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.
V3
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
V6
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.
