2015.03.15 John 17: 1- 24
Jesus´ High Priestly Prayer
As we prepare our hearts for Resurrection Sunday…. We
are walking with Jesus during the
last 10 days of His earthly ministry…Jesus
told His disciples that He would be betrayed and crucified…….. He warned and encouraged them… He wanted
to prepare them to endure the grief and
sorrow that was soon to hit them…..
Jesus
is preparing the disciples for hard times...…… Sorrow and fear
will soon come upon them like a massive flood…… They will soon be discouraged
and scattered as their world comes falling down….. He is not only preparing
them…… He is also comforting their hearts by telling them what will happen…..
He says you will be sorrowful….. but the
sorrow is only temporary….. Your sorrow will turn to joy!
In John 13 v1 we understand something wonderful about our
Lord Jesus……
John
13: 1 NKJV Schlachter 2000
13
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come
that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who
were in the world, He loved them to the end.
1 Vor dem Passahfest aber, da Jesus wußte, daß seine
Stunde gekommen war, aus dieser Welt zum Vater zu gehen: wie er die Seinen
geliebt hatte, die in der Welt waren, so liebte er sie bis ans Ende.
Even though Jesus was to be crucified the very next day……
He continued to love His disciples to the very last minute that He had with
them….. Jesus was preparing them for the horrible times ahead……. He was only
interested in loving and serving His disciples……. In John 14…. Jesus said…v 1
…. Don´t let your heart be troubled… in v 15 He promised to send the Comforter…. And in v18….
Jesus said…. I will come to you…. lets it read again…. John 14: 18….
John
14: 18 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
18 I
will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
18 Ich lasse euch nicht als Waisen zurück; ich komme zu
euch.
I will not leave you orphans….. I will come to you…..
Jesus says…..listen guys….. I have been telling you all
this to take away the sorrow and turn it to joy…... But instead of being
excited and joyful….. they're still sorrowful because he said that He is going
away and they can´t come with Him…... Sorrow
has filled their hearts…… Jesus is responding to them in His unfailing love
here……
Jesus
shows them His Chesed… His unfailing love…
Jesus
unfailing Love for His own…..
1 He has told them the future to prepare them…..
He
said I lay down my life for the sheep…
John 10
2 He has promised to Holy Spirit to lead and teach
them…… John 14…v16
3 He has promised His indwelling presence to
sustain them…… John 14v16…
4 He has promised that He will continue to
intercede for them and all that would believe on His in the future….. John 17….
5 He has promised that His own will be with
Him forever…..john 17…
Jesus was crucified and buried….. He died for our sins…
Then He rose from the dead… All of it happened exactly as He said….. And now He
is seated at the right hand of the Father… This morning we will get a preview
of What Jesus is doing now…. Jesus´ High
Priestly prayer…..
Turn in your Bible with me to John17….
This passage is what is known as Jesus' High Priestly prayer….
It is a picture of Jesus….. Loving and protecting His own…… interceding for His
own…… It is in this chapter that the veil to the Holy of Holies is drawn
back….. and with Jesus we approach to the very throne of God……. Jesus Himself is approaching the throne of
Grace for His own….
At the end of chapter 16 in verse 33…… Jesus said…..
John
16: 33 NKJV Schlachter 2000
33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world
you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
33 Dies habe ich zu euch geredet, damit ihr in mir
Frieden habt. In der Welt habt ihr Bedrängnis; aber seid getrost, ich habe die
Welt überwunden!
v33…
I have overcome the world…. With that promise of ultimate
victory….. Jesus Finishes His most important last words to His disciples….. And
now He prays for them and for us…. Here is an outline of His prayer…
Jesus
prays for our…
1
preservation… Father keep and protect them…. v11
2
joy…
give them my joy… v13
3
liberation…. Free them from the power of sin and Satan… v
15
4
sanctification… make them Holy…. v17
5
Unity…. Keep them united in Me and the Gospel… v22
6
unbroken Fellowship….. bring them to be with me… v24
7
glorification…… Glorify them with the same Glory that you
have given me…. V22- 24
John 17 v 1…
John
17: 1- 5 NKJV
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. 4 I have glorified You
on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And
now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had
with You before the world was.
John 17: 1- 5 Schlachter 2000
1 Dies redete Jesus und hob seine Augen zum Himmel empor
und sprach: Vater, die Stunde ist gekommen; verherrliche deinen Sohn, damit
auch dein Sohn dich verherrliche
2 — gleichwie du ihm Vollmacht gegeben hast über alles
Fleisch, damit er allen ewiges Leben gebe, die du ihm gegeben hast.
3 Das ist aber das ewige Leben, daß sie dich, den allein
wahren Gott, und den du gesandt hast, Jesus Christus, erkennen.
4 Ich habe dich verherrlicht auf Erden; ich habe das Werk
vollendet, das du mir gegeben hast, damit ich es tun soll.
5 Und nun verherrliche du mich, Vater, bei dir selbst mit
der Herrlichkeit, die ich bei dir hatte, ehe die Welt war.
v1…These
things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to Heaven, He said…… This
sentence refers to all of John ch13 to ch16…
Now Jesus is going to pray to the Father to bring to pass
the plan…… The plan that they had made from before the foundation of the World…..
To bring to reality all the promises
that Jesus made……
Jesus knew the mind of God…. He knew what God had
promised and what God was doing…. And He knew what God would do….. He was
Himself the perfect reflection of the Father…..
Over and over again in the Word of God we see great
Theological statements…. We could spend years looking at this prayer just for
the theology that´s in it….. But this morning we are looking at Jesus ´
practical examples of submission to the Fathers will and His love and intercession
for us….
Why was Jesus praying? Jesus in His willing subjection
and submission to the Father….. Humbled and Submitted Himself to the
Father's will….. Notice here that knowing the Will of God did not cause Him
to cease to pray….. Instead we see Jesus passionately asking God to do what He
had He had said He would do…... Glorify
your son….. as I glorify you by giving eternal life to those that you have
given me…..
Jesus says…. I
have Glorified you! And now I have finished my work…. Father let our full and
shared Glory be seen….. Just like when we were together before the World was…..
Then in the next few verses we understand the work that the Father gave him
to do….. John 17: 6….
John
17: 6- 8 NKJV
6 “I
have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.
They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they
have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have
given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them,
and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that
You sent Me.
John
17: 6- 8 Schlachter 2000
6 Ich habe deinen Namen den Menschen offenbar gemacht,
die du mir aus der Welt gegeben hast; sie waren dein, und du hast sie mir
gegeben, und sie haben dein Wort bewahrt.
7 Nun erkennen sie, daß alles, was du mir gegeben hast,
von dir kommt;
8 denn die Worte, die du mir gegeben hast, habe ich ihnen
gegeben, und sie haben sie angenommen und haben wahrhaft erkannt, daß ich von
dir ausgegangen bin, und glauben, daß du mich gesandt hast.
Look with me at v 6….. I have revealed you to those that
you have given me out of the world…. They were your´s and you have given them
to me…. They have kept your word……. Not exactly perfectly….. But they have
believed and followed Him….. They get it…… They know the truth and they have
received it…. Let´s continue v 9…
John
17: 9- 14 NKJV
9 “I
pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given
Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am
glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the
world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You
have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none
of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be
fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world,
that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your
word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I
am not of the world.
John 17: 9- 14 Schlachter 2000
9 Ich bitte für sie; nicht für die Welt bitte ich,
sondern für die, welche du mir gegeben hast, weil sie dein sind.
10 Und alles, was mein ist, das ist dein, und was dein
ist, das ist mein; und ich bin in ihnen verherrlicht.
11 Und ich bin nicht mehr in der Welt; diese aber sind in
der Welt, und ich komme zu dir. Heiliger Vater, bewahre sie in deinem Namen,
die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie eins seien, gleichwie wir!
12 Als ich bei ihnen in der Welt war, bewahrte ich sie in
deinem Namen; die du mir gegeben hast, habe ich behütet, und keiner von ihnen
ist verlorengegangen als nur der Sohn des Verderbens, damit die Schrift erfüllt
würde.
13 Nun aber komme ich zu dir und rede dies in der Welt,
damit sie meine Freude völlig in sich haben.
14 Ich habe ihnen dein Wort gegeben, und die Welt haßt
sie; denn sie sind nicht von der Welt, gleichwie auch ich nicht von der Welt
bin.
v9… I pray for them… Thank God! We have an advocate with the Father…
I pray for those that you have given me…. They are
yours…..
v10
I am Glorified in them…..
Jesus says I am Glorified in them? WOW! Us? Not ….. not
very often does this happen…… But it will
happen because it is part of God´s plan….
v11….
Now I am no longer in the world…. Jesus has already moved
beyond the cross…… I´m out of here…… Father you keep and protect them…. So that
they may be 1…. Jesus is praying for our preservation in the Father….. and He
is asking the Father to do it for us…. He will keep us in the Lord Jesus
Christ….. God himself will do it!
v12…
While I was in the world…. I kept them in your name…. And none is
lost…except the son of perdition…. So that the scripture is fulfilled….
v13…
now I come to You…. I want them to have my joy in themselves….
v14…
I have given them your word…. Remember Jesus said … What I hear….
That I speak (declare)… They came to me and now they are Hated…. Let´s look at
verse 15 and 16
John
17: 15,16 NKJV Schlachter 2000
15 I
do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should
keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of
the world.
15 Ich bitte nicht, daß du sie aus der Welt nimmst,
sondern daß du sie bewahrst vor dem Bösen.
16 Sie sind nicht von der Welt, gleichwie auch ich nicht
von der Welt bin.
V 15…. I do not
pray that you take them out of the world…. but protect them from Satan…. We
are here to proclaim the GOOD News! Just like Jesus was sent into the world… we
have also been sent into the world….
V 16 They are not
of the World…. We are in the world… but we don´t belong here…. Heaven is
our home…..
Let´s look at these next verses in NLT and Neues Leben….
John
17: 17-19 NLT
Neues Leben
17 Make
them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18
Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I
give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your
truth.
17 Reinige sie und heilige sie, indem du sie
deine Worte der Wahrheit lehrst. 18 Wie du mich in die Welt gesandt
hast, so sende ich sie in die Welt.
19 Und ich gebe mich ganz für sie hin, damit auch sie
durch die Wahrheit ganz dir gehören.
v17 make them Holy by your truth….
v18 I am sending them into the world….
v19…. Here we see another amazing thing that Jesus did for us on the cross…. He gave Himself as
a Holy Sacrifice…. So that we could become Holy by God´s truth… Jesus has been praying for the disciples
directly….
Now beginning in verse 20 Jesus is interceding for the
church…... John 17 verse 20…..
John
17: 20- 26 NKJV
20
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me
through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and
I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You
sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be
one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made
perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have
loved them as You have loved Me.
24
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am,
that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before
the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known
You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have
declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You
loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17: 20- 26 Schlachter 2000
20 Ich bitte aber nicht für diese allein, sondern auch
für die, welche durch ihr Wort an mich glauben werden,
21 auf daß sie alle eins seien, gleichwie du, Vater, in
mir und ich in dir; auf daß auch sie in uns eins seien, damit die Welt glaube,
daß du mich gesandt hast.
22 Und ich habe die Herrlichkeit, die du mir gegeben
hast, ihnen gegeben, auf daß sie eins seien, gleichwie wir eins sind,
23 ich in ihnen und du in mir, damit sie zu vollendeter
Einheit gelangen, und damit die Welt erkenne, daß du mich gesandt hast und sie
liebst, gleichwie du mich liebst.
24 Vater, ich will, daß, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir
seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir
gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt vor Grundlegung der Welt.
25 Gerechter Vater, die Welt erkennt dich nicht; ich aber
erkenne dich, und diese erkennen, daß du mich gesandt hast.
26 Und ich habe ihnen deinen Namen verkündet und werde
ihn verkünden, damit die Liebe, mit der du mich liebst, in ihnen sei und ich in
ihnen.
We could study these verses for the rest of our lives….
It is full of wonderful and powerful truth…… To me the most powerful is the
amazing love that Jesus has for His own……. That´s us…… We belong to him…. Jesus
is on his way to the cross….. Finally after being told many times…… The
disciples are beginning to understand…… They are broken hearted….
Jesus has great compassion and love for them…..
Nothing is a better picture of the love of Jesus for us
than that He prays for His own…. Listen to me…
He has you and me in His prayers right now…. And notice
this please…. He is not praying that we will be taken out of this world… He is
praying that the Father will preserve and protect us…… He knows your deep
sorrow and grief and He carries us to the throne of the Father….. He pleads for
us…. And He also prays that He will
sanctify and Make us Holy with His truth… His words of Life….….. That's how much He loves His own……
Here in these verses… Jesus has prayed for His disciples…
And now as He comes to verse 20 His prayer looks into the future beyond the
Apostles…
Look at verse 20... I
do not pray for these alone."
Jesus prayed for all that would ever believe….. Jesus is praying
for you and me right now…..
Before we were even born…. Jesus was praying and
interceding for us….
As far as the disciples were concerned…. He knew that
they would stumble and run away…. They would soon abandon Him…… Jesus had prayed for them that their faith
would not fail…… He knew that they would make it through those very hard
days and nights….. He knew that the Father
would preserve them and restore them….. He knew that they would soon turn
the world upside down with the Good News… These sorrowful and weak disciples would
be restored….
You know, I think it was good for the disciples to hear Jesus´
prayer that night…. it would comfort and encourage them in the days to come…. After the Resurrection and the day of
Pentecost…. They would see a great
revival right there in Jerusalem…… The whole flow of redemptive history would center
on these first disciples…. The church would be born from their preaching…... So
to summarize…. Jesus prayed for His very own... All of them…. Including the sheep
yet unborn and unconverted....
It's amazing to remember that two thousand years ago
Jesus was praying for us….. He was interceding
for us and all who would believe…... And that's how He cares for us today too… this constant intercession continues in heaven……
Jesus is praying for His own….
1 He prays for our oneness (unity) in Him…. v21-23
2 He
prays for our personal presence with Him forever…… v24
Let's look, first of all, at oneness, verse
21, "I pray that they may all be one….
This is a very simple statement…. It's a
very popular verse….. It is often used by those who would like to get us to
sort of set aside our doctrinal differences….
Others think that this is some kind of
practical unity where...where we just look like we got it together as a group…
Of course we need to accept each other as much as possible…. We need to work
together as much as possible… But this text is talking about more than just a simple external Christian unity…..
There is a goal to the unity that Jesus is praying for here….
Jesus asks the Father to bring us to a holy ….Godly kind
of Unity…. A unity centered in the Lord Jesus….. Shown to the world because He has given us His Glory….. look at John 17 v 22,23…
John
17: 22, 23 NKJV Schlachter 2000
22
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as
We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one,
and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You
have loved Me.
22 Und ich habe die Herrlichkeit, die du mir gegeben
hast, ihnen gegeben, auf daß sie eins seien, gleichwie wir eins sind,
23 ich in ihnen und du in mir, damit sie zu vollendeter
Einheit gelangen, und damit die Welt erkenne, daß du mich gesandt hast und sie
liebst, gleichwie du mich liebst.
Verse 22… Amazing to think that the Lord has given us some
of His glory...... Jesus says….. I have given them the Glory that you gave me….
What is the glory which God gave to Jesus? His own glory…..
Jesus was God in human flesh…..
And Jesus is
saying, "I'm giving them the same
glory." Amazing. "Father, You gave Me all Your attributes, all Your
character in human flesh, and I'm giving Your attributes to them."
What happens when you're a Christian? Jesus comes to take
up residence in your heart… John 14: 18
John
14: 18 NKJV Schlachter 2000
18 I
will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
18 Ich lasse euch nicht als Waisen zurück; ich komme zu
euch.
Jesus transforms our hearts and minds…. You couldn't live
a holy life….. we couldn´t live a Holy minute…… unless we have Jesus living and working in our
hearts and minds…. But we can live Holy
lives….. Jesus has asked the Father to do this miracle in our hearts and
minds…. This is exactly What God said that he would do in Ezekiel 36:25-28…
God
manifested Himself in Jesus and Jesus has manifested Himself in us…..
This is wonderful truth…... And when start to show that same loving and Godly character, the world will say……
These people have been with Jesus…. "Jesus must be a Savior."
That´s the first thing that we see in this section….. Jesus asks the father for our holiness and
unity in Him….
And then in verse
24 we have another important feature of Jesus' prayer….. Jesus prays for our eternal fellowship with
Him…… This is how the whole prayer ends…... v24….
John
17:24 NKJV Schlachter 2000
24
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am,
that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before
the foundation of the world.
24 Vater, ich will, daß, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir
seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir
gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt vor Grundlegung der Welt.
Amazing… Jesus the
glorious Son of the living God prays to His Father that He might have us with
Him…. He asks for the Father to grant the eternal presence of all of us with
Him in Glory….. This is also part of God´s perfect plan….. But it´s still
incredible and wonderful….
God
chose us before the foundation of the world….. John 6:39,40….
To share in the resurrection with Jesus…. And to be with Jesus
forever… that's God's plan…..
He wants us with him so that we can see His Glory!
We see Christ with the eye of faith….. But there's going
to come a day when He will show us His
true Glory….. He wants us to reflect His Glory to a lost and
dying world…. and that's why in 1 John
3: 1….
it says we will be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is.
1
John 3: 1-3
NKJV
1 Behold
what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called
children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know
Him.
2
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we
shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is.
3
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
1 John 3: 1-3 slt 2000
1 Seht, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erwiesen, daß
wir Kinder Gottes heißen sollen! Darum erkennt uns die Welt nicht, weil sie Ihn
nicht erkannt hat.
2 Geliebte, wir sind jetzt Kinder Gottes, und noch ist
nicht offenbar geworden, was wir sein werden; wir wissen aber, daß wir ihm
gleichgestaltet sein werden1, wenn er offenbar werden wird; denn wir werden ihn
sehen, wie er ist.
3 Und jeder, der diese Hoffnung auf ihn hat, reinigt
sich, gleichwie auch Er rein ist.
One day we will see Jesus as He is…. Jesus in all of His
Glory…. and we will worship Him forever and ever…..
Let´s look at the final 2 verses…. John 17: 25,26…
John
17: 25, 26 NKJV Schlachter 2000
25 O
righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these
have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will
declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in
them.”
25 Gerechter Vater, die Welt erkennt dich nicht; ich aber
erkenne dich, und diese erkennen, daß du mich gesandt hast.
26 Und ich habe ihnen deinen Namen verkündet und werde
ihn verkünden, damit die Liebe, mit der du mich liebst, in ihnen sei und ich in
ihnen.
Here is a perfect illustration of prayer….. He knows the
will of God and He prays for it….. Prayer is not about changing God's mind
about things….. It is affirming God's will….. That's why we pray, "Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come...... and the
next line says... Thy will be done."
The Son always
prays according to the will of God… and the Father always answers…. How
wonderful that we have such a Faithful and awesome High Priest…… Jesus is at
the right hand of the Father….. He is praying for us….. day and night…..
Close
In closing let´s make a list of the things that Jesus has
been praying for….
Jesus
prays for our…
1
preservation… Father keep and protect them…. v11
2
joy…
give them my joy… v13
3
liberation…. Free them from the power of sin and Satan… v
15
4
sanctification… make them Holy…. v17
5
Unity…. Keep them united in Me and the Gospel… v22
6
unbroken Fellowship….. bring them to be with me… v24
7
glorification…… Glorify them with the same Glory that you
have given me…. V22- 24
Dear
friends…. Since we belong to Jesus… our
future in certain…. And our future is Glorious….. Forever in the presence the
one who paid it all for us…. Let´s pray…
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