Jesus' Prayer for Us On the Way to the Cross

Connection Fellowship
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Jesus’ Prayer for Us On the Way to the Cross
John 17:11-26
INTRODUCTION
As I was planning my messages for this year, I looked back over the past 4 years at the messages I have preach around the Easter season. I noticed that when I taught through the Gospel of John last year, I skipped chapter 17. And on my recent personal journey, this chapter has continued to reappear in my reading.
As we approach the week of the Passion, I have been reading in the Gospels. And an old song came to me… “When He was On the Cross, I was On His Mind.” I have read this passage many times. But I did not realize how close it was in proximity to the cross. Then I was gripped by this thought: I know Jesus loved me and to died for me. But as He was on the last steps of the journey to the cross, what was He thinking about? And so this morning, we listen to His thoughts.

TEXT
13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even 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 sent Me. 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 “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. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

As Jesus was on His way to the cross, His thoughts were focused on His relationship with His Father [as is recorded in the first section of this prayer] and on His disciples. He knew the difficulty they would face, and that most of them would even die for the sake of the Gospel. But it was not just the 11 that were with Him physically at the time, but He thought about all of us that would one day believe. So what is heart of His prayer to the Father for us? Let’s look at the text.

UNDERSTANDING
In the first verses of the chapter, Jesus’ burden was for the glory of the Father. In verse 3, (although we cannot unpack it today), there is an incredible definition of what is meant by ‘ETERNAL LIFE’ – [knowing the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ.] And Jesus longs for to once again live in the glory He had prior to coming to earth.
In the v. 6-10, Jesus declares He has finished the task for which He was sent and because of that, He carries the faith of His followers to the throne of the Father. But how could He declare that He had finished the work when He had not yet died? [It is because the view of eternal God is the perfected present.] In verse 11-12, Jesus asks for the Father to KEEP His followers united under the name given to Him by the Father.
In verse13, He says that the purpose for His prayer is that the disciples would have His joy made full in their lives. He goes on in verse 14 to say that He has given His them God’s Word. And then He does not ask the Father to quarantine or remove His followers from the world, but to protect them from Satan’s power.
In verse 16, Jesus declares that HIS followers are no longer earth citizens. So (v. 17), would He set them apart with Truth, acknowledging that God’s Word is what sets us apart.
In verse18, Jesus says that He is reproducing missionaries to carry the message of the Kingdom of God into the world, just as the Father has sent Him to do. Jesus knew that was His purpose. (v. 19). That’s why He lived as He did.
But in verse 20, we find that this prayer was not only for the 11, but all who would believe as a result of their spreading the Gospel. Who would have known that it would be so widespread? Who would have known that it would reach you and me?
In verse 21, Jesus asks for the Father to bring His followers unity – literally – that they would be one unit…just as the Father and Son are one unit. Why? Because it is a picture of the God we claim to know.
When I came to verse 22, I have a bit of difficulty understanding it. It seems as if Jesus is saying that the glory that the Father declared on the Son…that He experienced before coming to earth and would enjoy upon returning to heaven, Jesus declares upon His followers. How is that?
It is the same reason that Jesus’ declared His work completed earlier in the prayer. To Him, the perfected future of Heaven and the glorification of His followers were as much a reality at that particular moment as it will be in eternity.
Again, in verse 23, Jesus asks the Father that His followers would live in perfected unity…as a unit…which declares the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for His followers.
He goes on (v. 24) to express His desire for His disciples to be with Him in Heaven to experience His glory as it was in eternity past. (v. 25) He then declares that He knows the world [in general] has not known the Father. But He does and His disciples have declared their faith in the Father because of the Son. That’s security…Jesus Christ Himself declaring our faith to God.
Jesus ends His prayer (v. 26) with the realization that there is one more thing to do that will display the love of the Father to His disciples. One unquestionable statement, an unfathomable picture of the Father’s love to paint for them…the cross.
Jesus would declare in the most amazing, remarkable way, the love that the Father has for Him…and that He expressed to us. Why? So the love of the Father could be in them…in us.

CONCLUSION
Jesus is still interceding for you and me [Hebrews 7:25]. He knows exactly where you are on your journey with the difficulty you have, are, or will be facing. His purpose in coming to earth was to show us the Father’s heart and love for us by dying on the cross to pay our sin debt. But His desire for us is much more than just a ‘get out of hell free’ card.

ILLUSTRATION: Monopoly, like most board games, is not
about winning the game. It’s about being able to enjoy the journey together.

This Easter season, as we thank God for the victory that comes through the sacrifice of our Savior and His subsequent resurrection, listen to the heart of the Savior for you as He walked the journey to the cross.

* He has a great desire for you to know the love of the Father.
* He has a great desire to protect you on the difficult journey you walk.
* He has a great desire to watch you grow in Truth and to be set apart for
His purpose in a world that is no longer your native land.
* He has a great desire to see believers united in heart and purpose which
will cause others know God and believe in Him.
* And He has a great desire for the Father’s glory and for the day when we
gather around the throne and experience His full glory in the company of every believer who will gather in that place where perfected worshippers will worship Him forever.

Remember that His prayer is for those who believed. So the first question today is: “Have you believed?” Jesus has made the greatest display of God’s love for you. Will you believe?
And if you have, as we celebrate this special time of the year, and this special time of communion, will you take time to appreciate not only the sacrifice of our Savior, but also the prayer and desire of our Redeemer who took the time to think about you in the midst of the most difficult journey ever walked?