We have been studying the final night of Jesus life before the Cross/ last words to his Disciples
A)Powerful
teachings about service / Priorities / Heaven and about the Helper
B)
Jesus ends this time w/ a very insightful Prayer : 3 main themes
1)1st v.1-8 He
prays for himself – He might be Glorified [TONIGHT]
2)
2nd Prays for his Disciples that they might be Sanctified [next week]
3)
3rd Prays for the Church to come that they would be unified [on the 29th]
C)
Tonight John 17:1-8 He Prays for Himself – Read verses
The
important word glory is used five times in these verses, and we must
carefully distinguish the various “glories” that Jesus mentions.
A)In
v.5, He referred to His pre-incarnate glory with the Father, the glory that He
laid aside when He came to earth to be born, to serve, to suffer, & to die.
B)In
John 17:4, He reported to the Father that His life and ministry on earth had
glorified Him,
1)
because
He (Jesus) had finished the work the Father gave Him to do.
C)And
In V. 1 & V. 5 our Lord asked that
His pre-incarnate glory be given to Him again,
1)
so
that the Son might glorify the Father in His return to heaven.
D)
That is what Jesus means in v. 1 when he says Father Glorify your Son /
Jesus Knew that He was going to the Cross – but the
Cross was not the end – He would rise from the Dead & Ascend to Heaven
A)The
work of Redemption would be complete – Jesus would begin his new role as our
High priest – lives to make intercession for us
There is a tremendous lesson here about prayer.
A)Was it not already God's
program that if the Son were crucified he would be raised from the dead and
ascend into the heavens?
B)Yet when the hour comes Jesus
asks the Father to do this. He prays for this glory which was already promised
to him.
1) This helps us a great deal in
understanding prayer.
C) Sometimes people say to me, "Why should I
pray? God has already programmed my life. He knows what I'm going to do and
what's going to happen to me, so why should I ask him to do anything? It's all
going to happen anyway."
D)That position totally ignores
the revelation of the Scriptures that prayer is a part of the process by which
God brings to pass what he has already proposed to do.
1)James tells us, "You have not because you ask not," {
Jas 4:2}.
E) God wants us to Ask – He wants
us to acknowledge our need !!!!
This passage also gives us great insight into what
should be the Ultimate goal of everyone of us – To Glorify God w/ our lives
A)How is God glorified ? See from Jesus example – it
is by doing what He called us to do!!!
B) God has a plan for each of us to fulfill – The
way that we fulfill that plan is by doing what He has put before us today
1) Doing what is in front of
you now!! Don’t get sidetracked by worrying about the Future – Be Faithful in
the Present
C) So that when your life is over – see the big picture
– I was faithful to the Work that God called me to { Training kids / witness /
ministry
Jesus says in v.4 I have
glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to
do.
A)Now this is interesting to me that Jesus says this
before going to the cross I have glorified you on earth & finished the
work….
B) It shows that Although the act had not been completely
– Jesus had purposed in His heart – { Face like flint …….. Jerusalem }
1)
Most of the time that is the Starting place – for
fulfilling the Lord’s will – Purpose in your heart – Non- negotiable – going in this direction
C) Now Jesus mentions 3 things
here in conjunction w/ the work he was called to Complete
1st v.2 You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He
should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
A)He came to give eternal life to men !!!!! – Thru
his death on the cross Jesus accomplished that work –
B) Eternal life – was available to all who put their
trust in Him
1) Now in v. 3 He tells us what that Eternal life
Consist of 3
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.
C) The Jews understood something that we
often miss – concept of Eternal life isn’t merely talking about – Longevity –
but Quality
1)
They believed the closer they got to God the more Quality
of life they would experience –
D) Problem was in their religious
system – one of Distance – they couldn’t close to God – Day of Atonement – Holy
of Holies
1)
VEIL – don’t enter
But Jesus came that man might be able to get Close
to God –
A)Know = Ginosko – Know intimate close relationship
/ Know thru experience
B) Know God – Know the Father – Greatness / Majesty
/ King / Creator
Provider -
C)
Know Jesus: Savoir/ Friend / Shepherd / High Priest
D)
God wants you to Know Him – Live in Fellowship w/ Him
So
His first work that He completed was Establishing a way for man to experience
eternal life
A)2nd mentions in v.6 "I
have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.
They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word
B) ‘I have
manifested YOUR name.’ The word translated, ‘manifest’ ‘means ‘to shine forth’.
1)
It doesn’t mean so much declaration as it does
illustration.
C) So When Jesus says, ‘I have manifested Your name,’ He isn’t saying,
‘I have preached about it verbally,’ but rather, ‘I have lived it out
observably’.
D) Paul would later say (I
Timothy 3:16). ‘Great is the mystery of godliness ‘that God was manifest in the flesh,’ Truly,
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
E) Jesus said, ‘This is what I’ve
done Father — I have lived out Your Name
and Your Nature before these men You’ve entrusted to Me. They have seen You by
seeing Me.’ [
Visible Representation of the Father ]
Jesus was the light of
the world – revealing the heart & nature of the Father to mankind – Now he
says – You are the Light of the World
A)You are the visible
representation of Who God is – what He is like !
B) As the
Law came down from Mt. Sinai, it read, ‘Thou
shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not covet.’
C) It was heavy — but the people
received it because it was delivered to them by a man whose face was glowing
(Exodus 34:29).
1) So too, if you come down on
your friends, colleagues or kids and you’re growling, not glowing, they’ll
resent you and reject the law you bring.
D)Your kids will rebel; your
friends will leave; your employees will quit because they’ll resent what you
share.
1)
But if, like Moses, like Jesus, you’re spending time with
the Father, you will be able to correctly manifest Him.
So First of all He manifested the Father to them – 2nd
He gave them the Father’s words
7 Now they have known that all things which You have given
Me are from You. 8 For I have given to
them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them,
A)Jesus came & revealed to them an entirely
different way of living – a way that would not focus so much on the outward
actions
1) But that would focus upon
the heart –
B) New Covenant: New Heart – Spirit cause you to……
1)
IN the Jewish religion much emphasis was placed on the
outward actions even though the inward heart was the real issue
C) Jesus came and made that
Crystal clear – The Father is concerned about the heart – For out of it flows the issues of life
1) Out of the
abundance of the Heart the mouth speaks
SO Jesus Prays first for Himself – Declaring
finished the work that had been assigned to Him – Asked to be Glorified –
return to His place
A)Further Glory to God – that is the goal
B) What about you this week – Finished the Task –
C) Mistake of Saul – AGAG = still alive
1) Samuel – dealt w/ it – Do you have an Agag in
your life – Haven’t dealt w/