This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. So we're in the Gospel of John, chapter 17. We're in chapter 17, and I'm gonna start in verse one that we're gonna focus on some of the later verses. So chapter 17, verse one. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you, for I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them, and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, that the scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. "'sanctify them in truth, your word is truth. "'As you sent me into the world, "'so I have sent them into the world. "'And for their sake, I consecrate myself, "'that they also may be sanctified in truth. "'I do not ask for these only, "'but also for those who will believe in me "'through their word, that they may all be one, "'just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, "'that they also may be in us, "'so the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you love me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you have loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh, righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them. Wow. So obviously a lot, a lot there. And tonight we're gonna focus on a more general aspect of Jesus' high priestly prayer. As we've been going through John, and I believe as we go through the New Testament, this one truth stands out, and I'll read a quote here. The central reality of the Christian life is that believers are united to Christ. And the reason this is so central is because it links us to the central relationship that there is, Christ's relationship to his father. Then another writer, nothing is more central or basic than union with Christ. It is not simply a step in the application of redemption. When viewed according to the teaching of scripture in its broader aspect, it underlies every step of the application of redemption. Union with Christ is really the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. to summarize that we're saved not by Christ's work. but by Christ, whose work becomes ours as we are united to him by faith through the operation of the Holy Spirit. It is as we partake of Jesus Christ, we partake of his works. John Calvin makes the point that Jesus Christ works, as long as we're outside of Christ, his works avail us nothing. It is we are united to Jesus Christ that we become partakers of his work. To be a Christian, to be saved, is to be united to Jesus Christ, the resurrected Savior, who is Himself life, who is Himself bread and water and light and truth and healing. It's Jesus Himself that the Christian becomes united to, and in becoming united to Jesus Christ in a real, what we would call a vital union, we partake of everything that Jesus is and everything that he's done. So everything that Jesus did as a Redeemer, he really, in the very real literal sense, did for his people. You know, sometimes people will say literally, and by that they don't mean literal, but we do. Jesus Christ literally did what he did for his people, because everything that he did as the God-man, we partake of. If Christ didn't do it, then we can't have it. If Christ did it, then it becomes ours if we're united to him by faith. So we see here that Jesus' prayer is first off, it's real communion with God. And it's not simply a model. He is really communing with his heavenly Father. And he's asking him to accomplish something. He's communing with God in such a way that he's asking his Father to do something. And then as we read it, it becomes evident The purpose of the prayer is for the benefit of his disciples. Jesus is praying for his people. In one sense, he's already exercising his high priestly office as intercessor for his people. He's praying to God, and he's praying that God the Father would, in fact, do things, but do things for his people. So his prayer is intercessory. He's asking the Father and he's asking for all, for everything that will be needed. But there's something even, in a sense, bigger going on here, at least initially bigger, and it's this. He's praying. Just the fact that he's praying as our Redeemer. Of course, Jesus prayed all the time. He's praying as our Redeemer. He's praying as the one who actually opens up the door, as it were, for his people to pray by actually praying himself. The doorway to heaven is opened up to us by Jesus Christ in his work on the cross and in his work of praying. It's only because Jesus prayed that his people can pray. It's only because Jesus goes to the Father that we can go to the Father. Apart from Christ actually doing these things, we cannot do them, but because Christ did do them, and because we become united to Him in faith, we can really now come into the very presence of God. So again, we've talked about how Jesus says, I've glorified you on earth, having finished the work that you gave me to do. And certainly there's a sense in where Jesus is speaking proliptically or forward of the work on the cross, but it's inclusive with everything that he has done, the righteous life that he has lived. And we've talked about how he, again, how he fulfills the Ten Commandments. He really does fulfill the Ten Commandments. He really breaks the curse by laboring under the curse, and he really merits, he merits salvation for his people. Anthony Burgess notes, there's a real sense in which Jesus is offering his prayer by offering his obedience to the Father, which is not merely obedience, but a meriting obedience. Again, Jesus comes incarnate as the God-man. Jesus in his person, in his deity, as the second person in the Trinity, is in fellowship with God, right? He prays as the God-man. He prays now as the one, not by virtue of his deity, but by virtue of his obedience who has the right to come into the presence of God. I've honored you. I've accomplished the work that you've sent me to do. I've glorified you. He's really offering up a merited, right? It's an obedience that merits something. He's coming not in You know, if we can say it this way, it's not that Jesus is fractured in any way, but what we're saying is he's not coming in the person of his deity, he's coming as the God-man, as the one who has literally fulfilled all righteousness, and therefore can come into the presence of God. He goes on to say that Jesus' meriting acceptance by God does not imply that he won over an angry father. For Christ was sent by a loving father for this very mission. Christ died as a representative and substitute of his people. Thus everywhere his death is said to be for us. Nothing in Christ made him a curse upon the cross. It was for us and our sins that he was cursed and died. So when we say he merited, We're not saying that somehow God is pushing him away because it was from God the Father's good pleasure that he sent his son in order to be Bruce. It's God the Father's pleasure. that the Son would be the sacrifice for our sins. But in order to accomplish salvation, Jesus must live a holy life for his people. He is our true, actual representative. When he resists temptation in the wilderness, he resists temptation as the God-man who is yielding perfect obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit for his people. He really isn't just simply resisting in the person of His deity. He's resisting as the God-man for His people in order to accomplish all righteousness. When Jesus fulfills the Ten Commandments, He fulfills them for His people. When He bears the burden of the curse, He bears it for His people. When He prays, When he prays as he's praying here, he's praying as the representative of his people, for his people, that his people might have access to God. So Mark Jones, playing off a Burgess insight, makes the following observation concerning the work of Christ, which this passage shows us. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. He's not merely an example for us to follow when we pray to God. He is the foundation on which to build our relationship with God. It's not, again, that Jesus gives us an example. It's not even that Jesus encourages us to pray. It's not even that Jesus teaches us to pray. When you pray, pray this way, our Father. It's that Jesus prayed. And because Jesus prayed, his people have the right, the merited right to pray. You see? Because Jesus prayed, we can pray. So again, Burgess, Christ is set up to be the only foundation in respect of mediation in intercession with God. We can have no approach to God without Him because of the great gulf sin has tailed between Him and us. He is a consuming fire and we are stubble without Christ. Without Christ, God is an enemy to me and I to God. And for this end were all those sacrifices appointed in the old administration to show that by Christ was all reconciliation and atonement. Again, John's testimony is this, that Jesus is the Christ. the Son of God. This is what we lay hold of. By believing in this, you have eternal life. So what I want to say is this. You may tend to think that God's happy to hear your prayers, in some sense, or at least tolerant, simply because they're prayers to Him. But He's not, and He wouldn't be. You see, it's only because Jesus prayed that we can pray. And I think that that should greatly free us to pray because we struggle so much. And the reason we struggle so much in part isn't just simply the war fighting within us, but we look to ourselves so much. We go to God, the Father, but we look and consider our own feelings so much. We look and consider our own sense of, am I really pouring my heart out to God here? Well, understand this, those are good things and God works those things in your life, but he would never accept a single one of your prayers on the basis of those things. Therefore, he doesn't reject them on the basis of those things. If you're in Christ, you can go to God in prayer because Christ went to God in prayer. He is the foundation and he is the reason God hears our prayers. He is the sole reason God hears our prayers, but because of him, God does hear our prayers, you see? God hears our prayers because of Jesus. We can go boldly to the presence of God to find mercy and grace to help in time of need because Jesus earned the right to be heard by God. It's really, again, only because Jesus prayed and deserved to be heard that we can pray. So it's interesting to think it's not only what he prayed, but it's just the very fact that he prayed. that God's people have access to Him, to the Father. And what it means is this for us. Christ's work was accomplished in such a way as to secure all of its benefits. Because Jesus intercedes for everyone for whom He died, believers will most certainly receive those blessings for which He paid so dearly. Jesus prayed all the time. But this is what's recorded, and this is recorded for our benefit, that we might hear and see, as it were, how Jesus prayed for you. And because Jesus prayed for you, you most certainly will receive all these benefits because it's contingent on Jesus Christ and on his merited obedience. The reason, Jesus said, I'm not praying for these, right? Not only for these only, but for those who will believe in me through their word that extends from the moment he prayed throughout to the moment he comes in glory. And the reason, if you're a Christian, if you're here today, is because God answered that prayer. And he answered that prayer apart from any merit that you had, but according to the merit that Jesus Christ had, which means God answers your prayers today. according to the merit of Jesus Christ. See, according to who Christ is. Now, certainly according to who we are in Christ, but it's because we're in Christ and it's who he is. So, Jesus' work, was specific was to die a death that would propitiate God on the cross, but this in itself is in conjunction with the work that the Father sent him to do, which is to reconcile sinners to God. And the work of salvation and the work of reconciliation is a comprehensive work. It's an all-encompassing work. Jesus came to die to reconcile sinners to God. And the way God does that is by uniting us to Jesus in such a way so that all that he accomplishes is for our sake, that we might get the benefit of everything that he does. To be a Christian is to be in Christ. It's to be united to Jesus Christ. It's to have a living, resurrected savior who is himself, is himself. You can't separate the work of Christ from his very person, but again, it's a mistake to think that what you get in salvation is the work of Christ. What you get is Christ, and in getting Christ, you get all of his works. So we can, everyone here, everyone here who's put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether your faith is a great faith or whether your faith is a little faith, you can have every confidence to draw near to God because of Jesus. You see, that's the point. You can have every confidence to draw near to God because of Jesus. His merit and his intercession that our prayers find acceptance with God is why our prayers find acceptance with God. Our prayers, struggling and weak as they may be, are sanctified through Jesus's prayer. This is really never ever the strength of your prayer. It is the strength of Jesus's prayer which makes your prayer strong. as it were, which makes your prayer a prayer that God hears. Burgess again, he prayed that our prayers would be received. Though I am unworthy, yet Christ is worthy to be heard. This mediatory prayer of Christ is the ground of all acceptance of our prayers. Our prayers, if not found in him, are provocations rather than appeasements. If a godly man's prayers availeth much, it is because Christ's prayer availeth much. He is the altar upon which all oblations are sanctified, and from hence it is the incense of their prayers. are perfumed with his prayer so that God finds a sweet savor in them. He really does. This is never just simply blowing smoke at you or whatever you want to say. When we say that God finds your prayers acceptable and that when the prayers of the saints rise up and the images, they rise up as incense, God really finds your prayers acceptable. because Jesus's prayer was acceptable. Your weak prayer is acceptable because Jesus's prayer was acceptable. Your lame prayer is acceptable, right? Because Jesus's prayer is acceptable and God actually finds it as something that smells good to him. Says, this may unspeakably support you under sad temptation when you cannot pray. Your heart is bound up. Your affections are faint and cold. You cry out, oh, the sins and infirmities of your prayers. Yet Christ's prayer is full and fervent for you. There is no imperfection, no fault to be found with him. oh, it's a good refuge to run unto when you're almost overwhelmed because of your dull, formal, and distracted prayers. I think everybody here can go, my prayer life oftentimes is dull, formal, and distracted. And in no small part, it's because we look to ourselves We look, again, we look, gee, am I really desiring God today? Do I have strong affections for him today? Is my prayer full today? Well, I believe God is working in his people to where those things will, they will be our experience more and more and more. But understand this, it's because Jesus's prayer is so full. It's because Jesus' prayer is so fervent that God hears your prayer. In the midst of the most difficulty that you have praying, God hears your prayer because of Jesus. You can go on the day when you feel, there's no way God's gonna hear me today. He hears you. He hears you because of Jesus. And then there's also this. He makes our prayers possible but he also himself lives forever and continues to make intercession for his saints. that Jesus Christ today made intercession for you, that we're told that the Holy Spirit today made intercession for you, that even when you weren't praying for yourself, God the Spirit was interceding on your behalf, that even when you weren't praying for yourself, God the Son was interceding on your behalf today. The reason you were upheld today in no small part is because Jesus interceded for you today. He intercedes for his people. He lives forever to make intercession for his people. And think about this, one writer said this, it's a great comfort to have a godly friend praying for you. And it is. There are times when we speak generally and people are praying for us, there are other times when a certain person tells you, I'm praying for you, and your heart's uplifted because you go, that person prays. I'm glad that person's praying for me. You know, we oftentimes have far more confidence in somebody else's prayer than we do on our own, but it is a great comfort. People will tell me, I'm praying for you, and I'm like, wow, that's great, that's wonderful. And it really is a comfort, but know this, Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is praying for you. If it's a comfort when Margo tells me she's praying for me, and it is, it's a wonderful comfort. I, you know what, Jesus prayed for me today. He prayed for you today. He'll pray for you tomorrow. He'll pray for you the next day. He's been praying for you before you were born and he will continue to intercede for you forever and ever and ever. So the writer of Hebrews says this, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him. since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens." That's why you can go to God, because your high priest is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifice daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a son who has been made perfect forever. Now the point in which we are saying is this. We have such a high priest. The writer of Hebrews says this is the point of the whole thing. We have that kind of high priest. That's why you can go to God, because Jesus is exactly that very person. And because He is, and because we have Him, we, we, as weak, or as despicable as we may be because of Christ, we may go boldly, boldly, find mercy. We can go boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need. Jesus Christ is the one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy place, in the true tent that the Lord set up. It's because Jesus is right there. It's because Jesus, when he was here, prayed, and it's because Jesus is right there that your prayers, that your prayers are accepted to God, that God hears your prayers, that God is satisfied with our prayers. And then finally, Christ prayed to God as Father, and what this prayer shows us is that our union with Jesus brings us not only into a right relationship with God, but a new relationship with God. We become children of God through the Son. we become united to the One who is the natural Son of God, and becoming united to the One who is the natural Son of God, we become sons and daughters of God, which means He hears you because you are His child. Because of Jesus, God hears us. Because Jesus prayed, because Jesus is perfect, God hears his prayers. Because Jesus merited an audience with God, God hears our prayers. Because Jesus is the Son of God, we become children of God and God hears us because we are now children of God. Adoption is more than the legal transfer of rights and privileges. All the rights and privileges of being adopted sons of God are indeed conveyed to us through union with Jesus. But this union and these privileges speak to the truth that God loves you. To be joined to Jesus is to participate in the very love that the Father has for the Son. God now loves us no less than he loves his only begotten. Therefore, we no longer have in heaven a judge, but a gracious Father who is pleased to hear our prayers and to give us the kingdom. So let's pray. Lord, fill us with visions of Christ. Lord, fill us with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Salvation is all about Jesus, and because it's all about Jesus, it is all. It is all ours. There's nothing lacking. There's nothing being withheld. Lord, help us as we go through our days to take our eyes off of ourselves and to rest, to rest on the testimony that Jesus is indeed the Christ, Lord, that we have everything, that it is indeed your good pleasure to give us the kingdom, and we know this because you sent your Son to the cross to die for us. Lord, give us faith. Lord, give us grace. And we ask this, Lord, knowing that you hear us. In Jesus' name, amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.