The Glorification of God

Good morning my name is Pastor Ian I am one of the pastors here at SBC and I want to thank you for joining us this morning.

This morning I would like you to open up to John chapter 17 where we will be starting shortly.

Over the past few months, through reading Luke we have been able to see the life of Jesus Christ. We have seen miracles performed, we have seen the disciples learning through the life of Jesus Christ and we have also seen who Jesus Christ is. Jesus is a man who is always seeking to glorify God through His lifestyle, His words, and His actions.

What we really get to see here in the start of John 17 is the vulnerability of Jesus Christ. Even to the point where He knows He is about to suffer and die on the cross his focus is to glorify his father.

Another thing we can see here is when Jesus Christ is talking to God, He is making sure that the glorification that is going to come through Jesus Christ is not for Jesus Christ, instead it is for the benefit of the Father.

What Jesus Christ is doing throughout his whole life and even to this point towards the end of his life is a word called altruism. What this means is that Jesus is utilizing a behavior that benefits another individual at the cost of himself. So what this would mean is if you want to give an example if you give someone something of yours like the shirt off your back to warm them at the cost of being cold yourself this is showing an unselfish concern for the welfare of others. This is what Jesus Christ has been doing and teaching His whole entire life. Even in this moment, anyone of us sitting here today would think that in our last moments if we knew we were about to go die and suffer on the cross we might become a little bit selfish wouldn’t we would want to think of ourselves, think of what we can do in our last moments, think of what will benefit us think of what might make us feel better. But what Jesus is doing is the exact opposite and Jesus is still focusing on the glorification of God through His life

So as we go into John 17 I want you to think about what Christ is doing even in these final moments of His life. Because when you realize that His whole life is devoted to the benefit of someone else; it is devoted to the benefit of God’s glory through the life of Jesus Christ, then you’ll understand why Jesus Christ says what He says and does what He does and why we should follow this the same in our own lives.

Let’s read this morning

John 17:1–8 (NIV)

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

This passage comes right after Jesus Christ is speaking to His disciples and letting them know that he is not alone and the father is with him.

As we heard from Pastor Matt last week the conclusion of chapter 16 Jesus is speaking to the disciples and really summarizing the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Christ came, entered the world and will be returning to the Father by way of the cross. Because Jesus is returning to the Father soon and all these things are about to take place, Jesus takes the time to speak to the Father through prayer and continues to show us the example of glorifying God through all that we do.

So now let’s begin to break down the first few verses in John 17.

Jesus Christ first says John 17:1

John 17:1 (NIV)

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

We are seeing Jesus Christ lifting up the glory of God over himself which is something that He has been doing His whole life and teaching us to do. So why would it be any different now in his final prayers? Jesus Christ is speaking to God about the final hours of His life. He is speaking of the accomplishment of Jesus Christ coming to the finish of the mission that was started. And not only His earthly mission coming to the end, but the fact that he is continuing to glorifying God in the process. Jesus is saying that now that He has done what was asked of Him, give Him the glory He deserves through this accomplishment. Allow Him to return to the presence of God.

As we continue in verse 2

it says

John 17:2 (NIV)

2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

This is another important verse because we are seeing that the whole purpose of Jesus Christ is to glorify the father. It is to say you have given authority for me to come to earth to seek the lost children of Your kingdom so that they might receive eternal life through the giving of my life on the cross.

You see what was happening long before any of us were born, God had a plan of salvation in our lives. In order for that salvation to take place in our lives it had to be done without blemish or error. Because of our sinful nature and who we are though, there is no way we can pay for that because we are not in ourselves without error or blemish.

So in order for that salvation to take place when needed Jesus Christ to come and live His life free from sin so that He would die on the cross, because once He did that He holds all the marbles to our salvation. So when we think how could Jesus let the soldiers and his captors abuse him, flog him, tie him up nailed to a cross and allow him to die this way? Why couldn’t He just jump off that cross and be done with it. He could have, but if He did that it would’ve only been for His own glory, which would’ve contradicted everything He was teaching and everything He was showing us how to be through His life. Because Jesus did this without blemish, because He died on the cross and because He came to save us, He paid the price and now Jesus Christ owns all of it. He owns all of us and our salvation and what he did was return it. He freely gave it back to us through our acknowledgment of Jesus Christ in our lives.

So in John 17:2

John 17:2 (NIV)

2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

This was to be fulfilled after He (Jesus Christ) paid the price. Can you have control over something before you have purchased it? Can you walk on a dealership lot, get in the car and drive it away? Of course, but then you’re stealing and have now sinned. In order for you to drive that car free and clear off the lot, it must be purchased and payed for. This is what Jesus Christ did. He knew we can’t afford it, he knew we wouldn’t be able to pay for our sins on our own, because we are not free and clear from blemish, so therefore we are not free and clear to receive salvation on our own. Jesus Christ came down to earth and purchased all of our sins with the price of his life so that the salvation is no longer needing to be purchased, it is now able to be freely given by Jesus Christ to all those who believe in him because He holds the admission.

Let’s continue in

John 17:3 (NIV)

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

What does this mean? What Jesus is saying here is referring to the fact that eternal life has nothing to do with the quantity of life, but instead has everything to do with to do with the quality of life.

You see if we go back to

Matthew 25:46 (NIV)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Whether you believe in God or not or if you choose to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, doesn’t not mean you’re not going to live eternally. Eternity has nothing to do with it. We all know you will live eternally somewhere. You will live eternally separated from God if you don’t accept Jesus Christ in your life, or you will live eternally with constant communion with God through belief in Jesus Christ in your life.

So what we are seeing here it’s not a matter of if we will or will not live eternally, but instead the question is what is the quality you will live in eternity.

In John 5:24 it says

John 5:24 (NIV)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

What this is describing here is when that time comes for judgment day that if you believe in Jesus Christ you will not be judged because you are forgiven of your sins through the death of Jesus on the cross. This is why he did everything he did, and if this happens in your life you will cross over from an eternity in hell which is death to an eternity with Christ which is life.

And now we go to John 17:5 where it says:

John 17:5 (NIV)

5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

What you’re seeing in this moment is Jesus Christ sees the end in sight and Jesus Christ knows where He is going. He’s going back to the glory of God where He was before He came to earth. So Jesus Christ is acknowledging that His time is coming to an end, but he’s doing it in a way to expresses desire to go back to the glory of God, because He knows how glorious it is.

You need to imagine that at this point Jesus is tired, Jesus is ready. He has spent his whole life without sin, in temptation without faltering and fighting for you to have the ability to share an eternity with Him through His death on the cross. I can imagine that is just insanely mentally and physically draining and Jesus Christ is expressing that in this verse when he is saying I’m ready to be in your presence that I was already in, because I remember how glorious that presence is.

This was not a holiday for Jesus Christ. This was not a thing that anyone would want to do. But Jesus Christ knew that in order to save us He would first have to sacrifice Himself.

I do not know a parent in this room that if they saw their child suffering or about to be harmed that they would not step in and take their place without a second thought. And that is what Jesus Christ did for us. He saw at the right-hand side of God all that we were going through and all the suffering that would take place past present and future. And instead of nothing being done, the choice was made that instead of us suffering eternally for the sins of our own lives, Jesus Christ will suffer for those sins. And through Jesus Christ suffering for those sins we would have the ability to live with Him eternally in heaven if we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts.

We are sitting here all the time wondering what it would be like to be in the presence of God, to know that love and glory from God. Jesus Christ already knows this, so if Jesus Christ wants to go back there what makes you think the world is a better place for you? What makes you think that anything the world has to offer is better than what God has? Because Jesus also lived in this world and obviously there was not anything that grabbed his attention to make Him turn away and say “oh this is better”. Instead, He was excited to be towards the finish line and ready to go back in the glory of God because Jesus Christ knew how much better it was. And through this life of Jesus Christ we should believe this too.

So we too should understand this through reading this verse. That being in the presence of the Lord is going to be so much more glorious and we should also be thankful because without the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and without him suffering and dying for our sins we would not be able to obtain the ability to pay for it on our own, Our debt is too great. Our sin is too great on our own.

As we enter into Verse 6 we see Jesus is making this transition into praying for Jesus Himself, too now praying for His disciples.

John 17:6 says:

John 17:6 (NIV)

6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

This verse serves as an important transition that Jesus Christ is explaining to God in that through this process, Jesus Christ was sent to share the name of God with those who would listen and accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. And what Jesus Christ is saying is that Jesus Christ not only came to earth and shared the Word of God, but they (believers) have obeyed, by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

This is what it’s about this morning. In order to receive the salvation that God is offering, we first need to receive the truth that Jesus Christ was telling us and in that truth that Jesus Christ is telling us that He is the way to God.

Remember a few chapters ago in John 14 verse 6 it says;

John 14:6 (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

So, because the disciples believed who Jesus Christ is, they have now obeyed the Word and Jesus Christ is praying for them in a way to say “look, you sent me to share your word and tell them to believe in me and they are doing it”. So through that belief in Jesus Christ they have obeyed the Word of God.

The life of Jesus Christ is our reason to believe. It is through everything He did to glorify God through His life that gives us the ability to sit here today in this world and be saved through Jesus Christ. We cant do this on our own, so quit trying too. Without the help of the life and death of Jesus Christ we are all lost.

In Luke 19:10 it says

Luke 19:10 (NIV)

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

This is what Jesus Christ was doing for us. He was seeking us out.

Now towards the end of the verses we will read this morning is verse 7-8 which says,

John 17:7–8 (NIV)

7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

We are at a point now that although the disciples have been with Jesus Christ for several years, through all the teachings of Jesus Christ and through all the miraculous things that Jesus Christ has done, even now the disciples were confused and not fully getting it. We can spend our whole life hearing something and learning of something, and still not fully get it. So through this example of Jesus Christ we see that even towards the end Jesus is still committed to the glory of God. Jesus is still putting in the time to stay close to God, because we need that foundation too stand firm in our faith.

Although the disciples have much to still learn we also see Jesus point out that these He gave the words to have accepted Him. Judas is no longer in the equation and although there is much to learn just as we all who call ourselves Christians have much to learn. Jesus was expressing the prayer to glorify God, but also pray for the mission of the apostles. Because when Jesus leaves, it is them who will continue the message of Jesus Christ. It is us who will share the message of Jesus Christ in our world today and just as Jesus showed us through His example in this prayer, it is for the glory of God and Jesus is also praying for the future of that message as He leaves to go back to the Father.

Let’s pray