John 17:6-11a | "Now They Know"

Introduction

If we want to know why Jesus came, we must look at what Jesus prayed.

Prayer exposes the heart, the desires, the will of a person in communion with God.

But prayer is more than just words spoken to God or spoken about God.

It’s not enough that a person prays, but that a person both PRAYS and OBEYS the will of the Father in Heaven.

No one was more obedient to the Father than Jesus.

No one prayed more according to the will of the Father than Jesus!

In John 17, Jesus prays for Himself, but He also prays for us! Jesus prays for you!

And in so doing, Jesus invites us into this prayer that He prays as His people, who bear His name, and obey His Word.

This Advent season and beyond, we are completing the circuit of the Christmas story.

We are moving from Incarnation (Heaven coming down to Earth) to Intercession ( Earth coming up to Heaven) through the only person who made that journey both ways — Jesus.

We are listening to the Prayers of CHRISTmas which are the prayers of Christ.

The first and second prayer of Christ have been heard.

The third prayer of Christ will come in the next pericope, next Sunday, but the basis for the prayer to come is prepared for in the text that is before us today.

This is a reading from John 17. To hear the prayer in context, I will begin again at verse 1.

Prayer

Let us pray as we prepare to receive God’s Word.

Pray

I. Reading of Scripture

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,

John 17:2 ESV

2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

John 17:3 ESV

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:4 ESV

4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

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.

John 17:6 ESV

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

John 17:7 ESV

7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

John 17:8 ESV

8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

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.

John 17:10 ESV

10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

John 17:11a (ESV)

11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

This is God’s Word, if you receive it as such, would you say Amen? AMEN.

[Scripture Reading ~ 2 min]

II. The Exhortation

The title of this message is taken from the opening words of verse 7:

John 17:7 (ESV)

7 Now they know ...

Jesus said of His disciples in prayer, “Now They Know.”

Now they know, what at one time they did not know.

“Now They Know.”

When someone’s knowledge finally catches up with their experience, we say the words: “Now They Know.”

Now they understand. Now they comprehend.

In the school my daughter attends, the school does not provide her a meal card for food. It’s all handled digitally with an account, but there is no card to represent that account.

It is a real disservice to our children, because there is no exchange that occurs when she gets food.

She simply walks into the cafeteria at lunchtime, picks up her meal, and thinks nothing about the cost. To her, it is free.

This becomes an even bigger problem, when she walks by the display of attractive looking snacks, candies, and “extras.”

Addison did not know that those extras cost money.

Addison’s parents did not know, that she was buying the extras.

Until one day we logged in to her school account where we had deposited a small amount of money meant to last her a semester, and noticed that in a matter of days that account had been depleted!

We asked - Addison! What are you buying at school? She did not know.

She was paying for the extras she was enjoying, without knowing that she was paying for them.

So I had a sit-down with Addison. I pulled out my wallet, a credit card, and some cash and set them on the table. We talked about where money comes from. How money is earned through work. I made sure to tell her that all the money we have comes from God and belongs to Him, and that we are to manage it well.

We talked about giving the first portion of our earnings back to God as a tithe. We talked about how to spend money, and what happens when goods are exchanged. We talked about value, and how we shouldn’t always buy something just because we can.

We worked out an arrangement: Addison would perform chores in the home, she would work, in exchange for one dollar earned each week. She could do whatever she wanted with that dollar. And any time she wanted to purchase an extra at school, she had to do it with her earned money, and pay for it in cash!

That next day, I’m sure to the surprise of the lunch workers, Addison showed up to get her extras with cash in hand, and as a proud Father she asked for change and a receipt!

Her knowledge caught up with her experience, and now she knows.

Church — There are things God gives us to know. Things God wills for us to know.

God does not want us to be ignorant, deceived, misguided or uninformed!

One of those gifts God wants us to know, is the most important and costly gift of eternal life.

Jesus prayed, earlier in this prayer,

John 17:3 ESV

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

God desires us all to have a “Now I Know” moment.

Do you have a “Now I Know” moment with God?

It’s called a testimony. Your story. Your journey of faith that includes repenting of sin, turning from your evil ways, and being made new to follow Jesus.

Do you have such a story of experiencing and knowing God in relationship with Him? Have your eyes been opened so that you have said “Now I Know”?

Jesus offers that knowledge today, the knowledge of His Father through the proclamation and prayer of His Word.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why Jesus came into the world, as we celebrate this Christmas, so that we might know our Heavenly Father and live in relationship with Him!

After praying for His Father to be glorified through His life, work and soon return to Heaven, Jesus now begins a new theme for His prayer.

Jesus now prays for a special group of people: His disciples, His followers.

Between Incarnation and Intercession there was Illumination. Knowledge of God.

Jesus prays about four things this special group of people now knows.

Now They Know...

Your Name (v.6-7)

Your Words (v.8)

Your People (v.9-10)

Your Loss (v.11a)

Jesus, through His past and present works, brings knowledge of the Father’s Name, the Father’s Words, the Father’s People, and the Father’s Loss.

III. The Teaching

Let’s listen together to this prayer, and begin where Jesus begins this section in verse 6.

Now They Know...

A. Your Name (v.6-7)

17.6

John 17:6 ESV

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Jesus manifested, or revealed, or has made clear the Father’s name.

The name represents the person.

The name represents the character of that person.

To know the name means to know the person and his/her character.

What is God’s name?

This is an old question asked in the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus.

As God was calling Moses His servant, to lead Israel out of Egypt where they had been enslaved for centuries, Moses found Himself with questions for God.

Do you have questions for God? It’s okay if you have questions for God. God is all-knowing, we are not.

There were things Moses did not know. His knowledge had not caught up with his experience. Moses had questions, and Exodus tell us that —

Exodus 3:13 (ESV)

13 ...Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Exodus 3:14 ESV

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”

Exodus 3:15 ESV

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

God revealed His name as “I AM WHO I AM.”

And Jesus prays here in John, “I have manifested your name to the people...”

How did Jesus manifest God’s name to the people?

Listen to what Jesus said in the Gospel of John...

Jesus said —

“I AM the bread of life.”

“I AM the light of the world.”

“I AM the door.”

“I AM the good shepherd.”

“I AM the resurrection and the life.”

“I AM the way, the truth and the life.”

“I AM the true vine.”

Jesus says, “before Abraham was, I AM.”

“I AM he.”

Jesus revealed the Father’s name, I AM, in his flesh by proclaiming of Himself “I AM.”

Jesus made the Father’s name known, but not to everyone. Only to a certain group of people.

John 17:6 ESV

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Why did Jesus only manifest the Father’s name to a certain group of people, and not to everyone?

Because not everyone would believe and follow.

Matthew 7:6 ESV

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Jesus manifested His Father’s name not to the world, but to His followers.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

How do you know if you are one?

Here is a description of a disciple, a follower of Jesus, from this text:

First, a follower of Jesus is someone who was once in the world, but is now brought out of the world.

We are to

CHECK OUR THINKING

Are you thinking like the world thinks who does not know God? Do you scheme and plot and act like a child, serving yourself and your own agendas and building your own kingdoms? A follower of Jesus doesn’t think like the world because He is no longer of the world.

Second, a follower of Jesus is someone who belongs to the Father, but has been given to the Son.

We are to

CHECK OUR THEOLOGY

It’s not sufficient to have a knowledge of God only.

Most of the Jewish people believe in God the Father, but they reject Jesus as God the Son.

Eternal life is knowing the Father AND ALSO knowing the Son.

The Father and Son are one. We must be Christ’s people. Christians. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

Lastly, A follower of Jesus is someone who has kept the Father’s word.

We must

CHECK OUR TEXT

What is our instruction manual for life? What is our playbook? Where are we getting our marching orders?

If you are a follower of Jesus, you follow the Bible - God’s Word, and that is the only sufficient and authoritative instruction for you.

If you disagree, you defer to the Word.

If you don’t understand, you defer to the Word.

If you’ve been wrong, you defer to the Word.

You live by the Word!

Jesus prayed:

John 17:6 ESV

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Jesus prayed “they have kept your word.”

Not because they were perfect — they weren’t.

Not because they wouldn’t fail - they would.

But “they have kept your word” because “the word was keeping them”!

2 Timothy 1:12 (ESV)

12 "... I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

This means that these people, whom Jesus is praying for, who are given to Him by the Father, continue in the word.

Having received the word, they believed the word, and by faith continue to obey the word!

Jesus continues to pray in Verse 7:

17.7

John 17:7 ESV

7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

A genuine believer recognizes that everything that belongs to Jesus comes from His Father.

A genuine believer recognizes that the words of Christ are the Words of the Father!

Now They Know...

Your Name - because Jesus has manifested it to them.

And Secondly,

Now They Know...

B. Your Words (v.8)

17.8

John 17:8 ESV

8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

The disciples now know that Jesus is God’s Son, sent by the Father, because Jesus has given them “Your Words” — the Father’s words.

Jesus was met with all kinds of wordly opposition when He taught the Father’s words.

Some accused Jesus of being a demon.

Some dishonored Jesus.

Some called Jesus “insane.”

The world rejected Jesus and His teaching.

But the disciples were not like the world.

The disciples received the words, and kept His word, and came to know in truth, who Jesus was being from the Father.

There is the side of the WORLD that speaks faithlessly, and the side of the WORD that continues faithfully in the truth.

Which side are you on? Which side are we on?

This text compels us to feel the division and separation. Jesus is not praying for everyone here.

Jesus prayed “I have manifested your name.”

Now they know “Your Name.”

Jesus prayed “I have given them the words that you gave me.”

Now they know “Your Words.”

Next, Jesus prays “I am praying for them.”

Each of these statements progress into the next:

Those that know Your name, and Your words, are “Your people.”

Now they know —

C. Your People (v.9-10)

17.9

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.

Jesus switches to the present tense here. Not the works which He HAS DONE, but the work which He is NOW DOING.

Jesus says,

“I am praying for them.”

Jesus is praying for his disciples.

Not for the world, but his disciples given to Him, that belong to the Father.

This is exclusive language because what Jesus will pray is an exclusive prayer.

It is not a prayer that applies to everyone, but only to those who belong to His Father, given to Him.

It is only for those who know His word and know His name.

Church - General prayers are okay, but we have permission and example to pray specifically.

We don’t have to avoid offending people in our prayers. Jesus prayed specifically, and next Sunday we will see the beauty of this prayer and why it is so exclusive and cannot be prayed for everyone.

For now, Jesus makes clear that the Father has a people.

John 17:9 (ESV)

9 I am praying for them...

John 17:9 (ESV)

9 ...for they are yours.

And then in verse 10 —

17.10

John 17:10 ESV

10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

This reveals the intimate fellowship that exists between Father and Son. What is “mine” is “thine.” What is “thine” is “mine.” (Hermenia).

And Jesus is glorified in our belonging to His Father.

Jesus wants the world to know His Father, to keep His words, and to belong to Him!

This is why Jesus came! This is your invitation today!

This is what Jesus prayed — so that we might know there is a definite people who belong to the Father, who are kept, who are saved.

Jesus prayed “I have manifested your name.”

Now they know “Your Name.”

Jesus prayed “I have given them the words that you gave me.”

Now they know “Your Words.”

Jesus prays “I am praying for them.”

Now they know “Your People.”

And fourthly, Jesus prayed “I am no longer in the world.”

Now they know —

D. Your Loss (v.11a)

As Jesus turns to the work in front of Him, His death on the cross, Jesus knows that His disciples will experience a sense of loss just as His Father experienced a loss of His Son’s Heavenly presence in glory.

This brings us to —

IV. The [Christ] Conclusion

Once again the cost of this prayer comes into view, as Jesus prays about what is about to take place, as if it is already done.

Jesus prays —

17.11a

John 17:11a (ESV)

11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

As Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of servant and being born in the likeness of men — the incarnation, the meaning of Christmas — the Father experienced (for lack of a better term), a Loss.

A loss as He GAVE His only Son to the world in love.

A loss as Jesus sacrificially emptied Himself of His glorious Heavenly presence to take the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And on the cross, the Father would experience the loss of the life of His only Son.

It was at the ninth hour, being near death, Jesus would pray in a loud voice so that all could hear:

Matthew 27:46 (ESV)

46 ...“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The Father experienced a personal loss of His Son’s presence.

And Jesus’ disciples, who now know His name, His word, and His people — will now know in part His loss.

Jesus is returning to His Father. He is with them no longer. They will be separated for a season. He prays —

John 17:11 (ESV)

11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

This “coming to you” involves a process. Jesus would die for sin on the cross and be buried in the grave. He would be separated from life because that’s what our sin did for us.

With this reality in our minds and in our hearts, we now proclaim the Lord’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper.

[ 3,359 words (28 minutes) ]