The Great Pastoral Prayer | John 17

Jesus prays to be glorified. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and

prayed, Father the hour has come, glorify your son that your son may glorify you.

For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal

life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life that they know

you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have brought you

glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do and now Father glorify me

in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have

revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you

gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything

you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they

accepted them. They know with certainty that I came from you and they believed

that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those

you have given me for they are yours. All I have is yours and all you have is mine

and glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer but

they are still in the world and I am coming to you. Holy Father protect them

by the power of your name, the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are

one. While I was with them I protected them and kept them safe by that name

you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that

scripture would be fulfilled. I am coming to you now but I say these things while

I'm still in the world so that they may have the full measure of my joy within

them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of

the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take

them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are

not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is

truth. As you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world. For them I

sanctify myself that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for

them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message

that all of them may be one Father just as you are in me and I am in you. May

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

given them glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. I in them

and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity then the world

will know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. 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. Righteous Father though the world does not know you I know you and they

know you and sorry and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known

to them and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have

for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Good morning everyone my name is Roy I work as a ministry intern at Vic Park

Presbyterian Church which is a pretty cool job. I get to do all the fun stuff

involved in ministry preaching the Bible leading Bible studies doing outreach

mission stuff reading nerdy books but I don't have the title pastor so that

gives me a bit of plausible deniability which I love but I it's it's honestly

it's a privilege to to work there and it's a privilege to be here this morning

I've been here once or twice before so I know a few of you I know Mikey from

Trinity Theological College where we spent a couple of semesters together

and it's great to be here so it'd be good if you have your Bible open

because I will be referring to the text quite a lot if you don't have a Bible on

you that's cool you'll manage or you can just pull your phone out Google John 17

and it'll come up straight away. So we're looking at just the final few verses of

John chapter 17 today which is commonly known as the high priestly prayer of

John 17 · chapter mention

Jesus and this prayer it's the climax of the teaching which Jesus gives to his

disciples in the upper room on the final night before his crucifixion. This final

night together it actually began all the way back in chapter 13 verse 1 where John

says of Jesus having loved his own who were in the world he loved them to the

end. In chapter 14 Jesus promises God's love to those who are obedient in

chapter 15 there is the promise of much fruitfulness for those who abide in the

love of the true vine and then in chapter 16 the reassurance that the father

himself loves the disciples because they have loved Jesus and believed in him. But

interspersed with all this love on the final night is the constant worrying

refrain I am going away. On this final night more than ten times Jesus gives

his disciples the unwelcome news of his departure. So chapter 13 verse 33 where I

am going you cannot come. Chapter 14 verse 28 I am going away. Chapter 16 verse

28 I am leaving the world and going back to the father and within chapter 17

itself verse 11 I will remain in the world no longer. So this is the immediate

context. Jesus has given his final love gift to his disciples five long chapters

of intimate and personal teaching as he prepares them for his departure and so we

come to chapter 17 which we should see as the capstone of Jesus's teaching on

that final night. Jesus final prayer to the father before he goes to the cross

rises from the dead and ascends to heaven. And the final two verses of

chapter 17 we get a wonderful summary statement of the ministry of Jesus and

in particular his teaching of the past five chapters. So if you have a look at

verses from verse 25. Righteous father though the world does not know you I

know you and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them

and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may

be in them and that I myself may be in them. There it is. Jesus' statement of

mission accomplished. The word become flesh has made God known. He has made

God's love known and he pledges to continue to make God's love known in and

through his people after he goes away. Now very little of the New Testament is

written directly to us. We normally have to do some level of interpretation to

understand how the words of Scripture carry over and apply to us today. But

this final section of chapter 17 is written directly about us. Verse 20. My

prayer is not for the disciples alone I pray also for those who will believe in

me through their message. So that's us here today. That's the church Catholic.

The universal church. That's every Christian everywhere since the time of

the Apostles. And Jesus goes on in verses 21 to 23 to kind of chain a bunch of

purpose clauses together explaining why he prays for us. He prays verse 21 so

that all of us would be one. He prays middle of verse 22 so that we may be one

as the Father and the Son are one. And he prays middle of verse 23 so that we may

be brought to complete unity. The prevailing theme here is oneness. Unity.

Look at verse 21. Jesus prays for us so that we may all be one just as just like

the Father and the Son are one. The Father in the Son and the Son in the

Father. Jesus is praying here that all believers would be united together so

closely that our unity would reflect the oneness of the triune God in heaven.

Jesus is praying that even though he is going away there would continue to be a

physical representation, an incarnation if you like, of God here on earth. The

church is to reflect, to image the triune God himself. A multiplicity of persons

united together as one bride, one church. Just as the Trinity is a multiplicity of

persons united together as one God. So Jesus prays for our unity. That's clear

enough. But perhaps what is surprising is the how and the why. How does Jesus

bring unity and to what ends does he bring unity? Because here in these verses

what leads to unity is union. Union with the Father and with the Son. Look at how

verse 21 continues. May they also be in us. So Jesus is not just praying that our

unity would be like the unity in God. It's not just that the church on earth

would reflect the triune God in heaven but that the church would have union

with God. That we would be joined to God, bound up into the life of God. The means

by which the church is united together on earth is by being bound in union to

God in heaven. Now we got a glimpse of this before in Psalm 133. So I'll read it

again. Psalm 133. How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in

unity. It is like precious oil poured on their head running down on the beard.

Running down on Aaron's beard. Down on

Aaron's beard. Down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the Jew of

Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his

blessing even life forevermore. So Psalm 133 it uses imagery of oil poured from

above of Jew falling on Mount Zion which suggests something good coming down

from heaven. More than that the imagery of anointing with oil and water from

above are both symbols of the Holy Spirit. Just as in Psalm 133 unity comes

as a gift from God above by the work of his Spirit so too in John 17 unity in

the church comes only through God pouring it out from heaven. The only way

the church can expect to reflect God in unity is by being joined in to him in

union by the power of the Holy Spirit. So unity in the church comes through union

with God. That's the how but what's the why. For what reason does Jesus pray for

our unity? We'll look at the end of verse 21 again. May they also be in us so that

there's the purpose statement so that the world may believe that you have sent

me. It's a missional purpose. Jesus is praying for the church on earth to be

united as one reflecting the unity of God in heaven so that the world would

believe in Jesus. Jesus purpose is a revelatory purpose. He is seeking to

ensure that after he goes away the church would be a mighty testimony in

the world to him. That there would continue to be in a sense an incarnation

of God in the world to testify to the love of God for the world. Just like

Jesus came into the world as a tangible revelation of God revealing his glory so

now the church will shine forth as a tangible revelation of Jesus and the

Father who sent him. The purpose of the church reflecting God in the world is to

reveal Jesus to the world and so now Jesus has gone to heaven. The world

looks to the church to see Jesus. It's a bit like how a wife can be said to

represent her husband. If you see Tina on some level you are seeing her husband

Gary. What you say to Tina makes its way back to Gary because Gary and Tina are

bound together as one. How you treat Tina is how you treat Gary and so too the

church, the bride of Christ represents Christ and we get basically the same

logic in verses 22 to 23. So have a look at your Bible's verse 22. I have given

them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one. So there

it is again an analogous connection between the unity of the church and the

unity of God. We are one as God is one. Verse 23, I in them and you in me and

that's union again right? The church in the son and the son in the father.

Continuing on so that so that they may be brought to complete unity. In verses

22 to 23 Jesus makes the same point as he made in verse 21. The church will be

united just like God is united by being joined in union to Christ and then the

result the middle of verse 23. Then the world will know that you sent me. The

unity of the church, a unity which is so deep it mirrors the oneness of the

essence of the Trinity. A unity which is only possible because it is poured out

from heaven binding the church in union with God. This unity will be a revelation

on earth of the Father and of the Son. After Jesus goes away to heaven the

church will be a powerful tangible revelation of God here on earth. That's

the glory he says he's given us in verse 22. It is the glory which reveals God to

the world. It is the glory of the church united together bound in union with God

reflecting God, imaging God as a kind of incarnation of God in the world even as

the incarnation himself. Jesus Christ is about to return to be with his Father in

heaven. Okay so the logic of verses 22 to 23 it's pretty much the same as that of

verse 21 but in verse 23 there is one extra element introduced. So have a look

at the end of verse 23 and see if you can pick it.

Then the world will know that you sent me and here's the extra element and have

loved them even as you have loved me. So the church reflecting the unity of God

on earth will reveal God to the world but it will also reveal that the Father

loves the church with the very same love that he loves the Son. But what is this

love between the Father and the Son? Look at the end of verse 24. It is the love

between them since before the creation of the world. The extra element here is

the revelation to the world that the love of the Father for the church is of

the same substance as the love of the Father for the Son. By being joined in

union to the Son by the Spirit the church is loved by God with the very

same love which existed between the Father and the Son before the world

began. Now I have thought long and hard about a way to illustrate this and I

failed. This truth utterly transcends worldly comparisons. The fact is what

this passage teaches us is that the love that existed in the triune God in

eternity past, the infinite lavish abundant love of God, the love which is

so copious that it burst forth out of the infinite God inspiring him to create

the entire cosmos out of his pure joy and good pleasure and full to the

brimness. This is the very same love which has been set upon us. It has been

set upon us in the church who, verse 24, the Father has given the Son and who the

Son desires to be with him where he is as his chosen people, his special

possession, his spotless beloved bride. And this is a brain-breaking truth. If

you can get a hold of this truth it will turn your world upside down but you can

only get hold of it by faith and even then just a little piece at a time.

Because our experience of life in this world is just so far removed from the

truth of God's cosmic love for us, isn't it? Many of us experience constant

relentless hurt and worry and insecurity. We might be pretty functional. We might

be holding it together. We might even at times feel blessed but the fact remains

that for most of us our lives are characterized by constant trouble,

uncertainty and pain. So I mentioned before that I work as an intern at Vic

Park Presbyterian and recently my boss, the pastor, he encouraged me to

systematically pray through all the members of our church on a regular basis.

And in doing so I have been struck by the number of our people who I know are

afflicted in some way, who are sick or depressed or who have a difficult family

life or other overwhelming long-standing painful problems. And I am sure that

this church is no different from mine. And I find myself wondering about God's

love for us. I find myself doubting. How can it be true that He loves us when He

has us bear such misery and affliction, such seemingly pointless pain, the pain

of sick children, of women with cancer, of men who struggle to see a reason to go

on living. The pain of hope dashed against the rock of reality, of grief and of fear

and of constant grating, unrelenting woe which returns to us day after day, month

after month, year after year. How can there be a good loving God in charge of

our sad and broken lives? If He loves us why won't He help us? And I can't answer

that question for you today. I can't pretend to understand the mind of God. I

can't see how He's going to make all this worth it but we have His promises

that He will and here we have the words of Jesus which reveal to us the depths

of His great love for us. Jesus says that His love is set upon us immovably,

immutably. The love which binds the triune God together in His very being is

the self-same love which is set upon us in the church. Jesus loves us so deeply

that He wants us to be with Him where He is. Jesus' heart desire is to be joined

to us. His desire is for there to be no barrier between Him and His bride. Again

this truth transcends worldly comparisons but I'm going to give you an

illustration here which is probably too personal but it works I think. This is

your award for staying awake up to this point. It's a little bit like a number of

years ago I met a girl who I became interested in. Eventually I asked her out

and we started dating. Things were going really well and I started to like her

more and more to the point that she became the only girl that I ever

seriously considered I might like to marry one day. As I got to know her

better I became more and more aware of her imperfections and her shortcomings

but those things they didn't matter to me. They were far outweighed by my growing

affection towards her and I can recall thinking to myself at the time if I

could I would move in and live inside of this girl's head. I don't want any

barrier between us. I want to take up residence there and never move out. Now

there's no ring on my finger so obviously she didn't feel the same and

there was no happy ending but that desire I felt to be close to her to be

bound in union to her is some small flickering shadow of the desire Jesus

proclaims here that he has towards his church. Verse 24, father I want those you

have given me to be with me where I am and see my glory. End of verse 26, I will

continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them

and that I myself may be in them. Here we see the heart of Jesus for his bride.

Here we see the desire of Jesus to be close to us. Jesus wants to live inside

our heads and our hearts with no barrier between him and us. Despite all our

imperfections and shortcomings, despite all our sin, Jesus has his heart stead

fastly set upon us. He wants to be with us in deepest intimacy and connection. In

some sense what we have here in the final verses of John 17 is the last will

and testament of Jesus Christ and his final request to his father before his

crucifixion is that his bride, the church, would be bound to him, joined to him, made

one with him in heaven. And unlike my sad story of unrequited love, this love of

God set upon the church is irresistible and immovable. Those whom the father

gives the son will come to him. The happy ending is guaranteed. We will be with him

where he is, filled with his spirit, bound to the son in eternal love and

worship forever. The way this cashes out in the life of the church now is in our

unity with one another. By pouring out his spirit on us from above, we are

bound up into the love of God himself. We are united together as one, just as God

is one. And so we image and reflect God to the world. Now the Word become flesh

has gone to heaven to be with his father, but by the spirit we are already

joined to, in union to him as his bride. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul says that the

wife is the glory of the husband. So the challenge for us is to display that

glory to the world. And so the church should be a place characterized by a

unique glory, a brightness, a heaviness, a greatness. It should be a place where

we are bound together in unity, truly reflecting the character and heart of

God. It should be a place which outsiders look at and see the goodness and love of

God played out in big and little ways amongst his people. It should be a place

full of people who look like Jesus. People with lives characterized by

service and by suffering. People bent low under the weight of the cross they bear.

People who for the joy set before them fix their eyes on Calvary and live

their lives one painful day at a time, trusting in the promises and love of God.

People who bear the image of God uniquely, who live lives of weight and of

substance, not of frivolousness or flippancy. People who take one another

seriously, not perpetually solemn. There must of course be merriment and joy, but

with an awareness of the weight of the glory of the other. So practically

speaking, what might that look like? It might look like simple kindness towards

visitors and new people. It might look like sacrificial giving to the poor and

to the church. It might look like a heavenward focus and perspective. It

might look like grief and affliction shared and carried together. It might

look like lives broken and poured out as living sacrifices and more than anything

it might look like a unified focus on the mission of Jesus. If we are to mirror

and image the triune God who came in Jesus to seek and save the lost, then

despite our wounds, despite the burden of our cross, despite the weight of glory

placed upon us, which at times seems like too much to bear, we will be concerned

for our neighbor. We will seek to extend the invitation to our friends and

families to come to know God through the gospel held out by the church for

together the Spirit and the bride say come. Together the Spirit and the bride

hold out the word preached, the word prayed and the word presented in the

sacraments in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.