Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer

Introduction

We don’t talk about it much, but did you know that Jesus held several important offices? Of course, the most important is that of God, 2nd person of the trinity, the messiah, but in The Bible we also see Him performing important other roles/offices. These offices are that as a prophet, as God He spoke with the authority of God, so He filled that role more perfectly than any other prophet. He was and is a priest, in fact the Bible tells us that He is the great high priest, who stands in between God’s wrath and us and offered the sacrifice for our redemption. The last office is that of king, He is in fact the perfect king, as the entire world was made in, through, and to Him, all that God would be glorified. So, Jesus holds those offices which we can easily forget about, He is also prophet, priest, and king. As you well know, God the Father did not send God the Son to the earth for no random reason and purpose, no. There was a purpose, He had a mission, a reason for sending Him. That the fulfillment of all the world's events up that point would come true, that God would come to the Earth, and offer Himself as a sacrifice so that we can be redeemed from our sin that separates us so far from God. Jesus did this with distinction, Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer. So do you.

Prayer

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. I ask these things for your glory and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

Context

Here we continue Jesus’ final words with His disciples before they enter the garden of Gethsamane, where soon that night He would knowingly and willingly be arrested. This, as you will remember, was due in large to betrayal by one of their very own, Judas, one the 12 disciples, who would betray Jesus to the religious leaders for 30 pieces of silver. Though they didn’t realize it at the time, this was in fulfillment of messianic prophecy that was given long before.

On this final night, the night of celebrating the passover, Jesus taught His closest students, his hand chosen disciples many important things. The chief of which, a new and important command, of which was to love one another supremely, as the days ahead of them were about to get very difficult and hard to endure. He taught them many other tings as well, all of which was hand chosen designed to strengthen and increase their faith for what was about to come. Remember though, Jesus Himself told them they were not ready to learn all things just yet, but that after He was gone He would send a counselor to them. This is the Holy Spirit, God the Holy Spirit, 3rd person of the Holy Trinity, who indwells in all believers, in all followers of Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit comes, He would teach, lead, and remind them (and us) of many things in all believers life, all that God would receive glory.

In today’s text, Jesus gives a prayer for His disciples and indeed for all believers for all time, including yourself, yep that’s right believer. Right here, we see a record of Jesus praying for you to The Father. This prayer, is the longest of all of His recorded prayers in The Bible, and is often referred to as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.” A prayer that He offered as the High priest of the all the world to God for all of our salvation.

In this prayer, we can glean much from what Jesus saw as important not only in His own mission, but for His followers as well, indeed the author John must have thought it important as well if it was the longest of Jesus' prayers that He wrote down. From it, we can see and understand that Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer. This is true no matter how big, small, old, or young you are. Jesus has a mission for each and every one of us to fulfill, one that is He has uniquely called you to, prepared you for, and commissioned you into. So, let’s see a little more about that from Jesus’ prayer and jump in where From the text, I want you to see and understand these elements that have implications on ourselves from Jesus’ high priestly prayer.

Message

The first element from Jesus’ prayer to see and understand is that: Eternal life is found in Jesus 1-4

17 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you gave him authority over all people,[a] so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent —Jesus Christ. 4 I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.

Jesus begins His prayer here. He prays to His Heavenly Father, acknowledging that the time, the mission He has been called to (to die for us) has finally come. So, notice what was of the utmost importance for Jesus, it was God’s glory. He asked God that He would glorify Him (Jesus) so that He (Jesus) could glorify The Father with what was about to happen. Jesus also acknowledges the authority given to Him, and prays for eternal life for all every person The Father has given Him, because They Know The Father, because they know The Son. Jesus also, seeing what is before, asks the Father that He would be glorified in His presence just as it was before He came into the Earth. And we know, indeed He was given and is given this glory upon glory.

Notice what is so important here to us, that Jesus says it clear as day here, and He has said it clear as day several times to us during this gospel. That eternal life, salvation, requires, it is a MUST that you know the one true God and the one He sent into the World (Jesus Christ) to be redeemed from sins and restored into relationship with God. Eternal life is found in Jesus and Jesus alone. If you look anywhere else you will look in vain.

Last week, Emily and I were listening to a story by the famous Christian writer CS Lewis, who is most famous of the chronicles of Narnia. The story we were listening to was the last of the series called, “The Final Battle” is filled with deep allegory and comparison to what God revealed to us in the book of revelation. In this book, during a time, many of the formerly loyal people of Narnia were deceived from following Aslan (who is a stand in Jesus) and comparing and joining Him with a bird-like-demon who was worshiped as a God from another land called Tash. So, they renamed their God “Tashlan” and were shown in the end to be sorely wrong, just as every person who does not accept that Eternal life is found in Jesus.

Ok, but why then is it true? Because the gap between us and God because of sin is great that no amount of effort from mere human intervention and action will make any difference in making up for the wrongs we have done on the world and to our God! So then, Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer. His mission was to go to the cross and die to pay the penalty for your sin, because as the bible tells us, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Eternal life is found in Jesus, so stop looking and pursuing anywhere else.

The next element from Jesus’ prayer to see and understand is to:Be Sanctified by the truth 5-19

6 “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.9 “I pray[b] for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they are yours. 10 Everything I have is yours, and everything you have is mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect[c] them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction,[d] so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. 13 Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them. 14 I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Before I begin, it’s probably important to explain what the word sanctify means. It means to make Holy. To set something apart as different from the fallen sinful world. It’s not like what we would normally experience here on the world, it’s different because it’s from God.

Jesus’ Prayer here begins to turn subjects, He goes from Himself and God’s glory, to specifics about the people around Him. Jesus shares how they were God’s gives to Jesus, and they have heard every word they needed to and accepted them as truth whole heartedly. They believed and knew that You Father have sent Me. So, I am praying for them now, not just the whole world. Even though I am going, they are still going to be in the world that is filled with trouble, danger, and evil. So, then I ask you Holy Father for their protection. Protect them in My Name and Yours. The world will and has hated them because they are not of this world, so protect them from the evil one and sanctify them. Sanctify them by the truth, which is your word. Father, just as you sent me into the world, so I am sending them as well, so then sanctify them by the truth.

In that same story we were listening to, there was a little donkey, the talking kind. He was called Puzzle, he was a kind natured though slow witted friend who had an unkind and treacherous friend named swift who used Him and was never happy with Puzzle unless he got his way out of him. Well, long story short, Puzzle, despite feeling that was wrong, fell victim to the company he kept and did a disastrous and deceitful deed that would lead to that world end, as shift used him and deception to manipulate many people and even a whole country, would lead to the dread tashlan affair. The story was very sad for poor puzzle for a time, who was polluted by lies, manipulation, and deceit, but in the end He would be Sanctified by the truth and forgiven of all part in the treachery, just as we all are when we believe in The Lord Jesus and Repent from our sin.

Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer. Part of your part, more than just your training. Is to be sanctified by the truth, meaning be sanctified by The Word of God. What does this mean? It means you believer, yes you and me to, need to take a good hard look at yourself and ask, am I daily fining myself in the word of God? Or am daily finding myself with excuses? Am I taking every good and healthy opportunity I can to be sanctified by the truth? Or have I made something or someone else a higher priority? Now, we have all been guilty of this at one time or another, but this isn’t an excuse for or reason for future transgressions. Your actions and decisions show what your priorities are, so then, are they in the right order? Are they out of order? Are they close but need some tweaks? My guess is that all of us, could at least use some tweaks somewhere, because God has us shooting for a higher and higher sanctification, a closer and closeness to Christ likeness. So then, be sanctified by The Truth that you find in God’s word, stop finding ways out, and submit yourself before it with eager gladness as your pursue God’s will in your life, because Jesus has a mission for you believer.

Another element from Jesus’ prayer to see and understand is that:Share your faith by sharing The Gospel 20-26

20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be[e] in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation. 25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you. However, I have known you, and they have known that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”

The prayer continues. Jesus moves on into praying for salvation not just for those that were with Him, but also for those that would receive the word, The Good News, The Gospel from them. So, this part of the prayer is for you, is for us as well. Jesus asks that all who who accept Him, as He is in The Father and The Father in Him, would be with Him forever. They (we, us, all believers) should be as one. They will all see God’s glory because of The Father’s Love for Jesus from eternity. So then, through these disciples The Name of The Father will continue to be known and the love of God can be imparted to mankind and fulfilled forever.

Did you notice this clear implication that Jesus had in His prayer? That the disciples were to go and share their faith others. From this would come new believers who would then go and share their faith with others as well. What does this require? Of course a rudimentary understanding of The Gospel of Jesus, which if you are a follower of Jesus you must have, because you had to accept it. That being said, you don’t have to eloquent or the best and well versed, unless that is your calling and what God has put on your heart, all you have to be is faithful, and understand that God is probably calling you to places that are uncomfortable and even at times unpleasant and hard for you. If you find your walk too easy, watch out, because The Father loves to push His children into something more.

So, from this, we see Jesus clearly implying that each of us and every believer are to share our faith by sharing the gospel. Everyone will have a different part, different patterns, and different functions, but everyone has a role, Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer. Jesus walked to the cross, faced a cruel torture and the sinless one faced all the ones sin on Him as The Father turned His face away from Him with that sin. He did that because He loves God more than anything. Let me ask you, do you love something and do you fear something worse than God? There is no higher calling, and no greater purpose in your life than to bring God greatness, honor, and splendor with your life. So then, have you let fear, worry, lies, conceit, gossip, misplaced priorities rule your world and life? If so, repent believer, and instead fulfill the mission that Jesus has called you to, share your faith by sharing the gospel. Love God, Love others, make disciples.

Conclusion

So then beloved, do you see what is so important to Jesus, here? What He is showing is so important for us to know, even in His final moments on Earth. What is it here? Not only are there elements of prayer, but it has so much to do with knowing, accepting, and sharing the gospel with others as you go and growing in your faith and trust of Jesus as go about your life as a believer. It’s clear that He had a mission, and He was nearing the completion of it in the text of this prayer, and it’s clear in this prayer that each of us are called to a particular mission, do you know and have you honestly been searching for what that is? If you know good, don’t let fear or worry or concern keep you from the pursuit, instead pursue God’s will. If you don’t know it, ask God to give you clarity and vision, and wisdom, and He will; because God is all about His name, His Honor, and His Glory, and He will bring about those requests that are seeking the true fulfillment of that. Do not delay, for Jesus had a mission to fulfill and so does every believer.

With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.