The Real Lord’s Prayer — #2

Text: John 17:1-5

Theme: Our Lord's selflessness in prayer as He stands in the shadow of the cross teaches His disciples an important element of prayer.

Last Sunday evening I gave you an introduction to the prayer life of Jesus to prepare you for our deep-dive into John 17. Many Bible scholars have called this prayer — the longest recorded by Jesus — The greatest prayer ever prayed. It’s hard not to agree with that assessment.

The last third of John, chapter 16, sets up the circumstance for us:

All this takes place after the Last Supper where Jesus established the memorial we call the Lord’s Supper.

After Judas leaves the gathering, but before they all headed to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus provides some extensive teaching to the disciples. The material found is between John 13:31 and John 17:26 and is referred to as the Farewell Discourse. None of the Synoptic Gospels record this material. (Maybe it’s why the Holy Spirit told John, “Ya know. The Church really needs a forth Gospel!”)

Beginning in John 16:25 Jesus tells the Disciples that, up until now, he has been speaking to them in figures of speech. Literally the word used is allegories. Allegories are figures of speech that use a story to hide a deeper meaning, typically a moral one — or in the case of Jesus — a theological one. In Matthew 13:34 the Apostle writes, “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.” Now, however, he will speak plainly to them.

He tells them, “The Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father.” This is amazing. So completely does the Father identify with the Son and the Son so completely with the Father, that for us to love the Christ is to love the Father.

Jesus then sums up his life on earth I four marvelous statements “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”” (John 16:28, ESV)

▸ I came from the Father — his incarnation.

▸ I have come into the world — his mission.

▸ I am leaving the world — his passion.

▸ I am going to the Father — his ascension.

It is love from beginning to end. Love conceived the plan of our redemption. Love set it in motion and love carried it through. Divine love flowing ever and eternally between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; love embracing us, saving us, changing us, filling us, flowing back from us in Christ through the Spirit to the Father. Love is the stuff of which eternity is made.

Finally, Jesus shares a summery of the next several days (vs. 31-33). Because of the unfolding events that will soon transpire in Gethsemane, the disciples will scatter and abandon him. Yet, he says, I am not alone for the Father is with me.

This brings us to our text for this evening, “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, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:1–5, ESV)

• The Person of the Prayer

• The Period of the Prayer

• The Purpose of the Prayer

I. THE PERSON OF THE PRAYER

"When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven ... “ (John 17:1a, ESV)

1. the Scriptures reveal that Jesus was a man of prayer

a. the Son of the Most High God ... the Second Person of the Trinity ... the Creator and Sustainer of the universe ... needed to spend time in prayer with his heavenly Father

1) he was fully God in every respect — the Bible tells us so

a) he did things that only God could do — walking on the water, multiplying a scant lunch to feed multiple thousands of people, giving sight to the blind, voice to the mute and hearing to the deaf, raising the dead

b) he said things that only God could say — “your sin is forgiven”

2) he was fully man in every respect — the Bible tells us so

a) as a man, who had the physical frailties of men, as a man, who could be tempted in all things as any man can ... this man teaches us how to pray by instruction and by example

b. the occasions of His prayers were many and varied

1) He prayed early in the morning and late into the night

2) He prayed alone and in the presence of others as here in John chpt. 17

3) He prayed before major decisions and when encountering temptations

4) here in this passage — as Jesus faces the cross — we discover that his times of great personal crisis were preceded by intense periods of prayer

c. of his prayer life the author of the Book of Hebrews writes:

“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” (Hebrews 5:7, ESV)

2. the most extraordinarily elegant and noble prayer in the Bible is the High-priestly Prayer of Christ which is this evening’s text

a. in this prayer we will see Jesus pray for three things

1) he will pray for himself vs. 1-5

2) he will pray for the Apostles vs. 6-19

3) he will pray for the Church through the ages vs. 20-26

b. it’s an amazing prayer

ILLUS. J. Dwight Pentecost, who died in 2014 at the age of 99, was a Presbyterian pastor, and also Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. Of John 17 he wrote: "We have before us one of the most intimate glimpses anywhere in Scripture of the mind and heart of the Lord as He led in [this] prayer."

3. this prayer takes us into the mind an heart of Jesus, the Son of God

... the Person of the Prayer Is Jesus

II. THE PERIOD OF THE PRAYER

1. Jesus is praying in the shadow of the cross

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; ... ” (John 17:1b, ESV)

A. THE “HOUR” HAD COME

1. don’t miss what is going on here

a. Jesus understands that the pinnacle of the Father’s redemptive plan is at hand

1) none of this is catching him or the Father by surprise

2) the reason for the incarnation is about to be ratified by the crucifixion

“ ... an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”” (Matthew 1:20–21, ESV)

2. Jesus is saying in vs. 1, “Now is the time, Father. The time for me to glorify you by dying as the once for all sacrifice for sin.”

a. this has always been God’s plan

1) Revelation 13:8 reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world

2) before God spoke all things into existence and pronounced it “good” ... before animals walked, or fish swam, or birds flew ... before Eve was tempted and Adam sinned ... God’s redemptive plan was already in place

b. within hours of the “Amen” at the end of his prayer Jesus is going to be arrested

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”” (John 18:1–4, ESV)

3. but Jesus is not thinking merely about his death, but the entire consummation of his earthly ministry — death, resurrection, ascension, and coronation

a. the hour of John 17:1 refers to all four of these

1) it was the hour in which the Son of man would terminate his labors by rendering the one and only atoning sacrifice for the sin of mankind

2) the hour of fulfilling all Old Testament prophecies, types, and symbols

3) the hour of triumph over the prince of the world

4) the hour of dismissing the old and of ushering in the new covenant

b. it was for the joy that was set before him [that Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2)

1) hid death on the cross would be shameful, but his resurrection and ascension and coronation would bring multiplied joy

... this Is the Period of the Prayer ... Mere Hours Before His Arrest

III. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRAYER

“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 17:1c, ESV)

A. JESUS SOUGHT TO BRING GLORY TO THE FATHER

“Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.” (John 8:50, ESV)

1. as the Son of God, Jesus has done all that has been asked of Him

a. his heart's desire was to do the perfect will of the Father

b. everything He has said or done has been at the behest of His Father in Heaven

" ... whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." (John 12:50, ESV)

“ ... he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does,” (John 5:19, NIV)

2. now the hour of crisis is at hand

a. Jesus says The hour has come

1) you’ll remember that many other times in the Gospels it tells us his hour was not yet come

2) now Jesus says, The moment is at hand, my time has come, the reason for the incarnation is about to take place

3) all through the gospels we see Jesus moving toward this hour

b. the Son of Man will soon terminate His labors by offering the one final atoning sacrifice for the sin of sinners

3. as He faces the agony of the cross, His prayer is: "Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you," v. 1

a. even facing death, our Lord's greatest desire is to bring glory to the name of God the Father

b. Jesus didn't simply pray for strength to go through the agonies of the cross

1) he prayed that His death, resurrection and return to Heaven would give glory to His Heavenly Father

ILLUS. G. Campbell Morgan, a British evangelist, preacher, a leading Bible teacher, and a prolific author, wrote, “The deepest passion of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men, but the glory of God; and then the saving of men, because that is for the glory of God”

4. Jesus will bring glory to the Father by completing the work the Father gave him to do

“since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:2–5, ESV)

a. 1st, He Will Glorify the Father by Redemption

1) Jesus will give eternal life to all whom the Father has given him

2) here is mysterious, but blessed Doctrine of Election — that God has chosen a people for Himself in Christ

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love,” (Ephesians 1:3-4, NIV)

3) whether it is the Old Testament saint who looked forward to the promised coming of God’s Anointed One, or the New Testament saint who looks backward to the actual coming of God’s Anointed One, God from eternity past has known who His chosen people are and has planned for their eternal redemption

a) of that group Jesus has not lost one, and will not lose any who are yet to come to him

b. 2nd, He Will Glorify the Father by Revelation

1) the cry went out from the Prophet Isaiah, Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? and God’s Elect can raise their hand and say we have ... we have seen the Son who has revealed the Father to us

2) we believe in the Father because we believe in what the Son has revealed about the Father through his life

“His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”” (John 16:29–30, ESV)

c. 3rd, He Will Glorify the Father by Reassurance

1) because we know the only true God that God is "able to keep that which we have committed unto him" – the eternal welfare of our souls

B. JESUS SOUGHT TO RECEIVE GLORY FROM THE FATHER

1. in His prayer Jesus asks to be restored to His position of pre-incarnate glory and honor that had been His in Heaven with the Father

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:4–5, ESV)

a. do you hear the resolute voice of Jesus in this?

b. it is still hours before his arrest, more hours before his mock trials, even more hours before he is nailed to a tree, and yet he prays, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do

c. nothing can keep the Son from fulfilling the Father’s will

2. one of the central tenants of the Christian faith is that Jesus has existed from all eternity as part of the eternal Godhead

a. he is the Eternal Word who was the Eternal Word with God, and the Eternal Word who was God, is God, and forever will be, God (John 1:1)

3. our knowledge of the Lord’s pre-incarnate glory is limited, but there are a few occasions when we are given a glimpse ‘behind the veil’ so to speak

a. there is his Creatorial Glory

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16–17, ESV)

1) these verses afford us a unique glimpse of the creatorial glory of Christ

2) the Glory of Christ as the Creator of our Universe is one that strikes us with awe and wonder

ILLUS. Between September 24, 2003 through January 16, 2004, the Hubble space telescope took the deepest image of the universe ever taken. They called it the Hubble Ulta-Deep Field image. It took pictures of the universe that, if we could travel there, would take us 13-billion years. I don't think we're going any time soon.

NASA scientists pointed the Hubble telescope toward one of the blackest regions of space. To the naked eye it looks empty. You just don't see much. The area of space they looked at was very small. It was comparable to a square millimeter of paper held 1 meter away.

When the picture was developed astronomers were flabbergasted. Hubble discovered not only stars, but galaxies. And not just a few galaxies but thousands upon thousands. In the Ulta-Deep Field image, astronomers estimate that there are 10,000 galaxies in the photo. And this is just one tiny sliver of the universe. We see evidence of not just stars colliding, but galaxies colliding in cosmic cataclysmic events not fathomable to our puny human minds. Astronomers tell us that there are about 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Our own Milky War Galaxy is considered an average galaxy and it contains an estimated 200 billion stars. Do the math: 200 billion stars times 170 billion galaxies equals one heck of a lot of stars. And Jesus knows where every one of them is at. Like never before, we are discovering the unimaginable immensity of our universe. And in doing so, we discover something about the infinite majesty and creative work of Jesus Christ.

b. there is his Kingly Glory

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1–4, ESV)

1) as we look around our world with its crumbling thrones and wicked, corrupt leaders, it is wonderful to know that in the final analysis, the final outcome does not lie in the hands of men

2) our God has never abdicated His place on the throne of the universe

c. there is his Transfigurational Glory

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:1–2, ESV)

d. there will be his Resurrection Glory three days hence

4. in his humility Jesus willingly gave up his glory in order to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind

a. now he prays to be glorified

“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:5, ESV)

IV. LESSONS

1. Jesus Prayed to the Father Just as He Taught His Disciple to Pray to the Father

a. the right to do so is a gift from Jesus

b. we have no natural right to pray to God as father

c. Jesus prays it by natural right and Christians can now do so as a natural right because we have been adopted into the family of God

2. The Lord’s Glory Will Become Our Glory in the Resurrection

“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30, ESV)

a. in explaining the parable of the sower to his disciples, Jesus ends by saying,

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:43, ESV)

3. We Ought to Seek to Bring Glory to the Father

a. how do we do that?

1) Praise Him with your lips

2) Obey His Word

3) Pray in Jesus’ name

4) Produce spiritual fruit

5) Remain sexual pure

6) Give generously

7) Live honorably among unbelievers

8) Seek the good of others

9) Be faithful when persecuted

10) Face death with faith

The hour has come. Just as the culmination of a pregnancy is the delivery of the baby, so the culmination of Christ’s messianic work is the atonement that he will now accomplish. It will bring glory to the Father and it will bring glory to the Son.