John 17

We finished last week our series on Elijah and Elijah, and we're starting a a short series on the prayer of Jesus. In Matthew chapter John chapter 17. These are the words of Christ. John chapter 17. Jesus has been teaching his disciples just before he goes to the cross.

And he's been telling them all kinds of amazing things about the Holy Spirit and how he'll come and convict the world and so forth. And then we come to this in John 17. After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed, Father, the hour has come, glorify your son that your son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life that they may know you.

The only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I've brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Thanks, Pete, for reading that. And welcome to those joining us at home, and welcome to you here both in both halls.

My name is Tom and I'm assistant pastor here at the church. And we're starting, as Pete said, this new series, which could be 3 or 4 or 5 weeks. We haven't decided quite how long it's gonna be yet. In John chapter 17 in this prayer of Jesus. And it might feel like a bit of a jump, you know, if you've been following the 2 kings elijah and Elijah series.

And now suddenly, we're in this, but I hope we're gonna see that the grand theme of scripture, which is the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ, is the same grand theme in John 17 as it was all the way throughout 1 and 2 kings. I mean, that was the heart of Elijah and Elijah's Ministry, wasn't it? That that god, the 1 true god would be glorified in Israel, and all other idols would fall away at his feet and that he would be worshipped for who he really is. And as we're going to see here in this prayer, that the glory of God in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ, and the glory of God is the central theme of this of this prayer. So there is far more unity than we might expect between these 2 series.

Let's let's pray and ask her for the lord's help together. Father, we do thank you for this amazing chapter and this section of John's gospel where the lord Jesus Christ was preparing his disciples. For his departure and for all the different things that he showed them and taught them about himself. And we pray that as we listen in now, to this incredible prayer that Jesus prayed that you would help us to see the main theme of it and that as your glory and your plan and your work and your salvation is lifted up before us this morning, that you would help us to see it perhaps for the very first time or for the thousandth time that either way we would see these truths for what they are. As glorious realities for us to be part of, for us to believe.

And we ask it in Jesus' name. Our men. Our men. 1 theologian who's written lots and lots of books is a chap called Don Carson, and he has written a book on this whole section of John's Gospel, And he says in 1 of his little commentaries that John chapter 17 really is a very, very unique chapter. Because in the gospels, we do have the prayers of Jesus recorded for us, but they tend to be quite short.

But we also know from the Gospels that Jesus spent a long time in prayer, so he went up to the hills and the mountains and he would pray all night But very often, we don't know what he actually prayed in those whole night prayer encounters. And yet here in John 17, we have boats we have both a long prayer that Jesus prayed and it's recorded for us. And therefore, when we see it, it should make us, if we've been reading the gospel, sit up and think, crumbs. This is different to what I've seen before, this is something I really need to listen to. And if you're 1 of those who own a red letter bible, you'll just see a block of red in this You know, this is just Jesus and praying to his father, it is incredible.

And it is designed for us to listen in. So Jesus, if you can put it this way, has left his microphone on. He's gone to pray to his father and he's left his microphone on. I'm sure you're familiar with a couple of times where that's happened in history where it's been a disaster for the person who's left the mic on. I was reading about Gordon Brown's won this week, where when he was on the campaign trail, he bumped into Sue, who's a pensioner from Rochester, and she was taking him to task for all kinds policies that he had, and then he quickly got back in the car with his entourage and didn't turn off his microphone that he had requested apparently.

And he called her a disaster, I think, and then referred to her as a bigoted woman in the in the car, which didn't do do much for him. Before that, many years before that, there was perhaps an even worse 1 with Ronald Reagan, and this was at the height of the Cold War tensions. And that Reagan was about to go on to the radio show that he normally had. And he he made a joke about bombing the Russians. Off air, he said the bombing of the Russians is gonna commence in 5 minutes or something, just before he went on his radio show as a joke, not really that his microphone was on.

I was reading about it. This week, apparently, the Russians just went into high critical all their systems were on God. And when they found out it was a joke, they didn't, as you can imagine. Think it was very, very funny. But here we have this amazing prayer, and Jesus Christ has left the microphone on and it should be thrilling for us, not for those reasons, because we like it when the politician leaves the mic on because we may find out something.

They may slip up. There might be a bit of gossip for us to enjoy and report on. This is thrilling Because what we have here in this chapter is members of the trinity talking to each other. That's an amazing thing, isn't it? Here we have Jesus Christ, God, the sun, God incarnate, the word made flesh, pouring his heart out to his father before the cross.

It's thrilling for that reason that we get to listen in. To Jesus talking to his father. And yet, as we're going to see, we're not just here to listen, we're here to learn from this prayer. Jesus left his microphone on deliberately so that his disciples would know what he prayed. In John chapter 20, right at the end of that chapter, we're told that the whole purpose of John's gospel and the purpose of the signs that Jesus performed was that we might believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and that by believing we might have life in his name.

So anywhere you are in John, that is the big umbrella over your head. In some way, it is serving that purpose, that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that by believing have life in his name. That prayer is part of that picture. That we may believe in Jesus and have life. But then in this immediate section of John, Jesus is preparing his disciples for when he leaves.

And when you read the whole section, there's an uneasy tension about it. It's like those moments when you're sat in the departure lounge. You know, you're in the departure round and you're waiting to go somewhere. There's a general sense of unease. You know, you don't know.

Should I get another coffee or should I goes to the Louvre, what if they call me? You know, what if they call us to the plane? You know you're not there forever, but you've sort of got to make yourself at home and it all feels a little bit easy, does uneasy, doesn't it in the departure lounge? Well, that's where the disciples are. They're in the departure lounge.

They're waiting for Jesus to leave. And in John 16 verse 33, right before this prayer, it says, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. So Jesus has told them that when he goes there is gonna be trouble and difficulty and hardship in the world, but they are not to worry because in him, there is peace and in him there is victory over all the difficulties that they are going to face.

So that is where we are. There's the the John 20 that by believing you may have life in his name. There's this sex where Jesus is preparing his disciples for life without him, and this prayer fits into that picture. So as I said, Jesus has left the microphone on on purpose, that we might believe and be prepared for life without him. And in future weeks, we're gonna see what Jesus prayed for us, his disciples.

But here, he just prays for himself, and there there are 2 main things to see from this short passage. The first is this. Jesus prays that he would be glorified in the father's plan, that he'd be glorified in the in the father's plan. And just look with me at verse 1, of chapter 17, and these these kind of shadowy words. After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed.

Father, the hour has come. Now, as you may know, when Jesus talks about his hour, He's referring to what some people used to call his passion. If you've ever heard of the film, the passion of the Christ. It doesn't necessarily mean that he was passionate. It comes from a Latin word which means to suffer or to endure or to face temptation.

And this hour is like his passion. He's referring to the suffering of the cross. But actually, it's come to mean a lot more than just his suffering. It refers to all the events that are going to take place in the next few hours. His suffering followed by his resurrection and then his return to glory.

His hour kind of summarizes all that he is going to achieve for us at the end of his life. And since the beginning of Jesus' ministry, that hour just dominated his mind. All the way back in John chapter 2 verse 4, he says to Mary, woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, My hour has not yet come. 7 verse 30.

At this, they tried to seize him, but no 1 laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. And then there's a change in chapter 12. The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. John 12 verse 27. Now my soul is troubled and what shall I say?

Father saved me from this hour. No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. And then 17 verse 1, he looked toward heaven and prayed father, the hour has come. 1 1 old minister writer called John Stott said, what dominated the mind of Christ was not the living but the giving of his life? What dominated his mind was not the living but the giving of his life.

It was always in his mind and now the hour has come. And notice there's another way that the hour is described in verse in verse 4. If you look at verse 4 with me, Jesus says, I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So, now we know that this hour is also a job, a work, an employment that the father has given to the son. And that's an amazing thing, isn't it?

That the will of salvation was the plan of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but the work of salvation, the actual mission of salvation was given by the father to the son. This was his job, his work. And notice he's praying this the night before the cross. That's quite interesting, isn't it? In verse 4, he says, I've brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you've given me to do.

He hasn't even gone to the cross yet. And he's talking about the work being finished. And that is because in his mind he has now come so far He is just a matter of hours away from dying for the sins of his people, and it's as if to say, father, there's only 1 more step to take and I'm not going back on it now. This hour which has dominated my life is coming to a fulfillment, I have finished the work that you have given me to do. So this hour and this work are the same thing.

It's the work of the cross. And the key thing to notice here is the relationship, and this word comes up so much in John's gospel, is the relationship between the glory of God and the hour. Between the glory and the suffering. Now John, John just he loves the word glory. I mean, I was doing a word search on bible gateway.

And, you know, the word glory I know there's glorified and glorification and all kinds, but the word glory is used 3 times in Matthews's gospel, 3 times in Mark's gospel, 8 times in Luke's gospel, and 25 times in John's gospel. He loves he loves glory. He loves glory and God and Jesus. Those things all belong together, But it's good to ask the question, what does glory mean? Because it's a word that we use quite a lot in our songs and in our prayers, but what are we talking about?

And it would be good to try to define it as we come to this chapter, which is so full of glory. While John Piper, an American theologian, describes glory as when God goes public with himself. So it's like God on display. If you think about it like a theater, you know, the opening night of a theater, the curtain is down. And on stage, you've got all the actors that are ready, They've done their memorization, they've done their training, they're in costume, their makeup is done.

The lights are ready to come on, the audience have filled the theater, a hushed silence comes upon them, the band are ready to strike the first note. Everything is ready. It's all there when the curtain goes up That's the glory. That's the glory moment. All that is there is suddenly on display for the world to see.

All that has been done is appreciated by the world. That's how he thinks of the word glory when God goes public with himself. He's always been a creator, but when he creates glory, there's suddenly a display of his creating power, the curtain has gone up. That's glory. And according to Jesus, the highest point of God's glory was just hours away.

See, that's an interesting question for us, isn't it? Where do you think that God's glory is most clearly seen. In his creation, in his miracles, in a vaccine, In the lightning of restrictions, where is God's glory most clearly seen? According to Jesus, it said a blood stained cross. Colos 1 Corinthians 1 says this, Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom.

But we preach Christ crucified. Now why do we why do we preach Christ crucified? A stumbling block to Jews, Jews, and foolishness to gentiles but to those whom God has called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. This is the strange paradox at the heart of our message, isn't it? In 1 sense, we meet every single week to talk about and sing about a fairly ordinary carpenter who was nailed to a bit of wood.

That's why we're here. And yet to us who are being saved. We know that that place is worth celebrating because it's there we see the wisdom and the power and the glory of God most clearly. And that is what Jesus is praying here, right at the top of John 17, father, let's lift the curtain on ourselves. Let's go public with who we are.

Let's display to the world all that we are in holiness and love and justice and mercy and wrath and kindness. Let's lift the curtain and display most clearly who we are. May God be glorified at the cross. The God of glory and the cross of Christ go together. But 1 of the problems with that theater illustration is that when you go to the theater, normally you're not invited to take part in the drama.

In fact, that would that would be sort of for most of us terrifying and we would want our money back immediately afterwards. But in this glorious drama we are invited on stage to take part in the glory. You see how he puts it in verse 2? Father, the hour has come, glorify your son that your son may glorify you for you granted him authority over all people that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now, this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

You see the invitation for us to join God, Father, son and Holy Spirit on stage, to be part of this drama. And what Jesus is praying here is designed to show us that when he died on the cross, he didn't just show us something about God. He purchased the glory of God for us. He didn't just display it. He he died to bring us in to the drama of the glory of God.

This is the best thing, isn't it, about salvation? What Jesus describes here? The thing the thing which makes Christian salvation so unique, the thing which makes it so so glorious is not is not just the gifts or the heaven that God can give, but God himself That is the great prize of Christian salvation. You see how he puts it. What is eternal life?

Is it just sort of living forever well partly, but this is eternal life. That they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. That is the prize that Jesus died to win for us. That is the glory on display at the cross that he has purchased for you, Christian, the knowledge of God in Christ and the knowledge of God is life forever. It's the heart of the bible promise.

Jeremiah says no longer, will they teach their neighbor or say to 1 another, know the lord, because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord, for I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more. Father glorify me in my work that I may glorify you, that they may see us for who we are and be saved. Come in, to the knowledge of God. It might be that you're watching from home or you're here, and you're not a believer. You wouldn't call yourself a Christian.

You're just looking in. Perhaps you're in the theater and you're sat on the back row, just watching from as far away as you can. Do you realize that you can be part of this, that you are invited on stage to join the will and the work and the glory of God? That's Jesus' burden, that he would be glorified in the father's work. Secondly, that he would be glorified in the father's presence, glorified in the father's plan, sorry, glorified in the father's presence.

Verse 4, I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began ann. And what must the disciples have been thinking when they heard when they heard this? Just imagine that them. There was ordinary fishermen, ordinary just listening into this prayer as Jesus talks about the time that he, before the world began, was sharing in the glory of the father, that before creation, there was God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this perfect community of glory and relationship, and enjoyment of 1 another, and affection for 1 another, and celebration of the plan that they had made together. They were glorifying each other before the world began, the disciples must have been thinking, what?

This is our teacher. Is that where he's come from? How's that for lifting the curtain on himself? Philippians 2 puts it puts it this way on the screen. Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men.

You see, when Jesus Christ came to earth, he didn't empty himself of God. Or become slightly less god. He doesn't he's not like the fanta light version. You know, there's fanta with all its sugar and flavor and then there's fanta light which is sort of like it, but emptied of everything good. You know, that's that's not what happened.

When Christ came to earth, when the word became flesh, he didn't shed off God. But God, the son united himself to a true human nature, 1 person with these 2 natures in the 1 person come in order to rescue his people. And when Jesus was on earth, there was a sense though in which that true glory was veiled from the world. I mean, there were flashes of it, weren't there? You know, the mount of transfiguration.

When suddenly he shines and is transfigured before them intensely bright, brighter than anyone can wash their clothes, and they recognize who this is, and the father says, This is my son who I love. There's flashes of it in his miracles and at the cross, but there was a sense in which his true glory was veiled, But now Jesus is saying, Father, I'm coming home. I'm coming home to that glory I had with you. Before the world began. But here's the thing, when he goes back after the resurrection, it wasn't going to be exactly the same.

So this year, we're hoping to have the delayed Olympics over the summer. And you might remember though, when London hosted the Olympics in 20 12, There were these gold post boxes that started appearing up and down the country. Do you remember these gold post boxes, perhaps you've seen them? And what the local council has decided to do was to paint the paint the pillar boxes, paint them gold if a champion had come from their town. And so it was a way of saying, we want everyone to know that a champion has come from this place, that a gold medalist, that a victor has come from our town.

And he has gone on to the global stage and he has won, and we celebrate our champion. And so there is a sense here that after the cross and the resurrection, I reckon heaven was painted gold after that, that it was painted gold after the resurrection. Why? Because they want everybody to know that a champion came from this town, that he had glory with the father before the world began, but he left that glory and for the joy set before them endured the cross, triumphed over our sin and goes back to a gold painted heaven because he is now heaven's champion. He is the victor.

He has gone back to the glory of the father. As the lamb who was slain. And so you could put it like this that salvation is no longer a plan it is the flesh and blood reality. It's a flesh and blood reality in heaven. And if we're trusting in this Christ, then 1 day we're going to see him and we're going to join in that song.

And so here at the end of this part of the prayer, Jesus looks up and he says father I'm coming home. I'm coming home. So those are the 2 requests. Father, glorify me in your plan, glorify me in your presence, and now there are 6 very short applications. Firstly, this is something to marvel at.

It's something to marvel at. I want you just to imagine the most beautiful landscape you've ever seen. I don't know if you're standing on top of a mountain looking out over a clear valley beneath you, looking out at the beach or the ocean, the most beautiful landscape you've ever seen. And somebody turns to you and says, what is the application of this landscape? You know, what are what am I to do different because of this landscape.

And in 1 sense, the answer is not is nothing. You don't have to sort of do anything differently. The application is just a marvel at the beauty in front of you, is just to appreciate the glory of what you're seeing and all of its magnificence. That's the application to appreciate the beauty in front of you. And that is what we must do here, to imagine Christ now in the glory of his father and the Holy Spirit, the glory that he left so that we could have eternal life and forgiveness of sins, we must stand back and marvel at the greatness of this God who came to die for us.

There's something to Marvelat. Secondly, there's something to know. John Scott, in his book, The Cross of Christ, says this, it was by his death that he wished above all else to be remembered. There is then, it is safe to say no Christianity without the cross. If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.

And the point he's making there is you cannot know God without Christ, and you cannot know Christ without his cross. Any God without Jesus Christ is an idol. And any Jesus Christ without his cross at the center of his revelation is not the Jesus of the Bible. If we are going to get to know God better, we must get to know Jesus better. If we are going to get to know Jesus better, we must get to know his cross, and his empty tomb better.

That is how we grow in the knowledge of God back to the cross. 2 books that I forgot to bring, but I would recommend to you. One's short, is called 50 reasons Jesus came to die by John Piper. We did all 50 of them at the beginning of the first lockdown. 50 meditations on the cross of Christ specifically and what he achieved there.

That's a great way to get to know God better. A longer read that is more challenging, but fantastic, is this book by John Stock called The Cross of Christ, where he looks at all that Christ achieved at the Cross. It's a stretching book but fantastic for getting to know God better. Something to marvel at, something to know, something to encourage us, Remember those words in John 16 verse 33. I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace, in this world you will have trouble.

But take heart, I have overcome the world. That's the pattern for the Christian and it was the pattern for Jesus. First, the cross then the empty tomb, first conflict then victory. And we need to know that. Because in order to survive in this world of sin and hardship, we need to know that Christ has already overcome, that he has done the work of his hour, and he is the champion.

You see, it's easy to get this wrong, isn't it? In our in our sort of false way of taking things. Overcoming sin and hardship is not something that we do for Jesus, it's something that has been done for us in Jesus. It's not something that we have to I've got to overcome, I've got to do it. It's we have overcome already in Christ, and we are to live in that victory.

Fourthly, something to reassure us. This is just magnificent stuff. If you are trusting in Jesus today, you are the father's gift to the son. That is what verse 2 says, that you are the father's gift to the son. You see, this plan of salvation was not like a hidden hope you know, come on Jesus.

Let's have a go at something and we'll see if anyone see if anyone wants to be a part of it. That's not what verse 2 says, look at verse 2. You granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those that you have given him. If you are a Christian, the father has chosen you to belong to the son. The father has given you to the son and the son died for you knowing you paying for your sins to win you to be part of the bride.

There was an intention and a plan in this cross that the father would win you Christian for the son. You are given to Jesus and he is gonna love you and enjoy you forever. You're the father's gift to the son. What a great assurance that is. Fifthly, there is something here to shape our prayers.

You might remember the Lord's prayer, from the sermon on the Mount, what is that very first request? Hallowed be your name. That is the prayer request that should shape all others that God and His holiness would be cherished in the world and cherished in our own lives. And that is Jesus' prayer request as well, isn't it? Jesus is basically praying here, hallowed be your name.

May your name be glorified, and may me in you be glorified hallowed be your name. And that should shape the way in which we pray, shouldn't it? That the glory of God, father, son and spirit, would be the center of our prayers and that Christ and his cross would be part of that. Lastly, something to fix our eyes upon. Now, we don't sort of normally follow this this stuff particularly, but traditionally today is Ascension Day, Sunday.

Thursday was Ascension Day and it's the day that we remember when Jesus Christ went back to heaven to be with his father to the glory he had before the world began. And it just so happens that this is ascension, this is ascension day. And 1 of the wonderful parts of the ascension day prayer, 1 of the prayers that is on for that service, is that it shows us, yeah, that we, that we, now, as Christians, are to fix our hearts and minds where Christ is. Christ has ascended and gone before us, and we are to set our minds on things above where Christ is because there is a sense in which we have ascended with him and gone into the father's glory. And we should shape our prayers around that as well.

So something to fix our eyes on. So there we are. 6 6 applications, something to fix our eyes on, something to shape our prayers, something to assure us, something to encourage us, something to know, something to marvel at, this wonderful prayer of Jesus. And I thought we would pray with by using this prayer, from the from the service, which I just think is a great is a great way to to finish. So I'll pray this and just give you a minute.

You can close your eyes and pray quietly in your in your hearts and think about the things we've learned, and then they'll lead us in this in this prayer on the screen. It reads, grant, we pray, almighty God, that as we believe your only begotten son, Jesus our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven. So we may also, in heart and mind, their ascend. And with him continually dwell, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 1 God, forever and ever. Our men.