The Gospel of John. The Lord s Prayer ~ Part 1 John 17:1-5

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1 The Gospel of John The Lord s Prayer ~ Part 1 John 17:1-5 A T LAST WE come to one of the most unique pieces of Scripture. I believe Dr. McGee does an excellent job of describing both its importance and its impact, so I d like to quote Him here. We now come to one of the most remarkable chapters in the Bible. It is the longest prayer in the Bible, although it would take you only three minutes to read it. I think that is a good indication of the length of public prayers. If you can t say all you ve got to say in three minutes, then you ve got too much to say. I ll be very frank with you. I think brief prayers, thought out right to the point, are more effective than these long, rambling ones we hear. No wonder prayer meetings are as dead as a dodo bird! The Upper Room Discourse is like climbing a staircase or like climbing a mountain, climaxing in this prayer. I would like to quote to you what others have said about this great chapter. Matthew Henry: It is the most remarkable prayer following the most full and consoling discourse ever uttered on the earth. Martin Luther: This is truly beyond measure a warm and hearty prayer. He opens the depths of His heart, both in reference to us and to His Father, and He pours them all out. It sounds so honest, so simple. It is so deep, so rich, so wide. No one can fathom it. Philip Melanchthon, another of the reformers: There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime than the prayer offered up by the Son to God Himself. This is the prayer which John Knox read over and over in his lifetime. When he was on his deathbed, his wife asked him. Where do you want me to read? He replied, Read where I first put my anchor down, in the seventeenth chapter of John. We have the record of many others who have read it over and over. Dr. Fisher, who was bishop of Rochester under Henry VIII, had this read as the last portion of Scripture just before his martyrdom. This is a great portion of Scripture. It is His high priestly intercession for us. It is a revelation to us of the communication which, I think, constantly passes between the Lord Jesus and the Father in heaven. His entire life was a life of prayer. He began His ministry by going into a solitary place to pray. Often He went up into a mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer. He is our great Intercessor. He prays for you and for me. If you forgot to pray this morning, He didn t. He prayed for you this morning. 1 VIII The Upper Room Discourse Chapters F. The Prayer of Christ Chapter Giving Glory to God Verses Giving Words from God Verses Giving a Body to God Verses Introduction: First I should note that some commentators consider this part of the Upper Room Discourse and others don t. The reason they don t is because Jesus isn t speaking to the disciples, He s speaking to the Father. But since John makes it clear that this prayer fol- 1 McGee, J. Vernon, John 2: The Gospels, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1991

2 lows immediately upon the discourse, it would seem to also serve as a teaching opportunity, so this is the basis for its inclusion as part of the discourse. Second, I just want to note that I will be jumping around a bit in these first five verses because the latter ones seem to act almost as commentary of the first two. And actually, most of the rest of the chapter seems to be commentary as well. And so we come to the true Lord s payer. The so called Lord s Prayer is actually the disciple s prayer. Christ gave it as a model of the different components of prayer. He didn t give it to be ritualistically prayed. He gave it as a pattern to help them, and us, learn how to pray in a practical way. This is Christ s prayer to the Father and as such allows us to have an understanding of His thinking and concerns prior to the culmination of all His work of the first coming. Accordingly, I want to take all the time necessary to give it its due. 1. Giving Glory to God: Too often in contemporary Christendom prayer has become a way of getting what we want. Ideally, prayer is meant to be intercessory and is directed at praying for the needs of others, salvation, healing, protection, etc. These are certainly good things and consistent with God s will for us. Give us this day our daily bread, deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:11, 13 ESV). The focus should not be about getting what we want, but rather what we need. I think of the individual who wants a home out of state and is buying lottery tickets saying, If we win then we ll know it s God s will that we move. Of course they re praying while buying. This isn t about God s will, it s about theirs. This is just a variation on the prosperity gospel. James 4:2, You do not have because you do not ask God, is used to bolster the name it and claim it part of the prosperity gospel if you don t have, it s because you haven t prayed enough. Creflo Dollar says this of prayer: When we pray, believing that we have already received what we are praying, God has no choice but to make our prayers come to pass. This interpretation ignores the verse that follows, in which James says, When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 2 Here we see the radical difference between how people pray and how Christ prays. This is the model for us and the disciples. First and foremost pray is about God s glory. Even when we ask for what we want, we should want what glorifies God. This is where prayer starts. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9 10 ESV). Verse 1a: Having completed His discourse to the disciples, Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven. This was a typical Jewish practice in prayer. He addresses God as Father. This emphasizes His relationship to God. This is not typical, it is atypical. It is only through Christ that any of us can go to God as Our Father. 2 adapted from Mitchel, Corrie, Ten Bible Verses Prosperity Gospel Preachers Need to Stop Misusing, Faithstreet.com, ) 382 (

3 To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father (2 Thessalonians 1:1 ESV). It is clear from what follows that Jesus is not only speaking to the Father for His own benefit, but also for the disciples. He is now plainly saying to the Father that the hour has come. The hour is the culmination of all that history has been pointing towards, the provision of salvation for all mankind and eventually, creation. As the Orthodox Bible puts it Glorify refers to the redemption of all creation that will be accomplished through the Cross and Resurrection the purpose for which Christ was sent into the world. In this redemption, the Father and the Son are glorified. This is why the Cross, which is a sign of death, is glorified in the Church as life giving and the weapon of peace. 3 This is the fulfillment of all everything the saints of God hve been expecting since God promised a Savior to Adam and Eve. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:22 38 ESV). The disciples were standing at the first focal point of all HIStory. When Jesus says the hour has come His allusion is to all of this. There are only two points in time which stand alone. The first is His sacrifice on the Cross. And the second of course is the Second Coming. 3 Maximos, Metropolitan et al., eds., Orthodox Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN, ) 383 (

4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward (Zechariah 14:4 ESV). Verse 1b: And is it any wonder that if the hour has come, that first and foremost it results in Christ being glorified by the Father and that the Father in turn is glorified by Him? God blesses us because He is a loving Father, but more to the point, in doing so He is glorified. Christ is glorified through His sacrifice on the Cross. It is because of His willingness to die for our sins that He shows God s love and mercy. In the Old Testament, this is only a foreshadowing of this ultimate statement of that love and mercy. In Christ we see God directly interconnected to His creation. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:10, 12 ESV). Parenthetically, in Christ s asking the Father to glorify Him we see either the request of a megalomaniac or one more proof of His deity. This is because God has said I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other My glory I will not give to another. (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11 ESV). Verse 5: Second, Jesus is glorified after the resurrection by being lifted to the right hand of the Father, thus being restored to His preincarnate glory as a member of the Triunity. That isn t to say He wasn t a member during His earthly life, but here His prerogatives as deity are to be restored. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:1 4 ESV). This is another reminder to the disciples of just who Jesus actually is. His request in this verses falls immediately after the disciples saying they understand what He has been saying. Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God (John 16:30 ESV). The disciples have been walking and living with God incarnate. It s no wonder they can t wrap their brains around everything they ve seen and will see. The human brain isn t created to process these truths, hence the coming of the Holy Spirit. Verses 2-3: How Christ glorifies the Father is explained in Verse 2. He exercises the authority given to Him by the Father as a consequence of His obedience in going to the Cross. Now notice there are two aspects. The first is that it is universal. ) 384 (

5 Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:10 11 ESV). Let s be clear: it is for this reason we recognize that Christ is ruler over all, even when all many not recognize that reality and rebel against it. Second, encompassed in that authority is the power to give eternal life to all whom the Father has chosen. A number of profound truths can be found here. But I want move to Verse 3 and the definition of eternal life. Then I ll come back here to Verse 2 to examine a deeply profound and complex truth. We generally understand eternal life, because we think linearly, as unending time marching off into the future. And as previously noted more correctly, in relationship to time, eternity means the absence of time. Christ s definition has nothing to do with time. Rather, He states that eternal life is knowing, and by inference, being in relationship/fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. In other words, eternal life is about relationship, not time. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34 ESV). This also helps in understanding that eternal suffering, judgment, is about not knowing the Godhead, not being in relationship with Him but being eternally separated. As much as people were, but will nevertheless suffer from its absence. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matthew 25:41, 46 ESV). We can now understand the actual nature of judgment. If eternal life is fellowship, than eternal damnation is the absence of such. All other issues, rewards or punishments are secondary to this primary truth. Now going back to verse 2, we find here a compelling truth. First, Christ has been given authority over every single living person. This is consistent with the fact that God sent His Son to the world. It is God who leads to Christ those who will receive eternal life. This presents one of the greatest teachings of scripture and its resulting conundrum. God predestined us to salvation and we have the choice to accept that gift. This is true in spite of those who teach irresistible grace, which would mean we have no free will to accept or reject God s gift of salvation. That teaching is in direct contradiction to scripture. ) 385 (

6 he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 10:9 ESV). The final way Christ says He glorifies the Father is by completing the work of the Cross. Whereas much of the world sees the Cross as a failure and an ugly symbol of torture and repression, to the believer it is the ultimate statement of God s glory. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30 ESV). Conclusion: I want you to meditate on a number of truths. First, the focus of all history was the Cross and the gift of salvation for us and restoration for all creation. Remember, Christ died for each of us individually, regardless of the fact as a consequence of the Cross He created His body the Church. This means when all time and history finally came to this moment, you were in view. How can this not impact us dramatically? Second, God s mercy to us in granting eternal life both glorifies Him and the Son. And we can also glorify God in how we live for Him. How can we bring them both glory? As you meditate on this question, consider the following verses. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy (Romans 15:5 9 ESV). you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor. 6:20 ESV). He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others (2 Corinthians 9:10 13 ESV). Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God (1 Peter 2:12 ESV). Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share ) 386 (

7 Christ s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name (1 Peter 4:12 14, 16 ESV). ) 387 (

8 The Gospel of John The Lord s Prayer ~ Part 1 John 17:1-5 VIII The Upper Room Discourse Chapters F. The Prayer of Christ Chapter Giving Glory to God Verses Giving Words from God Verses Giving a Body to God Verses Introduction: 1. Giving Glory to God: (Matthew 6:11, 13, 6:9 10 Verse 1a: (2 Thessalonians 1:1; Luke 2:22 38; Zechariah 14:4) Verse 1b: (John 1:10, 12; Isaiah 42:8; 48:11)

9 Verse 5: (John 1:1 4, 16:30) Verses 2-3: (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:10 11; Jeremiah 31:34; Matthew 25:41, 46; Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 10:9; John 19:30) Conclusion: (Romans 15:5 9; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 9:10 13; 1 Peter 2:12, 1 Peter 4:12 14, 16) Personal Application: This week meditate on these questions. How are you impacted by understanding your salvation is found at the focal point of history? How can we glorify God with our walk. The impact of the first may become a motivator to carry out the second. Prayer for the Week: Father may Your Spirit overwhelm me in the magnitude of Your love. In Christ s name, amen.