ON THE ROAD TO THE CROSS - PART 5
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: JESUS PRAYS FOR US
Main Scripture: JOHN 17
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Pastor Ryan continued our series on the road to the cross showing us a moment we may overlook. Hours before the cross Jesus was with His disciples. You can see the powerful messages and moments with them in John 13-17. Pastor Ryan took us through what has been called, “The Lord’s True Prayer,” or the “Highest Priestly Prayer.” In this chapter, Jesus intercedes like a priest for Himself, His disciples and for all believers. What Jesus prays about are areas of our lives that are actually fundamental principles and convictions that we live by. Jesus prayed for our perseverance and preservation in this world. He cared about our protection but also our success. The encouraging point Pastor Ryan made here is that God will protect us. We learned that Jesus cares about our sanctification, being Holy and separate from the evil of this world. Jesus cares about our unity with Him and in the body of Christ. All three of these things are important for the last one, glorification. Jesus cares that we persevere, are sanctified and united so that we will glorify Him to the world so that they may also believe and know His love. What a powerful message coming from our Lord and Savior hours before His death. May we learn from Him Jesus that God’s glory is worth whatever we must go through, give up and get over.
Notes:
CONTEXT:
The Gospel of John from chapter 12 until the end focuses on the last week of Jesus’ life. Christians have called this, Holy Week, which begins with Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. As Jesus entered the city the people would praise and sing, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” This would be the first time Jesus embraces public honor. Being in Jerusalem wasn’t all that peaceful. Jesus entered the temple flipping tables because the selling and buying of animals for sacrifices were intruding upon the Gentile court where Gentiles worship. The animal merchants and money changers were overcharging and extorting money. Jerusalem is also where the Pharisees dwelled so there were many tense moments of drama and questioning between them and Jesus. Eventually, Jesus would sttle down with His disciples on Thursday for the last supper where he would wash their feet, reveal His betrayer and give a powerful message to reassure them before His hour of trial. Jesus told them that He would be leaving them, but He must go so He could send the advocate, the Holy Spirit. Jesus urged them to remain in Him, to bear fruit and once again look for the Holy Spirit to come. Jesus told them their grief would soon turn to joy. Jesus also warned them that things will get hard, so much so, that they will scatter and leave Him all alone. But the end of chapter 16 says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Jesus doesn’t promise easy passage, but He does promise His help to overcome.
Now, we get a look into Jesus’ private prayer and what mattered to Him approaching His final hours. Some have called this the true Lord’s prayer. There is no prayer like this one.
John 17
V.1-5 Prayer for Himself. This section introduces Jesus’ concern for glorifying God.
V. 1
What matters to Jesus is that He glorifies His Father. Jesus asks God to glorify Him, meaning take and sustain Him through the suffering, crucifixion, the resurrection and back into His original glory by the Father’s side.
John 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
V. 2-3
Eterna life is more than a destination or everlasting life, it is life “knowing God.” “We were made to experience this (eternal life) and in the absence of it the human spirit is for ever unsatisfied. Augustine expressed it memorably: ‘You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they rest in you.’” Milne, B. (1993). The message of John: here is your king!: with study guide (p. 240). InterVarsity Press.
We can’t know God or eternal life unless we know Christ. Jesus is the way to know eternal life, to know God (John 14:6).
In other words, to know God we must know Christ and this implies fellowship, trust, personal relationship and faith in Jesus Christ. When we have this relationship with God we have eternal life.
V.4-5
Jesus acknowledges He has completed the work God gave Him to do. He’s so committed to the cross that He anticipates the fulfillment. An example: the work of making disciples.
Jesus looks forward to returning to the glory he had before the world began but forfeited so He could come to earth to glorify (Show) God and save all who believe.
V. 6-19 Prayer for His Disciples
V. 6-8
Praying for His disciples was a pattern for Jesus. Jesus prayed before He chose them (Luke 6:12), during His ministry (John 6:15), at the end of His ministry (Luke 22:32), here (John 17:6–19), and later in heaven. This prayer of intercession reveals Jesus’ concern and love for His apostles.
Jesus revealed God to the disciples God had given Him. The disciples accepted and believed Jesus is from the Father. They weren’t perfect but they were committed believers.
V. 9-13 Jesus shows His concern for the perseverance and protection of his disciples.
Jesus’ prayer doesn’t focus on the world but on the disciples who will reach the world. The “world” in the book of John stands for all people who are in sin and separated from God. Jesus does not mean he doesn’t care about the world because John 3:16-21 says otherwise. Jesus is particularly concerned for His followers that will remain in the world.
Jesus’ prayer is that God will keep and protect them. Jesus wants his disciples to persevere.
Keep or protect them in the power of Christ’s name. The passage must then be rendered ‘keep them in your name’, i.e. ‘keep them in loyalty to you’ or ‘keep them in full adherence to your character’ Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 562). Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
Judas was lost because he did what he wanted to do, he sold Jesus for silver. Satan was involved and unfortunately Judas cooperated and went with his flesh for money.
V. 13 reminds me of Hebrews 12:2 (Let us run with endurance the race set before us) “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
V.14-19 Jesus shows His concern for the disciples sanctification from this world
We don’t Fit In
God’s word makes us different.
Jesus doesn’t ask to take us out of the world, but to keep us safe from the evil one. There’s that keeping, protecting and persevering theme again.
They don’t belong because they belong to the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of darkness. One author said, it’s a tale of two cities. We are in Christ by faith as we live in this world.
Sanctify means “set apart for special use.” A believer is to be distinct from the world’s sin, its values, and its goals. The means of this sanctifying work is God’s truth. The truth is communicated in the Word, which is both personal and propositional. As the message about Jesus was heard, believed, and understood, the disciples’ hearts and minds were captured. This change in their thinking resulted in changes in their living. The same is true of believers today. As they appropriate God’s Word to their lives, they are sanctified—set apart for God and changed in their living in order to honor God (cf. 15:3). God’s message set the apostles apart from the world so that they would do His will, not Satan’s. Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 333). Victor Books.
Verse 18: the purpose of being sanctified is to send them into the world but not conformed to it.
Verse 19, Jesus was already set apart and holy so this must be referring to fulfilling his commitment to the cross so they could be completely sanctified.
V. 20-26 Prayer for all believers. Jesus shows His concern for unity with all believers and with God
Jesus prays for us to be one, but it requires that we are in unity with Jesus and God. There’s no unity if there is no bonding agent or uniter. Mankind is incapable of living in unity and peace without the grace of God. We’ll find something to divide over.
Many people come into the Kingdom of God and are led by Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. God supplies His Spirit, His Word, which is truth and His Son to follow. We can’t go wrong if we all commit ourselves to follow Jesus.
The goal of our unity: the world will know God and His love (v 23).
Jesus ends with saying how He will persevere and continue to show God to the disciples so they will experience God’s love as well.
APPLICATION: 4 Areas Jesus cared and prayed about for us:
PERSEVERANCE
Jesus prayed that we would be protected and persevere through this world. Jesus didn’t just pray this, He also showed us how, in His most troubling hours of life. Jesus had the wherewithal to pray these words hours before enduring betrayal, abuse, bogus trials, beatings and a cross. He knew this was all in front of Him but it didn’t stop him from interceding (praying) for us. It should have been the disciples interceding for Jesus. But this is the selfless servant and suffering savior. Jesus shows us how to love betrayers and backsliders by washing the feet of Judas and Peter. Jesus shows us to pray not only for ourselves but others as we go through troubling times. Jesus shows us to love our enemies, when He heals the guard's ear that Peter cut off. Jesus shows us that he’s willing to die for criminals and sinners like us, when He takes the place of Barabbas on the cross. Jesus faces His final hours still serving, praying, loving and obeying God to save the world. Help us God to face our troubles in the same way.
Jesus is still praying for us! Rom. 8:34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Ultimately, Jesus was asking God to protect us. We can be at peace that God is protecting us and won’t let anything happen to us outside of His will for us!
HOLY IN AN UNHOLY WORLD. (SANCTIFICATION)
Jesus prays for us to be sanctified (set apart, Holy) by the truth, God’s Word is truth. Jesus prayed that God would continue to teach and shape the lives of believers to be holy as God is Holy. He did through His Spirit which guides us into all truth.
Believers don't fit in with this world because we belong to God. We should be uncomfortable by things the world celebrates and praises. We're not taken out of the world because we're to be full of Christ to shine Him in this world.
Are we being careful to live in this world but not let it pollute us? Jesus prayed that it wouldn't. Jesus prayed that we would live according to His word, the truth. Are we cooperating to be an answer to that prayer?
UNITY WITH GOD AND ONE ANOTHER
Jesus prayed for our unity because with it come great results like displaying and glorifying God's love to the world.
Are we letting the truth teach each of us how to live and love so we walk in unity together? I think we need to grow in this area. Christian's are having to debate what's wrong and what's right with each other because we've let wickedness, the world, and the evil one suppress or confuse what is sin and truth.
Are we loving one another? Are we reconciling differences? Are we appropriating the grace of God or what Colossians 3:12-17 says, clothing ourselves in Christ? This means tender-hearted mercy, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, and so on with each other? Are we being humble to receive loving corrections? Are we reconciling so there aren't grudges Satan uses to divide us?
Are we digesting the right content and being influenced by the Word of God or the words of this world? What we think and believe determine our convictions and how we live.
God’s word, the truth, forms our thoughts, beliefs, convictions and actions as one.
Sure, Christian’s may disagree on interpretations of peripheral matters, but our core doctrines and definitions unite us as one church in this world.
GLORIFYING GOD
We are invited to participate in glorification as well. Jesus prayed and cared about glorifying God and completing the work God gave Him. It was important that Jesus revealed God to His disciples because they would produce new believers who believe their message about Christ.
I have to check myself when I read this prayer and ask, “Am I doing what I can to help people see God in this world?” Is shining God’s love, attributes and truth to the world important to us? Are we living and praying about what God wants us to do for Him or what we want from Him? We are meant to persevere, be holy as God is holy, be one in unity, as the trinity is one, and display God’s love. Jesus was dedicated to His mission to glorify God, preach the gospel and build the kingdom. We can miss the epic evangelism theme in this scripture when we don’t slow down and study it. Jesus didn’t take them out of the world and He doesn’t take us out of the world, because we are meant to reflect the glory, the truth, the love, and salvation of God in hopes the world would see it and also believe.
What a powerful message coming from our Lord and Savior hours before His death. May we learn from Jesus that whatever we must go through, give up and get over is worth it when it glorifies God!
Discussion:
What part of Jesus’ prayer stuck out to you the most?
What were the four topics Jesus covered and which one spoke to you the most?
How does it make you feel that Jesus is still praying for you according to Romans 8:34?
Why is unity with God and then in the body so important?
How do you handle trials and difficult situations? (Jesus prayed for Himself and others) What has helped you?
Why does praying for others help you get through difficult times?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!