Christ's High Priestly Prayer

An Overview

John 17

February 2, 1997

           

I have often taken great comfort in the demands of life and ministry at the knowledge that I have people praying for me.  It seems that in some of my most pressing times, the Lord will send along someone to let me know of their prayers on my behalf.  As wonderful as that is, there is something even more profound and consoling in our text.  It is that God's own Son prays for you and me!

 

Philip Melanchthon, Luther's adviser and colleague, wrote of this prayer, "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 of God Himself" [quoted by James M. Boice, The Gospel of John, 1103].  What Jesus prayed, we can be assured, is perfectly in the will of the Father and will be perfectly answered!  For every believer and for everyone who will come to faith in Christ, Jesus Christ Himself has prayed for you.

 

Jesus Christ was within hours of facing the agony of the cross when He prayed what is without doubt the most magnificent prayer ever uttered.  He had left his disciples and those who would follow, with instructions, assurances, and promises.  He had assured them that "Now," i.e., in the act of His suffering and passion, "is the Son of Man glorified" (John 13:31).  He promised the disciples that He would be preparing a dwelling place for them in heaven (14:1-3) and that in Him, they had beheld the Father (14:8-11).  He had given them assurance of answered prayer in His name (14:13-14) and the promise of the Holy Spirit coming to indwell all believers (14:16-18; 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-14).  He had explained to them the unique relationship that every believer, as a branch, has to Him, as the Vine, and with this all of the marvelous richness of abiding in Christ (15:1-16).  He had explained to them that believers are not of the world but will face hatred by the world, in spite of which, we are to be characterized by love for one another (15:17-25).  He encourages the disciples that their sorrow will be turned to joy in seeing the work Christ accomplished for them  and that they will be able to continue in that joy as they ask in Jesus Name (16:16-24).  He assures His disciples that even though they will face tribulation in the world, they will have a peace that cannot be taken from them since He has overcome the world (16:31-33).

 

Some time between the "Upper Room Discourse" and Gethsemane, Jesus Christ offered His High Priestly prayer.  It was an audible prayer that certainly gave the disciples a fresh courage for the days ahead.  As Jesus prayed to the Father, we find Him praying about the profound work He had accomplished, affirming the sufficiency of His atoning death, and  interceding for His people  in the living out of their relationship to Him.

 

This High Priestly prayer of our Lord teaches us about prayer itself, about our great Redeemer, and about the manifold aspects of our salvation.  Let's give our minds to an overview of this great prayer as we prepare in the next weeks to unfold some of its magnificence as we gather to worship.  

 

I.  It is a unique prayer

 

Most everyone prays.  Unfortunately, much prayer is offered to false gods or to unscriptural caricatures of God.  Some pray with eloquence, some with stammering tongue, some with vain repetition.  Others pray with lofty language, like the student in Spurgeon's Pastors College who prayed, "O Thou that art encinctured with an auriferous zodiac!"  He was more interested in being heard by men not God.  Others pray to themselves.

 

Rising above all this we find the prayer of Jesus Christ to His heavenly Father.  It is unlike any prayer uttered by human lips.  It is indeed a unique prayer....

 

1.  Because of its Divine Author

 

All of us pray and need prayer.  We pray out of our weakness and desperate need for God.  We pray often out of our ignorance of the will of God, searching, pleading to know that perfect will.  But Jesus Christ is God Himself!  We see that John records, "These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, 'Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee'."  The Incarnate God, who spoke and the worlds were created, who holds the universe together by His own exercise of power, who receives the worship of angels, prayed to the Father.  Six times in this chapter Jesus calls the name, "Father."  The late Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who authored four volumes on this high priestly prayer, wrote concerning Jesus calling God His Father:

We are taught in the so-called "Lord's Prayer," to pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven...."  There is a difference between this prayer and the one termed the Lord's Prayer.  The Lord's Prayer is a model for our prayers, including petitions due to our sinfulness and weakness.  The high priestly prayer is the actual prayer of Jesus Christ offered as the Mediator between God and men.  We call God our Father because of the reconciling work Jesus Christ has done on our behalf.  Jesus called God "Father" because He is "the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14), i.e., God's unique Son who is without beginning of days and in whom all the fullness of deity dwells bodily (Col. 1:19).

 

This prayer reveals communication in the Godhead, the Son with the Father. Jesus' appeal to the Father is based upon His personal righteousness, which none of us dare attempt.  We must pray through the Lord Jesus by whose standing we have access to God's throne (Heb. 10:19-22).  The writer of Hebrews adds that Jesus was heard because of His piety (Heb. 5:7) as He offered up prayers and supplications.

 

If any of us prayed the content of verse 1, it would be a vain attempt to bargain with God, but not so with the Son of God.  He could ask the Father to restore the glory that He laid aside in the Incarnation because His essential being is full of glory or the radiance of divine character and perfections.

 

2.  Because of its Mediatorial nature

 

This is chiefly a prayer of our Great High Priest mediating for us with the Father.  The first five verses express our Lord's personal intercessions as He prepared for the cross.  That act of dying on behalf of sinners is the work of mediation.  By this I mean that Jesus Christ has gone between God and man to bring about a reconciliation.  A mediator acts "between parties, who cannot, for some reason, act with each other directly."  Jesus had to mediate for humanity because men are sinners.  He had to mediate on behalf of the Godhead because of "all the moral attributes of God's nature; His truth, (pledged to punish sin,) His justice, (righteously and necessarily bound to requite it,) His goodness, (concerned in the wholesome order of His kingdom,) and His holiness, (intrinsically repellent of sinners)" [R.L. Dabney, Systematic Theology, 464-465].   

 

His mediatorial role includes His work as Prophet, who announces the good news; as Priest, who became the good news through His vicarious sacrifice; and as King, who applies the good news through His reign as Lord over those whom He has reconciled to the Father.

 

The writer of Hebrews states this mediatorial work well in chapters 7-10 of that epistle. 

For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself....For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance [7:26-27; 8:13-15].


We cannot pray this prayer for ourselves as we can the model prayer, for we can intercede for others in prayer but we cannot mediate between God and man.  We do not have the qualifications of deity and perfect humanity, as our Lord, which were necessary for our Mediator.  We have elements for which we can pray (e.g., sanctification, unity, love), simply because the prayer is didactic (i.e., teaching).  But we can only pray from a position of weakness and great need.  This prayer was uttered out of the bosom of Perfection and great strength of our Mediator.  It was preparatory to the cross and all that the work of the cross would accomplish.

 

3.  Because of its climactic purpose

 

This prayer precedes Christ going back to the Father.  It is an anticipation of a return to the full measure of His glory after He has completed His obedience to the Father at the cross.  "And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee" (v. 11).  The resounding, "the hour has come," points to the ultimate purpose of Jesus coming to earth and the path He must take before returning to His resplendent glory at the right hand of the Father.

 

Our Lord prays for the disciples who will carry the gospel to the world.  They face an unbelievable task:  twelve men, minus one, carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth.  These were not the elite of Israel, but common men who had experienced uncommon grace.  They could carry out their task because Christ had mediated for them.

 

The church marches through the ages because her Lord has prayed for her!  Throughout the past 2000 years, there have been numerous times that it seemed the church was going under and would shut its doors.  It has faced persecution from without, corruption from within.  Emperors have tried to eradicate it, while devils have tried to smother it.  But the church marches on!  Why?  Because Jesus Christ has prayed for His own and His prayers will be fulfilled.

 

II. It is a specific prayer

 

The high priestly prayer can be divided into three parts.  I would point these out to you simply for your consideration as you read and meditate upon this marvelous text.

 

1.  Christ intercedes for Himself  vv. 1-5

 

We read of numerous times when Jesus would get alone and pray.  That seems to be the constant pattern in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke).  Only occasionally do the biblical writers tell us what Jesus prayed.  Here we have Jesus praying for Himself as He prepared to return to His pre-incarnate glory.  "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."

 

Jesus identifies His eternality, as One who existed before the world was created.  Paul explained what transpired in eternity to time in Philippians 2:6-8.  "Who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  When this work of the cross was completed and our Lord was raised from the dead, what He prayed in this verse was accomplished.  "Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).  As John expresses it later in the Revelation, "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever" (Rev. 5:13).

 

2.  Christ intercedes for His Apostles  vv. 6-19

 

The next section of this prayer focuses upon the needs of the apostles.  We will be looking at this in more detail, however I would simply make the point that this section offers some of the grandest promises and assurances found anywhere in God's Word.  The "keeping power" of God is prayed for on behalf of these believers, so that they might be sustained in their salvation.  It is a wonderful truth that the Lord preserves for all eternity those who are truly His own.

 

The work of sanctification is the heart of the subject of our Lord's prayer.  Sanctification refers to our growth in Christ or our ongoing development in holiness unto the Lord.  We can be assured that every true believer will develop in some way in his spiritual life because Jesus prayed for this to transpire.  His will for us in our walks is spelled-out in this text.

 

Several texts in the Bible refer to the beginning of the Christian life as being a new birth.  Other texts refer to new Christians as 'babes'.  The implication is that just as we grow and mature in the physical realm, we are to grow and mature in the spiritual realm.  At the heart of this growth is the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus Christ.

 

3.  Christ intercedes for His Church  vv. 20-26

 

The last section, vv. 20-26, focuses the praying of Jesus Christ specifically for all those who would follow the apostles.  This means all of us who are redeemed.  It is a prayer for the unity of every believer, a unity that is grounded in the common relationship of oneness we have with Christ.

 

The purpose of unity is not to make us feel good, but it is two-fold:  (1) to reflect the unity between the Father and the Son--and thus to bring glory to the Godhead; and (2) to provide a clear witness of the reality of Christ's saving work in sinners--and thus to point sinners to Christ.

 

I'm afraid that too many professing Christians take lightly the prayer of Jesus Christ concerning the unity of the church.  I spoke with a pastor from another state this week who mentioned with grief about a couple in his church that has spent years sowing discord among the brethren.  According to what our Lord prayed and what the New Testament teaches, we should never act in such a way that it would cause disunity, nor are we to tolerate those who do.  So much of the witness of the Church of Jesus Christ to the world has been shattered by the jealousy, fighting, and disunity of the church.  

 

Hear what our Lord prays:  "...that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me."  This unity begins and continues in Jesus Christ.  Without being in Him, there is no unity.

 

III. It is an assuring prayer

 

So many of the themes of redemption that are prevalent in John's gospel and throughout the New Testament are found in this prayer.  With this theme comes a multifaceted assurance for the people of God.

 

It is an assurance...

 

1.  Of the Redeemer's work  vv. 1, 4

 

When Jesus spoke of "the hour" and "having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do," He was speaking of His redemptive work.  Redemption is a very important word used in the New Testament that offers a clear statement of what Jesus Christ did for us.  While we cannot enter into a full explanation of redemption at this point, let me mention three components of it.

(1)  The use of redemption implies that the person in need of redemption is bound in some type of slavery, "a captivity which man cannot himself break, so that redemption represents the intervention of an outside Person who pays the price which man cannot pay."

(2)  Through the work of Jesus Christ, the price of our redemption from the slavery of sin was something which He bore on our behalf, so that "He is our Substitute."  "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."

(3)  There is a result of the act of redemption.  Leon Morris has written, "In the Scripture we see the price paid, the curse borne, in order that those who are redeemed should be brought into the liberty of the sons of God,...the whole point of this redemption is that sin no longer has dominion; the redeemed are saved to do the will of their Master" [The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 61-62].


Jesus' prayer is an assurance that He did indeed complete what was necessary for sinners to be declared righteous before God and so to secure all the benefits of being a child of God for those who come to faith in Him.

 

2.  Of Redemption applied  vv. 1-10

 

Redemption is not something that is simply "on paper" but has no reality to it.  There is something of Jesus giving a testimony on behalf of the Eleven before the Father.  The Father had given these men to Christ; Christ had delivered His saving word to them; they had "come to know that everything Thou hast given Me is from Thee."  All that Jesus declared concerning Himself, they had believed and embraced.  They had come to understand that He is God-come-to-man, the gift of the Father to satisfy His justice and save sinners.

 

When we speak of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, we are speaking of an actual work that is applied to particular sinners.  It is not applied to everyone on the face of the earth or else all would be saved.  It is not simply a potential work in which Jesus might save sinners.  His redemption is applied to those "whom Thou gavest me out of the world."  Here we see a joining of God's electing grace and Christ's redemptive work, coming together to actually secure a people of God for all eternity.

 

Therein can be found our assurance: that Jesus Christ actually redeemed me and actually secured my salvation for all eternity.  What He did on the cross was applied to my account out of the richness of God's mercy and grace.

 

3.  Of the Redeemed characterized  vv. 13-23, 26

 

Those who are truly redeemed by the Lord will manifest certain characteristics.  We find these as part of the prayer of our Lord for His own.  Remember, Jesus always prays in the will of the Father and He always receives a perfect answer to His prayers!  These words are not wishful-thinking on the part of Jesus Christ.  They serve as a manifestation of the divine will and the divine work that will take place in those who are truly saved.

 

Lord willing, we will look at each of these characteristics in detail for they make up the heart and soul of our daily Christian living.  So many confuse Christianity with other religions.  One of our ladies said that she talked at length with another lady this week, who had her own ideas of religion and God.  Essentially, God is whoever you feel that He is, in her way of thinking.  While we would be stunned to hear someone say this, I'm afraid that too many professing Christians are doing essentially the same thing.  Christianity is whatever you want it to be for you.  If you just want to have a name of religion or something to help you along socially or something to lean upon during hard times, then call yourself a Christian...or, so many are led to think.

 

Our Lord made it clear what should characterize all who are truly born again.  

 

                        (1) Joy                          (4) Mission                         (7) Love

                        (2) Holiness                    (5) Unity

                        (3) Truth                       (6) Hope

           

4.  Of the Redeemed with the Redeemer  v. 24

 

Just as John 14 tells us of the home in heaven which Jesus is preparing, verse 24 tells us of the absolute truth that the redeemed will be with the Redeemer one day.  "Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world."  

 

There are some strange ideas that have been floating around about what goes on in heaven.  Much of it is rather self-consuming.  Jesus' prayer cuts through the questions about heaven.  He  desires that we might be with Him to behold His glory.  All of the resplendence of His divine character will be ours to see without measure in heaven!  All of His goodness, holiness, truth, and purity will be clear to us when we 'see Him as He is'.

 

Conclusion

 

We have not looked at any portion of this high priestly prayer in detail this morning.  We have taken a quick overview of some of the content of our Lord's prayer.  Now, I believe that it is important that we consider the wealth of truth which we will see in this text and that we not look at it merely in an academic fashion.  Rather, let's approach this text each week with a consciousness that (1) it is the very prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf; (2) that it contains the clearest explanation of the will of God for our lives since Jesus prayed according to the Father's will; (3) that we will seek to worship Christ as He reveals Himself to us through this prayer; and (4) that we will seek to be open and obedient to the work of the Holy Spirit who will apply the truth of this prayer to our lives.

 

Let me leave you with a final challenge:  (1) read this chapter of God's Word each week over the period of our study--approximately 12 more weeks; (2) pray for this messenger that I might clearly examine my own heart as I study and that I might proclaim this text with authority and anointing; (3) pray for this church body that we might see the incredible unity our Lord has given us and then to walk in it faithfully as a testimony to His grace.

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