The High Priestly Prayer Of Jesus (Part 1) Series

By show of hands this morning, let’s see how many of you remember these catch phrases from your childhood (my guess is that you responded to these, like I did, with an exaggerated eye roll but now you say some of them yourself):

• Money doesn’t grow on trees.

• Were you born in a barn?

• They sure don’t make them like they used to.

• No pain, no gain.

• No guts…no _________ !

This last phrase can be traced way back to 1955 to Air Force Major Frederick Blesse who was involved in air-to-air combat. And he actually wrote a manual on air-to-air combat that is still used today called “No Guts, No Glory.” Decades later and we are all the beneficiaries of the guts, or courage, displayed by those who have defended our freedom and ensured our safety. And there is a need for Christians to live courageously in a culture that moves further and further away from a Biblical worldview.

But here is where we would give nuance to the “no guts, no glory” sentiment. For those who are following Jesus, we know that the end game is to live in such a way that our lives are consistently pointed towards Jesus getting the glory. Several years ago, evangelist and pastor Greg Laurie told the story of the time when he got to ride in the car with Billy Graham after one of his crusades. And he said what he learned about Billy Graham is that it was impossible to pin a compliment on him. He said every time he tried, Graham quickly gave the credit (and thus the glory) to something God had done, not something he had done. But this is not the norm…and the reason that it’s so hard to live that way is because author Paul Tripp was right when he said, “We are all hard wired to be glory thieves.”

Turn with me to John 17 as we continue our series Red Letter Prayers where we go from looking at a prayer of agony last week in the Garden of Gethsemane to a prayer for God’s glory to be displayed in Jesus’ life, and for victory for the disciples who will carry the work forward on his behalf.

John 17:1-5

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, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:11b-17

Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 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. 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. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Today’s prayer is commonly known as the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.” And if we were to take the time to study the book of Hebrews, we would really come to understand the position Jesus is praying from. In Hebrews, Jesus is our Great High Priest who died once and for all to take away the sins of the world. And in John 17, Jesus is just about ready to make THAT sacrifice for the sins of the world. And so he prays this long, deep, beautiful prayer with his eyes lifted toward heaven and with the glory of God in mind. And in this prayer, we want you to see two clear truths that the affections of our heart should zero in on…

1. DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE – vs 1-5

Upon first glance at these first five verses, there is a temptation to cast them into the “theologically rich, but practically useless” category. Jesus is talking about his oneness with the Father and their shared glory in verse five (hard for me to relate to). Jesus is praying for his own glorification in verse 1 (I also nothing in common there). Jesus is talking about the authority he was given over all flesh in verse 2 (a friend of mine reminded me recently that he doesn’t even have authority over his own dog). Jesus talks about eternal life being made possible through an experiential knowledgeable of himself in verse 3 (I remind you often that you have ZERO ability to change anyone’s standing before the Father).