A High Priest is Coming

Introduction

Welcome once again to our series on the road to the hill. We started 40 Days of Prayer and we are on the final stretch. This is going to be an Easter like no other, but before Easter comes, we are going to go through Palm Sunday. In various churches that I have been a pastor, I always looked forward to Palm Sunday for it was the day to see and highlight children. In one church we would create a parade during one of the songs where the children and some adults would go up and down the aisles waving palm branches.

It’s the Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people were praising him, for their long awaited King was entering into Jerusalem. They wanted to be free from the oppression, But Christ knew he was coming to free them from their bondage of Sin.

This week’s sermon is on the topic of a High Priest is coming. We find this message in John chapter 17.

For those of you who have been following along with the 40 Days of Prayer booklet, I hope you had a chance to read Chapter 17. We have just read it in our gathering, but may I encourage you to read the text on your own.

Introduction

A High Priest is coming.

You see in the Old Testament in order to come before God, you needed to go to the High Priest. He would offer up prayers on behalf of the people.

On the road the the hill, Jesus was preparing himself for becoming that High priest. And it is through him that we can come to the Father. IT is what he has done on the cross on that first Easter morning that he became the High Priest.

This passage that we are about to go through is a prayer by Jesus. There are three major parts of that prayer. Jesus offers a personal prayer to his father. He then prays for his disciples, those who have been with him for the last three years, and he finishes of his prayer for us. All believers current and future.

Before we look into God’s word, let’s pray

Introduction

Holy Father, as we look into you Holy Word this morning will you open our hearts to the message you have for us this morning. For many of us we are isolated from our fellow believers struggling with this current situation the world finds itself in. God will you bring your words of comfort for us today. Heavenly father as we read over and look into your Son’s prayer to you, may we see the intimate relationship you have as a triune God. Nothing is kept from you. May we open our hearts this morning to the message today from your Word and leave knowing that you have spoken to our hearts. Lord I now pray that the words that you have laid on my heart will be words of comfort, strength and growth for each one of us today.

Personal Prayer to God

I hope you have your Bibles open. We will do our best to have the words on the screen, but it would be best to have your bible open for reference sake. I am working with the ESV translation but in my preparation have looked at a few others and know that they are similar.

Jesus has a personal prayer to God

Take a moment to let that sink in......

Jesus, God incarnate, Who was there at the creation of the world. He was there when God spoke to Moses and said. I am

He is now sitting with his eyes lifted up to heaven and begins a conversation, a prayer with Our Heavenly Father.

How do you pray?

We have been taught a few weeks back how Jesus has instructed us to pray, but how do you pray.

I could only image the scene, as the disciples are around him and Jesus begins this prayer with his father.

John 17:1 ESV

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,

The hour has come

The hour has come.

If you remember over the gospels there are many times Jesus refers to

the hour to come.

Jesus was asked to make wine… my time has not come

Jesus healed… my time has not come

His disciples wanted to march into victory…

The crowd shouted Hosanna Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

Jesus new the hour is about to come.

But now, he begins this prayer, with a personal prayer stating the hour has come.

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2 reminds us what Jesus did in order to bring salvation to himself. He became God incarnate. He left the glory of heaven to come to this earth. To walk with his disciples with the true path and determination to bring glory to God.

At a time, ordained by God, Christ was sent by God, he was obedient to God and willingly gave up his own personal Glory to bring Glory to God.

He was just around the corner from the cruel experience of torture and death, but was praising God for the Glory that would come because of his obedience.

And he now recognizes that the time has come

Glorify your Son

Glorify your son, bring honor to God incarnate.

Jesus wasn’t asking for the glory back because he was tired of job on earth.

He wasn’t asking for the glory back because he had fulfilled his promise to the father by being obedient.

He wasn’t asking to be glorified because he was tired of working with the disciples and had taught them all he knew and felt they were ready to be on their own.

No, Jesus asked the his Father, our father, to Glorify himself to bring glory and honor to God.

Should that be a part of our prayer life?

Do we begin our prayers to God on a person note asking that our lives, our desires, our will be about bringing honor and glory to the father.

Glorify your son

Does my prayer life begin with the struggles I am facing,

or are my words resounding the personal plea that Jesus had

That in all things, God be glorified.

Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to come to him with our worries, our fears, our inner most thoughts, but should we be following the the example of Christ and the first thoughts or words out of our mouth is the prayer that God be glorified.

When we have our focus on God, then all those things that we bring to God will be in that line.

Jesus Personal prayer to his Heavenly father, as he was about to go to the hill to be beaten, chastised, ridiculed and hung on a cross for us, was all to bring glory and honor to God.

Jesus ended this section of his prayer reminding God that the High Priest is coming and will sit on His throne and by his death and Resurrection to come he will bring salvation to us. He ends this section of his prayer looking forward to the day that he will once again be in glory and uninterrupted communication with God.

John 17:5 ESV

5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

He was looking forward to once again to be in God’s presence. He was in His presence before the creation of the world and will once again be in God’s presence.

Personal Prayer for His Followers

The second part of this prayer and by far the largest part was directed at his followers and disciples that have been with him over the past 3 years.

In this part of the pray, I want you to pay close attention to the heart of Jesus as he thinks about those who he is leading and guiding. I want you to think about those people in our lives who we have been called to lead and disciple.

Maybe its that new believer that has come into your life that God has placed in your spiritual care. What can you pray for them.

Personal prayer for His Followers

Maybe you have been asked to lead a small group. To lead them to a greater understanding of God’s Word. Remember this part of the prayer.

Maybe you are in a position of mentoring someone in their lives. How are you prayer directed towards that person?

We have talked about a disciple is one who is seeking to know God, while being transformed into the image of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit in the context of community.

As we work together as a community of Faith, may we have the same attitude that Jesus had towards his disciples.

The disciples were given to Him by God

vs 6 of Jesus’ prayer shows us that the disciples where given to Jesus by God’s ordained plan. These were called men who were called out of the world to bring honor and glory to God.

Jesus knew of the things that they were about to face and he had spent the last three years preparing them for what was to come.

As Jesus spent time with them, His message was clear.

His message was about God. God had sent Jesus into the world to come and redeem his people.

They knew that Jesus words were God’s words.

The disciples were given to Him by God

When we have people in our lives, we must make sure that our words of teaching, mentoring, or leading are in line with scripture. There are many thoughts and viewpoints that we can hold onto and believe that this is God’s way, but we must examine those with scripture.

I once had a group of Children in a previous church that wanted to get together to learn about baptism. We had several weeks of a meeting after school in the church going over scripture and learning what God’s Word proclaims about baptism. When we had finished the class, they didn’t want to stop. They all wanted to learn more.

It was a great pleasure to take them through classes of doctrine, introductory lessons on basic doctrine and they loved it. I nicknamed the group, my young theologians.

When we have people in our lives that are seeking God, they need to hear God’s words and not our own. Jesus made sure that all that he taught was in line with God’s commandments.

The second thing we notice in the personal prayer for his disciples is that he was praying for them.

John 17:9 ESV

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

The disciples were prayed for by Jesus

Can you image the look on the disciples faces as they heard Jesus utter these words.

I am praying for them.

The God of Creation, the God incarnate. Sent by God to be among the people, standing right in front of them, is now offering prayers for them to the God Almighty.

It wasn’t a general prayer. It was specific.

Those you have given me....

As I read these words, I thought to myself how much more I need to pray for each one of you folks.

Before the isolation happened, and for many years, there are a group of men that meet on a regular basis to pray for you. We have taken six families each week and pray for you.

The disciples were prayed for by Jesus

We pray that you will prosper. We pray for known needs that you have expressed, we have prayed for your families, your job and your health.

When these faithful group of men made it through the list, they started over at the beginning and continued to pray. Many people have been added over the years, some have left, but they continued to pray.

When I joined the church, I joined this meeting. It has been a delight each week to come together and to pray for each one of you.

It is my prayer that each one of you continue to pray for those God has placed in our live to lead, mentor, and support. Continue to pray for each other and hold one another up in prayer.

The disciples were prayed for by Jesus

We have started a virtual prayer meeting. This past two weeks some of us have been getting together to pray. Would you consider joining our prayer meetings. Odelle, is sending out reminders of the meeting, would you consider joining?

For those of you who have been meeting for prayer, continue to meet over the phone or whatever way you can to continue to meet in some fashion to pray. This method of zooming can be available for groups to continue to meet. Get a hold of me this week and I can set you up.

The second part of the personal prayer for his followers is that

The disciples were called out

The disciples were called out

Look at verse 10

They are called by God, They glorify God.

They were called by God for a specific purpose. They were called to be one in spirit with God as Jesus was with God

They were called to known by God and called one of his own.

John 17:12 ESV

12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

The disciples were protected

Jesus also protected them and continued to pray that they would be protected.

Jesus protects his own.

When I get to meet Jesus, one of the many questions I want to ask him is how he felt when he saw Judas betray him. How did his humanity feel when someone so close did what he did. He knew that scripture, God’s Word needed to be fulfilled, but how did he feel?

Many years ago, the movie the passion of the Christ, there was a scene when the eyes of Jesus meet the eyes of Peter after he had denied him the third time. There was a glance of disappointment yet compassion. Peter knew at that moment what he had done by a glance. That image has never left me.

Jesus protects his own even though they don’t always follow Him. He waits for the time for his loved ones, his cherished ones to come running back to him. He prayers for them that they may know the love of the father.

John 17:14–18 ESV

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. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

The Disciples are sent into the world

The last part of the prayer is the sending of the disciples into the world.

He prays as they are about to go into the world, the harsh world that hates Jesus, Hates what he stands for and what he teaches that they may be protected from the evil one.

Oh so easy it would be bunker down and gather with only believers.

There was a time in my life where my job was at a christian organization. I spent all of my working hours with other believers. I came home to my family and when we wanted to play together as my boys were young, I could take them to the church’s gym and play in the gym. I had bible studies in the evening with other believers and on the weekend, of course we went to church and had fellowship with other followers of Christ. It was wonderful, but to be honest, I wasn’t in the world. I had no connections with the lost of the world.

The Disciples are sent into the world

We talked about the lost, but we were safe.

God in his infinite wisdom and humour pulled me out of that situation and I found myself working in construction along side steel workers.

Let me tell you, they were the world. I learned that a few words that are not a part of my vocabulary can be used as every part of speech.

I learned that a safety meeting for on the job site, didn’t start or end in prayer.

I learned quickly that my faith was a foreign thing for them and that they felt I was crazy believing.

If you have ever walked in my office, I have on my self my hardhat from those days. It’s a reminder that we are called to be in this world to reach the lost. Not to be a part of the world but to be in it to reach them with the good news of salvation.

The Disciples are sent into the world

Many of you are in the world rubbing shoulders with those who God has placed in your lives so that you can be the light of His Word to a lost and fearful world.

Take this time, during this time of isolation to reach out to those who you work with and share with them your hope and trust is in a God that is in control. We do not have to fear as the world fears, but we have a trust in a God who will redeem them unto his own.

And as Jesus has said, Sanctify them. My prayer for each one of you is as you are in this world may you be sanctified with God’s power to reach the lost.

John 17:20–21 ESV

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Personal Prayer for All Believers

Jesus closes His prayer with a prayer for all believers then and forever more.

IT is a prayer for those who believe in God’s word.

Jesus begins by praying for unity of Spirit.

John 15:1 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

There is a link between God and Jesus, and our unity is with them. Jesus is not talking about how we are unified in what we want to do together, rather the unity in Spirit.

As we are the branches connected to the vine our unity is in with God and Jesus.

Jesus’ prayer for us as believers is that we will be one in spirit.

John 17:22 ESV

22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

God’s Glory that was given to Jesus is also given to us. We are called Children of God.

I know many of you miss the singing together, I have been working on incorporating singing in our worship together, but there are a few copyright issues,

Personal Prayer for All Believers

Therefore, we are doing something different this week. We will be sending out a youtube link of various songs that you can listen and sing along with. I encourage you to listen to them. whether it is right after the service today or during the week listen and reflect upon today’s passage.

One of them is titled

Turn your eyes.

The song writers have taken a familiar song to many of us and have added a few changes to the verses.

In verse three it is written this way

VERSE 3

Turn your eyes to the morning

And see Christ the Lion awake What a glorious dawn,

fear of death is gone For we carry His life in our veins

In unifying with God we do not have to fear because of our fellowship with him we have him within us.

Personal Prayer for All Believers

In Closing, one author puts it this way,

“The entire prayer is based on the righteousness of God, who will vindicate the Son by glorifying him. Jesus’ revelation of God was founded on personal knowledge and personal communion. When he spoke of God, it was on the basis of intimate acquaintance and not philosophical speculation.”

And because of this, we can have the righteousness of God in our lives when we align ourselves with him.

So when we pray, follow Jesus example by beginning with a personal prayer with our father, Pray for those whom God has placed in your life and pray for all believers.

Amen

Benediction.

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.