The Great Intercessor

John 17:1-26

17 times the words given,gave, give.

This chapter speaks often of what The Father gave to The Son. Authority, Disciples. finishing the work the Father gave for Him to do.

it wasn’t that Jesus was given authority and never exercised it .

The Father gave Jesus disciples and He said none of them where lost except the son of perdition referring to Judas.

Jesus was given and utilized what He has been given.

Allot of us was given something from God and its dormant.

God has not given you the spirit of fear. but power love and a sound mind.

God has given us power love and a sound mind but we live in fear.

Allot of times we live in what God has not given.

God has given you a church but you want to stay home and watch church on you couch.

This is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the Bible.

This is the official Lords prayer.

This prayer is taken right before Jesus would be arrested and taken ultimately to the cross.

There somethings in this prayer that can help us understand the heart of Jesus better.

John 17:1 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,

When Jesus prayed He lifted up His eyes towards heaven.

It contrast with when we pray we bow our heads and close our eyes.

Its safe to say Jesus is confident in who He is commuting to.

He know Who He is and Who The Father is.

Sometimes its not always WHAT we pray, but HOW we pray. That could be a direct reflection of how we see God and how we see ourselves.

John 11:41 “41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.”

Ps. 123:1 “1 Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.”

Mk 7:34 “34 Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.””

Repeatedly throughout the Gospel we are told that the “how has not yet come

John 2:4 “4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.””

John 7:6 “6 Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.”

John 7:8 “8 You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.””

John 8:20 “20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.”

The Gospel according to John 1. Jesus Prays for His Glorification (17:1–5)

The time (hōra, ‘hour’) is the appointed time for Jesus’ death/exaltation, for his glorification.

Why did Jesus pray.

As so often in Scripture, emphasis on God’s sovereignty functions as an incentive to prayer, not a disincentive.

Just because God is sovereign that shouldn’t dissuade our prayer life that should persuade us even more.

Just because The Fathers will will be done, shouldn’t stop us from praying. But we enter into prayer so we can be apart of that will.

Gods will will be done with or without us.

Jesus didn’t look for Glorification as a end of itself.

But He looked at glorification so He can glorify The Father.

Glorification was not it for Jesus

But He wanted to be glorified to glorify The Father.

The glory he is talking about is found in John 17:5 “5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Glorification means to clothe in splendor.

Jesus emptied Himself now He wants to be restore to His rightful position which is at he right hand of The Father.

John 17:2 NKJV

2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

The grounds for Jesus petition is this verse.

So theres an analogical pattern. This can be schematized as follows.

Dan. 7:14 “14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

Matt 11:27 “27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

Phil 2:10 “10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,”

John 17:3 NKJV

3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Can we have eternal life now? Yes

Can we experience eternal life now?

Yes

Eternal life is not endless existence.

All of humanity will go somewhere the answer is where would that be?