Jesus is Amazing, The High Priestly Prayer (Jn 17)

Introduction

In John 16, Jesus mentions three benefits that flow from his saving work. Last week we considered two of them. Believers experience joy and peace as a result of Jesus’ work (his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension). Amid the discussion of joy and peace, Jesus as well discusses the believers’ ability to access the Father in prayer. Let me draw your attention to those few verses.

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full…. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. (Jn 16:23–27).

We have discussed the topic of prayer on a few occasions throughout John’s Gospel. As has already been discussed, hardly is this a promise for any believer to receive whatever they want if they add on to the end of their prayer, “in Jesus name, Amen.” Jesus’ statement must be understood considering other similar passages. Jesus says, in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Again, John writes, in his first epistle, “if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14). Jesus as well said, in Mark, “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24).

So then, we cannot ignore all those other commands and simply see the phrase “in Jesus name” as a free pass to all our desires. Instead we understand that the effectiveness of our prayers rest in our ongoing obedient walk with Christ. Then, motivated by his will, we pray; and our prayers are heard and answered.

In John 17, Jesus transitions from his discussion on joy, peace, and prayer, and he confidently offers what is considered to be Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.

The Setting. Chapter 13, Jesus and his disciples celebrate Passover in the Upper Room. John writes, in 13:31, that Jesus and the disciples leave the Upper Room and begin their walk toward the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. They don’t arrive to the garden until chapter 18. For the last 4 chapters, Jesus has been offering up his final instructions to his disciples. As they wind their way through the streets of Jerusalem, Jesus discusses the importance of abiding in Him, the gift of the coming Holy Spirit, the necessity of ongoing obedience, the reality of their future greater works, and the high cost of following him. At some point, into chapter 17, the disciples likely realized that he was no longer talking to them, but instead Jesus was praying to his Father.

John’s purpose for including this prayer. [1] To establish John’s purpose, we must first remember his purpose in writing his gospel. These things were written “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31). How then, does this prayer fit within that purpose? John continues to add to the dimensions of Jesus’ divine character. This prayer reveals the intimacy experienced between Jesus and God the Father. Additionally, as the Father answered Jesus’ prayer, the disciples’ faith would have increased and solidified.

Purpose statement. Therefore, Jesus’ intimate prayer with the Father reassures believers of Jesus’ deity and the Father’s receptivity to prayer.

Additional observations. Jesus does not intend to offer believers a model for how to pray, as he does in the “Lord’s Prayer.” Jesus is simply praying. However, there are some notable observations that we can draw from this prayer.

Jesus prays with confidence. The discussion in chapter 16 about prayer sets us up with a great deal of confidence in our prayers. Jesus acknowledges that through his sacrificial and glorious work, believers have the ability to directly pray to the Father, in accordance with His will, and know that “whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (Jn 16:23). So then, the requests Jesus makes in his prayer in chapter 17 are offered with an expectation that they will be positively received and answered. As believers, we can access the Father just like Jesus does in chapter 17.

Jesus prays more for others than himself. For the first 5 verses, Jesus’ includes personal petition in his prayer. However, his prayer shifts from personal petition to intercession in verse 6. For the next 14 verses Jesus prays specifically for his disciples. And, in verse 20, he extends beyond the disciples and prays to the Father for all those who would ever believe in him. While Jesus’ purpose is hardly to establish the percentages for how much someone should pray for themselves in comparison to others, believers should take note to Jesus’ emphasis on intercession in his prayer.

Lenski. They are to see how he enters his passion as a victor and to hear with their own ears the thoughts that rise to the Father from his heart, thoughts concerning himself (v. 1–5), concerning the disciples at his side (v. 6–19), and concerning all future believers in all the world (v. 20–26).[2]

Jesus addresses God as “Father” laying the groundwork for all believers to do the same. While we take for granted the ability to come to God as our Father, do not overlook the depth of meaning and encouragement in the fact that Christ comes to God as Father.

Jesus’ Deity Revealed

Jesus submits to the Father while demanding to be glorified (17:1-5)

Christ desired to return to his prior glorious position. (1) Father, it is time that you return me to my previous position of honor. (2) In this, you will be glorified. (3) You gave me a job to do – the salvation of mankind.[3] I am about to do that work. I have revealed your character and salvation to the world. (4) Because of this, return me to the position of honor and glory that I had prior to this point.

Jesus cares for those he came to save (17:6-26).

First, Christ desired that his father protect his earthly work (17:6-19). (1) Christ had accomplished his work in them (17:6-10,12). God had given these disciples to Jesus. Jesus had revealed God or revealed the glory of God to these disciples. They had obeyed the directions of the Father in that they had believed in Jesus. (2) Christ had protected the disciples (17:11a, 14-19). He was about to leave and pleads with the Father to guard them. Jesus had gifted them the Word and desired that the Word would protect them from the World. Jesus pleads with the Father to protect them from Satan. (3) Christ desires for the Father to keep them so that they may experience the unity experienced between himself and the Father (17:11b). (4) Finally, Christ desired that the Father sanctify the disciples (17:17). The Father had already given these disciples to Christ. He desired that they remain set apart as God’s special possession and that they would be transformed into the holiness of which they had already been prepared.

Secondly, Christ desired that his work be multiplied through his disciples (17:20-23). Christ’s disciples would go and present God’s truth to others and some would believe in Christ. Christ desired that those new disciples would be characterized by unity. Christ desired that the unity of those disciples would result in others seeing the truth of the Gospel.

Finally, Christ desired that all believers would come and be with him (17:24-26). At the beginning of the prayer, Jesus already demanded to be glorified and returned to his former glorious position. Now, Jesus desires these many disciples come to be with him. Jesus had experienced the glory of being with the Father. He had told his disciples about this glorious place, and he wants them to experience their love as well.

The Father’s Positive Response

The Father positively answered Jesus’ prayer concerning himself.

His death was significant. The significance of Jesus’ death gives Him great honor. In Revelation, John unfolds a heavenly scene in which God hands “the Lamb” a scroll. All of heaven erupts in a new song, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” John continues as he reveals the glory of this heavenly scene, replete with myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of heavenly voices declaring, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing . . . To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:9–13). His death was significant, but Jesus did not remain dead!

He was raised from the dead. God declared Jesus to be the Son of God with power. Paul writes in Romans of Christ who was “declared to be the Son of God in power . . . by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4). And following Jesus’ resurrection, God gave him glory. Peter declares this truth in his first epistle. God “raised him [Jesus] from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:21). God declared Jesus power in raising him from the dead, but God as well exalted him to a position of glory.

He was exalted to the right hand of God. (1) God seated Him at His right hand, far above all things. Paul writes of how God seated Christ at his right hand “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:20–23 cf. 1 Peter 3:22). (2) Jesus now reigns with authority over the nations (Rev 2:26, 3:21). Following his ascension, Jesus possessed his glorious and powerful position at the right hand of God, but Jesus will still receive more glory in the future.

He will receive more glory in the future. (1) When Jesus returns, He will be glorified in His saints (2 Thess 1:10).[4] (2) Additionally, following Jesus’ future return, he “will sit on his glorious throne” and before him will be gathered for judgment all the nations (Matt 25:31-32).[5]

The Father positively answered Jesus’ prayer concerning his disciples.

His Disciples are guarded and protected. (1) Through the presence of the Spirit. One chapter back, in John 16, Jesus told his disciples that he must leave so that the Helper, The Holy Spirit, may come. When he comes, “He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:7-13). (2) Additionally, believers possess the protection provided through their spiritual armor. Paul outlines, in Ephesians, the believers’ spiritual armor. Believers are to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:10-13).

The Disciples know the truth through His Word. Their (and our) sanctification, unity, and strength came through adherence to the Word of God. This Word of God came to us through these men. Coupled with God’s preservation of His Word, the Spirit continues to sanctify, unite, and strengthen believers today through the truth of God’s Word.

His Disciples’ message was multiplied. You are proof of that. You sit in the “remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Father will positively answer Jesus’ prayer concerning all believers.

In accordance with Jesus’ prayer, God glorified Jesus by accepting his sacrificial death, raising him from the dead, and raising him to a position of glory over all created things. Additionally, in accordance with Jesus’ prayer, his disciples were protected from the world through the power of the Holy Spirit and the armor of God. Therefore, believers ought to possess great confidence that Jesus’ prayer concerning all other believers will result in their future presence with Christ. Jesus prayed, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Jn 17:24). John later wrote concerning future believers in Revelation 2 of how believers would rule with him, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev 2:26–27). And again, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Rev 3:21).

We know that God has answered Jesus’ prayer to be glorified and that He will also answer Jesus’ prayer that we may share in His glory.

[1] There are two prayers found very close together in the chronology of this time, (1) Jesus High Priestly prayer found only in John 17 and (2) Jesus prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane which is found in all the synoptic Gospels. The Synoptic Gospels do not mention Jesus High Priestly Prayer. Why might this be? Could it be that one emphasizes Christ’s humanity while the other emphasizes His deity? Could it be that God knew we would struggle with seeing two extremes in such proximity?

[2] Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, 1114.

[3] Kruse, John, 334; Beasley-Murray, John, 36:296; Borchert, John 12–21, 25B:191.

Kruse. The recipients of eternal life are described as those the Father has ‘given him’, something repeated again and again in Jesus’ prayer (6, 9, 24). This shows that, viewed from the divine side, it is God’s choice that is determinative. However, this must be held together with Jesus’ teaching that people’s response of belief or unbelief determines whether or not they receive eternal life.

Beasley Murray. Divine election and human responsibility are variously expressed in the Gospel (see esp. 6:37, 39–40, 44, 64–65; 12:37–42) and they are to be held together as truly as God’s sovereignty and human freedom must be so held.

Borchert. The Son’s saving activity, therefore, is directly related to the will and purposes of God. But great care must be taken in not overinterpreting the words in this passage to limit the number God has given to the Son because the point of the prayer is not to categorize people as those who are to be “in” and those who are to be left “out” of the divine mission. The point of this petition and its explication is that Jesus submitted and was obedient to God’s purpose for him.

[4] when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. (2 Thess 1:10).

[5] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:31–32).