The Real Lord's Prayer Series

Alliance Church

Pastor David Welch

“The Real Lord’s Prayer” John 17

Review

Know his love more deeply

Know his word more clearly

Love one another fervently

Trust and obey the indwelling Holy Spirit continually.

Pray to the Father passionately and He will answer faithfully

Introduction

In chapter 17 Jesus enters into intimate conversation with His Father only a short time before He is delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. What we have here is the REAL Lord’s prayer. The “our Father” prayer is technically the disciples prayer. The phrase “Jesus spoke these things” ties His prayer into the preceding time of teaching. After Jesus finished talking to His disciples He talked to His Father. What can we learn from this prayer in regard to our own prayer? Is this a good model? All through His time on earth, Jesus enjoyed and even depended upon long periods communicating with the Father. Here, we have a rare glimpse into the content and format of that conversation.

In this most intimate prayer we find a crossing of four basic fabrics.

• Relationship with the Father

• Relationship with the followers

• Requests for self

• Requests for followers

This is a unique example of the ultimate High Priest’s prayer on our behalf.

“because Jesus continues forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:24-25

There are some common threads tying the fabrics together

• The manifestation and restoration of divine glory in regard to the Father and Son

• The intimacy between Father and Son

• The importance of accepting the Son’s relationship with the Father

• The protection of the followers

• The purity of the followers through the word

• The unity of the followers with the father and the son

• The unity of the followers with each other

Relationship with the Father

“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father” 17:1

He addresses God as – “Father” For a Jew this would be a very rare address to God.

Almighty, Everlasting, Holy, Righteous, Most Holy, Lord, but not Father. Jesus address God as Father four times in this prayer to express the closeness of their relationship.

“the hour has come”

Perfect tense verb -- the hour has arrived and is still playing itself out

John referred to “the hour” previously in the book but in terms of its future fulfillment.

John 7:30 John 8:20 12:23 John 12:27-28

What is the hour? Most likely Jesus has in mind not just the hour of his death but also the whole sequence of coming redemption events carefully calculated from the foundation of the world. This was the hour in which the Son of man would terminate his labors by becoming the one and only atoning sacrifice for the sin of mankind; the hour of fulfilling prophecies, types, and symbols; the hour of triumph over the prince of the world; the hour of dismissing the old and of ushering in the new covenant in His blood.

Request for self – glorify the son.

“glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You” John 17:1

John indicated in 1:14 that the disciples “beheld” his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. Jesus’ first request relates to the intimate relationship enjoyed between the Father and the Son. He asks the Father to openly lay bare His true nature in all its glory through this coming hour of darkness so that Jesus may be a true reflection of the Father’s true nature. Because of their most intimate connection, whatever relates to the Son reflects on the Father. Jesus told Philip –“you have seen me, you have seen the Father” Nicodemus recognized that no one could do the things that Jesus did unless God were with him. Similar to a Son or daughter asking the support of a father or mother to achieve their full potential and as a result not only the child but the parent is honored, glorified, esteemed, admired through it all. Jesus asks for a glorious finish to the eternal plan that will bring honor to them both.

Relationship with the father

The Father gave Jesus authority over all flesh

even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, John 17:2

Jesus acknowledges the Father’s honor on Him in the past by granting Him the authority over all flesh. Jesus asks the Father to bring Him through the coming “hour” with the equal display of glory and honor as His authority over all flesh.

The Father gave Jesus followers; Jesus gave them eternal life

that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. John 17:2