The High Priestly Prayer
Sermon Notes
If you have your Bibles I want to invite you to turn to John 17. This is often called The High Priestly Prayer, and you’re going to see why in just a few minutes. But it’s a prayer that Jesus prays right before his arrest and crucifixion. And I think it’s important for us to study as a part of this series that we’re in because it really is a key piece to the whole story of the Bible. Hopefully we’re learning to see how the whole Bible really is about Jesus, and now as we study his life and teachings in particular we can better understand what Jesus was all about. Why did God take on flesh and walk the earth? What was his purpose in that? John 17 wraps up so much of that for us. Here’s what we’ll see: Jesus wants the world to know him, and he wants the Church to make him known.
As a kind of bonus to this passage we get another really good example of how to pray. We talk a lot about the Lord’s Prayer as a model prayer, but this prayer that John records is much longer and more in depth, and it can teach us how to pray like Jesus. Let’s see what he says.
Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent —Jesus Christ. 4 I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.
Jesus Prayed for Himself
You may find it surprising that Jesus starts off by praying for himself. He prays that he would be glorified. That might seem like an arrogant prayer, but not when you’re God. Jesus refers to his glory and the Father’s glory 8 different times in this chapter, and 5 times in these first 5 verses. God’s glory is the foundation of everything Jesus did and cared about. If Jesus wasn’t primarily concerned with glorifying God, then his life and teachings would have been a complete contradiction. He didn’t come to lift up man, he didn’t come to build a great earthly kingdom or establish a king because He is the King. But Philippians 2 tells us that he emptied himself of that glory and took on flesh, which he did to become the link between humanity and His Kingdom. Throughout the Old Testament we saw the priests act as the link between the Israelites and God. They performed the work necessary to atone for sins and the High Priest even stepped into the presence of God. Jesus became our Great High Priest and completed that atoning work once and for all, so that we could enter into the presence of God ourselves. And now he’s praying for his glory to be restored as he takes his place back on the throne. This really affirms the divine nature of Jesus, and that’s why this is called the High Priestly Prayer. Look at the next thing he prays.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 because I have given them the words you gave me. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.
Jesus is specifically referring to his disciples here, not counting Judas who gets mentioned later. These were the people that God selected to be Jesus’ first followers and they would become the building blocks for the Church. Let’s see what Jesus prays for them specifically.
9 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me,
That sounds a little harsh. Jesus isn’t praying for the world, but just his disciples? That’s because they would be the trained special agents carrying the way of Jesus forward. It’s kind of like the instructions on an airplane….put on your oxygen mask on first, that’s so you can help other people. These disciples needed to be prepared for the mission that lie ahead. What does he pray?
11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name
Jesus first prays for their protection. It makes sense that he would pray for their protection. He knows they will face persecution and some dangerous situations, so he wants them to be safe, right? No, he’s not praying for their physical protection. He’s praying for their spiritual protection. He’s praying that the enemy won’t be able to persuade them to walk away from their faith. That they will stand firm and persevere in the face of pressure and discomfort. We have to think about the disciples, and ourselves, as soldiers going into battle. There is a mission to complete, and staying true to that mission and devoted to the King is more important than making it out alive. In fact, it did cost most of the disciples their lives. But they did not walk away from their faith.
How often do we focus our prayers on physical health and safety? It’s not bad to pray for that but definitely not our first priority. It could be that God allows or even wants us to go through pain and loss for the sake of his greater plan. We’ll see in a minute how it can be part of the refining process that strengthens our own faith, and how we respond to those difficult times can impact other people and lead them to trust God themselves.
Jesus reiterates this point down in verse 15. He says, I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. We have a very real enemy who wants to beat us down and strip us of our faith. He wants to create doubt and confusion in us. Jesus was very aware of this reality and he knew that the protection of his disciples’ hearts was much more important that the protection of their bodies.
Pick up in verse 11,
11 Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.
The second thing Jesus prays for the disciples is unity, that they would be one. It’s football season, we know about the importance of good teamwork (it makes the dream work). You can have the best quarterback in the league, but you still need the offensive line to let him work. Jesus knew that the disciples would need a team. They needed all the players working together to make use of the talent, to keep up morale, to have accountability, to make the playbook work. This was true 2,000 years ago, and it’s still true today. Christianity is not a solo sport. Your faith isn’t meant to be a one man show. I’m thankful for the new members that we just had go through Growth Track a few weeks ago and we’ll be introducing to the church next week. These are men and women who are entering into a covenant relationship with us for the sake of their own spiritual growth, but also for the sake of our health and growth as a church body. We need each other.
Unity doesn’t come easy. If it did Jesus wouldn’t need to pray for it. But, it’s necessary, it’s worth the effort, and as we’ll see a little later, it serves an even greater purpose than just being a great team, it actually grows the Kingdom.
If you want to know where to start in becoming one with the church, start serving somewhere. Serving on a team is a great way to build relationships and it also helps you remember that this is not all about you. We aren’t meant to be consumers of the church. Another way to unite is to get connected to a small group. After the service today we’ll have our group leaders at these tables where you can talk with them and hopefully find a group you can be a part of. You need to be in a group. Jesus basically said so in his prayer, so find a way to make it happen. I really think these two steps are a big part in church being about who you are versus something you do. Jesus never intended the church to be a show for our entertainment. It’s who we are as Christians, not something attend on Sundays.
Let’s see what else he prayed for.
12 While I was with them, I was protecting them by your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction (aka Judas), so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. 13 Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them.
Jesus prayed for the disciples joy. Remember when we talk about joy we’re not talking about circumstantial happiness. Joy is something much greater than how we feel or what we’re experiencing today. Where does that kind of joy come from? Well, I think we have to take into consideration the two things Jesus already prayed for because he says, “I’m speaking these things so that they may have my joy completed in them.” In other words, remaining steadfast in their faith and their unity were both factors in their joy. If we don’t remain in Christ and we don’t remain united with his body, then we won’t know the joy Jesus is talking about. Just a couple of chapters back in John 15 Jesus talks about the need to abide in Christ; to remain in him so that we can flourish and bear fruit.
But stepping back even further we see that joy has to come from something beyond ourselves. Think about the word enjoy. We don’t usually say we enjoy ourselves or find joy in making much of ourselves (that would be pretty egocentric). But we enjoy things outside of ourselves, like our kids. We enjoy watching our kids succeed at things. We enjoy watching our favorite team play, or a concert from our favorite band. We tend to find joy in things that we can’t experience or even do by ourselves. And I think this is by design. It’s why we are amazed by great talent. We love to watch Youtube videos or shows like America’s Got Talent because people doing things that are beyond us is fun to watch! It all points to the fact that, ultimately, we are made to enjoy the one that is infinitely greater than us, God himself. John Piper says, “we were made by God to get our deepest joys not from being superior ourselves but from enjoying God’s superiority.”
Jesus wanted his disciples to see and enjoy God the Father the way he did. He wanted them to find that deep sense of joy and satisfaction in the eternal God because it wasn’t going to come through anything on earth. They were going to need that to keep going. This leads to the last thing that Jesus prayed for his disciples. Picking up in verse 14,
14 I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (That doesn’t sound joyful) 15 I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
The fourth thing Jesus prays for his disciples is sanctification. The word “sanctify" means to make holy or to set apart. As Christians we are called to be different from the rest of the world. We are in the world, but not of the world. If we live like the rest of the world, if we talk like the rest of the world, if we are entertained by the same things, have the same goals, and use our time and money the same ways, what does that say about who we are? And why would the rest of the world even take notice of Christians at all? If our lives are functionally the same, the only difference is that we claim to believe in a different god. That’s clearly not what Jesus wants for his followers. He wants us to be set apart, and he wants that to happen by the truth. And what is truth, God’s Word is truth. It’s says it right here in v. 17. It’s not that God’s Word is true (along with other things), but it is THE Truth. That’s an unpopular opinion today! The world rejects the existence of absolute truth. We’re told that to hold to truth, especially what the Bible teaches, is unloving and close-minded, and unfortunately, that opinion has become popular even inside the church. But Jesus clearly doesn’t agree. He wants us to be shaped by his truth. He wants it to be the distinguishing mark of our lives.
We like to watch the show, Forged in Fire. It’s a blacksmithing show where they make knives and swords. When the metal is super-heated and then hammered not only does it began to take shape, but the impurities (the slag) comes off. Overtime you get a more pure, harder metal that’s been beaten into the shape you want.
The truth of God’s Word is like that pure, hard metal. We bury it inside and then overtime all the impurities get knocked away as we are transformed into the shape of Jesus himself. That’s sanctification, and that’s why we preach God’s Word on Sundays, it’s why we study God’s Word in our small groups, it’s why we push things like the Bible Reading Plan. We want to be sanctified, made holy, by the truth.
I think we have to ask what we’re doing to be set apart? Are you steadfast in God’s Word? Are you reading it? Are you studying it? Are you memorizing it? Are you hiding truth in your heart so that you can be shaped by it?
Parents, are you laying this foundation for your kids? Are you having conversations about what’s happening at school or on the ball field, and helping your children develop a Biblical worldview?
Brittany and I love when our kids talk to us about something they’ve seen or heard, and how they realize it doesn’t line up with what the Bible teaches. Sometimes it’s a little judgmental and we have to balance truth with love, but those conversations are so rewarding as a parent.
But we have to continually ask, are we making choices personally and as a family, that put spiritual development over entertainment, over sports, and even over education? Pastor J.D. Greear says, “it’s unlikely my kids will ever play a professional sport or dance for a living—it is 100% likely that they will go to heaven or hell. So I’m going to make sure they are prepared for that.”
That doesn’t mean sports are bad. But as always, we should be willing to evaluate our priorities and habits to determine if the things we’re most committed are making us more holy and setting us apart from the world, or are they just making us more like the world. Jesus wants us to be sanctified by his Word.
Let’s pick up the last section of his prayer in verse 20.
20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”
Jesus Prayed For His Church
In this final part of his prayer, Jesus prayed for his church. The really cool thing about this is that Jesus prayed specifically for me and you. It’s great if one of you tells me you prayed for me. I love to hear that. But, Jesus praying for me? That’s next level. We are those who would eventually come to believe through the work of the disciples. And Jesus prays similar things for the church that he did for his disciples. Three times he prays that we would be one. “Being one” is the kind of language we use for husbands and wives. When I’m do a wedding, I always explain to the couple that their spouse will now be their number one earthy priority. Life is no longer just about them as an individual because they will now exist as a unit. If you’re married you know it takes work to retrain your brain in that way. But my guess is most of us don’t think about our relationship with Christ and his Church in that way. If this were a marriage, what kind of spouse would you be to the Church? Are you loving and serving selflessly? Are you looking out for the interest of your mate or are you hung up on your own opinions and preferences? Are you making the relationship a priority? I’m not just asking those questions as a pastor at City Awakening trying to make the members feel bad. Sometimes I get selfish in this relationship, too. What we need to know is this is God’s design and desire for His Church, and it’s much bigger than just growing this church.
He says in verse 23 it’s so that the world may know you have sent me.
There’s purpose for all this! God intended for our growth and health as a living unified body to be the primary way that the lost world would come to know Jesus. Our God-ordained task is not to change political opinions, make education reforms, or to even convince people of their sin. Jesus says that our role is to love one another so well that people can’t deny the truth behind what we believe.
I think 2 Corinthians 8 is a great example of what this looks like. The Apostle Paul is writing to the church and says,
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia: 2 During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
Their joy overflowed in generosity. Even in the midst of suffering, they couldn’t help but give to their brothers and sister. Paul goes on to encourage the Corinthians to do the same, calling it a testing of the genuineness of their love. This teaches us that our enjoyment of God, when we find our joy in his presence, will overflow in into acts of love. In a couple of months we’re going to be talking specifically about 4 ways we can practice generosity in our lives, and I’m excited about how that will challenge us because this is the stuff the world really takes note of. People don’t usually respond to an argument over the origins of creation, or why evil exists, or other apologetic issues. Those things are important, no doubt, but the most convincing argument we have is our faith expressed in love. That’s why we want City Awakening to be a place that both for skeptics and believers to seek truth and find joy in community. We believe that lines up Jesus’ prayer for unity, joy, and convincing love.
Let me give you two points to end with today, one Biblical truth and one personal application. The Big Idea is this Biblical truth:
Jesus wants to the world to know him, and he wants the Church to make him known.
Jesus wants people to know him. We saw how much he desires that last week in the parables of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. He will leave the 99 to go after the 1. He celebrates when even the worst of sinners turns to him. And if Jesus wants that, then shouldn’t we also want that? We need to be careful not to see the church as our holy huddle and refuge from the world. And we need to remember that Jesus’ plan A for spreading the Gospel is the Church. That’s not just limited to pastors or elite Christians. It is a mission that we all have and it primarily has to do with how we live out our faith in love and unity with one another.
David Platt says, “that our mission is not to disinfect Christians and put them on a shelf, but to disciple them and put them into service.” Therefore let’s make it our aim that everything we do point to the glory and goodness of God, so that others will come know Jesus through us.
There’s also an invitation here. You can turn to Jesus today and follow him. He wants you to follow him…it’s part of his dying wish. There’s no special steps required other than to confess your need for him, and trust him for your salvation. He is ready to welcome you into his Kingdom, and we are ready to welcome you into our family. If you’re ready to make that decision today, don’t leave without talking with one of our leaders.
If you are a Christian, here’s what this truth means for you and me in our everyday lives:
We can live with confidence because we have a God-ordained purpose, and we have a Great High Priest to help us fulfill that purpose.
We all want to know what our life purpose is. Jesus reveals in his prayer that our purpose is to know God and to make Him known. More than any job or task or move, God wants you to know him, to enjoy him, and for that joy to overflow to others.
That may seem like an impossible task, but Jesus prayed for you and continues to pray for you. Hebrews 7:25 says, “he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.” Not only did Jesus complete the work necessary for us to come to God (something we could never do on our own), he prayed for us thousands of years ago, and he continues to intercede before God on behalf of his followers every day. He is our Great High Priest. He already won the war for us, but he didn’t just leave us to fight the battle on our own. He goes before us and he fights for us. Our role is to join him in this prayer. As you surrender you life to him, let his dying prayer, become your daily prayer for your life and for his Church - spiritual protection, unity, joy, and sanctification - and that the world would come to know him through us.
