FBCWest 598 | Jesus’ Prayer for Himself and the Eleven
Recorded On: 03/17/2024
Bulletin
Hymn # 454 “Down at the Cross”
SCRIPTURE READING – Romans 3:21 - 26
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“How Great Is Your Love”
“Holy Forever”
“At the Cross (Love Ran Red)”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Jesus’ Prayer for Himself and the Eleven”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Glorify Thy Name”
Benediction “Praise You Anywhere”
Sermon Notes
John 17:1 -
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
Jesus would frequently throughout the scriptures go by himself and pray. His disciples asked him to teach them how to pray and we call that teaching the Lord's Prayer, although that's not really what it was, it's the disciples prayer. We only have two or three opportunities in the scriptures to see Jesus's actual prayer. One was when he was praying at the tomb of Lazarus, he spoke out loud so that the people might come to believe. We see him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane where he asked this cup to be passed from him. In John 17 which we're going to take a look at today, he prays an extensive prayer. We're only going to look at the first part of that prayer and he's going to ask for four different matters to be answered by the Father. Come and see what those four requests are.
If you have your Bibles and as I constantly say and you ought to please turn to the Gospel of John chapter 17 and start with verse 1. It is going to record Jesus's extensive prayer. Some people call this Jesus's high priestly prayer. It is a time when he is going to speak to the Father about what's going on and what his requests are and he's going to make in this first half we're going only look at the first few verses of this prayer and the next time we're going to come back and look at the rest of the prayer. Prayer is something again like said that Jesus did constantly. He would go by himself secluded to the mountains or other places and pray. We have recorded where he taught the disciples to pray, call the Lord's Prayer but that's not really what it was because he was teaching the disciples how to pray. We see him speaking and praying at the tomb of Lazarus and it talks about him publicly praying out loud so that the people might come to faith. He prays out loud when it comes to the guard of Gethsemane when he asked this cup to be passed from him and now he's praying and so it's a fairly long extensive prayer. But before we start taking a look at that, prayer is a communication with God. It is a form of communication much like if you will we use a telephone to communicate with people. When you get a call from somebody that you haven't talked to for a while, they'll call you and usually they'll start out with a conversation like how's it going and then they might say well how's your family and then they will come up with the question what was the reason for the call. Can I let borrow some money from you or can you take me somewhere. It's usual that when people start conversations when we haven't had regular communication it usually starts out with some niceties and then we get on to what it was that we requested. However when it comes to our prayer time, if we haven't prayed frequently, usually what we do is we go right to the point. God I need X. I'm in a problem, please avoid this. I need money, I need healing and we start right out.
So the way we communicate with God sometimes when we haven't had a regular conversation is we go straight to the point where is in our communication with each other we beat around the bush. Jesus has regular communication with the Father but he doesn't need to go through the niceties of how's it going. He is going to start out his conversation with the Father requesting those things are that the most important and he's gonna end this first part of his prayer going to ask for four different matters to be resolved. Now I want us to notice how he prioritizes his requests. That these requests go straight to some of the points of his ministry and who he is and hopefully from looking at Jesus's prayer in this situation that we will then understand some things that just like as the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray looking at what how Jesus actually prayed we might learn to pray I can't I won't say more effectively but but in a sense more into what it is a close relationship with the Father is and so again if you'll turn and John chapter 17 verse 1 we'll start with this and Jesus spoke these things and lifted up his eyes to heaven he said father the hour has come glorify your son that the son may be glorify you so right off the point Jesus says my request father is that because the hour has come because the reason that I am here is to go through what I'm about to go through glorify your son may it be an event that you are glorifying me why so that I may glorify you isn't it interesting Jesus's first request is that he be glorified and the father be glorified usually when we pray it's Lord give me this give me that how I hope to avoid this I hope to avoid that rather than saying God whatever the situation is may my life glorify you may this need that I have that I'm praying to you now may it result and you giving me glory but more importantly that you receive glory so Jesus is right off the prayer as he's requesting two things that God glorify him and that God be glorified even as you gave him authority over all flesh that to all whom you have given him he may have he may give eternal life so finally he goes you have given all things you have given me authority over the world over all flesh and you've given me the right to give eternal life and then in case we forget what that is he says this is eternal life that they may know that you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you've sent so he's fun what is the purpose of God sending Jesus into the world is that they might believe in the only true God and that Christ was sent by him so Jesus follows up and says I glorified you on the earth and having accomplished the work which you have given to me to do now father glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was so he says Jesus says I'm coming to the close of my ministry and while I was here I did what you told me to do I said what you told me to say I did what you told me to do and I've done these things and I have accomplished your work so now that I am at this conclusion father I want you to glorify me together with yourself so again he's following up that first two requests and requesting it again father may you glorify me and glorify yourself and that glory is the glory had before the world was so Jesus is stating that he existed before when he says that I am the great I am he says that because he existed with God before they ever said let there be light before Genesis was discussed Jesus was God and with God and had the glory that the father had says I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world now so basically Jesus saying I've made plain your name to my disciples and to those who have followed me and it's you who gave them to me so it's the father who has given the people that he has determined to be his followers to Jesus out of the world and they were yours and you gave them to me and they have kept your word so Jesus follows up and says they're yours you gave them to me and they because I have taught them have understand the word and they have kept your word so Jesus says the plan that we had from the beginning has come to fruition you gave them to me the fool or yours I've given them the word they've kept your word.
Now they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you so Jesus is saying his disciples are finally coming to at least a small understanding they're gonna have a more complete understanding after a few days but they're starting to grasp that they know that everything that Jesus gave them came from the father for the words which I you gave me I have given to them and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from you and they believe that you sent me now again their faith is not fully realized it's going to continue to increase but they're beginning to have that foundation of faith that they receive the words of the father that Jesus transmitted that to them and that they understood them now do they understand them completely no but they're having a beginning basic understanding and they have believed that Jesus was sent by the father that's why earlier in their conversation when Jesus became a little more plain about his death burial and resurrection they say now we believe that you were sent from the father so he's following up on that confession and telling God that they have believed this is I asked on their behalf I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom you have given me for they are yours so Jesus I'm going to ask you for something on behalf of my disciples on behalf of those 11 and the others that may be there and I'm asking for them I'm not asking for the general rule I'm not asking for all mankind I'm not asking for the rest of the Jews I'm not asking for the rest of the Greeks or the Gentiles I'm asking for my specific disciples that you gave me and they are yours and all things that are mine are yours and yours are mine and I have been glorified in them notice the fact of their belief glorifies Jesus and he is again reiterating that the disciples are the fathers and the fathers are the disciples and the disciples are Jesus's and the Jesus is their disciple it's it's one
entity if you will it's not a separation of the followers of Jesus are different than the followers of the father you can't be the followers of Jesus if you're not the father followers of the father we can't be the follower of the father if you're not the follower of Jesus and this faith in this belief glorifies Jesus again make it a little more personal to realize that our coming to faith and our acts of faith glorifies Jesus so often we think only our worship or our testimony but the fact that we believe who he is and what he has done glorifies him I'm no longer in the world and they themselves are in the world and they come to you holy father keep them in your name the name which you have given me that they may be one as we are one so he's asking for two things again so he's asked that the father glorify the son and the father be glorified and now he's saying because I'm going out of the world but the disciples are going to be continue to be in the world he says he wants the father to keep them in the father's name that protection that aspect of truly being the father's so I want you to keep them in your name the name which you have given me and then the second thing is that they may be one even as we are one
he's asking the father that this not a group of disciples who sometimes don't understand him and sometimes ask each other the questions rather than asking him he's saying father I want you not only to keep them in your name but I want you to make them one not one in the sense of one an agreement or one but one in the sense of like we are one which is one of the problems again in various churches we are so concerned about our rights and our thoughts and what we think and Jesus is saying mother I want you to make them one like we are one
there's not a division between the father and the son what the father desires the son desires and what the father commands the son obeys because I want I want the disciples to be one because quite frankly to be in this world that will be hostile to them who will be persecute them and will seek to as he will say it has said that they will be cast out from the various synagogues and they will be persecuted and they will be killed and everyone will glorify and think that they're doing God's will he says in that world of opposition and persecution but I want you to keep them one not just with one purpose but one as we even are one and while I was with them I was keeping them in your name which you have given me and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled
so he tells them that he protected them that while he was with them he suffered the opposition and their persecution and the rejection but he protected them he protected them and guarded them in his name and he kept all of all eleven the protected he said except Judas who was determined beforehand to be that one of son of perdition who would follow Satan's commands and do as Satan had instructed he says but that one was predicted in the Scriptures so he was never mine I didn't lose him because he wasn't mine but the 11 who were the fathers who the father gave to me I've guarded and protected and kept them so that they would be together but now I come to you and these things that I am speaking that I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves so he says so he goes I'm coming to you father and that these things I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves so Jesus is desire for his disciples to have his joy not just joy in our world everybody is worried about being happy being happy depends on happenings and there's a discussion about whether other people can make you happy or whether happiness is entirely within yourself
Jesus is raising that and saying I'm not talking about happiness I'm talking about joy and I'm not talking about joy in the sense of the world I'm talking about the joy that I have that they may be had my joy made full in themselves not some of the joy of Jesus but full joy in him I've given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world even as I am not of the world this is the world hates them and the world is going to hate them all the more once they start testifying of me because they're not part of the world and they hated Jesus and they're going to hate them because Jesus was not of the world and then he says I do not ask you to take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one so Jesus's request is not that we be removed from the world or that is the south would be removed from the world but that they be protected from the evil one from Satan and so he understands that they're going to be opposed and persecuted and killed but he's not asking them to be removed he's asking them to be protected from the evil one they are not of the world even as I am not of the world so again he repeats that we and he are not of this world and then he says sanctify them in the truth your word is truth so he wants the disciples to be sanctified which means to be set apart to be made holy and how that happens is the Word of God you'll hear people say that sin will keep you from the scriptures or the scriptures will keep you from sin there is that sense that when we study and read the scriptures that there is a sanctifying effect that it has on us and he says the way we are made holy sanctified is God's truth which is God's word as you sent me into the world I have also sent them into the world so this is going to be a situation where Jesus will later say that they are to be his witnesses throughout the whole world says I'm going to send them into the world this place as you have sent me for their sakes I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth notice he's saying that Jesus said himself apart he sanctified himself so that they may be sanctified amazing
this one that knew no sin this one who is holy this one who existed before time every existed set himself apart so that we might be set apart as his word started from this prayer it simply says father glorify me so that you may be glorified hopefully our prayer as well would be father glorify me as I glorify you and may all that I do and all that I say and all that I am
whether it's in good times or terrible times may end in the result of glorifying you and all God's people said