the first thing that comes to mind is "Our Father who art in Heaven…".
In a technical sense, this is wrong.
The "Our Father" prayer is the prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples.
It might be better to call the "Our Father" prayer "The disciples’ prayer".
The true Lord’s Prayer is John Chapter 17.
The entire chapter is Jesus praying to the father.
It is the longest single prayer in the Bible.
Since the prayer was said out loud, in front of the disciples,
we can logically assume the prayer is for our benefit.
Many famous preachers, evangelists and bible commentators speak of John Chapter 17 as one of the high points of the Bible.
When you first start studying John 17, it can be overwhelming.
Trying to comment on John 17 is like trying to summarize an encyclopedia!
Each verse can be a full lesson into itself.
Yet the whole thing could be read in 3 minutes.
The great scope of the chapter has an intimidating factor to a teacher.
But it is meant to be studied, thought about and enjoyed by the reader!
No part of the Bible is ever intended to be intimidating to the reader!
This is a chapter where the more you study it, the more you get out of it.
If you have the time this week, read and re-read Chapter 17.
Think about the implications of Jesus’ statements in this chapter.
The chapter is generally divided into 3 sections:
Jesus’ prayer concerning himself (Verses 1-5).
Jesus’ prayer concerning his disciples (Verses 6-19).
Jesus’ prayer concerning present and future believers (Verses 20-26).
Lets begin Chapter 17, Verse 1: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
Jesus was still walking along with his disciples.
His arrest was about to happen.
Jesus knew the arrest, trial, and crucifixion were about to begin.
The last 3 chapters represents Jesus’ final words to His disciples.
He is now ending this speech with a prayer.
His prayer is for glorification of His mission.
His prayer is for glorification of His disciples.
His prayer is also for the disciples’ protection
Remember that Jesus knew his disciples were going to betray Him.
Yet Jesus saw beyond their short term failures.
Jesus saw their long-term glorification!
When you have problems with other Christians, remember God is at work on them as well as you, glorifying them! Keep this in mind in comparison to short-term mistakes of fellow believers.
Our greatest command is to love one another!
Notice Jesus "looked toward heaven and prayed"
When we pray, we usually kneel and close our eyes.
We kneel, as we associate kneeling with humility.
"Its hard to stumble when your on your knees"
(This is a song by the Jackson Southernaires)
We usually close our eyes to avoid visual distractions.
Jesus way of praying was to look up to heaven
It is as if Jesus is aware of God’s presence looking down upon us!
Something for us to keep in mind is that God is always looking down on us. Not to condemn, but to come to Him for guidance!
The point is simply not to be too ritualistic in your prayer style. There are no formal rules for prayer. God is not interested in your prayer style, as much as he is looking for truth and sincerity.
Here comes Jesus’ prayer concerning Himself: Beginning at Verse 1b: "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 is saying "this is the moment, glorify your son"
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus was aware of his mission.
To the woman at the well in Chapter 4: "My time has not yet come" (John 4:2)
""The right time for me has not yet come;" (John 7:6 NIV)
"At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come." (John 7:30 NIV)
"Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come". (John 8:20)
Now in Verse 2, Jesus says "Father the time has come".
So why does Jesus pray: Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you?"
Didn’t he know God would accept his life for the sins of all?
Of course. Remember that the disciples were there listening.
Jesus simply wanted to emphasize the role of his mission:
To glorify God, through everything that Jesus did!
So Why did Jesus go through all this trouble? Read Verse 2:
Verse 2: For you (Father) granted him (Son) authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
Jesus has authority over all people. All means all. Not just believers.
Who gives eternal life? (read the verse again) Jesus!
Who is pre-destined to receive this life?
"All those you (the Father) have given him (Jesus)"
Again, Jesus speaks of himself in the 3rd person to keep the focus on the Father.
At this point, it is probably important to discuss one of the great debates in Christianity. It is simply referred as "free-will" versus "pre-destiny.
The basic question is do we as people, have the "free-will" to choose to become a Christian, or does God "pre-destine" people to become believers?
The Bible teaches both.
Scholars have debated this throughout the history of Christianity..
Here is my (overly simple) opinion on this topic:
God is perfect. A perfect God knows all things.
If God does not know all things, then God can learn. If God can learn, He is capable of making mistakes.
The Bible states that God knows all things:
"I (God) make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. (Isaiah 46:10a NIV emphasis added)
About 35% of the Bible is prophecy (i.e., future predictions).
One of the reasons for this is to validate the Bible as the one and only Word of God. No other "Holy Book" is full of true predictions.
Going back to the debate question:
God knows all things about my life. I don’t.
Because I don’t, I don’t know who is & isn’t going to heaven.
From our perspective, it is free-will.
From God’s perspective, is pre-destiny.
Again, Christian scholars have been debating this one for 2,000 years.
My explanation is simply my theory on the topic.
Verse 3: Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Here is an important concept to grasp. To "know" God the Father and to "know" Jesus Christ is not a one time thing.
It is a life-long process.
This verse says eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son.
How do we do that?
Regular
time in prayer.
Regular
time in the Bible.
Like I said last week, if you love someone, you want to spend time with them. Develop a relationship!
Here is a great question to ponder… What do we do for eternity?
I don’t think we spend eternity sitting on a cloud plucking a harp!
If God has all knowledge, then it is going to take an eternity to know God.
In John Chapter 14:2 Jesus said "in my father’s house are many rooms…I go to prepare a place for you". This is our eternal life. Dwelling in unity with the Body of Christ with the Father and Son.
Verse 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 is essentially saying "Phase I is completed. I’m ready for Phase II"
Phase I was the glorification of Jesus on the Cross.
Jesus paying the price for our sins.
Jesus says he has completed the work for us. Done deal. Over.
Jesus speaks of the completed work prior to the actual event.
He is praying to draw upon God’s strength to complete the event.
Sometime God calls us to difficult tasks.
We need to pray for God to give us the strength to complete that specific task.
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6b NIV)
Phase II is Jesus returning to the glory of his former life prior to Jesus coming earth in the form of man.
Jesus says in Verse 4: "I have brought you Glory on earth."
That is a good life-verse for us.
Does your life bring Glory to God?
What (or Why) is Jesus asking to God to do by "Glorifying" Him?
He is asking God the father to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.
How do we know God the Father accepted it?
Answer, the resurrection. God the father resurrecting Jesus is the proof of God accepting Jesus sacrifice on the cross.
Notice the emphasis on "glory in verses 4 & 5: : 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 brought glory to God on earth by completing the work
God is glorifying Jesus by accepting his sacrifice, and returning Jesus to the God-state before Jesus came to earth.
What does this mean to us, let’s jump ahead to Verse 24a:
"Father, I want those you have given me (us!) to be with me where I am, and to see my glory".
Remember that the whole game plan, Jesus life, death and resurrection is for our benefit. This is the only way God could reconcile the "sin problem" and give us eternal life.
"If there is any verse in the Bible which single-handedly, standing by itself, unmistakably reflects the Deity of Jesus Christ, it is this verse. For here (Jesus) is asking for the glory which was the Father's glory as well. Isaiah reminds us that God does not share his glory with anyone less than himself. "My glory," he says, "will I not give to another," {Isa 48:11 RSV}." Ray Steadman
Ever tried to explain to someone why God came in the form of man? The best illustration I know is the "ant-hill" example.
Suppose every day you walked past an ant hill.
You spent time watching the ants. You really got to know them. In an unexplainable way, you actually loved those ants.
One day, you saw a big bulldozer coming right at them.
How do you explain to the ants about the danger?
You could jump up & down, but that would only scare them.
In order to tell them about the eminent danger and save them, you would have to become an ant yourself.
That is what Jesus did. He had to go from being God to an "ant like us".
His message is that we are doomed because of a disease called sin.
He knows the way out!
Now we move on to the send part of Jesus Prayer, His prayer to the disciple. Verse 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.
It’s sort of amazing when you think about the fact that the God of the Universe came to teach 11 people. He started his ministry with 12 disciples. He ended with 11. Yet through these 11 people, millions and millions have come to believe Jesus is God.
Satan is also aware that God works through people. Therefore this prayer (Verses 6-12) is a "battle preparation" prayer.
It is a prayer for the disciples protection.
The first sentence is the "predestiny verse". To paraphrase "I told these disciples who you previously picked out everything you wanted me to share with them at this time"
Notice the last 3 words of Verse 6: "They have obeyed your word."
What did Jesus mean by this?
Didn’t these guys quarrel over who is the greatest?
Wasn’t Peter about to deny Jesus?
Weren’t the disciples about the run away after the arrest?
What exactly have they "obeyed"?
They believe Jesus came from God, Jesus is God, and they were sent to preach repentance and believe the Gospel.
Keep the disciples failures in mind the next time you make a mistake,
God doesn’t expect perfection, he expects obedience. When we fail, he expects us to confess that failure and try again. Like teaching a child to walk, we expect our children to fail, but then try again. God has the same attitude toward us.
"God isn’t looking for ability, God is looking of availability."
Verse 7: Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
The key word here is everything.
This verse implies that Jesus is God.
Everything Jesus teaches, says and does is God (the father) inspired.
Verse 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.
Ever stopped & thought what was it, that convinced the disciples that Jesus was God?
What made the writer John, who lived, walked and listened to Jesus for three years made John believe Jesus was God?
His miracles never convinced anyone of his deity, only his Messiah-ship.
It was his words. This is why John opened the Gospel of John with "In the beginning was "The Word". The Word refers to Jesus himself.
Verse 9: I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
Jesus did not pray for the world. Jesus died for the world (John 3:16) .
What more could he do for the world?
The focus of this prayer is on the disciples.
Verse 10: All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
Anyone can say to the Father "all I have is yours",
but only Jesus could say "all you have is mine".
This is another claim that Jesus is equal in power and authority with God.
"Jesus was praying for the instrument (i.e. the disciples) He was creating, through which He would reach the world." (G. Campbell Morgan)
Verse 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.
Jesus is leaving. Therefore, Jesus is asking for the Father's protection of the disciples in the period of danger that lay ahead of them.
Notice the emphasis in these two verses on the words "protection" and "kept".
"Jesus didn’t pray to strengthen, them or teach them or guide them,
he sums it up with the words "keep them"" (Ray Steadman)
Jesus is praying to protect us.
If Jesus is praying to protect us, is there anything we can do to undo this? No!
Remember that the disciples still failed right after this prayer.
Peter denied Jesus three times & the disciples scattered.
So was Jesus prayer unanswered? No
Jesus is talking about protection from the evil one!
Our salvation is secured.
As long as we are abiding in God, we are saved despite our failures.
The last part of verse 11 is powerful: "they may be one as we are one."
God wants us to be "one" with Jesus & Himself.
That is what Jesus is praying for.
It is interesting to tie Verse 11 with the first part of Verse 21
End of Verse 11: "they may be one as we are one."
Verse 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.
One of the purposes of dwelling in unity with God is to be a witness to the world.
Our witnesses to the world does not come through persuasive arguments, but by the power of God indwelling within us!
Verse 12b: None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
This is a reference to Judas.
Judas was picked as a disciple by Jesus, but Judas was never saved.
The language does not imply that Judas was a helpless victim who was destined to perdition against his will.
Rather, it implies that, having made his decision, he had passed the point of no return; and, by so doing, he carried out what the Scriptures had indicated would happen.
Judas followed Jesus because Judas thought he would set up the millennial kingdom now and Judas would reign with him.
"Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (John 6:70 NIV)
So why was Judas picked?
It was predicted in the Old Testament.
It is a further validation of Jesus as the Messiah
It can show that people can be physically close to Jesus, but not saved.
Only God can judge someone’s heart and motivation.
I take comfort in the fact that none of them is lost except for Judas.
Since You & I belong to Jesus, we are part of the "none" that are lost!
Verse 13 "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus says 3 things here.
I come to you now,
These things I speak in the world (that means for us to pay attention!)
That they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves
That is God’s goal for us on earth.
To have His Joy fulfilled in us!
Verse 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.
You and I, along with Jesus are not part of this "world".
The "world" refers to the "worldly" system. The belief that if man tries hard enough, he can make a perfect world for himself. The belief that we are self-sufficient. That we have the knowledge of good and evil within us. That is why Eve picked the fruit from the garden. By choosing Jesus, you are saying "I can’t make it on my own (or mankind’s) sufficiency. I’m turning my life over to you, Lord." Take over.
Also, the world will hate us because we did not choose their way.
Notice verse 15 says that Jesus does not pray for us to be taken out of this world.
If God simply wanted us to be saved, and that’s it, we should set up electric chairs in churches. "Get saved, get zapped, next". That’s not what God intends for our lives.
God wants us to be witnesses for Him.
God works through us to save people out of a lost world.
This verse also implies that we are not to be monks.
God never intends for us to live life in an "all-Christian" world.
"Our goal is to be in the world, but not of it, or of the evil one; even as a ship is to be in the ocean, but not allowing the ocean to be in the ship" (David Guzik)
Jesus said: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Mat 10:16 NIV)
Also, this is not a condemnation of taking retreats or vacations.
Breaks from the world are necessary to refresh ourselves.
The principal is to not permanently separate yourself from the world.
Verse 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.
"Sanctify" is a simple word that means "to set apart for a purpose".
If there is a roomful of chairs, and I pick one to sit in, I "sanctified" that chair for the purposes of me sitting in that chair.
God has sanctified us (set us apart) to Glorify Him!
There are two sentences here. The first says to sanctify them by the truth
Which leads to the question: What is "the truth"?
The answer is the second sentence in Verse 17.
"your word is truth.
God wants us to believe the Bible is "Truth".
That is why approx. 35% of the Bible is prophecy (future predictions). This validates the Bible as the Word of God.
Verse 19 says Jesus sanctifies himself. This means He voluntarily choose to set himself apart to die for our sins.
This was necessary for our "sanctification". To be set apart to glorify God.
Which leads to the next logical question, How do we glorify God?
By obeying His commandments. Loving One Another. Sticking close to Him.
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35 NIV)
We finally come to the last section of Jesus’ prayer. Verse 20: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
This is Jesus pray concerning present and future believers. Verses 20-26.
Notice the word "will" in Verse 20. This implies future tense. It is for you and me.
The last section of Jesus' prayer shows that he expected the failure of the disciples to be only temporary.
Verse 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.
Jesus is praying for us to be one as God the Father and God the Son be one.
This is not a prayer to be equal in statue or authority with God (father/son)
But a prayer to be in unity with them.
We, as Christians, are at our best when we are focused on God. When we spend time in prayer, time praising God, time in the Word,
then is when we shine as Christian.
Then we become good witnesses for Christ (see last part of Verse 21)
Verse 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.
Verse 22 is a powerful statement. Jesus has given the same glory to us that God has given Jesus. Does this mean we have the power to do miracles? Yes. Does this mean we have the same power on earth as Jesus? Yes. The key to remember is that like Jesus we are here to do God’s will, not our will.
If you have any doubts as to the "power" Jesus gives to us as believers, study the first 3 chapters of Ephesians.
The first question is, if God gives us all this power, why can’t we go around healing everybody who is sick?
We are here to do God’s plan. Not ours. Although we don’t always understand why God allows things to happen, it is all part of His plan.
It’s like the children’s riddle: Where does an 800 pound gorilla sleep?
Answer: Anywhere He wants to.
God is the "800 pound gorilla". We are here to obey and glorify Him!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8 NIV)
Another question: If we ask for a million dollars, is that God’s will or our will?
If God gave us whatever we wanted, people would become Christians not to glorify God, but for all the "goodies" they would ever want!
Again, God wants us to use this power to glorify God.
I take the view that the main purpose of Christians on earth is to "build up the Body of Christ" as described in Ephesians 4:11.
Part of building up the body of Christ is to bring in new believers.
The other part is to help strengthen, mature, take care, and minister to other believers.
God calls each of us to some part. That is why the "collective" group of Christians is referred to as "The body of Christ".
Verse 23 says "let the world know that you sent me".
This implies "World Evangelism".
"World Evangelism" ranges from the big rallies to talking to the person next to you about Jesus. Each of these are equally important in God’s eye.
Evangelism is: "The attempt to give every person an opportunity to make an intelligent choice of whether to receive or reject Jesus Christ."
Remember that the actual conversion is the job of the Holy Spirit, not us.
God does not give us "points" for every person that converts. God simply wants us to be a witness. The Holy Spirit’s job is the conversion.
Last part of Verse 23 says "and (Father) have loved them even as you have loved me."
This means that God loves you as much as He loves Jesus Christ!
Verse 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."
"The prayer concludes with the great secret of Christian living: Jesus and His love indwelling the believer". (David Guzik).
This joy can only be made known to the world through us!
"
Our motive must be concern for the glory of God; not the glory of the church or our own glory. Our message must be the gospel of God as given by Christ in his apostles, not the traditions of men or our own opinions. Our manpower must be the whole church of God, every member of it, not a privileged few who want to retain evangelism as their prerogative. And our dynamic must be the Spirit of God, not the power of human personality, organization, or eloquence. Without these priorities we shall be silent when we ought to be vocal. (John R. Stott)
We have now summed up Jesus’ final hours with his disciples. His last words are Jesus’ prayer for comforting the disciples.
He prays that believers will become aware of the Love that God has for us.
This is the love that comforts us through all situations.
This reminds me of the "parachute" illustration by evangelist Ray Comfort:
Airline passenger #1 is given a parachute and told "Hold on to this parachute as this plane is going to crash, and you are going to need it for your survival.
Airline passenger #2 is given a parachute and told "Hold on to this parachute as it will give you comfort and joy on your plane ride."
Both passengers accidentally get hot coffee spilled on them by the stewardess.
Airline passenger #2 decides that the person who gave them the parachute is wrong about "comfort and joy". I’ve got hot coffee all over me and this parachute does not bring me comfort and joy."
Airline passenger #1 knows the plane will crash soon. Despite the pain of the hot coffee, passenger #1 clings to the parachute all the tighter because it is the only hope of salvation. Despite the pain of the hot coffee, this passenger still has comfort and joy!
Jesus Christ is the "parachute" we cling to!
He is our comfort and joy.
Let’s Pray. Father, we thank you for these wonderful lessons you have provided for us. It is overwhelming for us to think that the Love that God has between you and Jesus is available for us. That you want to share that love with us. We are forever grateful of the love that dwells within us. Help us to share that love to a lost and dying world. At the same time, to use the power within us to help build up and minister to the Body of Christ, all for your glory. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.