The High Priestly Prayer (part two - John Part 55)
Text: John 17:6-20
Well, this morning we’re going to continue looking at the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John chapter 17. Last Sunday we saw Jesus pray for Himself. Specifically that The Father would glorify the Son, so that the Son could in turn glorify the Father.
Today we’re going to see Jesus praying for the disciples, and then next Sunday – Lord willing, we’ll see Him pray for the Church as a whole, down through history.
And isn’t that the pattern we see in Scripture? What I mean is, is that things kind of radiate out. This prayer begins with Jesus, then expands to include the disciples, and then expands again to include all the Church. It’s kind of like, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And there’s also another principle of prayer here as well. Start with a prayer for yourself, then expand out to include your immediate family and friends… or maybe your church family, and then broaden it to all kinds of other needs.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with praying for yourself, or your own needs… where we tend to get messed up is when we do that in a selfish way. So maybe instead of praying something like, “God please bless me.” We instead pray, “God make me worthy of blessing. God turn my heart toward you in such a way, so that if You choose to bless, I will in turn use it for your glory, honor and praise.”
If you were here last Sunday, we saw Jesus say something similar to that. He didn’t have to pray, “Make me worthy of blessing…”. He already is and was worthy… but He does say, “Glorify Your Son that the Son may Glorify You.”
So let’s look at the second part of this prayer together, and see how Jesus prays for the disciples.
John 17:6-19 (READ).
Now keep in mind that even though it takes us several Sunday’s to unpack all of this… Jesus said all of this at one time. And so, it’s all part of the same context. And it kind of runs together and builds off of the previous verses. For example… What He says in verse 6 is building off of what He just said in verses 1 though 5.
Verse 6 He says, “I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept your Word.”
In verse 2 Jesus said, The Father has given Him all authority, to give eternal life, to all whom the Father has given Him. Verse 4 He says, “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work You gave Me to do…
So - - - I’ve accomplished the work… I’ve manifested Your Name. To whom? To all those You gave Me
Verses 7 & 8 kind of parallel verse 3… I’ve given them Your Word. They’ve received Your Word. They’ve come to know and believe.
All of this also ties right back in with John 15:16 which says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…”.
And you might be scratching your head saying “Hold on a second Pastor Ken… If God gives them, then how is that Jesus chooses them.”
And I would remind you of John 10:30, where Jesus says, “The Father and I are One.” And Church… we’re going to see Him say pretty much the same thing next Sunday in verse 21where Jesus says, “The Father is in Me, and I am in Him.”
GOD IN THREE PERSONS --- BLESSED TRINITY!
Not three modes. Not three manifestations. Three distinct, unique persons, but one God. It’s the Doctrine of the Trinity. It’s Biblical. It’s essential. And people will say, “Well I just don’t. know if I can understand that.”
Well tell me this – Do you understand how God spoke and light came into being? Do you know how God parted the Red Sea in such a way that the Israelites walked across on dry ground? Do you know how God caused the sun to stand still and the universe didn’t blow apart?
God doesn’t explain everything to us, nor is He required to. He makes a statement and we are to believe it with the faith of a child.
Here’s the greatest example I can think of just off the top of my head. “In the beginning God…”.
He doesn’t go into some long instructive narrative about how He is the self-existent Creator. He just make the statement and we are to believe it, and accept it. He is the I AM.
Now let’s break this passage down. Verse 6 Jesus says, “I have manifested Your Name, to the people, whom You gave Me, out of the world.”
Isn’t that cool? To me… that’s really cool. Jesus gives this gift of God’s grace to people who at one time were of the world. You know what? That’s me… and that’s you. At one point in time each and every one of us, was separated from God. We were of the world. We were enemies of God and far from Him. Jesus came to save sinners! Right here Jesus characterizes them as people “who CAME OUT OF THE WORLD.” Or maybe I should say, “BROUGHT OUT of the world.”
Well where are they now? In Christ. Just like you and me, and every other believer. That’s what He says in verse 14, “We are not of this world.” We are a new creation IN Christ.
So what is a Christian? It’s someone who was at one time, was of the world, but who was given by God, to Jesus, and is now found in Christ. And remember John 6, “All that the Father gives to Me, will come to Me, and I will in no wise cast them out.”
This is what we mean when we say, “We are saved by grace through faith.” It is an act of God, the undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor and goodness of God, to give us to Jesus. That’s grace!
And all that the Father gives do what? Turn away? NOPE! COME! They come to Jesus. “Coming to Jesus” is synonymous with having faith in Him. How does that happen? Look at verse 8 – First, the word was given, and they believed. Faith comes by hearing.
Isn’t it cool how all the Bible goes together? It’s almost like it was all written by the same Person… Oh wait a minute! It was – All Scripture is given by inspiration – it’s “breathed out” by God.
And we can read that and we go, “Wow! God is amazing! Saving sinners out of the world simply by His good grace. That’s awesome!” But then we come to verse 9. Verse Nine, where Jesus says, “I don’t pray for the world.” And we go… D’oh!
Let’s look at verses 9-19 again, (READ).
I’m praying for them – those You have given Me… I’m not praying for the world. And what is Jesus praying? First He asks the Father to keep them… that’s verse 11… that they may be one, even as Jesus and the Father are one. Next He says, “Don’t take them out of the world, (that might mess with your rapture doctrine a little)… but keep them from the evil one.” Then Jesus prays that God would “Sanctify” them in the truth of the Word. So Jesus is praying for their protection, their perseverance, and their sanctification and unity in the Word and truth. Why do they need those things? Because they are not of the world, and the world hates them, just as it hates Jesus.
The world is going to attack them in every way possible. It’s going to assault them. Their minds, their physical bodies, their senses, their desires, their bank accounts, their livelihood. Every one of these 11 men is going to die a martyr’s death with the exception of John, who dies of old age, but only after getting tortured, and exiled to slave labor in the Island of Patmos.
Every one of them is going to face temptation… Temptation to sin, to pull back, to give up, to just live a quite, simple, Christian life and not rock the boat. But instead the turn the world upside down. Every one of them is going to be persecuted. Slandered, lied about, assaulted, and killed. Every one of them is going to face difficulties due to being a Christian… as if living in this fallen world wasn’t hard enough right? But you start speaking the truth, start standing on the truth, start making waves, and challenging the evil worldviews around you, the world is going to push back, sometimes hard.
But… Jesus has prayed for them.
And He’s still interceding for us today. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus is “able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
In 1 John 2:1, John tells us that Jesus is our advocate with the Father.
He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding and advocating for you and me, and all who are His.
So let me sum up what we’ve seen so far and then we’ll close.
Jesus is praying and He wants us to know God, and know Himself, that’s verse 3.
He prays that we would be steadfast and persevere in the faith, that’s verse 11.
He prays that we would be unified in the Word and the truth, and be of one spirit just as He and the Father are… that’s also verse 11.
He prays that we would be filled with joy – that’s verse 13.
And be protected from the evil one – verse 15.
He prays that we would be sanctified through God’s Word in verse 17, and also in verse 19.
Now I don’t know about you all, but I’ve met some people over the years who I would say are “Prayer Warriors”. People who can “pray the roof off” as they used to say.
I pray a lot – I need it – Amen?! Many times a day, throughout the day. I actually love praying.
But there’s only one Person throughout all of history who has every single prayer they’ve ever prayed answered. And he’s interceding and advocating for you and me, at the right hand of the Father.
His Name is Jesus!
Do you know Him?
CLOSING
