When Jesus Prayed for Himself It Involved Us

Transcription

1 1 When Jesus Prayed for Himself It Involved Us John 17:1-5 Please stand and open up your Bibles to the Gospel of John 17:1-5 (READ/Pray). I have entitled this message: When Jesus Prayed for Himself It Involved Us: Introduction: Have you ever been somewhere where you felt you didn t belong? A place where the atmosphere carried the sense of affluence? Athena and I had that experience years ago while living in California. It was our 4 th anniversary and a wealthy Asian lady where I worked recommended that I take Athena to this restaurant in Beverly Hills. She promised that Athena would enjoy it and because she frequented the restaurant she assured me that she could get us in. The restaurant was owned by Wolfgang Puck called Spagos. So Athena and I drive down to Beverly Hills on drove up to the front of this expensive restaurant surrounded by Mercedes Benz, Jaguars, Bentleys, Ferraris and here we are driving an old tan Ford Tarsus. We entered into this place and you could tell that you were around some of the wealthiest people in Los Angeles. The servers where looked like models. As we waited to be seated Athena and I decided to order some soda which cost $7 a piece. We were seated and began to look over the menu and noticed that there were no prices and that the dishes had names we could not pronounce nor understand what it was. Of course being ignore of how to act in such an affluent environment I asked the waiter if there was anything like steak on the menu. And listen, I only had a hundred dollars to my name which now was $86 dollars because of the two glasses of 7UP. But we ordered, we ate

2 2 and tried to take in the atmosphere knowing that such an opportunity was would happen again. Long story short, we finished the meal, we didn t order a desert or anymore to drink out of fear, the check was handed to me and let s just say that I only had 5 dollars left which I knew I had to give a tip to the waiter. I gave the brother the 5 dollars and he asked me as he held it in his hand like a wet dirty napkin, What do you want me to do with this? At that point, I realized that it was no need to be ashamed because he would never see my face again in this place. Well in the passage before us this morning, we entered into a place where the atmosphere is majestic. Where you feel that you really are not worthy to be granted the opportunity to overhear an intimate prayer given by infinite deity to infinite deity, in the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in all 4 Gospels. Some have referred to this prayer as the Holy of Holies of Sacred Scripture. The puritan Thomas Manton, preached 45 sermons on this chapter that contains just 26 verses. Marcus Rainsford, an Irish preacher, wrote expositions that amount to more than 500 pages. [Preach the Word]. I read one commentary that had 2 chapters on the first 5 verses alone. Now as we consider the High Priestly Prayer of John 17, between God the Son and God the Father the question is, why would there be a need for the Son to pray to the Father since They both possess the ability to know all things (omniscience)? In other words, God never needs to be informed about anything. There are at least 5 reasons for why the Son prayed to the Father: 1) to invite the disciples to listen in on the intimacy He has with the Father; 2) to prove that Jesus was sent from the Father to fulfill the eternal plan of salvation on our behalf; 3) to reveal that the Son is distinct and yet equal to the Father, Jesus is not praying to Himself;

3 3 4) to encourage the disciples of His protection of them from the evil one; and 5) to hear the request for the disciples to be reunited with Him in glory. This prayer stands between Jesus encouragement to His disciples who are sorrowful at the news of His departure (chaps.13-16) and His arrest and crucifixion (chaps.18-19). In this chapter, we get to go beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies, into the inner sanctum of the Intra-trinatrian communion expressed in a way for our understanding. As the prayers of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane reveal His full humanity (Matt. 26:39, 42), the prayer of John 17 reveal His full deity. This prayer can be divided into 3 sections based on 3 requests given in this chapter: Jesus prays for Himself (vv. 1-5); Jesus prays for His disciples (vv. 6-19); Jesus prays for all believers (vv ). Exposition: And for our time this morning we will consider Jesus prayer for Himself in vv In this section we are given 2 profound requests Jesus makes to the Father in anticipation of completing the work of salvation: The 1 st profound request Jesus makes to the Father in anticipation of completing the work of salvation is: Jesus asks to be glorified in our salvation (vv. 1-4): (1) Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, Jesus spoke these things Review of John 16:25-33 Title: Be Encourage, Your Victory is in Jesus 2 glorious benefits we have received as a result of Christ s victory through the cross, so that we may stand firm in tribulation: The 1st glorious benefit we have received as a result of Christ s victory through the cross is: We can make request for

4 4 our needs to the Father because of His love for us in His Son (vv ): (25) [ I have spoken to you in figures of speech an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father but will tell you plainly of the Father tell to announce [future indicative active]; plainly straight forward language without veil or cryptic terminology; of the Father of lit. concerning or about the Father. Concerning His redemptive purposes in His Son. (26) In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; The benefits of redemption is not only being rescued from my bondage to the world, my sin nature, the devil and eternal punishment, but also being bought into the blessings of son-ship and daughter-ship in Christ. and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf In that day when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believer at that very moment he/she has been adopted into the family of God. So that now, you have all the rights and privileges as a child of God because you are in the Son of God. And the rights and privileges that Jesus keeps mentioning in this Farewell Discourse, that He wants the disciples and us to continually exercise is asking the Father for what you stand in need of (14:13-14; 15:7; 16; 16:23-24). Now listen to what Jesus says concerning your rights and privileges of prayer as a child of God in Christ. Every time you pray to the Father, the Father will not look to Me as His Son of equal nature in order for Me to second the petition of His adopted children. By grace the prayers of the adopted children of God are given equal value as the request of the Son to the Father. When you pray in Jesus name, the Father values your prayers the same way He values His Son. The 2nd glorious benefit we have received as a result of Christ s victory through the cross is: We can experience the peace of Christ in suffering because He has overcome the world on our behalf (vv ):

5 5 (33) These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. These things I have spoken to you refers to the entire Farewell Discourse from chapter so that in Me you may have peace so that [hina = purpose clause the purpose for the entire Farewell Discourse]; in Me you may have peace - in Me [communion in Christ] [chapter 15 abide in Me (10 times the word abide is used; to stay in constant communion with Christ by the Word and prayer; you may have peace have [present subjunctive active 2nd person plural you may keep on having; In the world you have tribulation have [present indicative active 2nd person plural]; tribulation means affliction, distress, oppression, pressure or trouble that inflicts. Notice in this verse that Jesus promises that every believer can experience two totally different conditions at one and the same time: in Me you may have peace ; in the world you have tribulation. In one and the same event you can have peace while experiencing tribulation if you remain in Christ. but take courage; I have overcome the world take courage [tharseo = present imperative active 2nd person plural; continually, everyday; Sunday through Saturday; in all circumstances take courage; be firm or resolve in the face of danger or adverse circumstances]; I have overcome the world overcome [perfect indicative active; 1st person singular; to be victor; to prevail; to overcome always refers to spiritual victory]; [nikao] the expression occurs several times in John s first epistle (2:13, 14; 4:4; 5:4, 5). The related noun nike. Back to John 17:1: These things Jesus spoke and lifting up His eyes to heaven lifting up [erairo aorist participle active, nom, masc, singular; temporal participle modified by the

6 6 verb spoke : translate: Jesus spoke these things and [after, when] having lifted up His eyes to heaven ]; *This was a typical Jewish gesture of prayer. [Expositor s Bible Commentary]; Now remember Jesus has left the upper room [14:31] and He and His disciples are proceeding to the Garden of Gethsemane. As they are nearing the garden which is located at the Mount of Olives, Jesus turns His eyes from His disciples and lifts them up to heaven in acknowledgement of the glory of God s transcendence. In fact in context, Jesus turns His eyes away from the temporal sorrow of His disciples in order to focus on the eternal glory of His Father. This is a very important point of application for us for we fail to realize that in the very exercise of prayer itself, if our hearts are truly focused on the reality of who God is, we are actually turning our attention away from the temporal in order to focus on the eternal. I have discovered in my own life that prayer itself re-focuses my attention on the reality that God is absolutely in control of what s happening and His eternal plan is being furthered through the things in this life that burden me. Don t forget church that in the very exercise of prayer, you are turning your attention to the reality of who God is in light of the context of your present situation. In this text before us, Jesus turns His attention to the reality of the Father s sovereign decree in eternity past in regards to our salvation in Himself, in light of the present anticipation of completing that work of redemption. And thus He makes His first request: Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, - Father 6 times in this prayer Jesus addresses God as His Father. He calls Him (v. 11) Holy Father ; and (25) righteous Father. The fact that Jesus prays out loud in the hearing of His disciples and calls God

7 7 Father is meant to convey that Jesus is equal to the Father in nature: Scrip. Ref: [The Jewish authorities understood this when Jesus addressed God as My Father ] John 5:18 For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. the hour has come - has come [perfect indicative active; 3 rd person singular]; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You glorify Your Son glorify [aorist imperative active; 2 nd person singular; to honor; recognize; exalt]; Jesus is requesting for the Father to glorify Him by receiving His work of salvation. Scrip. Ref: Eph. 5:2 [Jesus] gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Heb. 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God Jesus request is that the Father will honor work of salvation by receiving His sacrifice as a satisfactory atonement for all the sins of those who would believe on Him and prove that satisfaction by raising Him from the dead. This is how the apostles in the book of Acts explain the resurrection of Jesus, God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:23-24; 32-33; 3:14-15; 26; 4:10; 5:30-31; 10:39-40; 13:28-30; 34, 37) This is the 1 st of two requests Jesus makes for Himself in this entire prayer. The 2 nd request in given in verse 5. Why does Jesus make this 1 st request? that the Son may glorify You that [hina = purpose clause; in order that, for the purpose that, the Son ; may glorify [aorist subjunctive active 3 rd person singular; might or should glorify You ];

8 8 Glorify Me by receiving My work of salvation so that I may glorify You for planning the work of salvation. We did not plan our salvation, we did not determine our salvation, we did not schedule our salvation, we did not choose our salvation. God the Father planned the work of salvation to the praise of His grace (Eph. 1:6-7). (2) even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. even as You gave Him authority over all flesh or better in so far as Jesus request for the Father to glorify Him in verse 1, concerns in so far as You gave Him authority over all flesh gave [didomi this verb in its varies forms is repeated 17 times in this prayer The Son was given authority over mankind; The Son was given the work of redemption; The Son was given a people to saved out of the world; The Son gave to the disciples the Father s word; the Son asks to receive the glory of the Father s love; [aorist indicative active; 2 nd person singular]; In anticipation of completing the work of redemption Jesus speaks as if He has already been given authority over all flesh authority [absolute power]; all flesh [mankind] Scrip. Ref: Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. that to all whom You have given Him that [hina = purpose clause; in order that or for the purpose that]; to all whom You have given Him all [pan = neuter nominative singular]; whom [relative pronoun; neuter nominative singular can be translated all that or all which all that of a singular mass or unit out of all mankind/humanity]; You have given Him have given [didomi - perfect indicative active 2 nd person singular; You have given Him in the past with ongoing present results.

9 9 The Father gave to the Son in eternity past all that out of all of mankind as a gift]; For what purpose? He may give eternal life may give [didomi aorist subjunctive active 3 rd person singular; literally in the original - He may give to them ; autois [dative plural] = each individual person within the mass or unit of the elect]; the gift of eternal life [lit. life eternal life forever; life everlasting]; only those individuals whom the Father gave to the Son will receive eternal life. Listen to this, Jesus was given as a result of His completed work absolute authority over all mankind, over every nation, tribe and tongue, over every individual throughout human history in order that He will not have any restrictions in saving out of every nation those whom the Father has given to Him. Regardless of their religion, culture, language, education or sinful behavior. (3) This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. This is eternal life is [estin = eimi; refers to the essence of eternal life] that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent that [hina]; they may know You know [ginosko = personal relational knowledge; present subjunctive active; 3 rd person plural they may keep on knowing You ]; Not knowing information about God but knowing God relationally. Eternal life is having an intimate loving relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. This relationship is entered into by faith in Jesus Christ; now the test of whether you have received this life is whether your motive for coming to Christ were prompted by the selfishness of your flesh or by the Holy Spirit. If prompted by the selfishness of your flesh then your approach to God will be an experiment by which you will fulfill certain personal requirements that you have

10 10 arbitrarily established in exchange for Him giving you the life you want. But when life doesn t go as you like or the standards of following Christ conflict with your lifestyle choices you fall away from the faith Matt. 13:20-21). But when the Holy Spirit, the Helper takes up residence in the believer He communicates the life of God into the soul of the believer by which he desires to know Christ in obedience to His Word. [Because believers have Christ s life in them, they also possess His peace (Jn. 14:27; 16:33), love (Jn. 15:10), and joy (15:11). The life that God predetermined to give the redeemed is a life of shared communion with Him. MacArthur]. Eternal life is not just the quantity of life [living forever in heaven], but the quality of life, intimate communion with God Himself who is Life. Eternal life is not something we have to wait for. It is what we have now if we are in Christ: Scrip. Ref: 1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may now that you have eternal life. In Christ you have the peace of God, the love of God, the joy of God, the strength of God, the self-control of God, the patience of God, the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God and the righteousness of God. Life is not found in what you have or where you go but in who you know. Quote: Marcus Rainsford - soul prosperity is the best prosperity the only true God true [real; genuine; authentic]; man is a worshiper by nature but since he is dead in sin he has tendency of worshiping dead things, things that cannot fulfill him but in his self-deceit he keeps trying to get life out of dead things this is what you call addictions, compulsiveness and bondage. But eternal life is knowing the true, real and only authentic God.

11 11 and Jesus Christ whom You have sent and [referring to both the Father and Jesus being One as the source of eternal life]; You have sent [apostello = to send; aorist indicative active 2 nd person singular]; (Scrip. Ref: John 3:17; 5:36; 38; 7:29; 10:36; 11:42; 12:49-50; 14:6) the Father sent the Son into the world to give eternal life to those whom the Father had given to Him in eternity past. [ eternal life - An ever-deepening experience of the only real God, an experience mediated through Jesus [Tyndale Commentary] (4) I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. I glorified You on the earth in the original the pronouns I and You are adjacent to one another with the verb glorified coming after You in order to emphasize the connection between the Son and the Father in the work of redemption; glorified [aorist indicative (fact) active; 1 st person singular] having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do having accomplished [aorist participle active nominative, masc, singular = instrumental participle (by means of) or modal participle (by way of, by); this participle modifies the verb glorified. How did the Son glory the Father on the earth? By means of having accomplished the work of salvation; which You have given Me given Me [didomi perfect indicative active 2 nd person singular; the work of redemption was given to the Son by the Father in the past, before the foundation of the world, with on-going present results of its redemptive accomplishments now]; to do [poieo aorist subjunctive active 1 st person singular; in the original there is a hina [that = purpose clause] before to do ; translation having accomplished the work which You have given Me that or for the purpose that I should do.

12 12 The work of redemption was accomplished, finished and completed at the death and resurrection of Christ. At the cross you were justified by His blood [Rom. 5:9]; sanctified by His death [Rom. 6:6]; glorified through His sacrifice [Eph. 5:25-27 He gave Himself that He may present the church in all her glory]. Our assurance of salvation rest not in our efforts but in His finished work that effectually produces death to sin, sanctification in life and glorification in us through the Spirit. Notice the connection between verse 2 and verse 4: (v. 2) all to whom You have given Him; (v. 4) the work which You have given Me ; the tense of both verbs given is a completed act in the past with on-going present results. Listen, in eternity past the Father gave to His Son the work of saving all that of sinners out of the race of mankind in order to give them eternal life. See there is a connection between all whom the Father gave to the Son and the work the Father gave to the Son. All whom the Father gave to the Son in eternity past refers to the election. And the work which the Father gave to the Son in eternity past refers to redemption. Therefore, it is the doctrine of election, the choosing of hell-deserving sinners out of the fallen race of mankind that determines the intent of redemption and the extent of the atonement. The intent of redemption was for the Son the give eternal life to those whom the Father choose. The extent of the atonement only goes to those whom the Father gave to the Son to save. In other words, the doctrine of election limits the extent of the atonement. It is the doctrine of election that makes redemption particular. The cross will redeem only the elect. The cross only atoned for the sins of the chosen. The cross purchased the elect to the Father. Or another way of saying it is, that the Son died as a substitute only for the sins of those who will believe upon Him.

13 13 Illustration: Dr. Ironside related a story about a young lady who came to him weeping in fear saying, It says, All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me. If the Father has not given me to Jesus, I cannot come to Him. I do not know if I am one of those given by the Father to the Son. Ironside said to the woman, Do you want to come? She replied, With all my heart. Then he told her, All you need to do is to come, and when you come, you can say, I am one of those whom the Father has given to the Son. The fact that anyone wants to come tells its own story You would not want to come if He were not working within you. The 1st profound request Jesus makes to the Father in anticipation of completing the work of salvation is: Jesus asks to be glorified in our salvation. The 2 nd profound request Jesus makes to the Father in anticipation of completing the work of salvation is: Jesus asks to experience the glory of His pre-existence (v. 5): (5) Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. Now lit. And now since the hour has come for the work of redemption for the election is to be accomplished. Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was glorify [aorist imperative active, 2 nd person singular]; together with Yourself lit. in the presence with Yourself ; with the glory which I had with You I had [imperfect indicative active; 1 st person singular I was (continually) having]; before the world was lit. before the world to be

14 14 Scrip. Ref: John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God the Word was with God ho Logos was pros tov Theov [before the God or face to face with God] What is the glory which I had with You before the world was referring too? Scrip. Ref: John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Jesus prays that the Father would grant all those whom He has given to the Son in salvation be where the Son will be for all eternity, the place where Jesus has prepared for us. This statement proves that the doctrine of election is the basis of eternal security. Those whom the Father has given to the Son will be where the Son is right now one day. Amen!! But notice the reason why Jesus wants us to be where He is presently so that [hina = for the purpose that], they may see My glory which You have given Me. The reason behind every born again believer who has died is because Jesus prayed that they might be with Him where He is in order that they may see His glory. What glory? The glory which You have given Me. This glory does not refer to Jesus deity because Jesus nature as God is not derived from the Father or else He wouldn t be God. Jesus, as the Son of God is by nature eternal God. But notice how Jesus defines the glory which the Father has given Him. Last part of verse 24, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. The glory that Jesus is requesting in verse 5 the glory which I had with You before the world was is the glory of enjoying intimate, face to face, loving communion with the Father. The glory of the Son, what brings supreme pleasure to the Son, is the love of the Father towards Him.

15 15 And listen, Jesus prays that we will behold this in glory. But not like the angels looking on from a distance but when we get to heaven we will share the enjoyment of how much the Father loves His Son by the Father loving us the same way. Our minds cannot conceive of infinite, un-interrupt, incessant and immense love between deity (the Father and the Son) being poured out on us for all eternity. That s why you will never find in all the Bible any description of heaven as being boring of the redeemed. Saints are praising, bowing and celebrating loudly in heaven. Because heaven is a continual adrenaline rush of happiness in the love of God. Can you imagine experiencing in the presence of Jesus and the Father such love that you will never feel lonely, slighted, empty, sad, incomplete, insecure or have any emotional needs anymore? That s the glory we will experience when we get to where the Son is and behold the Father love before the creation of the universe being poured out on His Son. Listen, we will see and experience what eternity was like before the universe was created. Conclusion: In heaven for all eternity, we will be humbled at the thought that apart from Christ we really don t belong here and yet, when we think about our riches in Christ we will celebrate knowing that we were destined to be here. Fanny Crosby, at the sudden death of a brother in Christ asked herself, I wonder what my first impression of heaven will be. A moment later she answered her own question with sudden insight: Why, my eyes will be opened and I will see My Savior face to face. A few days later, she wrote one of her most famous hymn [And I Shall See]: Some day the silver cord will break, And I no more as now shall sing; But oh, the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him to face to face, And tell the story saved by grace; And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story Saved by grace