The High Priestly Prayer: Revealing the Heart of Jesus — John 17 (10.18.2026)

Good morning. Please remain standing for the reading of God's Word.

Today's scripture reading will be coming from John chapter 17, starting in verse 1.

John 17 · chapter mention

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 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.

Now down to verse 14. 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 verse 24.

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

foundation of the world. This is the word of the Lord.

All right. Well, go ahead and be turning in your Bibles to John chapter 17, if you're not there yet.

John 17 · chapter mention

You don't have a Bible with you today. That's okay. We'll have the scripture on the screen.

And as you're finding your way to that chapter, John 17, I'll pray for us one

more time. Father, I do ask that you would help me.

Help me to say what you want said as I try to give sense to the words,

Lord, to explain what your word means by what it says.

And I pray that you would grant to us your spirit and the help to understand and to apply it.

And so I pray this so that our lives might be different as a result of today

and so that you might receive more glory through our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.

So everyone, at least when we were young, everyone wants to change the world,

impact the world, make it different than it is. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing.

But unfortunately, we usually think that that means you have to do something

big, you know, something huge, something remarkable.

You have to become the president of the United States or you have to be the

absolute best in your field or you're going to have to write a book that sells a million copies.

You imagine, especially when you're young, that that's how you're going to change

the world. You're going to do something huge, something big.

And so we have good dreams and grandiose dreams.

But the problem is that very few people will accomplish those kinds of things with their lives.

And so what happens? We get to middle age and we realize we're not going to

be this thing that we always thought we were going to be. We're not going to

do this huge thing that we always imagined we would do.

And so we become disappointed, maybe go through a midlife crisis and try and

change everything about our lives. And.

And I don't think that that's necessary. I don't think we need to go through

that. I think instead, we just need to have a different vision,

a better vision for the kind of life that does change the world.

And I think in the passage today, in our passage today, in Jesus's high priestly

prayer, I think we can see the ingredients for that kind of a life.

I think we can see some instruction for us for the kind of life that does actually change the world.

This is what's been called the high priestly prayer. It's probably got that

heading in your Bible, John chapter 17. It's the longest recorded prayer of

John 17 · chapter mention

Jesus in all of scripture.

And it's an incredible insight into the relationship between the son of God and the father.

And it's broken down into three sections. If you were to study it and break

it down, you're going to see is the first five verses are kind of the first section.

And in that section, Jesus is really praying for his own glorification to the

end that the father would be glorified through him.

And then verses six through 19 are the second section.

And in that section, he's really

praying for his disciples, then his apostles, particularly for those,

men that are going to found the Christian church that are going to carry his

mission on when he is ascended into heaven.

And then the last section, verses 20 through 26, are where Jesus begins to pray

for all future believers, everyone who will believe through their testimony.

So that would include every believer in this room, every believer who has existed

throughout church history.

What we see in this prayer is we get a glimpse into the depths of the heart

of Jesus. I mean, think about it.

If I knew that my death was imminent, that I had just moments or hours to spend

with my loved ones before I was going to be killed,

then whatever conversation, let's say you could get a recording of a conversation,

the last conversation I had with my wife.

I mean, what you would hear in that conversation would be the things that matter

the most to me, right? You would hear what things really, really mattered in that moment.

And that's what we're getting in this conversation between Christ and his father,

this prayer that Jesus is praying It reveals the very heart of Jesus to us.

It reveals what's on his mind in his last moments before being arrested,

before being crucified.

So what was it? What's on his heart? And what you're going to see in this prayer,

is that Jesus wanted his followers to see his glory and then to help others see it.

There's a lot happening in this prayer.

And I want to be careful I'm not oversimplifying. There's so much that we could

dig out of the treasure of this passage.

But the big theme that you're going to see when you study it,

when you read it over and over again, is Jesus wants his followers to see his

glory. I'm going to hopefully show you that.

And he wants those followers to then help others see it.

The gospel of John has shown us that Jesus came to show us the father.

He came to reveal to the world the father. He came to show us who God is.

He is the beginning of John. Maybe you've read that before. Maybe you've studied

John chapter one. He is the word of God made flesh.

The word or the communication of God.

He became the word of God, the communication of God to us became a man and revealed God to us.

He is the self-revelation of God. Jesus goes on to say that if you've seen me,

he says to Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the father.

He is the self-revelation of God.

And so the climactic act of God's self-revelation is the cross.

It's about to happen in our story.

It's all been leading up to this, the climactic act of God's self-revelation

to humanity, his death and resurrection for sinners.

And so here we are, that's about to happen. And we're going to learn from this

amazing prayer that the glory of God is front and center in Jesus's thoughts.

And there's a very good reason for that.

We're going to learn that Jesus wants his disciples to see the glory of God.

And there's a good reason for that. We'll talk about it. And finally,

that he wants these disciples intends for these disciples to carry on his work

in the world. So, point number one, what does it mean to see God's glory?

In the first five verses of this prayer, as I said, Jesus is praying that the

Father would glorify the Son so that the Son could glorify the Father.

In other words, Jesus Christ, as the revealer of God, is asking his Father to

let his glory shine through him.

What is God's glory? Let's just, you know, talk about that for a moment.

God's glory can be defined in many different ways. Maybe you've heard it referred

to as God's beauty or his majesty or his eminence.

God's glory. Maybe one of my favorite is his weight, like the weight of his being.

So essentially, God's glory is the overwhelming reality of who God is.

It's the overwhelming reality of who God is. It is the display of his infinite

worth, majesty, and holiness.

So to see God's glory is to see who God really is.

Very simply put, if you see God's glory, you see who God really is.

This seeing who God really is, is a very big deal. It's very big deal.

It's what human beings were originally created for. When I talk about seeing

his glory, I don't mean physically with your eyes. I mean, seeing with your

mind, understanding, comprehending. Okay.

So seeing, knowing, I'm going to use these words interchangeably.

It's a very big deal that we see God for who he is, that we know who he is.

This is what we were made for.

And it's what was lost when the first humans sinned is when Adam and Eve rebelled

against God in the garden.

This is what was lost. This ability to truly see, know, comprehend who God is

and to have a relationship with him.

To see God's glory is to enjoy him.

Because of who God is, you cannot see or know or comprehend his glory without enjoying that glory.

God is the best thing in the universe.

The ultimate good of the good news, which is, you understand,

that's what gospel means. Gospel means good news.

The ultimate good of the good news is God himself.

The ultimate good of the gospel is not that you would be forgiven.

That's a wonderful gift of the gospel.

But the ultimate good of the gospel is God himself. The end of the gospel is

not just that you would be forgiven or that you would feel no more shame or,

that you would be free from your sin.

And all of these are wonderful gifts.

But why are they wonderful gifts?

Because they allow you to know God. They allow you to have him.

Unless you're forgiven, unless you're set free, unless you're transferred out

of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved son,

you can't have the greatest gift of the universe, which is God.

So to see God's glory is to enjoy him. What's the one thing the psalmist wants, Psalm 27 for?

One thing I have asked of the Lord that I will seek after, that I may dwell

in the house of the Lord all my days to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

The greatest gift of the gospel is God. The greatest gift of the gospel is Christ.

Paul says in Philippians 3.8, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing

worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.

For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish

in order that I may gain Christ.

This is what Paul wanted more than he wanted anything in the world. He just wanted Christ.

That's why he would say, for me, it's better that I would depart.

Why? So that I could be with Christ.

And that's why verses two through three in this prayer are located where they are.

Christ being glorified is connected to us knowing God. Look at the passage.

He says, 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've given him. And this is eternal life that they know you.

The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Jesus came to put the glory of God on display through his life,

his death, and his resurrection because that had to happen in order for us to know God.

And that is eternal life. And

when you hear eternal life, don't just think life as you know it forever.

That's not eternal life. When the Bible talks about eternal life,

It's talking about a different quality of life, not just a different length of life.

It's talking about life restored. It's talking about life as we were meant to

experience it before sin entered into the picture. It's talking about life with

the greatest thing in the universe, God.

It's talking about life with him. That's eternal life.

That's the good life that we're all craving. And it's the life that the gospel purchased for us.

1 Peter 3.18 says, Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the

unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

Jesus died to give you God.

I don't know if you think about it that way, but if you think about it that

way, it changes how you pray. It changes how you have a quiet time.

It changes how you approach time in the word.

It changes how you come to church.

Christ died to give you God.

This is what's on his heart as he prepares to suffer for us.

He wants the glory of God to be seen by the world so that the world could know

God and enjoy him forever.

It's the highest and best good of the good news.

A relationship with God that fully satisfies all the longings of your soul forever.

Now, how does he mean to put that glory that we all need to see on display?

That's point number two.

God's glory shine brightest on Calvary. Look at verse one.

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.

If you were to read John from beginning, from the beginning and to this point,

you would see that phrase, the hour or Jesus's hour. You would see that come up multiple times.

And what happens is it comes up as they'll say, his hour had not yet come.

His hour had not yet come. But now Jesus is saying his hour has come. The hour has come.

So the thing, the moment that Jesus came into the world for, that hour has come.

And he says, glorify your son. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you.

The hour has come, now glorify him.

What's he talking about? He's talking about the cross.

First of all, when Jesus says, glorify your son, that the son may glorify you.

What we learn is that to see the all satisfying glory of God,

we need to look to Christ.

To see the all satisfying glory of God, we need to look to Christ.

He is, again, the self-revelation of God, the word made flesh.

Listen to this passage. If you want to, you can flip over to 2 Corinthians 4,

but I'm going to read you this passage. I don't have this for the screen.

I apologize. 2 Corinthians 4.

Verses three through four say, even if our gospel is veiled,

meaning like someone can't see it, even if our gospel is veiled,

it's veiled to those who are perishing.

In their case, the God of this world, that's a lowercase g,

that's talking about Satan, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers

to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

who is the image of God.

I know that's a long sentence. There's a lot in that, but here's what he's saying. He's saying.

Here's what Satan's goal. Here's what Satan is after.

He wants to blind people from seeing what?

The glory of Christ.

This is what Satan is at work doing. He wants to blind people from seeing the

glory of Christ. And then he says, who is the image of God?

And then verse six, if you have it open, verse six of 2 Corinthians four,

for God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to

give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

What he's saying is very simply that the same God who said, let there be light.

And there was light speaks into your heart and light shines, penetrates your heart.

And you have a revelation that Jesus Christ is the son of God,

that Jesus Christ is God, that he's the one who came to save me,

that he's the one who reveals God to me.

That's what he's saying. God did that for you. If you look at Jesus and you

believe in him and you trust in him and you trust in the work that he accomplished

for you on the cross, then guess what?

God spoke to your heart and said, let there be light.

And there was light.

Satan wants to blind us from seeing the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

And that's why Jesus is praying here, Father, glorify your son,

that the son may glorify you.

Now, consider that he is saying the hour has come. How is he going to do that.

Well, he's going to do that through his death.

What's going to look like his defeat is actually his exaltation.

What's going to look like everything has gone wrong is actually everything going right.

When he hangs on the cross, when it looks like darkness prevails,

when everything does go dark and the earth shakes and the rocks are split open,

And when he breathes his last breath, it looks like defeat.

And it's actually his glory on display.

How could that be?

Well, the cross is where we see just how holy, how loving, and how wise God is.

Holy because we see that God cannot simply overlook our sin.

On the cross, we see that God can't just look at a person and say,

we'll sweep that sin, that rebellion against me under the rug. He is too holy for that.

No, in order to deal with sin, that sin had to be punished.

Wrath had to be poured out. God is holy for that.

Secondly, we see how loving God is because in order to spare us from that wrath,

in order to spare us from that punishment, he steps in front of us and he takes

the crushing judgment on himself.

He loves us so much that he suffers the pains of our condemnation so that we would not be condemned.

Finally, we see his wisdom. From the beginning of time, God has been carrying

out this plan that would find its fulfillment at Calvary.

This was the mystery hidden for ages, the question that no one could answer

for millennia but God alone. How could sinners be saved and restored into God's

presence without God sacrificing his holiness?

How could God rescue a people for himself from every nation and tribe and tongue?

It's only through the cross of Christ.

So we see at the cross, the glory of God most clearly displayed,

his holiness, his love, his wisdom.

If you want to see the glory of God, then meditate on the gospel.

Look to the perfect son of God, beaten, bruised, and bloodied for your sins.

Picture him with nails piercing his hands and his feet, hanging on the tree, gasping for air.

If you want to see the glory of God, consider that he was forsaken so that you wouldn't have to be.

He became sin so that you could have his righteousness.

He took the curse so that you could have the blessing. He was judged so that

you could be declared not guilty.

If you want to see the glory of God, look at the cross.

Look upon the Son of Man and believe in Him and you'll be reconciled to God.

But do not look once only for your pardon, but keep looking.

Keep looking. This is why we gather week after week after week.

This is why we take the Lord's Supper week after week after week.

We're forgetful. And we need to keep looking at the glory of the gospel.

Why? Because it changes us. That brings us to our final, or no, our third point.

Seeing God's glory makes us different.

Look at verse 14.

He says, I've 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. How did Jesus give them the Father's word?

Well, as you said, at the beginning of this gospel, John writes,

the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And then it says, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from

the father, full of grace and truth.

His entire life and his teachings, everything that he did, his death,

his resurrection, everything that he did was God's word to us,

his communication to us, the revealing of God.

And those who receive that message were changed by it. They became so different

that the world rejected them.

He says, the world has hated them because they are not of the world,

just as I am not of the world.

He's saying the same thing that Colossians 1.13 is saying. They've been transferred

out. They've been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into

a new kingdom, the kingdom of the beloved son.

They're not of that domain anymore.

They're different. They've been changed.

So to see the glory of God in Christ and to believe in him means that you are

changed, that you are different. You're no longer of the world.

But also we're commanded to make sure that we're different and that we're not of the world.

Romans 12, two says not to be conformed to this world.

It means that we have an active part to play, right? That doesn't mean that

we just like sit back and we have no role to play in this.

We have a role to make sure that as this world, make no mistake about it.

This world wants to conform you into its image.

If you aren't actively trying to not be conformed to this world, it will conform you.

James 4.4 says that to be in friendship with the world is to be an enemy of God.

1 John 2.15 says not to love the world or anything in the world.

Believer, here's my point. We've got to be weary of worldliness.

It will rob us of our joy and our passion for the Lord. It will lure us away,

from a sincere devotion to Christ. It will dull our conscience.

It will lull us to sleep.

2 Timothy 4. There's a guy named Demas, and we hear about Demas in a couple

of Paul's letters as he's signing off. In his letters, he mentions that Demas

is with him, his fellow worker.

In 2 Timothy 4.10, Paul writes, Demas, in love with this present world has deserted

me and gone to Thessalonica.

Believer, remember Demas.

Remember Demas and be careful that you don't fall in love with this present world.

I don't mean you shouldn't enjoy God's good gifts. I don't mean that you shouldn't,

enjoy a good football game or a good meal or a trip with your friends.

That's not what loving this present world means. Loving this present world means

that you fall in love with money, power, success, pleasure, that those things

become dominant in your life.

Remember Demas. He was a faithful, committed missionary with Paul until he fell

in love with his present world.

So if you've felt yourself, you know, we don't ever just think I'm going to

start becoming more worldly.

You know, we don't wake up one day and think I have an idea for my future.

Right? So how do we know if that's been happening? Well.

It's usually the first thing that we notice is a waning interest in God.

We're just kind of not interested in the things of God.

We just kind of get absorbed with other things, and God sort of takes the periphery in our life.

We notice that maybe our conscience isn't sensitive anymore.

We rarely feel conviction for sin.

We rarely pray. We rarely have a desire for the Word. Maybe we're reading our

Bibles, but we don't really want it.

So what do we do if we find ourselves in that position?

Colossians 3.2 says, set your mind on things that are above,

not on things that are on earth.

So there's a way that we just need to stop focusing so much on the present world,

the money, the power, the success, the pleasure,

and we need to lift up our eyes to the things that are eternal.

We just set our gaze heavenward.

Worldliness creeps in because we let it. It creeps in because of what we set our minds upon.

So we got to take inventory. What have I been focusing on? What's been entertaining

me? What's been on the screen in front of me?

What's captured my imagination lately?

The cure for worldliness is beholding the glory of Christ again.

You've been captivated by a vision of the good life that's just a lie.

And the cure for worldliness is to be captivated by a better, truer vision.

Of the son of God loving you even unto death in order to bring you to God.

2 Corinthians 3.18 says, And we all, with unveiled face,

because God has taken the veil away, when we turn to the Lord,

beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from

one degree of glory to another.

When you behold the glory of the Lord, when you look at it, when you fix your

mind upon it, it's transformative.

You begin to look more like him from one degree of glory to another.

So look away from the world, open the Bible and look to Jesus.

He's given us his word that we would no longer be conformed to this world.

He's given us his word so that we could see his glory and be sanctified.

That's what he says in verse 17, sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth. And what does it mean to be sanctified. It means to be set apart.

Set apart for what? That brings us to the final point. Seeing God's glory results in being sent.

So he's prayed in verse 15, I do not ask that you take them out of the world,

but that you keep them from the evil one.

And then he's asked that they would be sanctified in the truth and the word is truth.

And then in verse 18, he says, as you sent me into the world,

so I have sent them into the world. Here's why we're sanctified,

why we're set apart. It's to be sent into the world.

We've seen that we should be a people who are not of the world,

of the same substance, going after the same things with the same vision for

life that the world has, right? We're not to be a people of the world.

But Jesus says, I don't ask that you take them out of the world.

He wants us still in it. He wants us here.

He wants his disciples to live in such a way that verse 21, the world may believe.

And verse 23, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as

you loved me. Jesus wants his disciples to remain in the world,

to be witnesses for Christ's glory.

We're not called to disengage from the world, to hunker down and wait for Jesus to return.

1 Peter says we are to live the time that we're in this world as exiles,

live as exiles during the time on this earth.

How does the Lord command his people while living in exile? The book of Jeremiah,

written to Israel while they were living in exile gives us a wonderful picture

of what God wants his people to do.

Jeremiah 29, let me just read this. Listen really carefully what he says.

Jeremiah 29, four through seven, and it's on the screen for you too.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel to all the exiles whom I've sent

into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce,

take wives and have sons and daughters, take wives for your sons and give your

daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters,

multiply there and do not decrease, but seek the welfare of the city where I've sent you into exile,

and pray to the Lord on his behalf, for it is, for in its welfare,

you will find your welfare.

While in exile, God's people are commanded to keep living faithful, normal lives.

Build a home and a family. Have children and raise them to know and love God.

Seek to make the city you live in more like the kingdom of heaven. than the kingdom of man.

Pray for your city.

This is a blueprint for living in the world, but not being of the world.

Sometimes we overcomplicate this. We're not sure how is it that we can live

and make a real impact in the world.

Commit to everyday faithfulness in the normal stuff of life and watch as God

shines his glory through you to the world around you.

Other than turning away from your sin, what does this look like for you?

Commit to being at church on Sundays and worship the Lord.

Serve your church with a glad heart. Model faithful generosity with your finances.

Make a habit of time in the word every single day with the Lord.

Read the Bible with your spouse, with your family, and pray with them.

Be a reliable, trustworthy friend, employee, boss, or family member.

Work hard as if you're working for the Lord because you are in whatever you do.

Speak up about your faith every opportunity you get. Invite others to join you at church on Sunday.

Simple things. Pray for your city, for your state, for your country.

Simple things. Faithful things.

That's what it looks like to live like exiles right now.

Build houses. Plant gardens. Have families.

Raise kids in the Lord. Have good meals. Invite your neighbors over.

Share with them about what God's doing in your life. Just everyday faithfulness.

At the beginning of this message, I said, we all have a desire to change the world, right?

We all, at least at some point in our lives, we thought, that's what I wanna do with my life.

Here you go, here's what you do. Everyday faithfulness.

Everyday witness to the glory of God. And you know what? It's actually very counter-cultural.

It's actually, you're going to find if you set out to do this.

Actually very counterculture. It's actually a lot harder than we think.

Build houses, plant gardens, get a job, be generous with your money.

Tell people looking on that Jesus saved you from hell.

Recognize that you've been called to be a witness in the way you live for Jesus

and in the words you speak about him.

Become captivated by the glory of God, seen in the person of Jesus Christ,

and then just invite other people to do the same.

That's how we change the world. Let's pray.

Lord, thank you that you were willing to lay your life down to bring us to God.

Thank you that you were willing to be sacrifice, the once for all time sacrifice,

the sufficient sacrifice for our sins.

Thank you for putting the glory of God on display, for settling once for all,

what God is like, that you are a God who is loving.

You are holy. You are wise. Thank you for the cross.

Thank you that we can see your glory. I pray, Lord, help us to see more clearly.

We look through a glass dimly right now. Help us to see more clearly.

Help us to gaze more intently until the day that we see you face to face.

And in the moment that we see you, we are transformed finally,

fully into your image. We look forward to that day.

In Jesus' name, amen.

God, stand with us.