Building Up the Church

Opening Prayer

Aren’t we told that our Lord went into the Garden of Gethsemane and fell on His face? I think it would be proper for us if we would get down on our faces before God.

J. Vernon McGee

John 17:1–5 LSB

1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 “I glorified You on the earth, having finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Main Point: The Objective is God’s Glory.

Chapter 17 must be understood in the context of the “Farewell Discourse” that starts in chapter 14.

Jesus unpacks the relationship He has with the Father, and by extension the relationship the Church has with Him and the Father, through the Holy Spirit.

The overtones of these chapters lead to the garden and the cross, and ultimately end with the victory over evil, death, and the grave.

Chapter 17 transitions from the prayer in Gethsemani to the passion and crucifixion.

I. Jesus Shows the Centrality of Prayer In All Things. (v. 1)

He who prays as he ought will endeavour to live as he prays.

John Owen (Puritan Divine and Statesman)

The Son, being incarnate, presents himself to the Father, not as an equal (though He is) but as a servant.

Jesus submits himself to the Father’s will because it is his purpose, and because it the pathway for His glorification.

The Trinity is glorified as Each Person of the Trinity work out in the redemptive work that was present before the universe was set in motion.

Here we see in practice what Paul describes in Colossians 1:17-18

Colossians 1:17–18 LSB

17 And He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

II. Jesus Displays the Saving Power of the Trinity. (v. 2-3)

The authority of Jesus Christ is not related to the will of those who may be willing to subject themselves to Him; it is entirely dependent upon himself and God, who sent Him.

The extent of Jesus’ work is to proclaim the repentance of sinners and the good news of Himself being the deliverer for those who would trust Him.

The Father gifts those who are saved to the Son, so the Son then gives them Eternal Life.

Eternal Life is experienced on this side of eternity by being known by Jesus Christ, and knowing Jesus Christ, personally.

Everlasting life is a jewel of too great a value to be purchased by the wealth of this world.

Matthew Henry (Nonconformist Biblical Exegete)

III. Jesus Presents the Reality of His Work on Earth. (v. 4)

Jesus glorifies the Father as He surrenders in obedience to do what the Father wills Him to do.

The work of Jesus is summarized in one word—incarnation.

The Disciple can obtain certitude and confidence knowing that the work of redemption is accomplished not only by the substitution of Jesus on the cross, but by every aspect of His life, from birth to death.

The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man.

C. S. Lewis

First, the incarnation made it possible for Jesus Christ to die.

James Montgomery Boice

IV. Jesus Now Focuses on the Last Act of the Redemptive Work. (v. 5)

As the earthly ministry was accomplished in the keeping of all the law, and the time of passover was ripe, the time for the glorification of the Son is now at hand.

Jesus is not receiving glory for the first time, as though he is being made God for the first time. He is ascending again, to the glory He laid aside for the sake of humanity’s redemption.

In making the way for humanity to enter eternity, God glorifies Himself to judge sin and to forgive those who will surrender to Him.

God’s overriding goal is to glorify himself.

J. I. Packer

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 17

Our Lord prayed as a man, and as the Mediator of his people; yet he spoke with majesty and authority, as one with and equal to the Father. Eternal life could not be given to believers, unless Christ, their Surety, both glorified the Father, and was glorified of him. This is the sinner’s way to eternal life, and when this knowledge shall be made perfect, holiness and happiness will be fully enjoyed. The holiness and happiness of the redeemed, are especially that glory of Christ, and of his Father, which was the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross and despised the shame; this glory was the end of the sorrow of his soul, and in obtaining it he was fully satisfied. Thus we are taught that our glorifying God is needed as an evidence of our interest in Christ, through whom eternal life is God’s free gift.

Where Do I Go From Here?

Jesus has made the life of his people as eternal as his own.

Charles Spurgeon

Jesus’ Prayer Should Guide Our Prayer Focus.

The Trinity is Full at Work in the Lives of the Saints.

We Take Courage Knowing that The Work is DONE.