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[0:00] Seeking the Lord's blessing, let us now turn to the portion of scripture that we read together in the Gospel of John, chapter 17, and we'll read from the beginning.

[0:13] These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

[0:32] According to scripture, prayer is an important and essential element in the life of a believer.

[0:47] It is a mark of spiritual life. You may recall that there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias.

[1:00] And to him the Lord appeared in a vision and he said to him, Behold, arise and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas of one called Saul of Tarshish.

[1:17] Behold, he prayeth. That was the sign that was given to Ananias in the midst of all his fear of going to meet Saul of Tarshish, the one who had come to Damascus with a desire to gather all believers and to bring them and to have them executed.

[1:43] Yet the Lord met with Saul of Tarshish on the way. And Saul of Tarshish was changed and transformed. And although Ananias was afraid to go and to meet up with this man, yet the Lord gave him a sign, a sure sign of the change and the transformation that had taken place in his life.

[2:08] With these words, behold, he prayeth. It is like the first breath that a child takes.

[2:20] Prayer is a sign of spiritual life. You will recall that Jesus, in giving a parable that's recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, says to us and exhorts us to pray and not to faint.

[2:39] And throughout the Bible, you will find that people prayed. And as we come to the pages of the New Testament and the Gospels, we see that prayer played such a prominent part in the life of Jesus Christ himself.

[2:59] We find on the pages of the Gospel that Jesus Christ was truly a man of prayer. We are told that on one occasion, before he chose his twelve disciples, that he spent the whole night in prayer.

[3:20] On many occasions, he rose a great deal before dawn and went up into a mountain to pray. And you will recall at the grave of Lazarus, that there he prayed and thanked God, that he knew that God heard his voice and always heard it.

[3:41] We find him praying just as he was going to face the cross in this very Gospel itself, in chapter 12, where he says, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?

[3:54] Father, say me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have glorified it and will glorify it again.

[4:11] And here in these last hours, just before he goes into the garden of Gethsemane, where he was to be found praying in intense agony, with three of his disciples present with him, here before he enters into that garden and into that intense agony, he prays clearly in the presence of all his disciples.

[4:40] One day Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of the disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.

[4:54] And Jesus' reply is recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, where we have similar words that we find in the Sermon, known as the Sermon on the Mount, in the Gospel of Matthew.

[5:08] A prayer that we call the Lord's Prayer. The disciples asked because they saw and heard Jesus praying.

[5:21] What we have in Matthew and Luke is truly a pattern for prayer. But what we have here recorded for us in the Gospel of John, and chapter 17, is truly the Lord's Prayer.

[5:37] It is a prayer that gives us a window into the level of communication that goes on between God the Father and the Son.

[5:48] It is our privilege to be overhearers of the most astonishing address of the Son to the Father.

[6:01] We hear the Son of God talking to God the Father. He is not talking to the disciples. He is talking to God. And it is our privilege to hear what he is saying to the Father.

[6:19] Though he was the Son of God, he spent so much time praying, and this is his way of praying. May I even suggest that it is the way that Jesus still prays before the Father.

[6:44] There is no chapter in the Gospels which gives us a clearer insight into the person of our Lord himself than what we find in this prayer that is recorded for us here, that he prayed just before he entered into the Garden of Gethsemane.

[7:08] Some people call this prayer the High Priestly Prayer of Christ. Others call it Christ's Prayer of consecration or dedication.

[7:19] And certainly Jesus is on the threshold of consecrating or dedicating himself to God as a sacrifice for atonement.

[7:32] While we should not be surprised that mankind would pray to their Creator or that sinners would pray to their Redeemer, what is amazing as we look upon Jesus praying to the Father is that the person praying into the Father is equal to the Father.

[7:56] While mankind prays to the Creator or the sinner to his Redeemer, they are not equal with the person to whom they are praying.

[8:11] The person to whom they are praying is far superior to them. But here we find that Jesus is praying to the Father and he himself is equal to the Father.

[8:27] However, he assumed human nature. He came in the flesh. He lived as a man in the likeness of sinful flesh.

[8:38] He is truly man. It is not a theophany. It is not God appearing in the form of a man like we have sometimes in the Old Testament.

[8:50] But here we have the Word made flesh. Here we have God manifest in the flesh. Here we have the God man.

[9:04] Truly God and truly man. man. This is what Paul speaks of in Philippians 2 and I quote it in the way that it is written in the ESV translation.

[9:20] Who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant been born in the likeness of men and been found in human form.

[9:37] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. What Paul means here when he speaks of emptied himself is that while Jesus was here on earth he did not make use of his powers as God.

[9:59] In other words he at no time drew from his deity or from his divine nature. Because he lived as the servant therefore prayer was essential to him.

[10:18] He was totally dependent upon his father and the spirit. He said himself the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me he doeth the works.

[10:41] He is the very son of God and he is perfect man but he is also the servant and as such he does nothing of himself.

[10:55] He gets all his orders as it were from God. God gives him the words to speak. God tells him what to do and God gives him the power to do it.

[11:11] God gives him the power to heal to form a miracle to perform miracles. He looks to God for light and guidance.

[11:25] Perfect man but in utter dependence upon his father and upon the spirit. As God there was no need for him to pray.

[11:41] He was equal with the father and the spirit. He was all knowing and all powerful. But as the God man as the servant as mediator he was dependent upon the father and the spirit.

[12:02] And it is important for us to have some grasp of that in order that we can come to understand the condescension of the son of God.

[12:15] That we come to a little understanding to a measure of understanding of what it means that the son humbled himself. That God the son condescended to the state in which he was utterly dependent upon God the father and God the holy spirit.

[12:42] Luke records for us that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.

[12:54] In Isaiah 42 speaking of the servant we read in verse 1 Behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth I have put my spirit upon him.

[13:13] Jesus in the flesh or as the servant is exhibited to us in two respects as one whom God appalls behold my servant he is speaking there of Jesus Christ he is speaking there of Jesus in the flesh behold my servant whom I appalled and he speaks of him as the one in whom his soul delights then in the same chapter verse six we read I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles this passage would have been very much known and well known to Jesus he would have known the promises of the father to uphold him and to hold his hand and to keep him and to give him as a light to the

[14:25] Gentiles one commentator calls it the title deed and security that Jesus had in the great work of redemption Jesus not only knew it but he experienced its truth and he tasted its accuracy he lived in the full enjoyment of all that it promised him he was always he always felt as one who was upheld by God in psalm 40 we read then said I lo I come in the volume of the book it is written of me I delight to do thy will oh my God yea thy laws within my heart he always loved and served his father his heart had never swerved from its allegiance his whole life from the manger to the tomb was one of uninterrupted flow of love and obedience his meat and drink were to do the will of the father but he lived in the rule of his servitude as we have it brought before us in psalm 2 ask of me and

[15:57] I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession he was God in the flesh he was equal with the father and yet as the servant this was the rule of his servitude that he had to ask he had to pray ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession and it is still part of his intercession at the right hand of the father that rule of servitude ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession in Hebrews 5 we read who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications was thrown crying and tears unto whom that was able to save him from death and and was heard and that he feared though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered what did servitude mean for the son of

[17:19] God what did servitude mean for the second person of the trinity well it is said that he took on him the form of a servant and was found in fashion as a man and that is what servitude meant for him that is his condescension this condescension of the son of God in which he assumed our nature did not consist in laying aside or separation from the divine nature so that he should cease to be God by being man there is order in the divine persons there is the father then the son and the holy spirit there is order but no inequality there is no dissimilarity no difference in the divine being although the shorter in the divine persons there is no difference or dissimilarity in the divine being so that as our catechism tells us we have three persons that's the order but one

[18:41] God one God the Jews understood him when he said that God was his father the Jews understood that he made himself equal with God for he ascribed to himself equal power with the father as to all the divine operations and deeds he says my father works until now and I work so his condescension it is not that he ceased to be in the form of God but to continue so to be he took upon himself the form of a servant in our nature he became what he was not but he ceased not to be what he was so he says and no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven even the son of man which is in heaven now

[19:53] I know that some translations hasn't got that final part of that verse John 3 13 even the son of man which is in heaven that's because a lot of the manuscripts don't carry these words but there are some manuscripts that do carry it and I think that although there are some translations that do not carry it and although there are some manuscripts in where these words are not found I think it is important for us to grasp the truth that is brought before us in these words that although he was on earth as the servant yet he ceased not to be God and because of that in his divine nature he was then also in heaven when he condescended and took our nature unto himself there was no vacant place in the order of the persons of the Godhead it didn't mean that there was only the Father and the Holy Spirit in heaven the

[20:55] Son was also in heaven while he was still on earth because he was God man yes as man he could only be in one place but as God he was everywhere he was in heaven and on earth and it is important for us to grasp that we must be careful when we say that he left heaven or that he came down from heaven we must always qualify that yes he condescended yes he came down and took unto himself the form of a servant the form of man he became perfect man he took unto himself our flesh he came in the likeness of sinful flesh and although on earth he was yet in heaven he who is

[21:56] God can no more be not God than he who is not God can be God great indeed is the mystery of godliness God manifest in the flesh and we can only adore it it was an act of the triune God it was an act of the father he sent his son in the likeness of sinful flesh he gave his only begotten son and as such is an act of the father but as the formation of the human nature it was an act of the spirit it was said to Mary the holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of God but the taking of our human nature unto himself was the particular act of the person of the son so it was an act of the triune

[23:08] God an act of the father in sending him an act of the spirit in forming that nature and it was an act of the son in assuming that nature into his own person the mystery of godliness god manifest in the flesh and we can only stand here and we can only adore it and praise god for it so here we have the son of god equal with the father and the spirit but as the servant of god having taken our nature unto himself and become the son bearer and working out the redemption of the people given to him by the father here he is and he himself is praying to the father now this prayer comes at the end of the great discourse in the upper room he was about to leave his disciples and he knew probably from their reaction that they were troubled so he begins his discourse to them by saying let not your hearts be troubled they had been following him out for up to three years they had seen wonderful things they had observed his miracles they had heard his wonderful teaching they had come to lean upon him he had given them themselves certain powers and now after three wonderful years he is telling them that he is going to leave them he reminds them that he will still be looking after them and although he will not be physically present with them that he will be with them spiritually he is committing them to the father in

[25:21] John 14 we read and I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever they are speaking of the spirit of truth whom the world he says cannot receive because it seeth him not neither know him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you I will not leave you comfortless I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you yet a little while in the world seeth me no more but ye see me because I live ye shall live also at that day ye shall know that I am in my father and ye in me and I in you committing them to the care of the father and to the care of the holy spirit and yet he himself also been with them it is important for us to note the conclusion of chapter 16 the way that chapter concludes behold the hour cometh yes now come that ye shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me alone yet

[26:31] I am not alone because the father is with me these things I have spoken unto you that ye might have peace in the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world there is a sense of triumph a sense of victory a sense of overcoming and that provides the launching pad for the whole prayer that is recorded for us here in chapter 17 it provides the tone of his soul prayer after saying these words Jesus immediately launches into this prayer he addresses the father these words speak Jesus he lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said father he was one with the father from all eternity god is his father in the sense that he is the father in the order of persons in the god head that we have already noted in that trinity of father son and holy spirit but god is also his father in the sense that jesus the son the second person has now become man and servant and so he is looking to god as his father god is now his father because he the son is the representative of the many brethren whom he has come to save and for whom he has come as a sin bearer to die for their sins and to work out their salvation as the servant god he says to mary mary go go and tell his brethren that he was going to ascend into his father and their father and into his god and their god as a servant

[28:59] God is his father and in that sense he used these words to Mary to go and tell his brethren I ascended to my father and your father and to my God and your God he addresses here he addresses God six times in this prayer as his father but notice he not only addresses him as father but in verse 11 he addresses him as holy father how vital it is for us to remember that God is holy the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we must always approach God with reverence and godly fear he says for our God is a consuming fire as we approach God we must always be aware that he is a holy God and here we find that Jesus was one with the father and though nothing had ever come between them though he was sinless but as a servant he still addressed God as holy father and in verse 25 he addresses him as righteous father here Jesus is referring to the character of God to the faithfulness of God in other words he is saying that God is faithful in all that he has promised and how relevant that was for Jesus on the very threshold of going into the garden of Gethsemane to know that God is faithful in all that he has promised how his mind would go back to Isaiah 42 and the promises of God that he would hold his hand the promise of God the promise of God that he would uphold him the promise of God that his soul delighted in him you see prayer and promise is very important for every prayer rests on a promise and we cannot make the promise an excuse for not praying

[31:35] Jesus had the promises but yet he prays he prays the promises you see the promise is a motive to prayer no promises no prayer but promise is a motive to prayer you have a right to God for everything God has promised and if you study this prayer you will find that Jesus is saying give me the things you promised Jesus here is an example for us of how we should approach God in prayer maybe you're finding prayer a difficulty maybe you cannot find words to bring to pray to God maybe prayer is a thing that gives you great difficulty maybe even to the point of fear but Jesus here is an example for us of how we should approach God in prayer listen

[32:59] Father Father He came with the language of sonship and we too can draw near to God in prayer with the language of adoption that's how we should approach God with the language of adoption our Father our Father which art in heaven God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying Abba Father so we come and we approach God with the language of adoption and we call him Father but we must also come fully aware that he is a holy father hallowed be thy name to hallow is to set apart a thing from a common use to a sacred use in other words we can say sanctified be thy name as the vessels of the tabernacle and temper were said to be hallowed or holy vessels in that they were set apart for a holy use so God's name is to be set apart from all abuses remember what he said in Psalm 66 if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me we must not come to him with unworthy desires with selfish thoughts we must not come before a holy father with unworthy desires or selfish thoughts but he is also a righteous father he is also a faithful father so when we come before him conscious of our sins and may be doubtful and hesitant let us remember that he is a righteous and faithful father and that he has promised that if we truly confess our sins that he is righteous and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness he is righteous and faithful and he has promised us forgiveness in Christ so the writer to the Hebrews encourages us he says let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy mercy and find grace to help in time of need so the way to approach God is to follow the example of his son to follow the example of his servant that he has left an example for us of how to approach God we approach God in the language of adoption father but we approach him also remembering that he is a holy father therefore let us not come with unworthy desires or selfish thoughts and but we must also remember that he is a righteous father a faithful father that he has given us promises and that he will fulfill those promises and after addressing the father in the language of sonship

[36:52] Jesus says the hour has come glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee and in verse 5 he talks about the glory which he had with the father before the foundation of the world you see we are here in the presence of not just a mere man but we are in the presence of the son of God we are in the presence of the God man we are in the presence of the one who shared the glory of the father before the foundation of the world who shared the glory of the father from all eternity but we may ask the question is this petition in verse 1 the same as this petition in verse 5 where he says here in verse 1 glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee and in verse 5 O father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was well may I suggest that they are different in verse 1 when he speaks of the hour having come he is referring to the fact that he is about to die about to face the greatest crisis of all it was one thing for him to condescend it was one thing for him to come in the likeness of sinful flesh to take our nature upon himself to be lying in the womb of a sinful woman and yet remaining sinless to be born as a babe and all the trials and hardships that he endured in life yet there was now set before him the hour had come something that was deeper and greater and beyond all that had confronted him before he was about to endure the cross and all that it meant he was about to be made sin so he prays to the father using the language of sonship father glorify thy son by which he means strengthen me enable me to prove the fact that

[39:22] I am your son he had come to the place where he was going to be made sin and it was such an overwhelming thought for him could he stand the lord could he bear the punishment reckoned against the sins that was going to be laid upon him so he prays to the father for strength and we know that his prayer was answered glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee notice how tied up was the glorifying of the son with the glory of the father we shall not enter into that for today that be for some other day God willing but the petition in verse 5 and there

[40:23] Jesus is still looking at what is before him in verse 4 he says I have glorified thee on the earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and now oh father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was in other words he is saying having completed and accomplished all the work which you you the father appointed for me to do has not the time now arrived has not the time now come when I can come back to you and so although the both petitions may look similar yet there is that difference in verse 1 he is praying that petition in view of the cross in verse 5 he is praying that petition in view of the fact that he has completed the work so Jesus here shows us by example how we should approach God in prayer how we must come to God in the language of our adoption

[41:48] Abba Father how we must come knowing him as a holy father and how we must come knowing him as a righteous and faithful father and how we must come acknowledging and seeking that he is the one who can give us this grace that he is the one who can give us strength to endure all that shall confront us remember how Paul prayed regarding the thorn in the flesh three times and his answer was my grace is sufficient for you my strength is made perfect weakness yes his grace was sufficient for him and so we come and we seek the strength to endure the trials and difficulties and hardships just as Christ came here seeking the strength to endure the cross you know the amazing thing about this prayer is that this prayer is for me and you we are not detached from the petitions of this prayer when he says glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee we must not think that we are so detached from his petitions because he was going to the cross for me and you for me and you and so here then we have a most remarkable prayer a most remarkable insight into the person of Jesus

[43:45]  Christ a most remarkable insight of what it meant for him to become the servant the condescension of Jesus Christ for my salvation and for your salvation and if we had nothing else surely we should be lost in awe how we should adore what is set before us the son of God equal with the father found praying to the father and that for the salvation that he was working out for me and for you father the hour has come glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee may the lord bless our thoughts let us pray there theры