Jesus prays for us: us believers (continued)

[0:00] We got, well we're in chapter 17 verse 20 to 26.!

[0:30] Every few words you have to stop and say, what does that mean? Let's read the words again. John 17 verse 20.

[0:40] My prayer is not for them alone. Let's wait for everybody to find a place. John 17 verse 20. John 17 verse 20.

[0:55] My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. That all of them may be one, Father.

[1:10] Just as you are in me and I am in you. That they also may be in us. That the world may believe that you have sent me.

[1:24] I have given them the glory that you gave me. That they may be one as we are one.

[1:35] I in them and you in me. That they be brought to complete unity. Or that they be finished in one. Same word for finishing as, you know, it is finished.

[1:47] They may be finished in one. That the world should know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

[1:59] Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am. And to see my glory. The glory that you have given me.

[2:12] Because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you. I know you. And they know that you have sent me.

[2:27] I have made you known, or more fully, I have made your name known to them. And will continue to make it known.

[2:39] In order that the love you have for me may be in them. And that I myself may be in them. Help us, Lord, to think about these words.

[2:54] Amen. Amen. So I did a little introduction in case there was anybody here this evening who wasn't here this morning.

[3:06] Jesus prays for us. The question, what lies ahead on earth? And what lies ahead afterwards? The prayer was in three parts. Number one, Jesus praying that now he would be glorified.

[3:20] Number two, that the apostolic group would be kept. And number three, for the believers who would believe through the word of the apostolic group. And we looked at Jesus praying for oneness and in-ness.

[3:36] So looking more detail at prayer number three. It talks about oneness and in-ness. It talks about glory. And it talks about knowing. So we looked a little bit at the oneness and in-ness.

[3:49] And I'll just pause to say something about that. Because what Jesus is doing is taking the oneness and in-ness of the Trinity, the Father and the Son, and then saying something like, I want this privilege to be extended to all believers.

[4:11] And as soon as you begin to think that, you begin to wonder what's being said. So let me just draw that out a little bit.

[4:22] The oneness and in-ness between the Father and the Son is eternal. And it is the very being of the Trinity. And for Jesus to say, I want something like that to be true of the relationship between believers and myself, I don't think he can possibly be talking about an eternal relationship of being.

[4:51] He's talking about a redeeming relationship that sinners are brought into. It's not an eternal.

[5:03] It's not how things always have been and how things always ever be, because that's the way it's made up. He's talking about something in the sphere of redemption, rather than the sphere of eternal being.

[5:15] But he still makes that comparison. So we have the word in English, just as. I pray at verse 21, that all of them may be one, Father, just as.

[5:27] You are in me, and I am in you. And that's a... It is a mind-blowing just as, isn't it? Because it's saying, let's compare the eternal relationships of the Trinity, and say, in redemption, believers are brought into something which is really comparable with this.

[5:48] It's really an amazing thing. Anyway, so that was the oneness and inness. Let's have a little look at the glory. Verse 22 says, I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.

[6:04] Now, I have no idea how to expound that at all. The glory that the Father gives the Son is eternal, divine glory.

[6:19] It's nothing less than the Son deserves. Glorify me with the glory that I had with you before the world was. And then he says, I have given them the glory that you gave me.

[6:31] I looked in the commentaries, and they don't know either. he says, what does this glory consist of? I mean, Jesus says, I've given them the words. I've made known your name.

[6:43] And he can say, in some sense, what I've done for these people is I've given them glory. I think we could perhaps say that there's something of the already but not yet, in the sense that what he gives us is not yet made known, but we will be glorified with the glory of God.

[7:06] Not that we will become God, but that we will be brought so close that the glory of God will be ours.

[7:18] Something like that. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity.

[7:31] The grammar is not entirely clear. May they be finished into one.

[7:43] That's literally what it says. The same finished, it is finished, I have finished the work you gave me to do. May they be finished in one. So the idea of may there be a completion of this process.

[7:57] Is he talking about something that we see here on earth or is he saying something that will only be finished in the world to come? I don't know. But Jesus allows us to overhear this maybe so that we can just wonder.

[8:13] That's what he asked for. Well I suppose the fact that the word the world knows means that there must be something going on on earth, doesn't it? Now I come to think of it. Verse 24, Father I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

[8:38] I can make a little diagram of that if it's any help. There's the Father and the Son and we're told that the Father loves the Son.

[8:49] Where did I get that from? Yes, you gave me glory because you loved me before the creation of the world. That's in verse 24. The Father loved the Son before the worlds were made.

[9:05] Before anything was made we know this. The Father loved his Son. And it says that the Father gave him glory.

[9:22] So what is the glory of Jesus? Can we say that this is the way it is in the eternity of God that the Son's glory is not snatched it is given from the Father who is the fountain of all things and the radiance of his glory is the glory that the Son radiates himself.

[9:49] I don't know something like that. And Father I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory.

[10:03] Let's see what I've put in this. So there's the people the Son gives glory to the people and his prayer is that these people should be with him to see his glory.

[10:18] Isn't that amazing that the Lord Jesus should pray that prayer? What I want there's so many things that Jesus could have said and I think if we'd written the script there's lots of other things that we would have put in there but this is what the Lord Jesus in his wisdom prays he says this is what I want this is on my agenda just a few words and this is part of them I want these people to be with me and I want them to see my glory.

[10:56] I was just pondering as John the gospel writer overheard this just how deeply into his thinking these words went as we shall see in a moment that he heard Jesus pray by implication for him I want him and him and him and him and him this is what I want I want them to be with me so that they can see my glory let's compare with some verses John 14 verses 1 to 4 where Jesus is teaching his disciples John 14 I had a little correspondence with Anthony about this let's read it John 14 do not let your hearts be troubled trust in

[11:59] God trust also in me in my father's house are many rooms the word rooms there is to do with abiding and abiding is a very John sort of word abide in me and I abide in you my word abides in you and he's saying there's many abiding places in my father's house excuse the word for house in my father's house where in the place where my father lives there are many abiding places if it were not so I would have told you I am going there to prepare a place for you you can arrange that in various ways but I think perhaps the emphasis is on the going how is this future prepared answer by

[13:00] Jesus going the going includes the cross I'm going to I'm going via the cross and that's my preparation well that is the preparation which will enable you to come into this into the place where my father lives I'm going there to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me look at that word take it sort of implies Jesus comes and then goes back again in the other direction I'll come and take but the word take is capable of quite a wide range of meanings including receive so it might be saying I will come back and receive you to myself it's not saying that this is what Anthony was concerned about that Jesus comes back in his coming and we're in a new heaven and a new earth and what

[14:05] Anthony was concerned about was the thought that it might be saying we're going to heaven which would be sort of leaving earth and being taken back but the word taken doesn't imply that it could mean that but it doesn't have to I will come and I will receive you that where that you may be where I am that ties exactly with the prayer doesn't it that's what I want I want there to be a future in which my people are received to be with me and see my glory in the father's presence John 14 I will come and receive you so that where I am you will be and John 1 3 John 1 chapter 3 how great is the love the father has lavished on us that we should be called children of

[15:15] God and that is what we are the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him dear friends now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is I think that's exactly the same set of ideas as in John 14 and 17 where Jesus says I want them to be with me and I want them to see my glory and in 1 John he's just putting in another step in that to say that in order to see his glory we're going to have to be changed because our current eyes would be overloaded We wouldn't possibly see the fuses would blow straight away you need!

[16:17] resurrection eyes to see a resurrection saviour you need glorified renewed eyes to see the glory of the saviour and that's why he says we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is I want them to be with me father to see my glory what can we say that's what it says and it gets beyond the power of humanity in this part of history to get much further than that let's look at the bit about knowing which is in John 17 just looking at John 17 the verses there so this is another way that

[17:18] Jesus speaks I put it in a little diagram if it's any use so from verse 25 no I've missed a little bit out no we'll come back to that verse 25 righteous father can't help but be interested in the way that Jesus speaks to his father we're talking about how talking about how when my daughter Ellie and Jamie are married that they're supposed to refer to their new parents in law do you call your new parents and mum and dad or do you call them whatever their names are which I've forgotten but not Mr.

[18:15] Coles not Mr. Coles sir no it's interesting isn't it when you're sort of brought into a different circle how you speak how does Prince Charles address his mother I don't know mummy your royal highness mum!

[18:33] well here we can see how Jesus addresses his father and at one point he calls him holy father and in this part he says righteous father righteous father just interesting to over here isn't it it's wonderful righteous father so in my little rather complicated diagram I've got the group of people he's referring to believers I've got the world which is a different group of people these people are taken out of the world we have the father and we have the son and I've just tried to note down what it says righteous father the world does not know you so between the world and the father there is no knowledge the world does not know the father at least not in this sense beginning of Romans he says that everybody knows

[19:34] God in some sense but they suppress that truth but it's not a warm intimate reciprocal happy relationship if I can put it that way the world does not know you righteous father the world does not know you I know you so the son says I know the father I know the father it's a little bit like that in Matthew isn't it the father knows the son only the son knows the father and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him the father only the father knows the son the father only glorious claim the son can comprehend Jesus is so great that he can comprehend the father but we don't really comprehend who he is except in so far as he shows us little glimpses I suppose so what does it say I know you and they know that you have sent me so these people know that the father sent the son and

[20:40] Jesus says I have made your name known or as the NIV says I have made you known to them I have made you known I have made you known to them that's what I've done I've made you known they never knew you they had no way of knowing you they couldn't know you but what I've done is I've made you known to them I've done that through the gospel I've done this through this apostolic word and they've received it they've believed it and they've come to know the father I have made your name known to them verse 26 so past tense I have made known and future and I will make you known I will continue to make you known and there are these two future tenses in which Jesus doesn't just say what he has done but what he will do sort of answers the question what is

[21:44] Jesus doing in the world at the moment well there is this completing of unity that's an ongoing thing still to be completed and Jesus says I will continue to make you known that's a future what is Jesus doing at the moment he is continuing to make the father known that's what he's doing to us and I think by extension that's what he's doing as he draws people out of the world I will continue to make you known in other words we're not just what's the word you know when you pedal and then you yeah freewheeling and you you just sort of carry on until you run out of steam Jesus isn't saying I've made the father known and now guys you're on your own you just sort of freewheel a bit he's saying

[22:48] I'm continuing to feed into you the knowledge of the father I've made him known I will continue to make you known so just trying to summarize that the world does not know the father the son alone knows the father the son makes the father known to believers and Jesus several times sort of puts in a nutshell what it is that believers have come to know and he says in verse 21 people come to believe that you have sent me I wouldn't have put it that way this is the way he puts it what is it that Jesus says is almost in a nutshell what faith is it's knowing that Jesus has been sent by the father we would enlarge on it wouldn't we say he's been sent by the father to reveal the father to complete the father's work to die on the cross that's all included

[23:53] Jesus says to know and the son will continue to make the name of the father known and he connects it with a couple of things he connects it with verse 26 I continue to make it known in order that the love you have for me may be in them that the love that the father has for the son may be in them it's one of those sentences we know what the individual words mean in fact we know what the sentence means when you add it all together but it's a bit mind boggling isn't it to say that the father puts within us puts within our hearts the same love that the father has for the son the love that the father has for the son is perfect it streams out it's totally appropriate it's everything that love ought to be multiplied by a million times because there's no limit on how much

[25:16] God loves his son all that sort of thing and Jesus says I'm making I'm doing this work I'm doing this sort of redemptive activity I'm relating to my church in this way so that there's actually a lot of so that's in this so that what does it say so that in order that the love you have for me may be in them it's totally amazing isn't it and a bit more that the son may be in them that I may myself may be in them it's a jolly big prayer this it's a jolly big prayer isn't it Jesus is really seeing the strategic view and the real root issues here he says this is what I'm praying for this is my prayer that well it's not even a request it's a statement

[26:27] I will continue to make you known so that that love may in some genuine sense be in them they're a pretty stupid lot it'll take them quite a while for even to dawn on them that that's what their relationship is that I've brought them into some of them are pretty pedestrian they don't really find that idea an easy one to grasp but it's still true and that is the love that we've been brought into sort of jaw dropping isn't it and he says that I may be in them so that the lives they live will no longer be a question of you know their how they're doing in terms of blood pressure and cholesterol and how they're doing in terms of body mass index and how they're getting on in terms of employment rights and what the economy is doing that won't be the main factors in their lives the main factor in their lives will be this that I am in them that

[27:52] Jesus Christ lives in these people by his spirit that will be the main factor and if I am in them and they are in me then they produce fruit their lives are changed there is a different quality about them and that's what Jesus is praying for so in terms of knowledge sin has the effect on knowing God that we don't know God without Jesus Christ people are completely staggering around in the dark no contact with the living God in any meaningful relational sense bit of a bit of a pickle isn't it and look at the power and the authority and the key role and the uniqueness of Jesus of his equal dignity to the

[28:53] Father and his grace to us Jesus says I am the one who knows the Father and I make him known that's what I do no one else does no one else can do it that's what I do I know the Father and it's my goodness to these rapscallions to make the Father known to them and to live in them this is ongoing work making the Father known so that the love of the Father will be in us and the Son himself dwelling within us that's the end of my thoughts on these verses I think they're pretty what shall I say amazing they're sort of out of this world aren't they we're overhearing a conversation between two persons who made the world but who are not limited by it and they're talking about us in ways that we find mind blowing