Learning How To Pray Pt. 16 A Solemn Family Prayer of Parting and Glory.

Here is the longest prayer of Jesus that is recorded in the gospels. It is a prayer of Christ acting as our Great High Priest. 

The setting of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer

John 17:1-5  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 

The phrase "These words spake Jesus" connect back to His final and full instructions given to the disciples in John 13 through 16.  

Here is the great reason for Christ's prayer: "the hour is come." 

Previously, Jesus told His mother that His hour was not yet come, when asked about the shortage of wine at the wedding (John 2:4).

Later, Jesus told the woman at the well that the hour is coming when the true worshippers of God will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).

Jesus spoke about the hour coming that will bring great judgment upon the wicked for their evil deeds (John 5:25-28). 

Jesus spoke truth at the great feast in Jerusalem and the elders sent temple police to arrest Christ. They could not detain Jesus because "His hour was not yet come" John 7:30). 

On another day, Jesus was teaching in the temple and the wicked religious leaders sought to arrest Him again, but they could not, for "His hour was not yet come" (John 8:30).

The hour of Jesus Christ's glory arrived.

John 12:23,24  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 

Then, in John 12 we see a shift. It helps to remember that John 13-17 tell us what happened in the day or days preceding Christ's betrayal and crucifixion. 

Jesus began to speak of His impending sacrificial death on the cross as God's perfect Lamb. Jesus said "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."

It is the hour of Christ's death on the cross.

John 13:1  Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

John 13 takes place at the time of Passover. The hour that is come is clearly pointing to Christ's death on the cross. Through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, Jesus would leave this world and return to His Father in heaven. 

Jesus prayed to His Father for strength.

John 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 

Notice that John recorded the posture of Jesus when He prayed this priestly prayer. John seldom depicted the gestures or looks of our Lord, as here. Jesus' prayer and posture made an indelible impression upon the disciple whom Jesus loved. 

He prayed to God as His Father. As prayer is to be made to God only, so it is our duty in prayer to remember that He is our Father. 

All that have the Spirit of adoption are taught to cry Abba, Father, (Romans 8:15). Therefore, we pray to God our Father for direction and encouragement  that we hope to find in Him.

Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven.

Psalm 121:1,2  A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2)  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 

Remember how Jehovah and Jesus are depicted as the good shepherd (Psalm 23, John 10). Remember that the name Jesus means Jehovah saves. These names are connected because Jesus and Jehovah are God. 

Thus, we read of the Psalmist lifting His eyes to the hills. This is a picture of looking to the One, True God in heaven for comfort, help and strength. 

Jehovah brings mighty help to us because He is Creator and Sustainer of all life.  

Thus, Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven, reminding us that God is our help and refuge, our shelter in the time of storm. 

As the Great Shepherd, Jesus secures our salvation. 

Psalm 121:3,4  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4)  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 

Like our risen Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah never sleeps, never needs to rest. Thus, He can completely save all who come to the Father with repentant faith in Christ. He keeps us with His omnipotent power. 

As the Great Shepherd, Jesus maintains our cause.

Psalm 121:5,6  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6)  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 

As our faithful high priest ever interceding for us, Christ protects us from the trials, troubles and afflictions of this life, by going through them with us and by bringing us through each trial.

As the Great Shepherd, Jesus gives eternal life. 

Psalm 121:7,8  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8)  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. 

As our eternal high priest, Jesus Christ preserves us and pleads His blood when the accuser lodges complaints of sin against us (1 John 1:7 to 2:2). Jesus will preserve us from evil. He will preserve our soul and He preserves us eternally.

The timing of His prayer is also noteworthy. Jesus prayed after the Passover had been observed and after He and His disciples had been cleansed. 

Jesus prayed a solemn prayer of parting.  

It was a solemn prayer after Christ and his disciples had eaten the Passover and the Lord's supper together. He prayed that they would understand that Jesus Christ is the ultimate Passover Lamb, sacrificed for all the sins of humanity throughout all ages.

It was a family prayer. Christ's disciples were his family, and, to set a good example for them, He prayed as the son of Abraham, teaching them to observe the ways of God (Genesis 18:19). 

It was a parting prayer. (Acts 20:36)Jesus Christ was parting from His disciples by death and He sanctified and sweetened this parting with His prayer. 

Dying Jacob blessed the twelve patriarchs, dying Moses blessed the twelve tribes of Israel, and so, our dying Lord Jesus blessed the twelve apostles.

Jesus prayed about the glory of God. 

John 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 

Notice that Christ began with prayer for Himself, and afterward, prayed for His disciples. Our prayers must begin with the needs of our own soul to be changed, though our prayer must not stop there. 

We must love and pray for our neighbors as ourselves, and therefore we must in a right manner, love and pray for ourselves first. We must ask God to change us first, so that we can be His faithful witnesses, and ask Him to regenerate their hearts.

The Devil did not know what the crucifixion of Christ meant.

1 Corinthians 2:7,8  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8)  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

What did Jesus mean when he asked His Father to glorify Him? His hour to die on the cross had come. This is the most pivotable point in human history, where the second Adam came to undo the sin of the first Adam. 

All the powers of hell were gathering together like a dark, swirling storm of destruction. Satan and the fallen angels relished the idea of Christ dying on the cross, for they believed this secured their ultimate victory. 

Yet, the eternal wisdom of God hid from the Devil how Jesus Christ, would save the world from sin by His vicarious death and glorious resurrection. It was a mystery hidden by God from before the foundation of the world.

Jesus prayed for the Father to glorify Him because He would appear before the Jewish priests, the ruling Sanhedrin, the Roman governor and King Herod. He faced immensely painful torture. 

This is why Jesus asked His Father to glorify Him. He needed strength and endurance to do the Father's will, by going to the cross in our place. He wanted to glorify the Father in all of His works. 

The Father did glorify Christ at His baptism, and again, at His transfiguration. He glorified His Son through all of the mighty works that He did and through His faithful preaching, His compassion and love for sheep gone astray. 

Therefore, Jesus asked that the Father might glorify Christ as He went to the cross, so that Jesus could glorify the Father at His resurrection. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

Jesus taught us that it is good to lift our eyes to heaven, because we are praying to our Heavenly Father.

He reminded us that we should ask God to change our heart first, before we go about asking Him to change someone else's heart.

Jesus reminded us that the chief end of our prayers should be that God is glorified in us and that we glorify Him with our thoughts, words and deeds. 

May the Lord of Glory encourage us to follow hard after Him when we pray.

Bob