The High Priestly Prayer (Part Three) Series

The High Priestly Prayer (Part Three)

Text: John 17:20-26

We’re finishing up John 17 this morning, and we’ll be looking at the last section of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. And just to re-cap… in verses 1 – 5, Jesus prayed for Himself… He prayed that the Father would glorify Him, so that He could in turn, glorify the Father. And if you remember – in those verses, Jesus tells us that eternal life is knowing God. If a person doesn’t know God in this relational way, they can’t claim eternal life.

The Jesus prayed for the 11 Disciples, and for us by extension… He talked about how He had given them the Word, and as a result of that, they came to know the truth and believe. And He prayed specifically for their perseverance in the faith, that they would have joy in knowing Him and knowing the Father, and for their protection from the evil one, and finally that they would be sanctified in the truth.

And that brings us to our text this morning. John 17:20-26. If you would, please take your Bibles and follow along as I read to you the Word of the Lord. (READ TEXT).

So when Jesus says in verse 20, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their Word…”. He’s talking about us… so what He has prayed for the 11 disciples He is also praying for us. So perseverance, joy, protection, and sanctification are all things that Jesus want’s for His Church. He has included us in this request. But then He goes on… look at verse 21 again (READ)

So, He wants us to persevere, He wants us to have joy, He wants us protected and sanctified, SO THAT we can be ONE – Just as He and the Father are ONE.

Now a lot of folks talk about “unity”, but we need to ask the question, “What kind of unity does Jesus have in mind here?” Well, He actually tells us in that verse we just read. The Father and Son are One… They are of one mind, one accord, one goal, one ministry, one purpose, everything they do works together for a shared, common, purpose and goal. They are not opposed to one another, they are not at odds with each other. Think about it for a second…

Salvation was planned in eternity past, before God ever created man in His image, He had a plan to redeem fallen man. I once heard an old time preacher say it like this, God the Father “thought it”, God the Son “bought it”, and God the Holy Spirit “brought it”. All working in unison, doing what needed to be done in order to accomplish their one goal.

To be one means we think about things the way God thinks about them, not the way the world does. To love the way God loves, not the way the world loves. To live our lives the way Jesus lived while on earth, not the way the world does. To pursue the things God desires for us, not the things our flesh desires. It means to love truth. To hate sin. To love one another as He has loved us. To desire what He desires. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

And in order for that to happen, we need to persevere in the faith… if you go out from us, you show that you are not of us – that’s what the Bible says… A person who goes out from Christ, is not part of Christ – is not ONE with Christ, or God the Father. We need joy, because again, without the joy the Lord, this world will drive you into suicidal depression. It will drive you to despair. It will drive you to selfish hedonism. To a point of hopeless apathy, where all you’re concerned about is getting whatever you can – as much as you can, in the time you’ve got. This is the mindset behind that bumper sticker that says, “He who dies with the most toys – wins!” Well… not according to the Bible I’m reading.

Now let me take this a little further if I can… 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says, “For just as the Body is one and has many members, and all the members of the Body, though many, are ONE BODY. So it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

Now you all have heard me talk about this when we’ve done water baptism… Water baptism is an outward picture of this reality. It’s the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into Christ, the minute we get saved. He takes us and unites us to Jesus! Immerses us into Jesus. And since we are in Christ… You’re in Christ, I’m in Christ, the person sitting next to you is in Christ… Every believer… since we are in Christ, we are also joined to one another.