The High Priestly Prayer

John 17 is unique.

-The Synoptic Gospels highlight the Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26, Mark 14, & Luke 22), but John does not include that, but instead includes this prayer.

-Many have called this chapter the High Priestly Prayer or the Consecrated Prayer.

John 17 gives us a glimpse into he heart of Jesus unlike any other chapter in the four gospels.

-It is the longest prayer that we have from Jesus.

-Listening to the prayer of someone often provides a glimpse into the deeper recesses of their persons’ consciousness of God.

-Here we have the opportunity to study Jesus’ prayer and see the depth of his focus on his mission.

We see other farewell prayers in the Old Testament.

-We see Moses in Deuteronomy 32-33 that has a form of prayer similar to that found here in John 17.

-Moses begins by praising God, following this lengthy prayer Moses then turns to the Israelites and prays a blessing on them for their future.

-In Leviticus 16, we see Aaron the high priest as he learns to sacrifice and praise use a similar form in his prayer- first he praises and worships on his behalf, then he offers a sin offering and prayer for the people.

This prayer has a central focus on Jesus’ mission in establishing and confirming a community that would believe and obey him.

We can split up this prayer into 3 parts-

1.) Finishing the Mission in a Hostile World (1-8)

2.) Preparing the Disciples (9-19)

3.) Looking to the Future (20-26)

1.) Finishing the Mission in a Hostile World (1-8)

-Jesus’ mission was to glorify the Father by establishing a community of believers who believed him and obeyed his word.

-Here we see Jesus finishing that mission and preparing for his departure.

-Jesus begins by calling God, “Father”.

-Put in notes about the Father....

-We see Father used several times in these verses.

-He says “the hour has come”. His work is almost over. He is fully conscious of what was going to happen and that the end time tribulation for him has arrived.

-He tells God that he has accomplished his mission-“that they know you, “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” In verse 4 he says, “I have accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”

-He is asking the Father to glorify him

-The event that would glorify the Son was His death.

-Looking past the Cross, he is asking to be returned to the glory that He shared with the Father before the world began. (Verse 1:1, 8:58, 12:41).