splendor and

majesty that

existed.

And He's

saying,

Father,

take me

back to

that.

What I

left behind

to come

here,

bring me

back to

that place.

restore to

me that

glory I

shared in

your own

presence.

Glory to

God.

Secondly,

saving

purposes of

God on

the cross.

This is all

about Jesus.

The second

point,

the right

Christ

possesses.

The right

that Christ

possesses.

Look at

verse 2.

Since you

have given

Him authority

over all

flesh to

give eternal

life to all

whom you have

given Him.

Jesus is the

rightful King

over two

things,

over all

mankind,

over everyone

to ever have

lived.

And then it

says to

grant salvation,

to grant

eternal life

to all the

Father has

given Him.

And both

areas of

authority are

given to

the Son

by the

Father.

They're

granted to

the Son

by the

Father.

Father.

And this

is this

idea that

Jesus lived

a holy,

submissive,

obedient life,

and that

reward,

really,

if you want

to call it

that,

was that

He would

be given

authority

over all

people.

So,

God

granting

authority

to the

Son

marks the

dawn of a

new era

in redemptive

history

that was

prophesied

about by

Isaiah,

by Daniel,

700 years

prior to

this even.

Daniel

prophesied

in chapter

7,

verse 13,

I saw

in the

night visions

and behold

with the

clouds of

heaven there

came one

like the

Son of

Man.

And He

came to

the Ancient

of Days

and was

presented

before Him.

And to

Him was

given

glory,

dominion,

and a

kingdom,

that all

peoples,

nations,

and languages

should serve

Him,

His

dominion

is an

everlasting

dominion

which shall

not pass

away,

and His

kingdom

one that

shall not

be destroyed.

Christ is

that King.

He is

that King.

He was

the one

that God

granted

that authority

to.

If we

remember

toward the

very end

of the

Gospel of

Matthew,

Jesus said

to them,

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been

given to

me.

authority.

So,

He's been

granted

this

authority

as the

rightful

king

because of

His

obedience

to the

Father.

So,

first,

let's break

this up

over two

areas.

It says

that Jesus

has been

granted

authority.

first,

over all

creation,

over all

things,

visible and

invisible,

all mankind.

Throughout

His earthly

ministry,

Jesus

demonstrated

that authority

on multiple

occasions

through His

teaching,

through His

healings,

exorcisms,

miracles.

Divine

Divine

authority

seemed to be

coming from

Jesus,

and people

recognized

this.

Yet,

perhaps the

most shocking

to the audience

was the fact

that He

claimed He

could forgive

sins,

and claimed

that He

was God,

and that He

would judge

the world,

right?

And so,

even in our

context today

in John 17,

what's amazing

is not for one

second did

Jesus relinquish

that power.

Here's what I

mean by that.

He humbly

submitted to

His captors

and allowed

Himself to be

dragged off

to death

when He