THE ROAD TO THE RESURRECTION
THE GREAT HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER
TEXT: John 17:1-26
I. INTRODUCTION—WALKING TOWARD THE CROSS
-We are walking with the Lord in this series of messages as He is moving toward the Cross and to His death that will cover the sins for the entire world. The Lord is well aware of where His destination is going to conclude because He is the Son of God. This literally means that He is God incarnate in flesh.
-He has already walked through some very spiritually and emotionally taxing moments:
• The Second and Last Temple Cleansing—Had seen firsthand again how the religious hucksters have taken advantage of the poor and the devoted.
• The Washing of the Disciples Feet—Realized how unprepared the disciples were for the soon to unfold events of His death on the Cross. They are only concerned about their place among the great.
• The Lord’s Supper—The celebration of the Passover meal now takes on an entirely new meaning, it will be in remembrance of the Lord’s death.
-The challenge for the vast majority of Christians is to immerse themselves in this walk the Lord was taking toward His death and to imagine the inner turmoil and anxiety that was working within Him. He was God but he was a man as well who had to contend with every single emotion and temptation that we have to deal with.
-Christianity has reached a place in America where it has simply become something to help us to achieve our dreams, goals, and desires. Or it has become something to help us cope with the hurdles and problems that sometimes cause us to think we are going to lose our minds. Our relationship with the Lord should be so much more than just that.
-When we come to moments like these, it helps us to look into the deeper price the Lord paid for our salvation.
II. A BIRDSEYE VIEW OF JOHN 17
-This prayer the Lord now prays is referred to as His high priestly prayer. In this prayer, there are elements of sacrifice and service. The sacrifice will be fulfilled at the Cross and the service is the prayer for His disciples and for His church.
-This prayer here is not the prayer that would be prayed later in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-45; Mark 14:32-41; Luke 22:39-46). That prayer would escape the ears of all the disciples because they were asleep during the Lord’s agony in the garden.
-This prayer seems to be very much related to what the Lord has expressed to them in that upper room. Words such as glory, glorify, sent, believe, world, and love all seem to connect up with what is in John 13-16. It is prayed either in the room before they leave for the Garden or it is prayed in the Kidron Valley which was the path they followed to Gethsemane.
-What is remarkable about this prayer is that it is one that follows the preaching. Whether we would define John 13-16 as classical preaching according to what we see as preaching, the fact remains that the Lord gave some of the strongest and encouraging spiritual preaching in the upper room at the last Passover.
-We should take this principle to heart—All preaching should be followed by prayer. Whether that is with a formal altar call or if a person allows their mind and heart to be saturated by the message in such a way that for a long while afterwards the content of the message isn’t far from the reach of the soul.
-This prayer that is taking place is being done by the Preacher. We can only be left to wonder if preaching might not have a much more powerful impact if more preachers would pray after they preached. What happens in your own spirit, your mind, and your heart after you hear the Word being preached?
-This prayer is divided up into three sections:
• The Savior’s Prayer for Himself—John 17:1-5
• The Savior’s Prayer for His Disciples—John 17:6-19
• The Savior’s Prayer for His Church—John 17:20-26
-A further look at this prayer shows that Jesus spent five verses on Himself and the other twenty-one on His disciples and His church. That shows me how much mismanagement has gotten into the place of my own prayers.
-The great Scottish preacher, John Knox, had this prayer read to him every day in his final days on his deathbed. He found this prayer of the Lord to be a great comfort and source of strength for him as he faced death head on. It is my belief that looking at this passage can do the same thing for us as well.
III. THE SAVIOR PRAYS FOR HIMSELF—JOHN 17:1-5
John 17:1-5 KJV These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: [2] As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. [3] And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. [4] I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. [5] And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
-The doctrinal implications of this passage are crucial to note. This is coming to terms with the mystery of the Incarnation as Paul spoke of in 1 Timothy 3:16. Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh. He became a man to fulfill the need for a spotless human sacrifice for the sins of many.
• NASB—He who was revealed in the flesh
• NIV—He appeared in a body
• MURDOCK—Was revealed in the flesh
• AMPLIFIED—He [God] was made visible in human flesh
A. A Prayer for Faithfulness—vv. 1, 5
-Even that phrase, “lifted up his eyes to heaven” is worth noting. Even the Lord is recognizing that prayer has a requirement for reverence. He is approaching God with a sense of noting that God is higher than everything. His glory that filled the Temple in Isaiah’s time (Isa. 6) is necessary for us to understand even in our time.
• Are our prayers marked by reverence?
• Are our prayers marked with an understanding that without Him we can do nothing?
• Are our prayers marked with a focus?
• Are our prayers marked by a sufficient sense of our own need before God?
• Are our prayers marked with an understanding that there is a royal throne in heaven?
-Recently I heard someone say that they were thankful that the “man upstairs” had given to them certain abilities. This is far from the respect and reverence that God deserves from anyone who has ever lived and will ever live.
-It is crucial for men and women, for the church to pray. Everything that we are and need is wrapped up in God and His ability to provide.
• Prayer expresses the soul’s longing for God—Ps. 42:1-2; 63:1; 143:6
• Prayer is the cry of God’s people—Ps. 34:15, 17; 86:3
• Prayer is to our gracious God—Ex. 34:6; 2 Chron. 30:9; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 103:8
-In the prayer of the Lord, He is requesting that the Son of God would be glorified (v. 1). His reason for this is that God would be glorified (v. 5). This matter of glorification brings to mind what the Lord had said at the beginning of his ministry, that those who were in the Kingdom of God would have a light that would shine before men so that God would be glorified (Matt. 5:16).
-Therefore, the prayer for glorification is a prayer for faithfulness. All through the earthly ministry the Lord had worked faithfully for this manner of glorification (John 7:18; 13:31-32).
-But what takes place is the biggest battle that sometimes comes to bringing glory to God—it may be in the most bitter of circumstances that it happens. This would be true of Jesus as well when He went to the Cross. He was dying on something that was cursed (Gal. 3:13; cf. Deut. 21:23) and yet that was what would bring the highest glory of God to the earth.
B. A Prayer for Fruitfulness—vv. 2-4
-The prayer of the Lord for faithfulness in vv. 1 and 5 brings to light the fruitfulness that would come from the Lord’s faithfulness. Two things took place:
• Eternal life for believers
• His work on earth is completed
-As Peter implored us that we should walk in His steps, follow his example, give our lives to focused Christian living (1 Peter 2:21). The Lord fulfilled His role on the earth. When the final scene at the Cross had taken place, we find that there some fruit grew:
• Revealed the righteousness of God
• Proved the justice of God
• Demonstrated the holiness of God
• A perfect substitute to cover the wrath of God against sin
• A final verification of God’s grace, mercy, and love for man
-All these things really make for the hopes of eternal life for all of those who will come and enter the Kingdom.
-Michael Card wrote a book several years ago entitled A Violent Grace and it also had an accompanying musical collection that explored the book of Hebrews. The chapter titles of that book express the fruit that came out of the Cross:
• He was born to die, so I could be born to new life.
• He suffered temptation, so I can have victory.
• He was betrayed, so I might know his faithfulness.
• He was arrested and bound, so I could be rescued from bondage.
• He stood trial alone, so that I could have an advocate.
• He was wounded, so I could be healed.
• He endured mockery, so I could know dignity and joy.
• He was condemned, so the truth could set me free.
• He was crowned with thorns, so I might crown him with praise.
• He was nailed to the cross, so I might escape bondage.
• He was stretched between two thieves, so I could know the reach of love.
• He suffered thirst, so I can drink living water.
• He said, “It is finished,” so I could begin my walk of faith.
• He was God’s lamb slain, so I could claim his sacrifice as my own.
• He chose the shame of weakness, so I can know the hope of glory.
• He shed his blood, so I can be washed white as snow.
• His heart was pierced, so mine can be made whole.
• He died and was buried, so the grave could not hold me.
• He rose again, so I might experience eternal life.
• He is known by his scars, so I might take up my cross and follow him.
-Eternal life for believers is not just a matter of quantity of life but for quality of life as well. We will be restored back to a correct and holy relationship with God that will rival that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It will be ongoing and everlasting relationship with God.
IV. THE SAVIOR PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES—JOHN 17:6-19
John 17:6-19 KJV I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. [7] Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. [8] For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. [9] I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. [10] And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. [11] And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. [12] While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. [13] And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. [14] I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. [15] I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. [16] They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. [18] As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. [19] And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
-We now began to see the largest portion of this prayer. It moves away from the very brief requests of the Lord for Himself. He will now prayer with great passion for the disciples and the church to be fully invested and filled with the purpose of God.
-What strikes me with this prayer is something similar that struck me when I was preaching through the seven churches of Asia several months ago. I was thunderstruck to see how man-centered that we can become in the venues of ministry. Jesus is not praying for bigger buildings, greater offerings, greater social status, or favor from this one or that one.
-The content of His prayer for His church covered (beginning in v. 13):
• Joy—v. 13
• Holiness—vv. 14-17
• Truth—v. 17
• Mission—vv. 18-19
• Unity—vv. 20-23
• Love—vv. 25-26
-Those were the things that He prayed for His church. May God convict and motivate all of us to have the same focus of our prayers to be exactly in that way.
A. The Report of Jesus—John 17:6-10, 12, 14, 18-19
-The Lord again praying as the Son of Man is giving an accounting of what His ministry has entailed in the last 3 ½ years.
• He has revealed the Father to them—vv. 6-7 cf. John 14:6-12
• He has given the Father’s words to them—vv. 8, 14 cf. John 6:60-61, 66-69
• He has prayed for them—vv. 9-10 cf. Luke 22:31-32
• He has kept them safe, save for Judas—v. 12 cf. John 10:27-28
• He has sent them into the world—v. 18 cf. 2 Cor. 5:19-20
• He has set himself apart for their sanctification (holiness)—v. 19 cf. Titus 2:13-14
-Another matter that comes to hand with this prayer of the Lord is the element of coming judgment for every one of us. The Lord was in some measure using this prayer to convey a sense of accountability. He had a calling, he had responsibilities to fulfill, and now he is explaining his actions.
-That should be a matter of prayer for every believer. We should be speaking to the Lord in prayer about our duties and whether we are fulfilling those with faithfulness. When we are willing to confess to the Lord that we cannot do any spiritual work without his empowerment, that work takes on a new level of purpose. Far too many in the church are working under their own power and strength and those kinds of things will not last in the long run.
B. The Request of Jesus—John 17:11, 13, 15-17
-As the Lord has given an account of His earthly ministry in a nutshell, He now turns that prayer toward the disciples. In the earlier segment of His prayer for the disciples, He had considered the past. But now the Lord will consider the future. The disciples could not see what was on the horizon. Of the most immediate thing was the pain of the crucifixion and the almost disbelief of the resurrection. But the disciples could not see the powerful growth of the church in the a little over a month away.
-These disciples had no idea how the Spirit would empower them but they also had not the faintest idea of what the Spirit would do to them in setting them apart from the world. The Lord can see into the future and He can see that they will have to endure great persecution and vast difficulties to advance the cause. One would think that His prayer would have been for deliverance and even escape, but none of that enters His prayer for the disciples.
-The spiritual lesson is clear here: The content of our prayers really shows the core of who we are.
• He asks for unity to be with them—v. 11
• He asks that joy would be important to them—v. 13
• He for protection for them—vv. 15-16
• He asks that they would be sanctified—v. 17
-Even though they had no idea as the horrible nature of their suffering as the Lord did, He knew of the ultimate victory that would come at the end. Here is another angle that we have to consider with this prayer—The Lord knew that all of them would flee, in fact he had prophesied such (Matt. 26:31; John 16:32) but He still prayed for them.
-In this matter of joy, the Lord prays that they would have it. He had already come across this with them earlier (John 15:11; 16:22, 24). But the challenge was the Lord knew that the attitude of the world would not do anything to promote their joy. Here is where joy comes from: knowing a task has been completed and the expectation of a future state of glory. That sums up our existence as well! Finish your course with joy. . . A crown of righteousness awaits. . .
-Here is what we can note in this prayer for His disciples:
• Unity
• Joy
• Safety
• Holiness
-These are the things that God desires to be working in our lives!
Sanctify them through thy truth. . . Thy Word is truth!
-The word “sanctify” has several meanings to it:
• To separate
• To set apart
• To have a good purpose or use for God
• Dedicate
• Consecrate
• To revere
• To purify
-When we encounter the Truth of God’s Word, we are changed by it and we are separated from evil and to God. This is God’s unchanging standard for the 1st Century and the 21st Century. Be careful that no one would confuse you or deceive you.
V. THE SAVIOR PRAYS FOR HIS CHURCH—JOHN 17:20-26
John 17:20-26 KJV Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; [21] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. [22] And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: [23] I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. [24] Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. [25] O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. [26] And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
-We have come to the last segment of this prayer. There are some things that are repeated in it. In the passage where the Lord is praying for His disciples it is fitting that he prays for them individually. But the individual prayer must be taken collectively to the level of the church.
-We can pray for things to take place in our personal life but it takes on much more value when we pray it into a condition that will move into a larger body of believers. We move forward as a church together, we move as an army together, and we move forward as a team playing together.
-Here is what we find in the Lord’s prayer for His Church:
• They would be unified in their efforts to advance the gospel—vv. 20-21a, 22
• They would honor the Son of God—vv. 21b (This is important because later there would be false teachers who would attempt to tinker with the deity of Christ.)
• They would display the love of Christ—v. 23
• They would experience the love of God—vv. 25-26
• They would enjoy the Lord’s glory in heaven forever—v. 24
-This last section of the Lord’s prayer for His church proves that He expected the failure of the disciples but He also knew it was only temporary. It would be after the resurrection that a renewed faith would come to them.
-If you would look to this prayer, there is a reality that comes in knowing these are some key areas of attack the devil often comes to.
• He tries to disrupt unity in a church. Squabbles, gossip, malcontents, etc.
• He tries to disrupt the advancement of the gospel.
• He tries to get believers to dishonor the Son of God with wayward lifestyles, low-level commitment, no desire for holiness, no desire for prayer, and no desire for real conversion.
• He tries to get believers to forget to display the love of Christ. Through ill-tempers, shortness, lack of tact and discretion, refusal to be inconvenienced, and little concern for others.
• He tries to get believers to think that the love of God is beyond them and that God could never love them.
• He tries to get believers to think that they cannot make it to Heaven and that no one will be saved.
-All of these matters the Lord had anticipated because He knew that this would occur once the church began to move.
VI. CONCLUSION—EMPOWERMENT FOR ALL BELIEVERS
-This high priestly prayer of the Lord should become so familiar with all believers that we could almost quote it. The Lord has prayed for us!
Philip Harrelson
March 25, 2017
