Can you still hear me okay? Good stuff. If you'd like to open your Bibles to John chapter 17.
John chapter 17.
I'll just pray quickly if you don't mind again.
Father, we thank you that we can gather here as your people, open your word.
And we pray, Father, that there will be none among us, Lord, who has a hard heart, a heart that resists you.
But, Lord, that we would be sensitive and tender to what you have to say.
And, Lord, that we would not be those who just hear your word, but that we be those who obey and do your word.
Lest we deceive ourselves, Lord, into thinking that by just hearing it will bless us, Lord, but that we must obey and receive it, Lord, by faith.
I ask for your help and for the blessing of your Holy Spirit, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
I'd like to begin this morning by asking you a question.
If you could go back to any one event in the Bible to be there firsthand in the flesh and see something in the Bible, one event, what event would you choose?
Any event in the whole Bible, New Testament, Old Testament, whatever you want it.
This is a question that a friend of mine asked me.
And so he asked me, what would you choose?
Maybe have a think about it.
Would you go see Moses parting the Red Sea and bringing the Israelites out of Egypt?
Or would you see the walls of Jericho come crashing down, maybe?
Or David killing Goliath, walloping him in the head with a stone and then hacking off his head?
Or Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount, maybe?
So my friend who asked me this question, I think, actually had the best answer.
He said, of all the events, of all the things that I could go see in the Bible, go back in time and see,
the one thing I would like to see would be Jesus praying.
And some very flashy.
But wouldn't it have been amazing to be there and hear Jesus pray to his Father in heaven?
Well, the text that we have this morning in John chapter 17 is exactly that.
It is a candid insight into the prayer life of Jesus Christ himself.
Consider this, of all the things that the disciples could have asked Jesus to teach them,
in the New Testament, we only have record of them asking him to teach them one thing.
Jesus, teach us how to pray.
Not Jesus, teach us how to cast out miracles, teach us how to preach better, teach us how to pray.
I think that's very significant.
Because surely they saw that at the heart of Christ's ministry was his dependence upon God,
borne out in prayer to him constantly.
We read in Hebrews chapter 5 that 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.
If you picture Christ praying in your mind, do you see him crying with tears and shouting out loudly?
Because he was full of passion.
Imagine how incredible it would be to hear that.
And so here, as I said, we have in John chapter 17, not that we can hear with our ears,
but that we can read with our eyes the very words of Christ.
This is God incarnate in the flesh, praying to God in heaven.
This is the longest prayer that we have of Jesus,
and it is made even more special and precious to us
because it is the prayer that he prays before he goes to the cross.
Judas says that they're in the upper room, chapters 13 to 17,
is Jesus' final teaching to his disciples.
He's preparing them for his departure,
and he's telling them all about what is going to happen,
and there's much that they don't understand.
Judas, at this point, has left them to betray Jesus.
They've just finished eating their Passover meal,
and this is just before they walk, as it were,
across the valley near the Garden of Gethsemane,
where Christ will then be arrested,
falsely tried, beaten and mocked,
and then executed by crucifixion at Calvary.
All of Jesus' life, all of his earthly ministry,
all of his miracles, all of his work,
has led up to this hour,
and this is what he prays.
So read with me.
We'll read through this chapter together.
You can either listen or follow along.
The whole of John chapter 17.
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,
since you have given him authority over all flesh
to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
And this is eternal life,
that they know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I glorified you on earth,
having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had with you
before the world existed.
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.
Now they know that everything that you have given me
is from you.
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.
I am praying for them.
I am not praying for the world,
but for those whom you have given me,
for they are yours.
All mine are yours,
and yours are mine,
and I am glorified in them.
And I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world.
And I am coming to you.
Holy Father,
keep them in your name,
which you have given me,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.
While I was with them,
I kept them in your name,
which you have given me.
I have guarded them,
and not one of them has been lost,
except the son of destruction,
that the scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you,
and these things I speak in the world,
that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them your word,
and the world has hated them,
because they are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world,
but that you keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so have I sent them into the world.
And for their sake,
I consecrate myself,
that they also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask for these only,
but also for those who will believe in me
through their word,
that they may all be one,
just as you, Father, are in me,
and I in you.
That they also may be in us,
so that the world may believe
that you have sent me.
The glory that you have given me,
I have given to them,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.
I in them,
and you in me,
that they may become perfectly one,
so that the world may know
that you have sent me,
and love them,
even as you loved me.
Father, I desire that they also,
whom you have given me,
may be with me where I am,
to see my glory,
that you have given me,
because you loved me,
before the foundation,
of the world.
O righteous Father,
even though the world does not know you,
I know you,
and these know that you have sent me.
I made known to them your name,
and I will continue to make it known,
that the love with which you have loved me,
may be in them,
and I in them.
What a prayer.
I think in all your life,
you'll never read a better prayer than that.
If you imagine for a moment,
that our prayers,
your prayers and my prayers,
are like pouring out water,
the Lord pouring out our hearts to Him,
this is a waterfall of a prayer.
This is the Niagara Falls of prayers.
Just a rush,
a torrent of glory.
Hearing God,
the Son,
pray to God the Father.
I don't know if you've ever been to a,
a kind of a famous city,
or a beautiful city.
I remember being a few years ago in Milan,
with Roxy on holidays,
and I weren't there for like,
a few days,
and there's just so much to take in.
You walk around,
you look at all the nice,
ancient buildings,
that are just so old,
and all the nice places to go visit,
and all the things to do,
and it's just,
you said to yourself,
we've got to come back here,
because there's just so much to take in.
And I would put it to you,
that this prayer is like that.
There's no way we're going to be able to cover everything that's in this prayer.
But I would invite you to go back,
and visit it,
and read through it yourself.
Because it is just absolutely wonderful.
So this morning,
it's not my aim,
as I said,
to unpack this entire chapter,
because there's so much here.
Instead,
it is my aim for us to walk through this prayer,
and see how Jesus prayed right before he went to the cross.
In particular,
I want to look at the petitions.
There are five petitions.
Five things that Jesus asked,
or requested,
of his Father in Heaven,
in this prayer.
And so I want to use that as a framework for us to go through this prayer.
There's more to this prayer,
than just the petitions,
but it's just a way for us to move through it.
So let's start with Jesus' first praise for himself.
Look at verse one.
One petition that he prays for himself.
Father,
the hour has come.
Glorify your Son,
so that the Son may glorify you.
What does the word glorify mean?
We don't really use that anywhere outside of church,
really.
Glorify.
To glorify someone means to lift them up on high.
It means to exalt them,
and honor them.
In the most basic sense,
it means to show how good someone,
or something is.
To glorify someone.
To exalt,
and to honor someone.
Put them in a higher place.
Say,
this is the man.
This person here.
Father,
Jesus prays,
glorify me,
that I may glorify you.
Exalt and honor me,
Father,
so that I may exalt and honor you.
And you'll notice,
just before Jesus asks this,
right at the start of verse 1,
he says what?
The hour has come.
As I said earlier,
Christ's ministry has been building up to this time.
Earlier in the Gospels,
we hear Jesus repeat this phrase,
my hour has not yet come,
my hour has not yet come.
This is the pinnacle of his ministry,
which is going to the cross,
dying for our sins,
rising from the dead,
and ascending to the right hand of the Father.
This hour,
the time for that,
has now come,
and Jesus knows it.
He knows he is about to go
to the cross,
and on top of the physical agony
of being nailed
to wood
and suspended
only by those nails,
he knows that on top of that,
he will suffer the wrath of God,
God's righteous anger
for my sin
and for your sin.
It is not Jesus' physical pain
that wipes away our sins.
It is his blood
shed for us
as a sacrifice
that he absorbed
and swallowed up,
as we said earlier,
God's anger,
righteous,
good anger
against our sins.
Jesus knew that on that cross,
he would be forsaken.
Do you know the only time
Jesus doesn't refer to God
as his Father
is on the cross?
He always refers to him as his Father,
except on the cross.
My God,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Jesus did not cease to be God,
but as a man,
Jesus was fully man,
was forsaken
by God.
So how is it then
that Jesus can say,
I am going to go to the cross,
I am going to suffer
physical agony,
I am going to
be the sole target
of the wrath of God.
How can Jesus pray
that he will be glorified
in that?
Sounds funny,
doesn't it?
the worst thing
that could possibly happen.
Being betrayed
by your friend,
being wrongfully accused,
being murdered,
and then God's wrath
being poured out on you
saying glorify me
in this.
The answer
to that
apparent contradiction
is in verse 5.
Father,
glorify me
in your own presence
with the glory
that I had with you
before the world
existed.
Jesus is looking
beyond the cross.
He is looking
beyond
his death.
He is looking
to the resurrection
and not just
to his resurrection
to life
but his ascension
into heaven.
Father,
bring me back
into your presence.
Glorify me
by bringing me
back
to heaven
from where I came.
Glorify me
as it were
into your presence.
This is exactly
what Paul refers to
in Philippians 2
as you might think of
that Jesus
humbled himself
by becoming
obedient
to the point
of death,
even death
on a cross.
Therefore,
God has
highly exalted
him
and bestowed
on him
the name
that is
above every name.
That is why
Jesus could pray
at this time
before it is all
about to go down.
God,
glorify me.
Bring me
through
this fire.
Bring me
through
what I have
to do.
Jesus knows
that the final
destination,
his final destination
is not the cross.
It is not
the grave.
It is heaven
itself.
Hebrews 12
says,
for the joy
set before him,
Jesus endured
the cross
despising its
shame
and is seated
at the right
hand of God
in heaven.
That is where
Jesus is right
now,
at God's
right hand.
Friends,
if God,
the Father,
brought Jesus
through the pain
and the suffering
and the spiritual
agony of the cross
and if he
raised him
from the dead
and brought him
all the way
back to heaven,
how will he not
also care for you
this week?
Is there anything
in your life
that God will not
be able to bring
you through?
Our boast as
Christians is not
in our own strength
as we've sung
this morning.
It's not saying
that we get better
as it were
at being Christians
but that we realize
more and more
our complete
dependence upon
the Lord.
He who did not
spare his own son
but gave him up
for us all,
how will he not
also with him,
with Jesus,
graciously give us
all things.
There is nothing
God will withhold
from you as his child.
Absolutely nothing
if you need it
at the right time.
That is what Jesus
prays,
glorify me
that I may glorify you
and he goes on now
to pray
for his disciples.
So having prayed
for himself,
Jesus now goes on
praying
for his disciples
who were there.
Let's read verses
6 to 9 again.
He says,
I have manifested
your name
to those whom
you have given me
out of the world.
They were yours,
you gave them to me
and they have kept
your word.
And skip down
to verse 9,
I pray for them,
I do not pray
for the world
but those whom
you have given me
for they are yours.
Jesus is praying
for those people
that the Father
has given to him.
He is not praying
for everyone
in the world,
that is what he says,
but rather
for those
who belong to him.
Now don't let that
get twisted in your mind
if you go,
I wonder do I belong
to God,
I wonder do I belong
to God.
Do you have faith
in the Son of God?
Do you trust in him?
You belong to the Lord.
But the Lord
in his love
made sure
that we would be saved.
By handing us over
to the Son
that he might lay down
his life
for his sheep.
Notice what he says
about his people,
his disciples.
In verse 6,
he says they have what?
They have kept
your word.
And again in verse 8,
I have given them
the words
that you have given me.
Jesus passes on
the message,
the word of God
to his people
and they have
received them.
This is the hallmark
of God's people
that they receive
the word of God.
That they believe it,
accept it.
Jesus criticized
the Pharisees,
he said,
who rejected Jesus,
he said,
my word finds
no place in you.
So that when the word
was preached,
when Jesus was preaching,
they rejected
what he had to say.
Thereby rejecting
Christ himself.
But Jesus says
this is a hallmark,
this is what the people
of God do.
That we receive
the word of God
and we obey it.
It's not just to believe
it or accept it
in some sort of
theoretical sense.
I think there are a lot,
there are a lot of people
in the world
who think that Jesus
is a good teacher
and they agree with him
and they don't mind
being associated with him
in some loose sense
and they're a fan.
There are theologians
who would absolutely
wipe the floor
with any of us
in this room
about the ins and outs
of the Bible,
theology,
what Jesus taught
and yet they don't
believe what he thought.
So to receive
the word of God
means that you
personally take it
and live your life
according to it.
Jesus isn't looking
for fans,
he's looking for disciples.
He doesn't call us
simply to give
a mental assent
and say,
yes, that sounds good,
but rather to say
that is true
and I believe it.
The word of God
and the people of God
are inseparably linked
and Jesus said,
this is who I'm praying for,
those whom you have given me
who have received your word
and he goes on to pray
three things
for his disciples.
As Alex has mentioned earlier,
he prays,
keep them,
Father,
keep my people
in your name,
secondly,
protect them,
thirdly,
sanctify them.
So keep them,
protect them,
sanctify them.
Now,
these petitions
or requests
that he is praying,
he is praying
in the first instance
about the disciples
that are with him,
his disciples at that time.
But as you go on
into verse 20,
he says,
I do not ask for these only,
referring to the disciples
who are with him,
but also for those
who will believe in me
through their word.
That's you and me.
So we don't read this
and kind of go,
oh, this is a prayer
about the disciples
who died long ago
and who were in heaven.
Yes, it is,
but it is also
about you and I.
He said,
I'm not asking
just for them,
I'm asking for all
of those people
who will come.
Isn't that cool?
That Christ prayed
for you
and for me
before he went
to the cross
for us.
Let's look again
at verses 11 and 12.
I am no longer
in the world,
they are in the world,
and I am coming to you.
Holy Father,
keep them in your name,
which you have given me,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.
While I was with them,
I kept them in your name,
which you have given me.
And skip down to verse 15.
I do not ask
that you take them
out of the world,
but that you keep them,
protect them
from the evil one.
They are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them
in the truth.
Your word is truth.
So he's praying,
keep them,
protect them,
sanctify them.
When Jesus was
with his disciples,
he protected them.
He guarded them
and he kept them safe.
And clearly the disciples
needed his protection
because of all
the spiritual opposition
from a non-believing world
and from the devil himself
that he would experience.
but he's not just praying
for their protection
from the devil.
He is also praying
that the Father
keeps them
in his name.
Now what does that mean?
What does that mean
to keep them
in his name?
If you really,
if someone was a Christian
and said,
what does it mean
that you believe
in Jesus' name?
Why don't you just
believe in Jesus?
It kind of sounds odd
when you kind of look at it.
The idea is that
we are kept,
Jesus is asking
that we be kept
faithful to who God is.
God's name being
his expression of who he is.
This is my name.
This is who I am.
That we would be kept
faithful to the Father.
Jesus knows
that he is about
to be publicly executed,
that his disciples
will be scattered
like sheep,
as he says,
that they will abandon him,
that they will be scared
and confused.
He knows how weak they are,
just like you and I,
and he prays
that the Father
would protect them.
I mean,
ask yourself,
why didn't,
why didn't the disciples
just give up
on their faith completely
when Jesus died
and go,
well,
he's dead.
That's it.
I feel a fool.
Why did they persevere?
Why is it that
the early church
was not completely
wiped out
by the Roman Empire?
Why did it,
like,
last?
Think of it.
I was trying to
someone there
whose daughter
is studying marketing.
It wasn't marketing
that kept the early church
going.
It was the truth
of God
and God
protecting his people.
you and I
are in this building
this morning
because God
has kept his people
down through the ages.
It wasn't because
the disciples
were smart
or because
they were good
at strategy,
anything but.
it was because
they were led
by the Lord
and protected.
God answered
this prayer
of Jesus
and he keeps
his people
faithful to himself.
He gives us
the strength
each day
to carry on.
it was just
a wonderful
assurance
and comfort
as a Christian
to know
that nothing
in all existence
can separate us
from the love of God
in Christ Jesus.
Nothing.
That God
keeps his people.
If you think
of what Christ said,
my sheep hear
my voice
and I know them
they follow me
I give them
eternal life
and they will
never perish
and no one
will snatch them
out of my hand.
That's Jesus
talking about you
and me.
No one will snatch
them out of my hand.
My Father
who has given them
to me again
is greater than all
and no one is able
to snatch them
out of the Father's hand.
It's almost as if
Christ's hand
and the Father's hand
holding us secure
never letting us go.
So Jesus prays
that the Father
would keep them
and protect them
and then in verse 17
he prays that the Father
would sanctify them.
Sanctify them
in the truth
your word is truth
as you sent me
into the world
so have I sent them
into the world
and for their sake
I consecrate
or sanctify
is another way
of translating that
I sanctify myself
so that they
would be sanctified
in the truth.
Jesus is praying
that we would be
made holy.
That's another word
we should define
regularly
and remind ourselves
what it means.
What does it mean
to be holy?
It means
to be set apart
for God
and his purposes
and to be
like God.
So something is holy
as much as
it is set aside
for God
and reflects
who he is.
that is what
Jesus says
I am about
to set myself
apart
at the cross
for this one
purpose
to do the will
of God
I am going
to do this
so that my people
will be holy
that they will be
saved
and sanctified.
We talk
a lot
thankfully
about Jesus
dying for our sins
Jesus died
so that you
could be
completely
forgiven
of all your sins
and he died
to make you
holy
to make you
like him
because when we
get to heaven
we will be
perfectly
sanctified
and that is
the process
that we are
going through
that Jesus
sanctifies us
and you will
notice the means
by which
he sanctifies us
that he sanctifies
us through
his word
God's word
is his primary
way of making
us holy
he uses other
things like
baptism
and the Lord's
supper
and fellowship
with other
believers
and prayer
and our
circumstances
he uses all
things for the
good of those
who belong
to him
but God's
word is how
he shapes us
by the renewal
of our mind
we can't
mature as
Christians
apart from
the word
of God
do you kind
of feel
like lately
you've just
kind of been
you know
put it into
neutral
and kind of
freewheeling
in your faith
and it's
kind of
gotten boring
even
do you feel
that
I've felt
that
where you
feel a bit
sort of like
a half boiled
kettle you know
there's nothing
going on
you're not
fired up
are you
in the
word
regularly
I'm not
saying like
you need
to read
six chapters
of the
bible
every day
you need
to know
we need
to know
who God
is
and to be
reminded
of who he
is and
what he
has done
and the
best way
to do
that is
through his
word
that God
will renew
us
and help
us
it's like
that cliche
you know
if you call
tech support
my laptop
is not
working
the first
thing they
always ask
or my
computer's
not working
is it
plugged in
so there's
no point
in hyper
spiritualizing
or problem
saying
I just
feel strange
in my
faith
or I
feel really
distant
from the
Lord
well that's
maybe because
the Lord
hasn't moved
maybe you
have
you know
it's like
saying like
I feel like
no one can
hear me on
the mic
because you're
far from
the mic
there's nothing
that mystical
about it
I've done
that where I
hyper
spiritualize
you kind of
go maybe
it's just a
season I'm
going through
and the Lord
is like no
just read
my word
maybe that's
just me
but we need
the word of
God
there's just
no substitute
for it
I mean
you wouldn't
not eat
for three
days would
you
I definitely
wouldn't
I love
eating
but if you
came into
church next
Sunday and
you were just
like ashen
faced and
just worn
out and no
energy
what's wrong
with you
and you go
I've been
getting plenty
sleep
and then we
eventually
discover you're
just not
eating
it's a pretty
easy fix
anyway I've
labored the
point but
it cannot
be emphasized
too much
that we
need the
word of
the Lord
so he
prays we
be sanctified
in the
truth and
we have
the truth
in the
Bible
we read
then in
his fifth
and final
petition of
Christ in
this prayer
he prays
that all
of his
people would
be unified
look at
verse 20
I do
not ask
for these
only but
also for
those who
will believe
in me
through their
word that
they may
all be
one
just as
father
you are
in me
and I
in you
that they
also may
be in
us
so that
the world
may believe
that you
have sent
me
he says
I have
given them
my glory
that they
may be
one
even as
we are
one
perfectly
one
Jesus
desires
that all
his
people
his
entire
church
throughout
the
ages
would
share
in the
very
unity
of
the
father
and
the
son
our
unity
with
everybody
in this
room
with other
believers
and the
churches
across the
world
it reflects
the unity
within
the
triune
God
himself
and
Jesus
says
I am
praying
for their
unity
so that
the world
would look
at my
people
and believe
that you
the father
sent me
the son
so that
non-Christians
would look
at us
and say
those people
really love
each other
Jesus
must be
there's
something
there's
something
legit
about that
Jesus
is the
real deal
because
those people
seem to
have nothing
in common
except
Jesus
and they
love each
other
in a way
that is
unique
Jesus
says
by your
love
for one
another
they
shall
know
that
you
are
mine
I
certainly
underestimate
that
you
think
there'd
be
something
fancier
like
the
preaching
of the
word
of
God
which
is
absolutely
essential
or
something
else
but
Jesus
says
no
it's
your
love
for
your
brothers
and
sisters
I have
a friend
Clodagh
and before
she was
a Christian
she was
on
McCurtain
Street
and she
was going
to a gig
or something
and she
said she
remembers
looking across
the street
of people
coming out of
Corp Baptist
Church
and she
looked across
the road
and she
was with
a lot of
her friends
having a good
time
and she
looked across
the road
and she
looked at
them and she
said I
could just
see there
was something
different about
them
they
just
looked so
happy
to be
together
and she
said that
that was
a starting
point for
her
in seeking
out
Christian
fellowship
so we
should not
underestimate
how much
our love
for one
another
is a
witness
to those
who come
in and
see
the fact
that God's
people today
you and
me
grow in
maturity
and that
we love
one another
is the
fact
is proof
that the
Lord is
answering
his
prayer
and it's
not an
artificial
unity
it's a
unity around
the truth
of who
Jesus is
a unity
in his
word
that we
must seek
to actively
live out
and exemplify
for the
world around
us
Colossians
3 says
this
as a
picture of
this unity
bear with
one another
and forgive
one another
if any of
you have
any grievance
against
someone
forgive
as the
Lord
forgave
you
and over
all these
virtues
put on
love
which binds
them together
in perfect
unity
I'll finish
by reading
from
Philippians
chapter 2
just to
fix our
eyes
on Christ
before we
draw to
a close
Philippians
chapter 2
verses 2
to 11
Paul says
this
complete
my joy
by being
of the
same
mind
having
the same
love
being in
full accord
and of
one mind
do nothing
from selfish
ambition
or vain
conceit
but in
humility
count others
as more
significant
than yourselves
let each
of you
look not
only to
your own
interests
but to
the interests
of others
having this
mind among
yourselves
which is
yours
in Christ
Jesus
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
being born
in the
likeness
of man
and being
found
in human
form
he humbled
himself
by becoming
obedient
to the point
of death
even death
on a cross
therefore
God has
exalted
him
highly
and bestowed
on him
the name
that is above
every name
so that at
the name
of Jesus
every knee
should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under
the earth
and every tongue
confess
that Christ
Jesus
is Lord
to the
glory
of God
the Father
and all
God's people
said
Amen
thank you
Kevin
we're going to
stand together
and sing in
response to
that
go
to the
man
das
los
to do
and
to what
do
the
God
the
he
and
oh
to