Jesus Prays for Himself
Notes
Transcript
For the next few weeks we are going to be spending some time unpacking and coming to a more full understanding of Jesus’ high priestly prayer. After all, if we are spending time this year thinking about prayer- it would probably make sense for us to look at the prayers of our Lord Jesus, right?
First, let’s think about the specifics of this prayer. This is the third prayer of Jesus that is recorded in the Gospel of John. The first was in ch 11 at the tomb of Lazarus, and the second was in ch 12 during a conversation with some Greeks looking for him. As Jesus prays this prayer he sees a clear path to the cross. He has just finished delivering what is known as his “Farewell Discourse” when he is giving final words of direction and comfort to his disciples. We are not sure where this prayer takes place, but the phrase “lifted his eyes to heaven” might indicate that he was outside, perhaps traveling from the Upper Room to the Garden.
The High Priestly Prayer gets it name from the functions that Jesus fulfills in its ministry. First, Jesus intercedes for the people- as high priests often did. Also, he is getting prepared to offer the final great sacrifice, as high priests did for their people.
Finally, this prayer is broken into 4 sections of theme- Jesus Prays for Himself; Jesus Prays for His Disciples; Jesus Prayers for all the Believers; Jesus Concludes his prayer
So, today we are going to look at the first part of Jesus’ prayer- verses 1-5. These verses revolve around 1 word- GLORY. Jesus asks for glory so that he can glorify God- what why is this so important. It is important for a few reasons.
First, it is important because Jesus has spent his entire ministry seeking to give glory to God, and in these final moments he asks one more to do the same.
In John 8 Jesus talks extensively about the kind of glory he sought and where his glory came from.
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Jesus was clear- he did not seek his own glory. In a world when many church leaders and preachers are looking for their own fame, their own glory, and their own satisfaction- Jesus did quite the opposite.
Jesus was not self seeking as he sought glory from God- he tells us in verse 1 that the goal of him getting glory was to glorify God.
Now, this is another one of those instances that make me hate the English language. We read this passage with the same word used twice- Glorify your son so he can glorify you- but in the original Greek these are 2 slightly different words. In the Greek the verse reads:
DOXASON your son so that he may DOXASE you. I know, the sound difference is quite small, but the meaning is very different.
DOXASON carries a meaning of clothe in splendor.
If you have your Bibles, turn to Phil 2:5-11- this passage will help us understand Jesus’ prayer.
Jesus’ request is that God would restore his heavenly glory- his divine attribute to him. When Jesus came to Earth he knowingly and willingly laid down his divine nature- as Phil 2 tells us- and now that he was about to walk to his death on the cross, he was anticipating his Resurrection and the return of that glory.
It is through this glory that Jesus is raised from the dead- the Son of God comes from the tomb, once again filled completely with the Glory of God.
Jesus elaborates on this idea in verse 5 as he asks God to glorify him in his presence with the glory he had before the world existed.
Jesus knew what was coming; and he knew where he was going- this prayer is like a communication he is sending to his Father about his coming home. Some of you parents have gotten these from your kids if they are coming home from college or an out of town job. They will be coming home soon, and they might have a few requests for when they get there- like a favorite meal, or a special activity.
But there is a second GLORIFY, right- Jesus says “So the Son can DOXASE you.” This word is slightly different, because it means attribute honor and praise.
Jesus’ desire was not that God would return his splendor for his own good, or his own glory- but so that Jesus could honor God through it. So that he could draw people to the Father through his Resurrection. Even now, Jesus’ heart in prayer was not about himself, but about us.
How many times are our prayers steeped, not in what they might do for the KOG, or what they might do for the world around us, but merely what they will do for us?
Jesus shows us that even in his hour of death, he wanted what was best for us.
Hidden inside this request is the heart of the Gospel- what Jesus is looking forward to is a recapturing of his fellowship with his Father in Heaven. He wants to be back at the right hand of God in full presence and connection with him again. And that is also his heart for us.
First, Jesus reminds us that he is the one with the authority to give eternal life. No one and no other thing in the world unlocks eternal life but Jesus.
A little boy went up to a missionary Sunday School leader in another country. The boy said, "I like what you say about the God of the Bible but I can’t see him. But if I go to the temple I can see my God."
The missionary said to the little boy, "Son, may I ask you a question? Does your God bleed?"
The boy said, "I don’t know."
The missionary gave him a pin and said, "Next time you go to the temple, when no one else is watching, prick him and see what happens."
The following week the boy returned to his Sunday School class. He said to the missionary, "I did it, I did it, I pricked the idol."
The missionary said, "And what happened?"
The boy replied, "Nothing, my god doesn’t bleed."
Then the missionary said, "But my God did! He bled for my sins and he bled for your sins, too!"
And then notice what Jesus says eternal life is- not just merely life everlasting, but Jesus tells us that everlasting life is to know God and Jesus Christ. `Everlasting life is rooted in a relationship with Jesus. It is not merely afterlife insurance.
Pastor Jack Hyles once wrote that, “When the average person thinks of eternal life, the first thing that would enter into his mind is endless life. Certainly endless life is included in eternal life, but there is far more than endlessness to eternal life. It is not only endless, but it is boundlessrvtvuf h
. It . . . [is] not just long continuation; it means life all the way on, all the way back, all the way up and all the way down . . . Eternal life is more than duration or longevity. It is also a quality of life . . . It is living now in the always . . . What a wonderful thing is eternal life . . . It is boundless, but not only will we have it forever; it is a quality of life that we have now.”
Think of it like marriage. I notice we have quite a few anniversaries going on. So, let me ask you married couples- what is your marriage- it is the promises you made on your wedding day? Or the way you live those promises out everyday of your relationship- the answer, of course, is both. In the same why- eternal life is not just wrapped up in your repentance at the altar the day you said yes to Jesus- it is wrapped up in how you live into that promise everyday of you life and grow in relationship with Jesus.
Like Jesus, we too should have these goals in prayer- to glorify God; to pray for answers that show the glory of God to others; and to develop a relationship with God.