THE PRAYER OF JESUS
John 17:1-26
INTRODUCTION: The Our Father of Matthew 6:9-13 is typically referred to as the Lord's Prayer. But really, it is the disciple's prayer given to them by the Lord. Here, in John 17 is what should be called the Lord's Prayer because it literally is the prayer of Jesus. Jesus' longest recorded prayer has much to say and there's much to be gained by going through it.
1) Jesus prays for himself (1-5).
"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time 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 may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing 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."
Of the three sections of Jesus' prayer, this is the shortest one. This shows that in our prayers, praying for ourselves should be the shortest section. Although he prays for himself first, this prayer isn't really for himself as much as it is about himself for the benefit of those who were listening.
'He looked toward heaven'. Jesus did this before when he prayed before raising Lazarus from the dead. It's interesting considering that it's customary for us to bow our heads in prayer. What's interesting is that I found many instances of bowing in the NIV but not any that were in connection to praying. Not that it's wrong to bow our heads when we pray as it is a sign of humility and of honor and respect to God but perhaps sometimes we should lift our eyes up to heaven when we pray.
Then we see Jesus asking the Father to glorify him but it's not for himself-it's that the father would be glorified. In a short while Jesus will be arrested, tortured and crucified. He asks that in that sacrifice and resurrection that he be glorified so that he could in turn bring glory to God for completing his work and his mission of making a way for mankind to be saved.
He wanted his listeners to be convinced of his deity. "With the glory I had with you before the world began". Jesus had an existence before coming to earth. He had a glorified state. He was with God from the very beginning. John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." And we learn from verse 14 that Jesus is the Word because it says that the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. So, Jesus wanted everyone to be convinced of who he was so that they would believe upon him for salvation.
How might we be able to pray this type of prayer today? Not that we should ask to be glorified because that is reserved for Jesus and the Father but we should pray that we would do things to bring glory and honor to him. We live in a world where people are watching us. And some people who know we are Christians are just looking for us to mess up. That's why it's so important to be prayed up and studied up and lifted up by God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to live lives that causes people to glorify God.
1st Pet. 2:11-12, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
What did Jesus tell us in Matt. 5:16-Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise God. So, in a sense, we are glorified by the fact that the light of Christ , the glory of Christ, shines through us. The purpose in that is to cause God to be glorified. Jesus said in John 8:54 that if he glorified himself his glory would mean nothing.
He went on to say that the Father is the one who glorifies him. When we seek glory for ourselves it will mean nothing. When we praise ourselves or build ourselves up, especially to others, it's a turn-off. But when we let others praise us or when we receive praise from God then it is something else altogether. When we make our aim to glorify God in what we do rather than to seek praise and honor for ourselves because of what we do then our motives are valid.
We can glorify God through our generosity. 2nd Cor. 9:10-13, "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else."
We see that when we have the Spirit of generosity working through us God will match that with more to be generous with. And in so doing we will give people reasons to glorify God. And we can be generous with various things-our money, our possessions, our time, our abilities. We can be generous with these things and when we seek to glorify God through these things people will take notice.
And verse 13 states that it will cause many to praise God because of our obedience that works in accordance with our profession of faith. When we're out there sharing the gospel we show people the effect of the gospel when we are ministering to them with our actions. By our obedience it shows people that we aren't just giving lip service, we are living out our faith. And when people put what they see with what they hear the gospel becomes something more inviting to them.
And so not only are they praising God for how we've ministered to them but they are praising and glorifying God through their own conversion. God is glorified when someone comes to salvation through our example. So Jesus' prayer here is that God would be glorified. That is what our life should be about.
2) Jesus prays for his current followers (6-19).
“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 knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me."
Jesus recognizes that his followers have accepted him as having come from the Father and that the words of Jesus are straight from God.
"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."
Jesus, who was not of the world, prays for his believers that, as having once been of the world, who are now called out of the world, be one with him. As they were once one with the world now the desire is that they would be one with Jesus.
That's Jesus' desire for us. To cease from continuing to be one with the worldly ways and one with our sinful nature, we would in turn be one with our new nature and focused on our new world-heaven and have the mindset of living for our new master-Jesus.
And we have our example of oneness and obedience in Jesus, who is one with the Father and lived in complete obedience to what he commanded him to say and do. That is our goal of oneness with Christ-to live in complete submission and obedience in all we say and do.
"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."
Even though there have been dangers along the way (like when they were on the boat and a sudden storm arose and Jesus calmed the wind and the waves) Jesus has saved them and protected them and have rescued them from harm's way.
Such as it is with us. Jesus wants us to know that just as he rescued them he will rescue us. Just like how Jesus was in perilous situations yet he was rescued until his work was finished, so it will be with us. If we remain faithful we will be protected and kept safe until our work is finished.
However, if we become like a Judas and allow Satan to infiltrate our minds and hearts to where we betray Jesus then we may become doomed too. Peter later denied knowing Jesus, while Judas sold him out. And while both were sorry for what they had done-Peter's sorrow led to repentance while Judas' guilt led him to take his own life. 2nd Cor. 7:10 says godly sorrow leads to repentance but worldly sorrow brings death. We can do wrong by Jesus but the question is, what kind of response will we have?
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am 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."
Jesus wants his disciples to have his joy to the fullest measure. Jesus' years of ministry were anything but easy and one might think anything but joyful-yet he maintained the full measure of joy despite the troubles he faced. And now he knows his disciples are hated by the world as he is and that troubles await them too as he will eventually resurrect and ascend into heaven, leaving them to continue the work that he started.
And so he prays that they would be filled with his joy. This would be important because without joy his disciples may very well have lost hope and given up the fight. Without joy if the disciples were obedient in spreading the gospel it would be done begrudgingly or half-heartedly and the listeners would not have seen the joy of salvation in their eyes and perhaps would not have been compelled to believe that the saved life was anything worth desiring.
Joy is a main component in our evangelism for without it how can we truly compel people to believe? Without joy in what light would our service be seen in? Without joy what would our relationships consist of? If we conduct our lives in bitterness, misery or apathy what would we really be able to convince people of?
Love is the main ingredient in our transformed life but if there is no joy to accompany that love than what has love produced in us? And having joy doesn't mean we skip around with giddiness and goofy expressions on our faces. Having Jesus' full measure of joy involves a right attitude in our service, the right responses to our hardships and the right approach and consistency in our relationships with people; it involves the right heart in our devotion to the Lord.
And Jesus' desire is not that they would be taken out of the world because the world needs to still see Jesus and it's through his followers that it's going to happen. As much as there might be times where we want Jesus to take us out of this world our heart should be to remain so that more people would be won over to Christ through our message and example.
We should want to remain so that we could continue to be a positive influence in the lives of those around us. Paul dealt with that. He said in Phil. 1:23 that he desired to go be with Christ but he knew it was God's will that he would remain for their sake; for their progress and joy in the faith.
Then Jesus finished by praying for their sanctification which is the process of becoming holy, becoming like Jesus. He asks the Father to sanctify them by the truth. How does that work? Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if we held to his truth we are really his disciples and then we would know the truth and that truth would set us free.
We become sanctified by believing and practicing the truth. We govern our lives by the truth of God's word. We have taken the bible and been convinced that it is truth. We have become convinced that we are sinners and in need of salvation. We have become convinced by the truth that says Jesus is the only way and the only name by which we can be saved and we have become convinced that if we are going to grow we need to obey his commands.
The word has power. Heb. 4:12 says that the word of God is living and active. It's like a sword, it cuts and penetrates deep to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And if I am going to be sanctified then I need to allow this word to judge me and reveal the truth behind my thoughts and attitudes.
If I'm not humble I won't be sanctified. If I approach the word of God to judge it instead of allowing it to judge me then I will never experience growth. Jesus wants his disciples to be one with him, to be filled with his joy and he wants us to be sanctified by the truth.
3) Jesus prays for his future followers (20-26).
“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 the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
Jesus prays for all of us, the ones who would believe after he ascends into heaven. Throughout this prayer you see Jesus focus on unity. I believe this unity is twofold-the complete unity of all the Christians of the world as well as the unity within the local church body. Both are needed to communicate the validity of Christ and his love.
Jesus wants people to come to know how much love the Father has for them. Jesus knows that love inside and out and his desire is that everyone would come to that understanding for themselves. It's the truest love; a love that surpasses full understanding because it is so deep-yet we can understand it enough for it to change our lives. To know that love that causes us to be in unity with each other and not allowing our differences to divide us.
This is a message that tells people that there is power in the will of Christ lived out among his people. It's inviting because the world knows division and anger; pride and bitterness. The church should not have these things in their midst; lest it be seen as no different than the world outside it. The atmosphere inside the church should be refreshing and joyous; a place where one can see the contrast like going from a humid, 95 degree outdoors to an air conditioned indoors. This is the unity and love that Jesus seeks for his followers.
“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."
Peter, James and John got to see Jesus' glory on the mount of Transfiguration but he wants all his disciples to see it, not here on earth but in his fullest glory in the heavenly realms; not just for a moment but for all eternity. Jesus wants his followers to persevere through all the ups and downs; through all the peaks and valleys-to stand firm 'til the end so they can get to experience the true reward of their labor and toil-eternity in his glory.
“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.”
Those who were around in Jesus' day didn't know God but through the scriptures. It had been 400 years since the days of the prophets but now, through Christ, people were able to have God revealed to them in a unique way. They saw God in the flesh and beheld his ministry for three years. Those who believed were able to see God through Christ but the unbelievers didn't recognize Jesus for who he was; their spiritual blindness didn't allow them to see God or know God.
Jesus says he will continue to make God known to the believers. He would do this through the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues to reveal God to us more fully as we go through the process of sanctification.
And Jesus wants his disciples to reveal him to the world as he was revealed to them. That's why Jesus told his disciples to go throughout the world and preach the good news and teach everything he commanded. And he told them he would be with them always, which would be realized through the indwelling Holy Spirit. His mission would soon be accomplished and his disciples would take his message of salvation to all nations; trying to remove the spiritual blindness so that they, too, could see Jesus for who he really is.
Oneness, joy, unity, glorifying God...this is Jesus' prayer for his followers.
