Jesus Prays:  For Himself

John 17 gives us the longest prayer of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. This morning we begin to look at His prayer, and how the truths in it, as well as the things Jesus prayed for, apply to our lives. It is brief glimpse of the relationship that Jesus had with the Father and it gives us a glimpse into the very heart of God.

(John 17:1-26 NIV)  "After Jesus said this, he looked toward 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.

 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.

 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.""

(John 15:18-19 NIV)  ""If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

(John 16:13-14 NIV)  "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you."

 Digging Deeper

1. In John 17:1 Jesus says “the time has come.”  Literally he says “the hour has come.”  What time has come?  Jesus uses this phrase several times during His ministry.  Read the following passages and decide if there is one “hour” (event) to which He refers, or more than one event, or some combination.  (John 2:4; Mark 14:32-42; John 8:20; Luke 22:47-53; John 12:20-28; John 13:1).
2. Read John 17:1-5 carefully.  As you read, think about what the words Jesus speaks say about who He is.  How many characteristics or aspects of Jesus (descriptions of who He is) can you list just from these verses?  Now read John 1:1-18 and see how many more items you can list.  Now put all of those together and answer the question:  “Who was/is Jesus Christ?”
   
3. Consider your answers to questions one and two and answer this question: “What difference do those truths make in my life?” How do they give you hope? What responses do you have to them (worship, praise, etc)?  How does the way you live your life reflect those truths?  Or not reflect them?

Played: 40 | Download | Duration: 00:38:10