The Hour has come (58)
Notes
Transcript
Good morning, Church family,
I pray that everyone is well, healthy, and excited to be here today in the Lord's house. I hope everyone is ready to worship and praise our mighty God and dig into his word to find his truths, the only truths.
Please join me in prayer....
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You, seeking the illumination of Your Holy Word. May it penetrate our hearts and minds, bringing wisdom, comfort, and guidance. Open our eyes to see the hidden treasures within Your Scriptures, May Your Spirit lead us in discernment, revealing the beauty of Your message, and may we apply Your teachings in our daily lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen
This morning we are continuing in the gospel of John, which we first started this book back last year, and for the last 18 months or so we as a church have been working our way through this gospel chapter by chapter, verse by verse line by line.
Today, we are in John 17. Now we are stepping onto holy ground. this chapter that we are at the threshold of today has been called the holy of holies in the biblical text by many men of God. Because here Christ, the son of God, is in the presence of the Father, making the most intimate and sacred appeals possible. it is in this prayer where the glory of God is revealed and where the deepest love between Father and Son is made manifest. This chapter is not merely a record of Jesus praying—it is a window into the eternal communion between the Father and the Son. It is called the High Priestly Prayer, this is the longest recorded prayer of Christ found in Scripture, and it reveals the very heart of our Redeemer.
Before we read, let me encourage you: if you are someone who loves to highlight your Bible, this entire chapter deserves to glow in yellow. Every verse is a feast for the soul. Whether you have walked with the Lord for decades or this is your first time in church, these words will nourish you.
And like a fine meal we must spend our time with it. We must savor and enjoy every bite, every sip, every breath of the aroma because these verses will shine a light on the glory of God and bring comfort to every believer.
This prayer comes at a pivotal moment. Jesus and His disciples have just finished the Last Supper. The sun has set for the last time before the crucifixion.
In just a few hours, Judas will betray Him with a kiss.
In just a few hours, Jesus will stand before the Sanhedrin, condemned as a blasphemer.
In just a few hours, Peter will deny Him not once, not twice but three times.
In just a few hours, the same crowd that shouted Hosanna! will cry Crucify Him!
And in just a few hours, the Son of God will be lifted up on the cross.
Now I’m telling you all this so you have that in mind, you know what is coming and Jesus knows what is coming.… with that knowledge, of what the next few hours hold, the Son goes to the Father in prayer.
I have been blessed to share with you today, the first 5 verses which form the opening petition of the prayer, and they are saturated with the doctrines of grace. Here we see the sovereignty of God, the particularity and focus of redemption, the nature of eternal life, and the preexistent glory of Christ.
This chapter, these verses are burning with his truths and are intended to set a blaze in our hearts for praise and worship.
That being said
Let us hear the Word of the living God!
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
“When Jesus had spoken these words…”
(V.1)
These words mark the close of His earthly ministry—the end of the Upper Room discourse (John 13–16). In those chapters, Jesus taught His disciples about love and service, promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, and urged them to abide in Him as the true Vine. He warned of persecution but offered peace:
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Now, having spoken these words, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven—not in despair, but in victory.
I. The Son’s Posture: Eyes Lifted to Heaven (v. 1)
This lifting of the eyes is confidence not in despair but in victory! Christ is looking where his strength is, —He looks at His Father. To lift one’s eyes is to fix one’s gaze on eternal hope. Not to the world that is around us, not to the problems at work or in our life, not even to the riches that are offered by this world but to heaven. He fixes his eyes in heaven, on the Father. Lifting one’s eyes to heaven is a spiritual posture of focusing on God’s everlasting salvation and ignoring the temporary nature of the world. Jesus is focused on God the Father, he knows the cross is coming, yet it is the Fathers face he is looking for.
Let us just stop here for a minute and think about this. When Eve sinned, she first looked and saw the tree and fruit.
When David sinned, where was his gaze?... He was looking at Bathsheba bathing.
We see in Job 31:1 '“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? '
Job treats his eyes as if they were participants in a legal agreement. He binds them, restrains them, and disciplines them. Our eyes have a lot of control in our lives; it is how we navigate this world. We focus on what we want, what we wish Church, where are our eyes looking? Are we looking at the world around us? To the riches offered by this world? Or are we casting our gaze to the heavens like the disciples did, when they watch Christ ascend to the Father, hopeful for his return.
II. The Son’s Declaration: “The Hour Has Come” (v. 1)
Throughout John’s Gospel, “the hour” is a recurring theme pointing to the moment when Jesus would fully carry out the Father’s plan of salvation. We see throughout John’s Gospel the mentioning of this hour, first in Cana at the wedding, He told his mom “My hour has not come” Jesus’ reply indicates that the timing of his public ministry and miraculous works is under divine control, and his “hour” refers to the appointed time for His full revelation. In John 7:30 and again in 8:20 Jesus was teaching in the temple, and His words challenged the religious authorities, causing tension between those who believed in Him and those who looked to silence Him. Despite the attempts to seize Him, Jesus remained in control, showing that His mission was guided by God’s sovereignty rather than human will.
The Father’s will is not rushed nor delayed—it arrives precisely on time.
But now, the hour has come—the hour of redemption, the hour of glory, the hour when divine justice and mercy meet at the cross.
This hour includes:
His suffering... the scourging by the Romans. Jesus was stripped, tied to a post, and flogged with a multi-throng whip his flesh was ripped from his bone. His beard torn from his face If we look to the book of Isaiah in his description of the servant we read “— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” Isaiah 52:14 and so much more.
His death on the cross Christ was obedient to death to the Fathers will
His burial...wrapped in linen and placed in the tomb, laid on a cold hard rock
His resurrection... That empty tomb hallelujah
His exaltation to the right hand of the Father!
None of this is accidental. This is not plan B. This is the sovereign decree of God unfolding exactly as ordained. Just as Peter would later preached, Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”
Understand, the cross was not a tragic mistake—it was the eternal plan of redemption, set before the foundation of the world.
III. The Son’s Petition: “Glorify Your Son” (v. 1)
Christ’s petition here, his prayer to be glorified so that he may glorify God is an example how the son loves his father. He wishes to be glorified not for his status, not to make a big deal of himself, but so he may glorify the Father.
How many of us can make that claim? How do we ask for blessings in our prayer, and how many times do we give a reason for the blessing? Now how many times is that reason to glorify God?
Christ asks the Father to glorify Him—not because He lacks glory, but because His glory will be displayed through the cross.
Jesus is headed straight to the cross, but he has his eyes on the Crown,
Where we see suffering, he sees salvation
Where others see humiliation, he sees the glory of God made manifest:
On the cross...God’s justice and wrath are glorified as sin is punished
On the cross.... God’s mercy and grace are displayed as sinners are reconciled
On the cross .... God’s will is manifested with wisdom and power
On the cross......God’s love is glorified beyond words as the Son lays down His life’
'For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.'
2 Corinthians 5:21
IV. The Son’s Authority: Given by the Father (v. 2)
“Since you have given Him authority over all flesh…”
Jesus has been given authority over all flesh, and all flesh is ALL of humanity, This truth should bring comfort to believers, because it reminds us that the same Jesus who calmed the storm (Mark 4:39) and raised the dead is the One who holds the keys of life and death, and who has the authority to grant eternal life to those who believe in Him.
Jesus has authority over believers, we who call him LORD submit to his authority, but something that should bring comfort to all of us is he has authority given to him by God over the hard hearted, he has authority over the unrepentant sinner as well. All creation is under his reign, and that means he has the power to soften hearts; he can open eyes and ears and grant them eternal life too. The comfort of Jesus’ authority over all flesh is that He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving Lord who created, sustains, redeems, and will ultimately judge every soul, ensuring that His promises and purposes are fulfilled.
Now this authority is universal—Jesus has authority over all flesh—but saving effect of his authority is exact it is focused
“…to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.”
The Father has given a people to the son. The Son has authority to give eternal life to them. Redemption is not random. It is not universal in effect. It is covenantal, definite, and rooted in the father’s sovereign choice.
Christ does not die to make salvation possible; He dies to make salvation certain for those given to Him by the Father.
John 3:16... God so loved the world he Gave his only son... For God so loved his only son he gave him a people... God the creator of all things, gave you and you and you as a bride to his son and secured that gift by the spirit
Think about this you are a gift given by the father to the son, the father who gives the best of gifts, who would never give a partial gift, has chosen to give you to his son. And my how the son cherishes that gift, not only because of its value but because of who gave him the gift. Do you think the son would let go of such a precious gift.... No, because the father who loves him perfectly has given him... You, and you mean so much to the father that the son will cherish and hold you tight.
Christ does not die to make salvation possible; He dies to make salvation certain for those given to Him by the Father.
V. The Son’s Definition of Eternal Life (v. 3)
“And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Church,
I need you to know that the kingdom of God, heaven is not a theological exam away.
Eternal life is not merely knowing about God. It is relational knowledge— a saving knowledge—of the Father and the Son. This is not intellectual awareness but covenantal intimacy. It is the Spirit wrought knowledge that transforms the heart.
Simply reading your bible is not enough, there are many that walk that wide road to eternal destruction with a bible in hand, Bart Ehrman, John Collins, and Richard Bauckham. The top 3 biblical scholars in the academic world These scholars are recognized for their contributions to biblical studies, they know the Greek and the Hebrew languages, they can recite scripture and even tell you the theological meanings, they know the bible, they know the words, they know the doctrine, they know about God, more than anyone I know. Yet their knowledge is not a saving knowledge it's not relational,
To know God is the greatest privilege of the redeemed. To know Christ is the essence of salvation. Eternal life begins with a relational knowledge.
VI. The Son’s Accomplishment: “I Have Finished the Work” (v. 4)
“I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work You gave Me to do.” John 17:4
Christ speaks of His mission as completed—even though the cross is hours away. Why? Because the son’s obedience is perfect, and the father’s plan is certain. Nothing can stop the work of redemption. God has willed it to happen, and nothing can stop the will of God.
We see that Christ accomplished the work.
God was glorified as Christ fulfilled the law.
God was Glorified as Christ bore the wrath.
God was glorified as Christ secured redemption.
VII. The Son’s Eternal Glory (v. 5)
“Glorify Me… with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.”
Here Christ declares His eternal pre-existence and divine nature. Before Bethlehem,
before creation, before time itself—the son shared glory with the father.
this is a divine glory,
this is an infinite glory.
This is Trinitarian glory,
Make no mistake, the cross does not diminish Christ’s glory; it reveals it. The resurrection vindicated it. The ascension restores it. And the exaltation enthrones Him as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Conclusion: The Glory of the Son Is the Hope of the Church
These 5 verses are a mountain peak of Scripture. Glory stacked on glory pointing to glory! we have seen
A sovereign God
A willing Savior
A finished work
An eternal glory
This is the gospel according to Jesus.
This is the foundation of our hope.
When we lift our eyes to heaven, we see the same glory Jesus prayed for—
the glory that transforms suffering into salvation and despair into hope
So, lift your eyes, church. The hour has come. The Son has been glorified. The Father has been glorified. And all whom the father has given to the son will be saved.
Amen.
