God Wants Us to Pray Like Jesus Prayed
The Gospel of John
John 17:1-3
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church – February 14, 2018
(Revised April 22, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 17. Here we are only a few hours away from the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God's Word has been focusing on this night since the beginning of chapter 13. There, Jesus and His disciples were gathered in the Upper Room to eat the Passover meal. Jesus also instituted the Lord's Supper and began to give His disciples crucial information about His cross and resurrection, His return to Heaven, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and His Church.
*Then in John 14:31 Jesus said, "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here." Matthew 26:30 adds, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
*Scholars estimate that it is a little over a mile from the Upper Room to the Garden, and by this point, Jesus and His disciples were almost there. One of the possible routes runs mostly outside the walls of Jerusalem. Several sources I found online assumed that Jesus and the disciples must have taken this logical route because it would have helped avoid the authorities. But our miraculous Savior could have easily disguised the group's appearance, just as Jesus did on the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24:16. (1)
*The other possible route to the Garden of Gethsemane would have taken the small group through the center of Jerusalem and the Temple courts. John Phillips gave us a description which helps us see what was going on in Jerusalem that night:
*"The moon was full and its silvery light bathed the way to Gethsemane. Festive lamps still shined from many houses along the streets. The bustle of preparation for going up to the Temple was everywhere, for the Temple gates were thrown open at midnight."
*If Jesus and His disciples made their way out of Jerusalem by St. Stephen's gate to the north of the temple, they descended the steep sides of the ravine down to the Brook Kidron, which lay a hundred feet below. At that time of year the brook would have been swollen into a torrent. Just across the stream they turned left where the road went up a green and quiet slope toward the Mount of Olives. Soon they went off the road to the right and arrived at Gethsemane, 'The Oil Press,' which was in a small garden where olive trees grew." (2)
*By this time, Jesus and His disciples have almost reached the brook, and just before they crossed over, the Lord paused, looked up to Heaven, and began to speak to His Heavenly Father.
*Tonight we will begin to study the Lord's prayer because it shows us how God want us to pray. Let's begin by reading John 17:1-3.
MESSAGE:
*Who taught you how to pray? Well, if you grew up in a godly home, then your parents had a part in the process. Brian Mavis told about praying with his daughter, Shelby, when she was just 3 years old. Shelby would say a prayer and then ask her Daddy, "What did God say?"
*Shelby would pray something like this, "God, thank you for Grandpa and Nana." Then she would look at her daddy and ask, "What did God say?" Brian would reply, "God said, 'You're welcome. I like to give you good things.'"
*Shelby prayed, "God, I'm sorry for lying sometimes." -- "What did God say?" Dad replied, "He said He forgives you. And He wants to help you stop lying."
*Then one day Shelby prayed, "God, can I have a dog?" Her eyes flashed open to her dad, and she asked, "What did God say?" Dad struggled a moment. Then replied, "God said... -- 'It's up to your mommy.'" (3)
*All godly parents want to teach their children how to pray. That makes sense, because our Heavenly Father wants to teach His children how to pray. And one of the best ways to learn is to look at our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1. GOD WANTS US TO PRAY LIKE JESUS, SO FIRST, MAKE PRAYER A RICH PART OF YOUR ROUTINE.
*Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, we can pray anytime, anywhere, and we should. The Lord Himself is the best example we will ever see because His life was rich with prayer.
*Let's look at the Lord's example in vs. 1-2:
1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2. as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."
*It was hours before the cross, and Jesus was facing the greatest crisis of His life, so what did the Lord do? He prayed. Jesus was about to carry the sins of the whole world in His body on the cross, so He prayed. And it's no surprise that Jesus prayed here because His life was rich in prayer. It was His routine to pray.
*Think about the many times we see the Lord in prayer. Mark 1:32-35 tells us about Jesus getting up way before daylight to pray. There God's Word says:
32. Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
33. And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
35. Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
*Luke 6:12-13 tells us about Jesus spending all night in prayer:
12. Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Him; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
*Matthew 11 show Jesus praying a thanksgiving prayer to our Heavenly Father. This prayer came in the context of Jesus rebuking the towns where He had done most of His miracles. And Matthew 11:20-26 says this about Jesus:
20. Then He began to upbraid the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:
21. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
23. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.''
25. At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
26. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."
*In John 11, when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, the Lord prayed. And John 11:41-44 says:
41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.''
43. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!''
44. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go.''
*Jesus prayed early in the morning and all night long. Jesus prayed before He chose His disciples. He prayed in praise and thanksgiving. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. And even on the cross, Jesus prayed. Matthew 27:46 says: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'' that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?''
*Then, Luke 23:46 says, "When Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, 'into Your hands I commend My spirit.' And having said this, He breathed His last." Our Lord's life was filled with prayer, and that's the way He wants us to live too.
*Also think about this: Jesus needed to pray, and if Jesus need to pray, we need it a million times more!
2. SO MAKE PRAYER A RICH PART OF YOUR ROUTINE. ALSO PRAY WITH THE SAME KIND OF CARE WE SEE IN CHRIST.
*God wants us to pray with the same kind of heart-felt care that Jesus demonstrated here.
[1] AND FIRST, HE CARED ABOUT HIS HEAVENLY FATHER.
*We see the Lord's love in vs. 1 where Jesus "lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: 'Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.'" The Lord asked God the Father to glorify His only begotten Son, but Jesus mainly prayed for glory so that He could glorify His Heavenly Father.
*Our Lord and Savior, the only begotten Son of God, has supreme love and devotion for His Heavenly Father. Jesus always wanted to give glory to God the Father.
*William MacDonald explained that "instead of praying that He might be saved from the cross, the Lord Jesus rather prayed that the name of His Father might be glorified. He was more interested that honor should come to God than in His own comfort or safety.
*God was surely glorified through the wonderful words and works of our Savior. And it may be hard for us to understand, but still greater glory would be brought to God through the cross of Christ. So in effect, Jesus was praying, "Father, the hour (for the cross) has come. Glorify Your Son (through the cross), that Your Son also may glorify You." (4)
*John 12:27-33 strongly connects the glory of God with the cross of Christ. Here, just a few days before the cross, Jesus said:
27. "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
28. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."
29. Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."
30. Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
31. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
32. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
33. This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
*William Barclay explained that the cross was the "gateway to glory" for Jesus. "The cross was the glory of Jesus because He was never more majestic than in His death. The cross was the Lord's glory because it became a magnet that draws people to Jesus in a way that even His perfect, miracle-filled life had never done. Further, the cross was the glory of Jesus because it was the completion of His work. By going to the cross Jesus showed that there was nothing that the love of God was not prepared to do and suffer for men, that there was literally no limit to it." (5)
*This is why in Galatians 6:14, Paul would later write, "God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
[2] WHAT DID JESUS CARE ABOUT WHEN HE PRAYED? HE CARED ABOUT HIS FATHER, AND HE CARED ABOUT HIS FLOCK.
*In vs. 1-2:
1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2. as You have given Him authority (or power) over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."
*Jesus cares so much for His flock that He will give eternal life to everyone who will trust in Him. And it is crucial to see that this eternal life God wants us to have is all about knowing God in a personal way. Jesus made this truth clear in vs. 3, when He said, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
*We can all surely know God. But we can only know God through the love that we find in Jesus Christ. God the Father loved us so much that He was willing to send His only begotten Son into the world to die for us. God the Son, Jesus Christ, loved us so much that He was willing to come and die on the cross for our sins.
*Jesus did that because there was no other way for us to be saved, and He did it for love. His loving sacrifice was the only thing that made God's mercy for our sins possible. His loving death was the only thing that could take away the righteous wrath of God.
*And if you are ever tempted to doubt God's love for you, look back to the cross, where Jesus suffered and died for us!
*Now we can have a life-giving relationship with God the Father through our Risen Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus cares so much for us that He will give eternal life to everyone who will receive Him as Lord and Savior.
*He cares for His flock! That's why back in John 10, Jesus said:
10. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
14. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.''
*Jesus cares about His flock, and that makes all the difference in the world! Jesus cares about His flock, so He put us in His prayer.
*Now, God wants all Christians to have the same kind of care for one another. Listen to this sure truth in 1 John 4:9-11:
9. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
*And 1 John 4:20-21 tells us:
20. If someone says, "I love God,'' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21. And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
3. GOD WANTS US TO PRAY WITH THE SAME KIND OF CARE WE SEE IN OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. HE ALSO WANTS US TO PRAY WITH FULL FAITH IN THE FATHER.
*As Jesus prayed here, He had absolute faith in His Heavenly Father. Think about the total trust Jesus had in the Father when He prayed this prayer. Again in vs. 1-3:
1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2. as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
3. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
*Jesus was full of faith in these verses.
-He was fully confident that the Father would glorify the Son.
-Fully confident that the Father had given Him power over all flesh.
-Fully confident that He could give eternal life to everyone the Father had given Him.
-Fully confident that, we can know the Heavenly Father just as Jesus knows Him.
-Fully confident that the Father had sent in Him into the world.
-And fully confident that the Father would answer His prayer.
*Now God wants us to be fully confident that He will answer our prayers at the right time in the right way. Sometimes God will answer our prayers very quickly. But even when He doesn't, we must keep believing in prayer because of God's loving care.
*Whatever you are praying for, don't give up on God! The answer will come. But it will come in God's time and in God's way.
*David Dykes saw this truth in a story about one of his childhood friends. David said, "I had a friend growing up who had the ugliest bicycle I'd ever seen. It was a hand-me-down made from the parts of other bikes. It was so ugly that it didn't even have handlebar grips.
*He was always complaining that his hands would slip off the slick handlebars. And he pestered his dad to buy him some handlebar grips, but his dad kept refusing.
*One day his dad took him to the Western Auto hardware store. Near the front door there were some new handlebar grips for sale. They were plastic and had long streamers hanging from the ends. He said, 'Daddy, Daddy, I've just GOT to have these handlebar grips! Please Daddy!'
*But his dad looked and him and said, 'No son, you don't need those grips. Now come with me to the back of the store.'
*As he followed his dad, my friend was bitter and frustrated. Under his breath he was muttering, 'I never get anything! It's just a lousy three dollars! My dad sure is mean!'
*But when they got to the back of the store, the owner wheeled out a shiny, brand new bicycle, complete with handlebar grips with plastic streamers. And my friend's dad said, 'Here son. It's an early birthday present. I wouldn't buy you any handlebar grips, because I ordered you this new bicycle!'" (6)
*Our Heavenly Father knows infinitely more than we do. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. In fact, our Heavenly Father always knows best, and He cares more for us than any earthly father ever could.
*So, whatever you are praying for, don't give up on God! The right answer will come in God's time, in God's way.
CONCLUSION:
*Christians: It's an amazing thing that we can talk to the God of the whole universe! But because of the cross of Jesus Christ, we have the fantastic privilege of praying. And God wants us to pray.
*So, how should we pray? -- Pray like Jesus prayed.
-Make prayer a rich part of your daily routine.
-Pray with the same kind of care we see in our Savior Jesus Christ.
-And pray with full faith in our loving Heavenly Father.
*Let's get started right now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Sources:
-Various online maps
-https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-far-from-upper-room-gethsemane-during-time-375489
(2) Adapted from:
-THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS THE MESSIAH PART 5: THE CROSS AND THE CROWN by Alfred Edersheim, M.A. Oxon., DD, PhD - Source: EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: MATTHEW by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Place" - Matthew 26:36-38
-Adapted from Frederick W. Farrar, The Life of Christ, Vol. 2., London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, n.d., pp. 305-306 - Source: EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Lord Talks To His Father" - John 17:1-26
-The gate of St. Stephen is also known as the Lion's Gate and the Sheep Gate - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions%27_Gate
(3) Adapted from Brian Mavis in the SermonCentral Weekly Newsletter - 07/10/2003
(4) BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - E. "Jesus Faces Imminent Death (12:27-36)" - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Copyright 1995
(5) BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition (C) Copyright 1975 William Barclay. - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland. - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Glory of the Cross - John 17:1-5 continued"
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/john-12.html
(6) Adapted from SermonCentral illustration contributed by David Dykes
