We've been having a little study in the break between Centrepoint and School of Theology. We've been looking at passages on prayer and we'll be doing that through January before the School of Theology begins again in February of next year. And tonight I want us to look at one of the great chapters of the Bible, John chapter 17. There's obviously no way I can do justice to John chapter 17 in one study. But let's pray together and I want to read this chapter, John chapter 17. And let's look forward to a time of prayer together. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. Thank you for the Scriptures, the inerrant Word of God that holy men wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. We pray for your blessing as we study together. Lord, break open the Word and cause it to speak in the dark places of our hearts and cast the darkness away. Help us, O Lord, to grasp hold once again of the purity of the gospel. and pour out your Spirit, we pray for Jesus' sake. Amen. Now let's read together John chapter 17. I don't think you have a bulletin or anything. Do you? Do you have a bulletin? No, there's no bulletin. Okay. So if you don't have a Bible, you know, lean over someone else nearby who has one. Some of you need to check your phones. There's probably a Bible on your phone if you know how to use it. John chapter 17. 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 scripture 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 would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the 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 that 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 loved them even as you loved 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 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. Now this is an extraordinary chapter from many different points of view, not least, how do we have this chapter? The fact that we actually have a record of a prayer of Jesus. I one time, I only did this one time, on one occasion, criticized an office bearer's prayer that he offered at the prayer meeting. This is in 1980 something, two, three, four, somewhere around there. I was a young man and this deacon had uttered a prayer that I thought at the time, and probably still do, was actually heretical. And he said something, and it was in the context of Northern Ireland and the politics of Northern Ireland that was, I thought, inappropriate in any context, let alone in a prayer meeting in church. So I offered him a criticism at the door, and then suffered the consequences for several months afterwards. There was something, and I remember him saying it to me, There was something inherently wrong about critiquing somebody else's prayer. Now, I don't believe that for one minute, but I think if you utter a heresy, even if it's in prayer, it's wrong. But I got the point that he was trying to make, that there is something Well, there is something about prayer that is deeply personal. John, I imagine, took some notes. Now of course the Holy Spirit could have reminded John perfectly, I'm not denying that, that the Holy Spirit could have reminded John perfectly every word that Jesus uttered in the upper room. But at some point as John begins to write the gospel, he begins to remember this prayer that Jesus uttered. And he gave us this prayer, not in Not in little sentences like the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but yours be done. But the entirety of the prayer. Ever since the 5th century, Cyril of Alexandria referred to this prayer as the prayer of a priest on behalf of his people. So in the 17th, maybe the late 16th century, early 17th century, a man by the name of John Petraeus, first, we think, gave the description of this prayer as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. That's how most of us think of this prayer, the high priestly prayer of Jesus. Calvin in his commentary on this prayer said that here you find the very soul of the Lord Jesus. The very soul of the Lord Jesus. John Knox had this prayer read to him every day during his final sickness. Testified on his dying day just how meaningful to him John 17 had become. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones preached 48 sermons on John 17. Thomas Manton, the Puritan, one time chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, preached 46 sermons on John 17 and James Montgomery Boyce didn't quite make it into the 40s but preached 16 sermons on John 17 and here we are tonight looking at John 17 in 30 minutes or so. You could spend the rest of your life in John 17 and still not plumb the depths of it. I think it was Augustine who said, and he was commenting on the doctrine of the Trinity, that the doctrine of the Trinity is like the ocean. It is deep enough for elephants to swim in, but shallow enough at its edges that children may paddle in it. And John 17 is a little bit like that. Elephants could swim here and not touch the bottom. But little children, like you and me, can paddle on the edge and on the shore and get our feet wet at least what I want to do is to take verse 24 as a kind of well I'm going to use the word epitomizing a kind of epitomizing text a lens through which to view the entire chapter 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 loved me before the foundation of the world. What is the basis on which Christ prays for his people? That's the first thing I want us to think about. What is the basis on which Christ prays for his people? What he prays for is that they might see my glory. And look at the words, Father I desire, that's the ESV rendition. The verb here is the same verb as the verb that is translated in the Synoptic Gospels in the account of Gethsemane. Not my will, but your will be done. This is the word will here. This is Jesus expressing His will. Desire might be too soft a translation if you think desire is just something that you might wish for without any ability to demand. But no, this is the word that Jesus employs when he asserts his will. And there's no ambivalence here. Jesus is expressing to his heavenly father his will. This is what he wills. This is what he desires. It's interesting to contemplate for a minute or two how in the person of the Lord Jesus in his incarnate life There is a will, there is a human will, but there's also a divine will. There's His will, His human will, and then there's His Father's will. Theologians got embroiled in the issue of whether Jesus in the incarnation has in fact two wills. Movement, monothelites emerged saying that Jesus actually only had one will. And there was another movement and it prevailed and became the orthodox view called duothelites. That there are two wills. There is the will of the human Jesus, the incarnate Jesus, part of the essential nature of his human Incarnation is a human body and a human mind and a human will and human affections and a human psychology and so on. And a divine will. And in the Garden of Gethsemane you see those two. Well, they're different. There is a human will and there's a divine will. And as he contemplates the cost of being the mediator and redeemer and as Calvary and the consequences of Calvary now dawn upon the consciousness of the human Jesus, the incarnate Jesus, he expresses that human will. Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But there's no ambivalence here. There's an assurance here that what he wills is in fact in complete conformity with his Father's will. And what is that will? That they may see my glory. I'll go back to the opening of the chapter because that's how the prayer began. In verse 1, 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. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. You notice here that the basis on which Jesus prays this prayer is the assurance that he has of being entirely under the shade of his heavenly Father's love for him. there's a glory that is his because he has been loved look at the end of the verse you loved me before the foundation of the world there was a moment wasn't there at the time of his baptism when When Jesus publicly identifies with the mission of the Redeemer, yields to John's baptism of repentance. Remember how John balked at it? That if anyone needed to be baptized, it was John the Baptist to be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus suffered to be so now to fulfill all righteousness. He submits. The holy, sinless Jesus submits here to a baptism of repentance. It's a prelude to the cross. when he would later say, I have a baptism with which I must be baptized, speaking of the cross. And at that moment of public identification, he hears a voice. And that voice, although it was heard by others and was in part a ministry to Jesus' disciples, it was also in the first place a ministry to Jesus himself. This is my son. You are my son. My beloved son. You are my son and I love you. You remember how that was repeated again at the time of the transfiguration on the threshold In the ministry, the public ministry of Jesus where there's a turning in the public ministry where from that point onwards He sets His face to go to Jerusalem. And again there's that public testimony from His heavenly Father. You are my Son and I love you. And what this is saying to us here is that the basis on which Jesus is praying this high priestly prayer is the assurance that he has been loved from all eternity. It's at the heart of the gospel, isn't it? That the one whom the Father gives in our room and in our stead is one whom He has loved from eternity. There has never been a moment when the Father did not love His Son. And that's the basis on which He prays this prayer, this assurance that He has on the eve of His crucifixion, within 18 hours He will be crucified. You know, this is not the primary point of John 17. But what is the basis of our praying? What is the point tonight of coming before a Heavenly Father, the same Heavenly Father, as Jesus prays? And Jesus prays things here that you and I cannot pray, but He also prays things here that we certainly can pray. But what is the basis upon which we pray that we've been loved from before the foundation of the world? We came to know that love in space and time for sure. And some of us perhaps have vivid and conscious memories of our first acquaintance with that love of our Heavenly Father. I sought the Lord, but afterward I knew He moved my soul to seek Him seeking me. It was not I that found, O Savior, true, no, I was found of Thee, because He loved me. From before the foundation of the world. Who are the subjects of this prayer? For those whom you have given me. Go to verse 2, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given Verse six, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Verse nine, I am praying for them. I'm not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me. Verse 24, the verse we're looking at, our epitomizing text. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me. Well, if you have your Bible, I don't often ask you to do this, but turn back to John 10. John 10 and verses 25 and following. This is following the passage, I am the Good Shepherd passage. And then Jesus begins to speak in language where he expresses his union. I and the Father are one, verse 25. Jesus answered them, I told you. And you do not believe the works that I do and my Father's name bear witness about me. But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. Those whom you have given me. Well, who are they? Well, here in John 17, of course, in verses 2 through 19, they are the disciples. He's praying for the disciples. The disciples And not Judas Iscariot, the son of destruction that the scriptures might be fulfilled, but the 11 disciples. But then in verse 20 he adds, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Those who will come to faith through the ministry and evangelism of the disciples. And who are they? Well, they are you. and me. We are those who have been given by the Father to the Son. We are the Father's gift to the Son. The Father's donation to the Son. What should that do for us? Well, several things, I think. First of all, humility. We are the father's gift to his son. Who are you? What are you? Christian, who are you? What are you? the father's gift to his son. Someone precious and loved and treasured. And that means, well, it means dignity. We have little mementos, all of us do, in our homes. Things that belong to our parents perhaps, deceased parents, or things that belong to our grandparents. There are some items in my house I'd be loath to part with. Some of them are just photographs, some of them are actual objects. And they were given to us. They were left to us. They were donated to us. And they remind us of the giver and the one to whom at one time they belonged. And Jesus is saying we are that treasure. We are that treasure of the Father to the Son. And notice too what that means and it's very specific here in verse 12. 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 scripture might be fulfilled. So what does that donation to the son, that gifting of the father to the son mean? Well it means, it means Dignity, but it also means stability. We are the subjects of the Lord Jesus' prayer. I find that deeply moving. that Jesus prays for me. I have all kinds of people, as you do. They'll say, I'm praying for you. And some of them are dear friends, of course, and then some of them are from people that you'd think don't really have time to even remember who you are, let alone pray for you. And how thrilled we are, how honored, how humbled we are to think of this individual praying for you. And Jesus is praying for you. What is the focus of Jesus' prayer? Well, if we just confine it to verse 24 for tonight, He's praying for unity, of course, and there's much, of course, in John chapter 17 about the unity of the body of Christ, reflecting the unity of the Godhead, I in you and you in me. But if we confine ourselves to verse 24, Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am. I want them to be with me. Jesus wants us to be with him. What does he mean by that? We often think of Jesus with us. He's with me in this trial. He's with me in this situation. But actually the focus here is the other way around. He wants us to be with him. What does being with Him, where He is? Well, let's ask ourselves for a minute, where is He? Where is Jesus? I want them to be with me where I am. Well, if that prayer is going to be answered, what does that mean? Where is Jesus? Where is He right now? Well, we might say He's in heaven. We might say he's at the right hand of God. We might say he exists in a resurrected, ascended, glorified body and soul. Yes, in created space and time. That is outside of our perception by sight and sound and feel and touch. But as real as anything that you can see and hear and feel and touch. Ultimately this prayer, how is this prayer going to be answered ultimately? Well ultimately of course he's saying here I want them all to be brought home to me. Think of John 14. Go back just a few chapters. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Where I am, there you may be also. In the presence of the Lord Jesus. What do you want to say to someone who has just passed from this world in the arms of Jesus? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. There's a partial fulfillment of this prayer when a believer dies. Where is that believer? Where is the consciousness of that believer a second after they have died? In the presence of the Lord Jesus. Beholding the beauty and glory and greatness of the Lord Jesus. That they may be with me where I am to see my glory. to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. He wants them to see his glory. You know, what did they see? When they looked at Jesus in the upper room, and imagine for a moment John, in the upper room and Jesus is praying and is he sitting at the table praying and the disciples are just looking at him, listening to him? Has Jesus moved slightly off to the side of the room somewhere by himself or did Jesus intend the disciples, as I think he did, he intended the disciples to actually hear this prayer and to be a part of this prayer even though he was the one praying it? What did they see when they looked at him? What did they see? They saw someone, if we use the Shorter Catechism answer, they saw someone in a low condition who had no form, no comeliness, no beauty that we should desire him. They saw the incarnate Jesus in all of its frailty, in all of its weakness even. And they will behold that in a moment or two, in the next day they will see that body of Jesus nailed to a cross. And Jesus is saying, I want them to see more, more than that. I want them to see my glory. The glory That is, the God, man, Jesus Christ, with a veil taken away. But like the difference between seeing a movie in two dimensions and seeing it in three dimensions. I remember the first, some of you have never seen a movie in 3D maybe, but the first time you see a movie in 3D, three dimensions, it takes your breath away. It takes your breath away. It's another dimension. You never thought it possible that you'd find yourself sort of ducking, just watching something on a screen because you think it's going to hit you. It's a new dimension. And Jesus is praying here, I think. that they would see my glory. Think of Anne Ross Cousin's words, the sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks, the summer morn I've sighed for, the fair, sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day spring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, deep well of love, the streams on earth I've tasted, more deep I'll drink above. There to an ocean's fullness His mercy doth expand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. What a great thing it is to be a Christian. What an extraordinary blessing it is to be a Christian and to have this prospect. One day we shall see His glory for what it is. Let's spend some time in prayer and close this part of our meeting. We'll begin our prayer meeting in a couple of minutes. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you. Thank you for this extraordinary chapter. We feel as though reading it and dipping our feet in it at the edge of the shore that somehow we are eavesdropping something deeply personal as the Lord Jesus spoke from the depths of his heart and soul to you, Heavenly Father. We thank you for these extraordinarily comforting words that we find ourselves tonight, your gift to the Son, that we are the treasured object that you donated to the Son who promises to keep in the clutches of His hand as you keep us in the clutches of your hand and nothing can separate us from that love. Now bless us, we pray. Give us a prayerful spirit tonight. Help us as we come together for prayer to pour out our hearts and souls to you, and to know with an assurance that reflects something of our Savior's assurance here, that we truly are those whom you have loved from before the foundation of the world. So hear us, bless us, we pray. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.