Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
(Introduction)
John 17:1-26
I usually try to refrain from using words such as “best” or “greatest”. The reason is because I realize that quite often best is in the eye of the beholder. What we speak of as being best would be better described as being our favorite. If I were to ask “what is the greatest band of all time?” there would be many different opinions (even though the answer is clearly the Eagles). Likewise, if I were to ask “what is the best baseball team in MLB history” or “who is the premier quarterback in the NFL” there would likely be multiple answers. However, it is with great confidence that I can say that we are about to embark on a detailed study of the greatest and most beautiful prayer that was ever prayed (or at least among those that have been recorded).
We often refer to Matthew 6:9-13 as “The Lord’s Prayer”. That prayer was given by the Lord Jesus as an example to His Disciples in an effort to teach them how to pray. That passage is very important but it would be better described as “The Model Prayer”. The true Lord’s Prayer is recorded in John 17; we often refer to this passage as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer”.
This prayer is filled with rich and beautiful truths, important doctrine and exciting promises. In it we see the heart of our Savior, His love for His people and several references to His Divinity. Through these 26 verses we are given the great privilege to eavesdrop on a very intimate conversation between God the Father and God the Son.
One of the most astonishing benefits of being a Christian is that we have the ability to commune with God through prayer and time in His Word. I can think of no other passage that better illustrates this kind of communion than what is recorded in our selected text. It is simply fascinating that we have the opportunity to talk to God in the same way that Jesus did when He was here on Earth.
Those who have studied the life of Jesus know that prayer was a constant priority in His life. It was not uncommon for Him to go away from the crowds and even from His Disciples and spend time alone in prayer. Luke 5:16 tells us that He “often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
Matthew tells us that upon learning of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus got on a boat and traveled to a “deserted place by Himself” (Matthew 14:13a). I am certain that it was Jesus’ desire to spend time in prayer; however “the multitudes …followed Him on foot from the cities” (Matthew 14:13b). When Jesus reached the shore “He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14). Jesus did not become frustrated because the crowds prevented Him from grieving the death of John, or because they interrupted His prayer time; instead He was moved with compassion and He performed many miracles among them.
Later that evening the Disciples implored Jesus to send the multitudes away so that they could go and find something to eat. Jesus instructed the Disciples to feed the crowds themselves rather than sending them away. But they responded by saying “Lord, we only have five loaves and two fish." In response Jesus took those five loaves of bread and two fish and miraculously fed five thousand men; this number does not include the women and children (Ref: Matthew 14:19-21). After this, “when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there (Matthew 14:23).
Scripture goes on to tell us that Jesus spent time alone in prayer from that evening until early the next morning. If anyone had an excuse to go to sleep without praying it was Jesus. First of all, He was God in the flesh, but that did not prevent Him from praying. Also, we can be sure that He was filled with sorrow over the death of John the Baptist but His grief was no excuse to forfeit time in prayer. Furthermore, He had spent all day ministering to the multitudes and performing countless miracles. He must have been physically drained by the time evening came.
Though Jesus was God in the flesh, He was still in a human body and in His humanity He became physically tired and weary. Several scriptures speak to this reality. In John 4 Jesus journeyed from Judea to Galilee and He had to go through Samaria. He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, and He arrived at Jacob’s well. Interestingly John points out that around the sixth hour, Jesus sat by the well because He was “wearied from His journey”.
In Matthew Chapter 8, Jesus cleansed a leper (v1-4), He healed the Centurion’s servant (v5-13), and then at Capernaum multitudes were brought to Him and “He healed them all” (v14-22). After this, Jesus and His Disciples boarded a ship and a violent storm arose on the Sea. The Disciples were greatly troubled as the winds were blowing and the waves were crashing in. Matthew goes on to tell us that while this was happening, “Jesus was asleep”. When reading this account we automatically look to the great power of Jesus and the fact that He was able to rise and calm the storm with the sound of His voice. Yet we often overlook the fact that in His humanity, Jesus was exhausted from the day’s events.
In Luke 8 there was a great multitude thronging Jesus. In that crowd was a woman who had suffered from a disease that caused hemorrhaging for 12 years. She spent all of her money and consulted many physicians, instead of getting better her condition worsened. When she heard that Jesus was in the area she believed that if she could simply touch the hem of His clothes she would be healed. That desperate woman fought her way through the crowd, touched the robe of the Master and immediately the flow of blood ceased. When this happened, Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me" (Luke 8:45-46). If Jesus could feel power going out of Him as a result of a single miracle, I cannot help but wonder about the physical impact that a day filled with miracles would have on Him.
There are many other examples that prove that Jesus did not allow great sorrow or physical exhaustion to prevent Him from spending time with His Father. There is perhaps no greater example of this than His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
There are certain excuses that we often use to attempt to “justify” prayerlessness. Some examples are grief, sorrow, disappointment, discouragement, frustration over “unanswered” prayer, disillusionment because it seems that God is silent, physical exhaustion, spiritual attacks, stress and many other issues. Though we foolishly attempt to justify prayerlessness, Jesus’ example shows us that there is no excuse or justification for forfeiting time with God. On the previous list of issues that prevent us from praying, Jesus endured most of them. In fact, He dealt with almost all of those struggles as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane; yet, even in His agony Jesus persevered in prayer.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed with grief or sorrow that you allowed it to prevent you from praying? Perhaps you were so discouraged, disillusioned or depressed that you felt that you simply could not even attempt to pray. Have there been times when you were just so physically tired and weary that you allowed your exhaustion to become an excuse for prayerlessness? It is in these times that we must remember that prayer is not only expected of God’s Children, it is also one of our most valuable resources.
I mentioned earlier that Jesus did not allow the fact that He was God to prevent Him from communing with the Father. Oddly enough, there are times when we are on such a “spiritual high” that we convince ourselves that we can afford to put off prayer until a later time. It may sound simplistic but it is true nonetheless; if it was necessary for the very Son of God to spend ample time in prayer, then we will never reach a point in this life where prayer is not of supreme importance. However, if we are honest, there are times when we just don’t feel like praying.
- Gold City sings a song that says:
Weary bodies, troubled minds,
They will defeat you every time,
Circumstances all around may look dim.
But even if you have to crawl,
Jesus wants to hear it all,
You will be alright if you can get to Him.
When you don’t feel like praying, pray!
And when you think you just can’t get through, pray!
Precious to the Father’s ear,
Are three words, “Lord I’m here”.
When you don’t feel like praying, pray!
I look forward to studying Jesus’ beautiful and amazing prayer together over the next few weeks. Until we meet again, I encourage you to remember that there is no excuse for prayerlessness. Follow the example of our Savior and make it a point to spend time with the Father in prayer.
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