Jesus' Prayer John 17

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Jesus' Prayer John 17

Jesus' Prayer

John 17

Ps Renny Khoo

30 July 2017

John 17

Jesus Prays for Himself

1 After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed:

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

These are the last few hours before Jesus was crucified and we hear the heartbeat of Jesus. The prayer of Jesus is even greater than the prayer of Jabez! What a privilege it is to listen to what/how the Son conversed with the Father. The progression of Jesus’ prayer is first for Himself, then for His disciples and finally Jesus prayed for you and me and for the whole world. He had the disciples in his mind. He prayed for us too (v20). Jesus intercedes for us today (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25). The following 3 words give us a glimpse of Jesus’ heartbeat when he prayed this prayer.

1. To Glorify (v1-6)

Jesus’ burden was the glory of God. The glory would be realized in the finished work on the cross. We can’t add to Jesus’ glory. How can we glorify God? “The chief purpose in our life is to glorify God.” – C. S. Lewis

(i) Walk with God

We glorify God when we are found walking with Him. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you (v3)”. Every day we are invited to walk with Jesus and to know Him. Do you know that God speaks to us? We can have an intimate and loving relationship with Him. We can hear Him if we are sensitive to His voice.

(ii) Work for/with God

We glorify God when we work for or with Him. Jesus finished the work and will of God. “To know God’s will is life’s greatest treasure, but to do God’s will is life’s greatest pleasure.” We start a lot of work but do we finish (the work) well? The clue of disciple-making lies in Verse 6. Jesus invited 12 unlearned men to be his disciples. He mentored, tutored, taught and discipled them. He brought them into a relationship like never before. The disciple-making vision of KKE comes not from us but from God Himself. We see here a biblical mandate, that God desires disciple-making. The pastoral team had a lock-down session back in 2015. We were very convicted that the direction God wants our church to take is to be a disciple-making church. It is utterly important that everyone belongs to a Connect Group. In a Connect Group, it’s not just about you but it’s about the group as well. The interaction, intersection and convergence of human relationships in a church setting is very important. We glorify God when we are able to walk with one another and belong to the family of God.

2. Be Sanctified (v6-19)

The word “sanctify” means to set apart for God’s exclusive use. We are in the world but we are not of the world. The word “world” can mean 3 things (a) the created world, (b) humanity and (c) the corrupt system that opposes the will of God. We are in the “created” world but not of the “created” world. How are we sanctified?

(i) Whose we are (V6, 9, 10)

Today, we are really in an identity crisis. Who are you? We are not determined by what we own or what we do for a living. The key lies in whose we are. Deep down in their hearts, children want to please their parents and bring pleasure to them.

(ii) Word

We need the Word of God to live a consecrated life. The Word of God renews us, refines us, rebukes us and restores us. God is true to His Word. We must learn to love the Word of God. There is a call to come for the Word of God. We should read scripture aloud. When couples read scripture together for an hour, taking turns to read one chapter each, they will feel a sense of purity and that they have been saturated and soaked in the Word of God. They will feel that God’s presence is so real.

3. Stay Unified (v20-26)

We are to stay unified so that we relate rightly now to one another.

(i) One Person

True unity is not anchored in just an organization that we belong to. True unity is anchored in one person, Jesus Christ.

(ii) One Purpose

True unity is anchored also in one purpose --- that none should perish, that the world may believe (v21), that the world would know Jesus in us and through us. This is church mission. God took us out from the world to be sent back to the world. We are on a rescue mission. We must have a heart and burden for people who are lost in this world. That is God’s heartbeat. If not, why on earth are we meeting in the church? “The church is the hope of the world.” – Bill Hybels. God has mandated to work through church. And who is church? You and me. We live in a day and age where there is an “it’s-all-about-me syndrome” or “celebrity syndrome”. We get to participate in this great work that God is doing on the global scene. We get to glorify God. We get to do it. We serve out of our love for God. We don’t serve to gain God’s love. He already loves us. There is a call to love the Lord. “The problem with us today is not that we love the world more but that we love the Lord less.” – C. S. Lewis. There is a call to be sanctified. God’s heart is really for the world. It is His desire that none should perish.