Scripture Introduction
When teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus began by saying, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….” Christians usually call that section of Scripture in Matthew 6 “The Lord’s Prayer.” In a sense, it is Jesus’ prayer – the model he gave his followers. A more accurate title, however, might be: “The Prayer of Jesus’ Disciples,” since he said to them, “You pray in this manner.”
To hear what is really “The Lord’s Prayer,” (the Lord Jesus praying) we turn to John 17, to the example of prayer par excellence. We do not rank Bible passages, because all Scripture is breathed out by God as the Holy Spirit spoke through his apostles. And yet, many believers throughout the history of the church have sensed they were entering a holy place and time as they listen to Jesus pray.
A. W. Pink says that John Knox had this chapter read to him every day during his final illness, so comforting are the words and the theology. The highly regarded Puritan, Thomas Manton, preached 45 sermons on John 17. Philip Melanchthon, one of the intellectual and theological leaders of the Reformation, said of this passage: “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime, than the prayer offered up by the Son of God himself.”
The chapter divides easily into three sections. In verses 1-5, Jesus prays for himself and in 6-19, for his disciples; then he finishes the chapter by praying for those who would follow, the church throughout the history of the world. “He begins with his own glorification, as the foundation of all things; then he seeks the welfare of the Apostles, as the means to the expansion of the Kingdom; and he ends by asking for the comfort of future believers” (Manton, 109, modernized). May our hearts be thrilled as we hear the Son speak with his Father about his glory.
[Read John 17.1-5. Pray.]
Introduction
In late October, the leaves begin to fall from many of our trees. By December, the ground is covered. But some will remain attached to the end of the limb where they once were so full of life, until, in the spring, a new leaf emerges and pushes the dead one off the tree.
That is an apt picture of what Thomas Chalmers termed “the expulsive power of a new affection.” He said, “The love of God, and the love of the world, are two affections, not merely in a state of rivalship, but in a state of enmity…. We have already affirmed how impossible it were for the heart, by any innate changeability of its own, to cast the world away…. The heart is not so constituted, and the only way to dispossess it of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one.”
Henry Scougal observed something similar: “The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love…. A noble and well-placed affection advances and improves the spirit into a conformity with the perfections which it loves.”
The Apostle Paul told the Christians in Corinth: “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2Corinthians 3.18). As we gaze intently on the glory of Christ, as fill our minds with knowledge of God and our hearts with love for God, these expel sordid passions and love for the things of the world.
I have heard the criticism that a person can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. If what is being criticized is a professed love for God and a knowledge of doctrine which does not change our lives, then we might agree. But a true love of God and a proper readiness for heaven is, in fact, the best training for usefulness on earth.
The central theme of the Lord’s prayer is his glory. That which we most need from God is not greater gifts, but a greater gaze upon “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Corinthians 4.6). That is precisely why the Psalmist sings to God: “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (Psalm 70.4).
John Piper, God is the Gospel, 17: “The world needs nothing more than to see the worth of Christ in the work and words of his God-besotted people. This will come to pass when the church awakens to the truth that the saving love of God is the gift of himself, and that God himself is the gospel.”
Jesus asks his Father to glorify himself. As that prayer is answered, a new affection will be birthed in our souls, and God will drive out the love of the world which destroys us and deprives us of usefulness in his kingdom. Our lives will become more God-centered and of more good to all. That is the focus of Jesus’ prayer as he asks the Father to glorify himself. Before we give that our full attention, however, we should observe Jesus praying, because…
1. The Lord’s Prayer Teaches Us About Prayer
Since the Holy Spirit chose to record this conversation between the Son and the Father, we do well to study it as a guide and lesson in praying. And let us learn, first…
1.1. The Importance of Prayer
If anyone ever had sufficient reason to leave off the labor of prayer, surely it was the Lord himself. Yet he prays. And although this is the longest recorded prayer spoken by Christ, it is far from the only one. Jesus often prayed. He prayed during the Lord’s supper; he spent the night in prayer before choosing his disciples; he prayed before his miracles; and he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest and crucifixion. Hebrews 5.7 reminds us that “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears.”
Here is a lesson especially important for those who teach and witness. Jesus has just completed a long “Bible study” for his eleven apostles. More than that even, he says in verse 4, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” So at the end of the work, after the ministry of the word, he prays. We may speak the truth about the Scriptures, but God must open the mind. The Word does not work apart from divine grace. The apostles in Acts 6 determined that their calling was to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Thomas Manton: “Prayer is the best key to open the heart, because it first opens heaven.”
John Calvin: “Doctrine has no power, unless efficacy is imparted to it from above. Christ holds out an example to teachers, not to employ themselves only in sowing the Word, but by mingling prayers with it, to implore the assistance of God, that his blessing may render their labor fruitful.”
Sometimes we wonder why the pastor’s sermons are so weak and ineffectual. Surely much of the blame lands upon me. But must we not, as the people who would hear God in the preaching, must we not be challenged by the fact that even the great apostle Paul asked the congregation to pray for his ministry? Romans 15.30: “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.”
When we hear Jesus pray we know it is important.
1.2. The Posture of Prayer
Some time ago I had to attend a meeting that I was anxious about, so I told some other pastors about it and asked for prayer. Then as I was driving to the meeting, one of the brothers called my cell phone to pray with me for the meeting. That was great blessing; but I did not close my eyes and bow my head while he prayed. I was driving! Let us remember that what we do with our bodies while we speak to God is not everything, but is it anything?
Now I am not one to worry much about whether we stand or kneel, sit or lie prostrate. There are truths more significant than those relating to bodily posture. However, God brings this to our attention, so please note two details.
First, Jesus’ bodily posture matches his subject matter. He lifts up his eyes to the heaven to speak with the Father about his glory; later this same evening he will fall to his knees to cry out for mercy. We exist as both body and spirit, and it is a great help to the spiritual work of prayer to match the gestures of the body to the theology of the devotion.
Second, notice that Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven, as in Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Jesus looks up because he is raising his heart to God; he is preaching to himself with his eyes and face that God dwells in the heavens, even the highest heavens; his physical forms show his confidence that God hears and helps his people. When we expect a loved one to return after a season away, we look repeatedly out the front window and down the road. Such behavior does not hasten their arrival; it does express our hopes and desires. I plead with you, though I know full-well some of the excesses of contemporary worship, I plead with you – let us resist the temptation to criticize those who would lift their arms and faces heavenward in songs of praise to God! Maybe some are insincere, but Jesus lifts up his eyes in prayer and praise.
One more thing we learn about prayer from Jesus:
1.3. The Speaking of Prayer
There are times to pray in silence, times when such is the only proper way. Nehemiah quickly uttered a silent prayer when the king asked him, “What are you requesting?” Our work days can be full of conversations with God which we never vocalize. But as God made us body and soul, remember that he will be served by both. And the burning reality of true religion cannot always be confined to silent prayer.
Psalm 39.2-3: “I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: O LORD….”
Manton: “Words are a boundary to the mind, and fix it more than thoughts, which are usually light and skipping. The mind may wander, but words are as a trumpet to summon them again into the presence of God…. By words, a dull sluggish heart is sometimes quickened and awakened. It is good to use this help.”
With those ideas on prayer itself, let us note briefly how…
2. The Lord’s Prayer Cries Out for a New Affection
In verses 1-5, Jesus focuses on his glory.
First, the glory of God in the cross. I would not have thought of that first. Maybe the glory at the mount of transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah appeared and Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light and God spoke from heaven with a voice all could hear. I understand that glory. The glory of the adoring crowd, throwing their cloaks and palm branches before him and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” I get that glory.
But Jesus’ first words are: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.” The hour has come – this can mean only one thing: the death for which God was born is now at hand.
How does the cross glorify God the Father and his Messiah? It glorifies, it displays, it shows the cosmic significance of God’s holiness. Jesus is crucified, dead and buried to preach to you the surpassing beauty of holiness. This is not a peripheral thing – take it or leave it. God’s holiness holds the universe together – if it is undone, all is lost.
The cross also glorifies the misery of sin. If sin were one grain less awful than the Bible says, then Christ need not die to bring it to an end. But at the cross sin is painted in all its wretched colors, so that the hearts of God’s people will forever rejoice at their freedom from this vile enemy.
The cross glorifies God’s love: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son….” Someone said: “I asked Jesus how much He loved me. He answered “this much” – then he stretched out his arms and died.” I think Michael Card captures the glory of God’s love at the cross with the words to Why: “And why did it have to be a heavy cross he was made to bear? And why did they nail his feet and hands – his love would have held him there.” The hour has come for God to be glorified at the cross.
Second, notice that Jesus speaks of his glory to come in heaven: John 17.5: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
This is not a new glory, as if something would now be added to his nature or person, but a restoration of the glory which he had. Not that he ceased to be divine while he was on earth, but like a candle may be hidden if it is placed inside a dark and sooty lamp, so the glory of Christ’s divinity was masked by the form of a servant. So that glory remains hidden today, and will until we reach heaven. Only the eyes of faith see Jesus for who he truly is, and even those see dimly. Remember what Paul said in 1Corinthians 13: “We know in part and we prophecy in part…for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face…. Then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (verses 9,12). By returning the Son to his full and former glory, you are assured that one day every tear and trouble will be wiped away, for his sacrifice is fully accepted.
Then, finally, notice that Jesus prays for us, John 17.2-3: “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.”
Luke 10.38-42: Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Serving meals is needed. Witnessing to your neighbors is important. Going to work every day is something we all must do. But one thing rises above all. One is essential, of utmost necessity: knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Soon you will stand before him. On that day, none of the petty complaints and busy distractions will matter. Eternal life and judgment hang in the balance. Christ alone has authority over all flesh. Is his glory your passion?
In a sermon entitled, “Christ Is All” (based on Colossians 3.11) J. C. Ryle said: “But alas, how little fit for heaven are many who talk of ‘going to heaven’ when they die, while they manifestly have no saving faith and no real acquaintance with Christ. You give Christ no honor here. You have no communion with Him. You do not love Him. Alas, what could you do in heaven? It would be no place for you. Its joys would be no joys for you. Its happiness would be a happiness into which you could not enter. Its employments would be a weariness and a burden to your heart. Oh, repent and change before it be too late!”
Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Do you know him? Are you gazing upon his glory, and is he transforming you into the same image, by the presence of the Holy Spirit? For this the Lord prays – may he now make it so in our lives. Amen.
