Advancing God's Glory - Jesus Prays for Himself - John 17:1-5

0:56And we might be tempted to think of this prayer in the context of gloom. I will remind you that the words that Jesus had just said in verse 33 of chapter 16, he says, These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage. Be cheerful. I have overcome the world. And as he said these, he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you. Now, there is. A ring of triumphantness, triumphal truth through this whole passage. It's the sound of victory, not the sound of gloom.

1:44And though the horror that the Lord is going to experience, and even his recoiling from it, is not to be interpreted as anything less than just the utter, utter horror that Jesus is facing on our behalf. But in no way is it a balk or a step back or a question that victory is sure. Well, this is a remarkable passage. I look forward to the next weeks and maybe months of going through John chapter 17. But the purpose of this is more than just a powerful utterance of Jesus to his Father. It is given to us for our benefit. It's more than just a historic prayer written down. It is an encouragement. It is given for our instruction. In fact, look. Back at chapter 11. Well, you don't have to. I can just read this to you. But in John chapter 11, this is what Jesus did in verse 41. You remember when they removed the stone in front of Lazarus's tomb? Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but because of the people standing around, I said it, so that they may believe that you sent me. And having said that, he said, Lazarus, come forth. So he prayed out loud in that instance for the benefit of those who were around him. Likewise, he does that here in John 17.

3:45He prays out loud for the benefit and for the encouragement of his disciples. These are very special words. You know, all scripture is holy. All scripture, whenever we read it, God is speaking to us. You remember in Exodus chapter 3 when God spoke to Moses, what did he tell Moses to do? Take off your feet. I mean, take off your shoes, Moses. If you really want to get holy, take off your feet. You're on holy. Ground, take off your shoes.

4:34And that's what happens when God spoke to Moses. Now, if such be the case when God is speaking to man, that we are in on holy ground, how much more when God is speaking to God, when Son is speaking to his father? Surely, this is, as many commentators like to say, the holy of holies. Here for a moment, we are swept up into that conversation, that sacred, that holy communion between Son and Father, the Holy of Holies, the high priest. Surely these words are extremely special.

5:26I had a very special time this past week as I read these words, as I meditated on these words, as I translated these words. I felt like I was seeing things and hearing things too wonderful for me. Words of God Himself to God Himself within that triune communion, dialogue, that prayer between Son and Father. Exposing his heart, exposing his desire. Truly, truly, these are wonderful words for us to step into and to hear and to let penetrate deep into our souls. For here, God is revealed. And I pray that all of us will be deeply impacted as we work our way through John chapter 17.

6:34I'll look back at verse 1. Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour has come. The hour has come. It's here. A long-awaited moment had arrived. It's here. An hour that had been anticipated for a long, long, long time. It's like the sun is saying, taking a deep breath, Father, it's here. Much like a deep sigh before a great event or a great test, and all the study is led up to this point, or maybe an Olympian who has trained. All their lives for a certain event, and in just a few moments, their whole existence is on the line.

7:40Cannot help but think of the Normandy invasion and that serene time in the military transports right before being dropped on shore. The hour has come. The hour has come. And I want to make several observations about this hour as we step into this moment in time and step into this event, what was going on in the mind and heart of our Lord. First of all, Jesus is clearly speaking about his pending crucifixion. This is what's on his mind. This hour, the hour of my passion, the hour of our passion, Heavenly Father, has arrived. It has been anticipated since the foundation of the world and into eternity past.

8:46This is a long-awaited moment. The Lamb who was slain for the foundation of the world, only to be realized in time. And this was that hour when God said, Let us. Make man in our image. He's committing to the cross. God knew it would be costly to make man bear his image. He anticipated that man would exercise his freedom and sin and fall and need to be redeemed and need to be purchased back. All that he knew.

9:25He took into account human sin. That's why this hour was anticipated. He took into account our sin, yours and mine. And that's why this hour was long anticipated. And you can see this throughout John as we have been going through it. You remember beginning even in early as John chapter 2, Mary comes to Jesus. They have no wine. And what does Jesus say? What does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. Both in chapter 7 and in chapter 8, Jesus was openly speaking in the presence there in Jerusalem, in the temple, and no one seized him because his hour had not come.

10:22And then something strange happens. Something wonderfully amazing happens in John chapter 12. Some Greeks come up to Philip and they say, We wish to see Jesus. Foreigners, not of the covenant of Israel, come and they, we want to see Jesus. What does Jesus say? Now my heart is troubled. My hour has come to bring in the world. And so he goes on. Now, now, verse 27 and 12, now my soul has become troubled, and what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose, I came to this hour. The hour is here.

11:16John 13. Now, before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world, he loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. It's an hour that has long been anticipated. And it's an hour that involves the Father and the Son. It's an hour that involves the Son's willing sacrifice and the Father's loving sacrifice. This is the Father's sacrifice as much as the Son's.

12:03In the redemption event, or for the redemption event to be effective, there is action on the part of the Son that was necessary, and there was action on the part of the Father that was necessary. And that's why Jesus lifts his eyes and looks to heaven. Just as a comment about prayer, it's interesting here that Jesus prays. The hour does not send Jesus into a state of resigned fatalism. Well, the hour is come, so it's going to, whatever is going to take place, whatever you have willed, whatever you have decreed is going to take place, so therefore I can just go along disinterested, fatalistically, unattached, because what is going to happen is going to happen.

12:55No, you don't see that in our Lord at all. This hour does not send Jesus into a state of fatalism, but into a state of active prayer. He prayed God's will, even though it was God's will. It's an example for prayer right there. He prayed God's will, even though it was God's will. Jesus didn't see that as an excuse not to pray at all, but even the reason to pray. The long-awaited hour had come. And so Jesus prayerfully engages his father. Look back. Look back at his prayer.

13:42He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son. Glorify your son. Command. It's a strong word. It's a prayerful plea. We would call an imperative, a demand, a respectful, but an earnest plea. Glorify your son. And what's interesting, this isn't a present verb. He's not saying, Lord or Father, be glorifying me. Be glorifying me right now. Be glorifying me. That's not what he's saying. It's an unusual construction. It's an unusual instance of this verb, but really what he's saying is: put me into a state of glory.

14:38Magnify, honor. That's the idea of this word. Put me into a glorified state. Really, the word in its simple meaning, it really is just clothe me in splendor. Clothe me. Put this event. Put me and me in this event in a state of splendor. In light of what the Son is about to do, the Son is pleading to the Father to put him into a state of glory. Remember what I just read back when the Greeks came. It said, Now my soul, in verse 27 of 12, now my soul has become troubled. And what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose, I came to this hour. And verse 28, Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came out of heaven. I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. I have put your name into a state of glory, and that will keep unfolding as long as time is.

16:00So that all, as chapter 5, verse 23 says, all will honor the Son as the Father. You see, both Father and Son, one each other, magnified and honored equally. So the glory in this context, I believe Jesus is asking for the Father to forever clothe him in splendor by way of the cross. The hour of the Son's greatest glory is anything but glorious from a worldly perspective. There is no glory in going to the cross, certainly from a worldly perspective.

16:46It was his time of deepest humiliation and most difficult trial. And if the Father would not make much of this event, it would surely have been forgotten. So Jesus says, Father, Father, put me into a state of glory, put this event, put all that it is and all that I am in this event into a state of permanent splendor. So then the question becomes: why? Why did Jesus pray for the Father to glorify him in such a manner?

17:33Well, that's what we get to talk about this morning. I want you to see three reasons why the Father had to glorify Jesus in the cross, so that you will make it your supreme aim in life to know Jesus and his Father to the full extent that is possible. That is where life is. Three reasons why the father had to glorify his son. And then I want to ask one question that will help us understand how do we advance God's glory in our own life?

18:14It's an interesting perspective, this whole chapter. So many lessons we can learn from it. We could look at it as the how-to to pray. We've just been hearing about prayer. How do we pray? We can look at it from that paradigm. We can look at it from the many deep theological points that it touches upon, from some of the issues that church faced, some of the heresies of the early centuries, and how this text meant and impacted so many of those discussions, impact on the incarnation, impact on the kenosis, and all that. We could go down and spend a lot of time like that.

19:00And I don't really think all of that is extremely profitable. You could preach through this several times, highlighting each different aspect. But simply, I want to go through this as the Son wanting to advance his Father's glory. A son wanting to advance God's glory. And then I want us to ask that same question in a little bit. How do we advance God's glory in our own lives? Well, so here in these first five verses, Jesus is praying for himself. And I want you to see three reasons the father had to glorify Jesus. Three reasons. First reason the Father had to glorify his son is so that the Son could glorify his father, so that the Son could glorify the Father. Look back again at verse 1. Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven. He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you. Jesus's prayer is not about praying for his own glory as an end, but praying for him to be glorified as the means to glorify his father. So this prayer is actually a prayer for his father to be glorified, and that is his desire. There's no self-seeking here. His desire is to exalt his father, and that his father will be honored. And specifically, it is his unrestricted obedience that Jesus wants to be seen. He wants his unrestricted obedience to his father to be magnified because his unrestricted obedience to the father elevates, exalts his father. It exalts his father's will. It exalts his father's righteousness, his father's justice, his father's goodness, his father's faithfulness and trustworthiness. He's wanting to put all of this on display.

21:20And unless the Father glorified it, the cross would have been forgotten. It is the last place anybody would look for glory unless God did something. It's important to note that Jesus was dependent upon his father to allow him to glorify him. Jesus saw glorifying his father as a great privilege. It was worth everything that he had. The ability to glorify God comes from God himself. And it's a great privilege to do so. Let us follow his example.

22:05Let us be like Jesus in this regard. Let us use the strength that God has given us to magnify him no matter what station in life you're in. Young people, kids, listen to me. Come to Christ early, no matter who you are. God's got good things. Use him with your whole life. No matter who you are. Or what station? You like Jesus? Who enjoyed the ability to glorify God? How do I glorify God? Well, that's the question we'll come to in a minute.

22:49Well, the Father had to glorify Jesus so that the Son could glorify the Father. Second, the Father had to glorify Jesus so that people would come to Jesus for life. So that people would come to Jesus for life. Look back and verse one: glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you. Verse two, even as you gave him authority over all flesh. You see, what Jesus is saying here is completely consistent. His request is completely consistent with the Father's previous action. What has the Father already done? And in fact, you may have that word at the beginning of chapter 2, or verse 2, even as. Probably I would prefer insofar as or since, but insofar as you gave him authority over all flesh. In other words, you have already given me authority over all flesh.

23:57Now, Glorify me. Why? He had already given him glory, or he had already given him authority over all flesh, and he had given that to him as a gift. That's something he had already given Jesus. So here Jesus is praying something completely consistent with the Father's previous actions. You remember in John chapter 5, verse 22, Jesus said, The Father doesn't judge anyone, but has given all judgment over to the Son, so that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

24:45So God had already given him authority over all flesh by giving him all judgment over all humanity. But he's also already given him authority over his own flesh. As he said in John chapter 10 and verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And then he says in verse 18, no one has taken it from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This commandment I have received from my Father. Here Jesus is, I have authority over all flesh.

25:22And so his prayer to be glorified, for the Father to glorify him, is completely consistent with this. Why did the Father give such authority to the Son? I'll look back at verse 2. Even as you gave him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal life. The purpose of the grant is to grant life. I'm in the midst of filling out some grant paperwork for our seminary. And it's interesting as you read, what's the purpose of the grant? The grant writers are like, we don't want you just going out and spending our money. We can do that. We want to grant so that you will grant. That's the idea of a grant.

26:20And here, Jesus, he has been granted all authority so that he may grant eternal life to people. And notice it, to grant to whom he has given. Those who come are given to the Father. And those who come come because they were already given. And so by going to the cross, by being Seeing that remedy for sin, the Son is lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness, and he draws to himself those that God had given him.

27:19Do you want to have a relationship with God? Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. That's simple. Come to Jesus. And understand if you come, you're a gift. If you say, well, I just don't think that that's really quite fair. You know what? Be careful of raising up an excuse not to come. Those who come belong to him. In fact, if you read the little paper on Rambo, those of you who remember, it was these words that encouraged, that strengthened that Vietnam vet named Albert Rambo that we all came to know and love, who had blood all over his hands. It was through these words that he found eternal comfort that him, even someone like him could be a gift from the Father to the Son.

28:33So the grant of authority was given so that the Son would grant eternal life to the people who came to him. John 6:37 says, All that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I certainly will not cast out, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that of all he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life. And I myself will personally raise him up on that final day. People say, Wow, this is hard. Who can take this? And Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourself. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

29:43Christ is lifted up and glorified. He draws people to himself, a crucified Messiah. Doesn't that speak your interest? But putting Jesus into a permanent state of glory through the cross event was necessary to draw people to him. The Father had to publicly identify the one who gives eternal life. If the Father didn't so magnify, so honor, and so identify him, nobody would know who to come to for eternal life. So when Jesus is praying, put me into a state of glory, put this event into a state of glory, he is saying, Glorify me in the sufferings, glorify me after the sufferings, glorify this event forever.

30:47Put it into a state of glory. And the Father did. Even as we go through the narrative, we see the Father glorifying the Son. You remember the words of Pilate? I find no fault in him. That's the Father's doing. The thief on the cross, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The centurion, truly this was the Son of God. The earthquake, the veil torn in two, the resurrection. And on Pentecost, the apostolic proclamation and 2,000 years of church continuity.

31:43It says that the gates of hell will not prevail. All this is the Father's doing. Jesus wanted his Father's attributes to be put on bold display, his justice, his holiness, his mercy, so that people would be drawn to him and his father. So God the Father granted the Son authority to grant eternal life. He glorified him so that people would come to him for life, and no one, no one will have life who didn't receive it from Jesus.

32:28All authority given to him. So, three reasons: the Father had to glorify Jesus. First, so that the Son could glorify the Father. Second, so that people would come to Jesus for life in the eternal kind. And third, so that people would come to know God, so that people would come to know God. And here in verse 3, we have eternal life defined. Eternal life defined. Look at verse 3. This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

33:10What is eternal life for? What is eternity of days for? To know God. Eternal life isn't just about duration of days. It has in view a certain quality of days. It's not just about existing, it's about knowing someone, knowing somebody very special, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. It's interesting. Only here does Jesus apply this title to himself. Did Jesus ever claim to be the Messiah? Right here. Jesus, the Christ, the one you have sent, in this holy of holies exchange between Son and Father.

34:05Christ is Greek for anointed one. The Hebrew equivalent is Messiah, anointed one. So that this is eternal life, that they may know you, Heavenly Father, and your anointed one, whom you have sent. See, eternal life is not just about duration. Now, there's a kind of living that does not know him. I think at one time you and I have all been acquainted with that. A life that goes on as if there is no God, living with no God, a kind of living, and we see what happens to a world, but we live as if there is no God. But then there is a kind of living, a quality of life that comes from knowing God.

34:57And there's only one way to know God. And the only way you can know God is through the revelation that He has given. And that perfect revelation is in His Son. And the word that speaks about His Son. So the question comes: what kind of life are you now living? Do you live that quality and kind of life where there is no God? Or do you live as if there is God? Do you live in union with Him?

35:34Well, the life that lives like there is no God comes to an end, in a sense, a horrifying end. But the kind of life that lives with God begins now, and it goes on. Because that's what eternity of days for is to know, to really know. To come to know, to keep knowing Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father. Now, there's a certain blessing we get by knowing people. I've been touched by so many people, so many people in this room I am so much better off for having known. Remember on January 30th, we celebrate the remember the passing Howard Atkinson into eternity.

36:38I am a better person for having known him, and many are you, many of you are. Clyde Wilton, we are better for having known him. There are many people in this room who I am simply a better person for having known. Let me tell you about knowing our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The blessing of knowing him is that it takes an eternity. There is such a blessing in knowing him, and that's what Jesus was all about. I want you to know my father.

37:18Glorify me, Heavenly Father, so that they may know you. Brings us to a question. How do you and I advance the glory of God in our own life? How do we advance God's glory? Well, look at verse 4. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work with which you have given me to do. You see, Jesus glorified his father by accomplishing the work his father gave him to do. Interesting, he said this before the cross.

38:05But he had already, by this time, had accomplished a sinless life, had accomplished a faithful testimony, and a willing sacrifice, and all, and he will certainly, having already completed the work in his mind and heart, he's going to the cross. Jesus glorified his heavenly father by accomplishing the work his heavenly father gave him to do. We glorify God the same way Jesus glorified his father. We need to be the people that embrace what he has called us to do and carry out that work which he has given us to do. That is how Jesus glorified his father, and that is how you and I will glorify God by doing the things that he has called us to do.

39:00No matter what station, no matter how many days you have, you glorify God by accomplishing those tasks that He has given you to do, and by being the person He calls you to be in doing those tasks. It wasn't just the task of the cross, it was the task of who He was on the cross that brought Him glory. And look at verse 5. Notice how Jesus wanted His Father to glorify Him. Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was.

39:54Put me into a state of permanent glory with yourself. That state of glory that I had with you from the very beginning, before the world ever was. Recloth me in the splendor which I had with you before I emptied myself. Game. You see, Jesus' pre-existent glory was his pre-existent solidarity with the Father. So here's Jesus in his pre-existent glory, and who is he? He is one in perfect, unified solidarity with his Father. That is his pre-existent glory, and all that comes out of that oneness with his Father. Now he's saying, put me back into that place, having gone to the cross, having permanently clothed the cross event with splendor.

41:07Now take me back to that preexistent glory. And look ahead, verse 24. Notice what he wants. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. He says, I want you, Heavenly Father, I want my people to see me in my glory. Forever, let this cross be understood as a revelation of our unrestricted unity in all things.

42:01You see, what Jesus did is he revealed the kind of unity he had with his father while here on earth. He demonstrated an unrestricted obedience to his father, and this unrestricted obedience demonstrated the oneness between the father and the son. But this unrestricted obedience is just one facet of the unity. Such oneness is not limited to just obedience, it shares all things. And that's why Jesus could speak that all that the Father has belongs to me.

42:54Jesus saw his glory with the Father before the foundation of the world as that indivisible unity. The cross just showed that indivisible unity for us. And then he goes back to his heavenly Father and once again is in that unrestrained, undivisible unity which he had before he emptied himself and took upon the form of a slave. It is no accident that the most significant hour in our Lord's life is the most significant event in human history. And the most significant event, not just on a world historical scene, but on an individual scene. This is the most significant event in your life, even though it happened 2,000 years ago.

44:00You are judged by the way you relate to the Christ on the cross. Not you will be judged. You are judged right now by how you relate to the Christ on the cross. Is he God or is he not? Who do you say he is? Come to him. Do you want to advance the glory of the true God and the true King in your life? Start by believing in him and grow in your unrestricted obedience to him.

44:46And you will know him. And you will know him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this precious. Moment in history that was recorded on the pages of scripture through your servant John. Father, may it have the impact that you want it to have.