John 17 The
High Priestly Prayer WC McCarter
Introduction
We will
spend the next few minutes getting into the mind of Christ. We will listen in
as He prays for Himself, the Apostles, and all future believers including us! This
chapter is the longest of Jesus’ recorded prayers and is filled with valuable
insights as it is spoken only hours before the cross. If any prayer can be
called, “The Lord’s Prayer,” it is this one!
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Prayer for Himself (1-5)
The Apostle
informs us that Jesus continues to speak, but not in discourse. We are told
that Jesus’ eyes left the viewing of His disciples and lifted up to heaven. This
was the typical way a Jew would pray. The dialogue with the disciples had
ended, and Jesus’ conversation with the Father began.
When Jesus
requests to be glorified, He means that He is ready for the Father to make the
divine plan of redemption complete. He is ready to suffer and die on the cross
for the redemption of man and the defeat of the evil one. The Father would be
intimately involved in that glorification (and we will see this next week as we
begin to look at the cross). Jesus has been given the authority to enact the
divine plan of salvation over all flesh. The goal of the glorification of the
Son of God is the gift of eternal life for man.
There is
only one true God and you must know Him to have eternal life. You must also
know the One whom God has sent, Jesus Christ. Christ has come to reveal the
Father. In fact, you cannot know the Father if you do not know Christ. How is
knowing the Father and Son eternal life? It will take an eternity to search the
depths of God.
Jesus was so
sure that He would follow through with the suffering that He says that He has
completed the work. The preexistence of the Son is acknowledged here. He was
the Word in the beginning, was with God, and in fact was God. Jesus prays for
Himself in the sense that He wills to be back in the place of glory that He had
left. Yet, this is not a selfish prayer by any means. It is the Father’s plan
that Jesus be exalted back to His place in glory, and it would mean victory for
all who know and believe in the Son of God. If Christ did not return to His
exalted place, we would be shamed. Jesus Christ sought glory in the cross. You
may think, why not military victory? Why not economic victory? Know this: the
foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of man.
Prayer for Apostles (6-19)
Jesus is
having a conversation with the Father, and in this next passage He is referring
to the disciples that He would soon be leaving. The largest part of the Lord’s
prayer is devoted to His disciples. The prayer continues Jesus’ theme in the
Upper Room Discourse of preparing those men for His departure. He had taught
them all that He could, and now He prays for them. On the last night of Jesus’
life on earth, He spends much of His time in prayer. He prays here in John 17,
and we also know that He prayed in Gethsemane.
Jesus states
in verse nine that His concern in this part of His prayer was restricted to
only the eleven men who were with Him. We know that God loves the world, but He
loves His people in a special way.
Jesus
acknowledges again that He is leaving. He asks that the Father continue to
protect those who had put their faith in the One who was sent. You know, our
culture has promoted independence and privacy, of which I hold near and dear. Americans
have built a great country by working hard, supporting themselves and their own
families, and by minding their own business. To some degree these are Christian
principles as well. But, I must add that Christians are to be loyal to one
another. We are to be uniquely united with one another and devoted to one another
in love. Despite their gloomy future, Jesus intended that the disciples be
united and He intended to fulfill their joy. Even in the worst of situations,
your joy can be full.
The reason
that the disciples could be said to be “not of the world” is somehow linked to
them receiving the Word of God. I think this point is crucial. What is it that
makes you outstanding from this world? You have received, believed, and kept
the Word of God, which has at its center the Gospel. Jesus was not praying that
the Father would take His disciples out of the world. He was praying that the
Father would keep them from the evil one. When we come to the faith, when we
accept Christ, we are not plucked out of this world and taken to heaven. We are
left here, obviously with a task to do. We know that the task at hand is to
make disciples of all the nations.
All along
the way, even as we are making disciples, we are being sanctified, that is,
being made holy. Sanctification is the progress of the believer’s life in
Christ. It is growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
is done by the Holy Spirit who takes truth, the very word of God written on the
pages of Holy Scripture, and applies it to our hearts.
Prayer for Future Believers (20-26)
Christ has
prayed about His coming sufferings and exaltation, the Apostles, and now He prays
for all future believers. Christ prayed for those who would later believe
because of the Apostle’s word. You and I
have believed their message about Christ. So, He was praying for us! As we
listen in on the last few verses of the Lord’s prayer, we hear Him praying for
us.
We have come
to saving faith in Jesus Christ because of the work of the Apostles. The Lord
used them to write the pages of Holy Scripture. The Gospel message that we have
believed is found in the New Testament which they wrote. So, we have continued
in the Apostle’s doctrine even until today. The doctrinal authority of this
church is not the preaching and teaching pastor, but the Apostles themselves. I
believe what they believed, preach/teach what they proclaimed, and follow their
practices in the New Testament, and so do you.
Jesus’ chief
concern for you and me in this prayer is unity. This was His same prayer for
the first followers. What is it that unites us? At this point He has said
nothing about love. We will get to that. All He has mentioned thus far is the
message of the Apostles. What is their message? It is the Gospel that unites us. We are all called to believe, obey, and proclaim
the Gospel of Christ. The glory of Christ is found in the Gospel which has been
passed down to us. Do we all understand what the Gospel is worth? The message
of Christ crucified is the greatest treasure in all the world, and we are
partakers in it!
But there is
even more that unites us. Christ Himself has said that He would be in us. He
will bring us together. That is how we are made perfect in one. The unity that
the Lord wants to create among believers allows the world to see that the
Father has sent the Son and that He loves us. I wonder if that message is
getting across to the world. I wonder if that message is getting across to our
community. Do they know that Jesus Christ has come to save them because of our
unity? Do they know that the Father loves us because we are united? I can only hope
so, and work to that end. Jesus prays in verse 23 that we would be perfectly
united that is, completely united in purpose and love.
The Lord
could not talk about unity and not include love. Love is the last note of His
lengthy prayer for His followers. On several occasions in the New Testament,
love is called upon last like the covering that binds all things together. The
Scripture says that love covers a multitude of sins, and that is exactly what
we need for unity. We need our sins covered, and they are by the blood of
Christ and our love for one another.
Christ says
that He has declared the Father’s name and that He would continue to declare
it. I interpret His continuing work of revealing the Father to be through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit. In this way, believers are indwelt with the person
and love of the Father and of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion and Christian Application
(1) If we are to apply the
accomplishments of Christ in our own lives, church, and community, then we must
seek to find glory where He found glory. He sought glory in sufferings and
ultimately in His death on the cross. If you are going to point someone to
glory, if you want eternal life for them, you must point them to the suffering
of Christ.
(2) You have been called out of this
world to pursue the things of Christ Jesus. We must pursue holiness, pursue
truth, and make disciples. Do not follow the things of this word, but follow
the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(3) It is important to notice that
Christ wants us to be united, and He has shown us what it is that should unite
us. In unity we will find wonderful Christian friendship, a thriving church,
and a community that will know that Christ has come to demonstrate the love of
God.