The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus - Jesus Prays for His Disciples part 2

Well go ahead and take your Bible and turn with me to John chapter 17. John chapter 17 we will be in verses 11 through 15 this morning. We're just progressing along in our verse by verse study through the gospel of John. And by now we are neck deep in this high priestly prayer of Jesus right here in John chapter 17. Now we know by now that this is a very special prayer. I have used words like great and unique to describe this prayer. This prayer is great, meaning it is no ordinary prayer. This prayer is unique, meaning that this prayer is like no other prayer ever prayed. This is a one of a kind and I mean that in a very serious way.

You can search the entirety of God's word and you will not find a prayer like this prayer, the high priestly prayer in John 17. Now this morning we're looking at a part two. Last week it was Jesus' praise for his disciples. We're just continuing with that theme as we progress along. And we find ourselves right in the middle of the intercessory portion. Remember verses 1 through 5 we're not intercessory. The intercession starts at verse 6. So we're right in the middle of the intercessory portion of this prayer. Now I want to take a moment to show you how these verses fit into the entire biblical portrait of prayer.

I call this the entire biblical portrait of prayer. First of all because of our redemptive relationship to Christ we have personal access to God the Father. You and I as born again individuals we have access to God, God our Father. We enjoy the privilege of coming confidently to the throne of God any time in our Christian life. Hebrews 4.16 reads, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So we see that we can bring our petitions and our prayers straight to the throne of God.

Then second prayers and intercession among fellow believers is a part of the normal Christian life. Paul attests to this when he is writing to the Colossian church. Paul states that he is praying for them in chapter 1 verse 3. Paul says we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you. Paul also states that a papyrus who is from their church he was praying for them.

Chapter 4 verse 12 reads, "A papyrus who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus greets you always struggling on your behalf in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in all of the will of God." So we see that we can pray and intercede for one another. That's a part of the normal Christian life. And then third, we see that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as we live our Christian life. We have learned in our study of John that the Holy Spirit comes to live within us as believers. We also need to see that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as well.

Romans 8, 26 reads, "Likewise the Spirit," that's capital S, the Holy Spirit, "he helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." So we see that the Holy Spirit has a ministry of intercession for us. And then fourth, Jesus himself intercedes for us as well. After his death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus assumed his place as our advocate and our intercessor before the Father. We see this role of Christ in two portions of Scripture.

First John 2, 1 reads, "My little children, I am writing these things to you, said that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." And then Romans 8, 34 reads, "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us." So we see that this intercessory prayer in Chapter 17, it really fits into the entire biblical portrait of prayer.

There are many examples of intercession, obviously in the Scripture, but Chapter 17 is the greatest because it is high priestly, it is Jesus, and he is interceding for these disciples. Now this prayer, it can be seen as a snapshot. It can be seen as a snapshot of Christ's current intercessory prayer ministry. We all know what a snapshot is. It is an event in time frozen with a photograph. That's just a slang term for a photograph, a snapshot. And that is what Chapter 17 is. It is a snapshot of Christ's current intercessory prayer ministry.

John MacArthur calls Chapter 17, and I quote, "A priceless preview of his current intercessory work." This current intercessory prayer ministry did not begin until Christ's ascension. That is why a preview is a good way to describe this prayer in Chapter 17. So this is a snapshot. This is a preview of Christ's current intercessory prayer ministry. Now with all of that said, I believe that sets the stage with where we're going this morning. Let's read together verses 11 on down to verse 15. Follow along with me in your copy of God's Word starting in verse 11. 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 words, 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.

Now, I've already given you the title of the message. It's just a continuation, this high priestly prayer of Jesus, Jesus prays for his disciples, part two. Now, you see the information on the screens before you. Truthfully, we have five major truths we'll cover. Now, I don't want to alarm you. Some of them are rather short, so this is not going to be a very long message, just a normal message for us. As we progress, I will progress on the screen so you can get that information. But right away, you see the first two major truths, Jesus prays, and he prays, "Keep them in your name," in verse 11.

And then Jesus says, "I kept them in your name," or his name, in verse 12. So let's look at our first major truth. I want us to look at, number one, Jesus prays, "Keep them in your name." Isn't that what he says? Holy Father, keep them in your name. That's right in the middle of verse 11. So right away, Jesus states in verse 11 that he is no longer in the world. Go back to the beginning. "I am no longer in the world." Now, in the original language, this is written in the present tense. But then later he states that he's going to the Father. Go on over and I am coming to you. Now what do we see here?

Jesus' hour of departing the world is right upon him. His heart and his mind were with the Father while his body was on earth. You can say it like this. He has one foot on earth and one foot in heaven. But his disciples were still in the world. They're in the middle of the first portion of verse 11, but they are in the world. We could say that this is the context of this prayer. The disciples are in the world. Christ has one foot on earth and one foot in glory. Now, there are three specific observations I want to make out of this verse. I want to break this verse down in three ways. First of all, his approach to his Father.

Jesus and his approach to his Father. What does he say? "Holy Father." Occasionally we have seen Jesus make his appeal to the Father obvious to see. Here we see this in verse 11. He says, "Holy Father." It's obvious that he is praying. Now this address, "Holy Father," is very unique. This wording is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. In using this unique wording, Jesus has a purpose and he is emphasizing two realities. First God's holiness and then second, his Father's closeness or his close relationship to his Father. We saw that Jesus addressed God as the Father back at the beginning of the prayer in verse one.

So, this is how Jesus approaches the Father. He elevates God as holy and then he draws close to God as his heavenly Father. So this is his approach. And then second or the second observation, his prayer for keeping them. His prayer for keeping them. Go back to the verse, "Holy Father, keep them in your name." Here we have a direct request by Jesus. He is asking the Father to keep his disciples in his name. This is similar to what Jesus had done for the disciples back in verse six.

Jesus prayed, praying to the Father, "I manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world." Now we know that God's name represents the whole person of God as revealed or manifested in Christ. It speaks of his character. It speaks of his nature. It speaks of his attributes. So Jesus is asking the Father to keep these men, these disciples in his name, which would mean keeping them in Christ because he is the manifestation of God and God's name. So there's a prayer for keeping them. And then the third observation, his prayer for unity. His prayer for unity.

"Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one even as we are one." It seems here that the result of this keeping work is that they may be one. This speaks to the unity that they already have. Jesus is one with the Father. We've learned that all the way through the study of John. And these disciples are one with Christ, therefore they are one with the Father. So Jesus is praying that this unity would continue. But the key to this unity was given earlier. The key is remaining in Christ or in this name.

So Jesus is asking the Father to keep them in his name, which will maintain this wonderful unity which they enjoy. So out of verse 11, what do we see here? Jesus has one foot in heaven. What does he say? "I'm no longer in the world. I am coming to you soon." So he has one foot in heaven and he has one foot on earth and he is interceding for these men. He asks the Father to keep them in his name, which would maintain this beautiful and wonderful work of unity. Let's move on. We see our second major truth in our outline, our second major truth. Jesus kept them in his name. Jesus kept them in his name. Look back at verse 12. We read it earlier.

"While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the Son of Destruction that the Scriptures might be fulfilled." Here we have Jesus praying in retrospect. He says back to the Father what he has been doing all along. This is not a request. He is simply praying back to the Father what he has been doing for the disciples. The Father gave these to him and he has done this work in them. Now there is a lot of truth right here in this verse. I want to break this verse down in several ways. First, we have three observations and then some sub-points in here.

I don't want to lose you if you have difficulty following me. We can give you this information. But our first observation, he kept them and he guarded them. He kept them and he guarded them. Verse 12, "While I was with them, I kept them in your name." And then on over he says, "I have guarded them." The King James in the New American Standard, it uses the word kept in both places. Now this morning I am reading from the English Standard Version and it uses kept and guarded. Now the word kept means to protect. It means to watch over.

This word guarded, the second word, it speaks of an overseeing or a watching over so as to guard from external dangers. Jesus had done this for almost three years for these men. He had taught them God's word as God gave it. He had equipped them for the ministry that he had bestowed upon them and he had protected them from all of the threats. He had protected them from the Jewish authorities who sought to kill Jesus. And he did this work of keeping and guarding them in the Father's name. And God's name represents the whole person of God as revealed in Christ. So Jesus kept them in his name which would mean that he kept them in himself.

So he kept them, he guarded them. Now I want you to take notice of something. Who is this applied to? Who is this keeping, this guarding applied to? Go back to the verse, "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." Now I want us to look at this second portion of verse 12. Notice that not one was lost. Who is this referring to? Now this is referring to the 11 disciples. Not one of them was lost. That's who's here in this audience, the 11. They were kept in God's name. They were guarded from any and all dangers.

They are those who have been given to Christ from God the Father. We've seen that so many times in chapter 17. Verse 2, verse 6, verse 9, all state that God the Father gave these men to the Son. These are those who are truly in Christ. They have believed in Christ and they know Christ and we learned that last week in verse 8. So notice that not one of them was lost. But then the third observation, notice that one was lost. Go back to the verse, "Not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction." Now who is this referring to? This is the traitor Judas, whom we saw leave Jesus and betray Jesus in John chapter 13.

They're at the Last Supper. Now a question. What does this term "Son of Destruction" mean? The King James, the new American, it reads "Son of Perdition." Now there's a great debate among theological circles as to what this term means. There are primarily two interpretations of this phrase. Now I will work us through these two primary interpretations. There are some variations but I don't think that that is necessarily important. So let's look at these two primary interpretations of this phrase. First some teach that Judas was created especially for this role.

They would say that by an act of God's eternal and sovereign will, he created Judas for this purpose. They would say that this word "destruction" or "perdition" applies to his destiny or his ultimate purpose. They would cite that Judas being created for this role was a fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures. Scriptures like Psalm 41 and then Psalm 109 and even verse 12, the end of verse 12. What does it say? "Except the son of destruction that the scriptures might be fulfilled." Now the second interpretation is this. Some teach that Judas was responsible for his sinful and treacherous actions.

They would say that we see two things going on here simultaneously. The eternal sovereign plan of God was being carried out and Judas was exercising his will to reject and betray Christ. They would say that this word "destruction" or "perdition" applies to his nature or his character. This would mean that his character was affected by his sinful choices. This view allows for the sovereign will of God being fulfilled according to the scriptures and Judas choosing to sin because of his desires according to his sinful nature. They would say that we have a mystery here in Judas.

God's sovereign plan being carried out and man's choice is being played out in history in time in the person of Judas. So what do we have here just in verse 12? As Jesus looks back in retrospect, he prays back to the Father the work that he had done in these disciples. He has kept them and he has guarded them perfectly. Not one of the disciples was lost except for Judas. He was the traitor. He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and then later he committed suicide. So let's continue on. I want us to see our third major truth. Our third major truth out of verse 13.

Jesus prays again, "Give them joy." Jesus prays, "Give them joy." Just look at verse 13, "But now I am coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves." Again we see Jesus say that he is soon going to the Father, but he is still speaking in the world. This again reveals his heart. He has one foot in heaven and he has one foot on earth. He is yearning to be back with the Father while continuing his ministry with his disciples. Not just here in this prayer, but all the way to the cross. He is continuing this ministry with his disciples. Now notice this simple prayer back at verse 13.

Now I am coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have joy fulfilled in themselves. Jesus desires that these disciples have joy and this comes through this work, through this work of prayer. As the disciples see and hear his wonderful intercession, as they see the keeping that was to come from the Father, this would produce a spiritual joy in them. They must have been amazed at what they saw and heard coming from the heart of Christ. He is committing them to the Father and they were in awe of this work. This would have been a fulfillment of joy. So what do we see here just in this one verse?

As the disciples see and hear what is taking place in this prayer, they will be filled with joy. Now let's notice our fourth major truth. This comes just out of the first part of verse 14. Jesus gave them his word. What he says, "I have given them your word." Again we have Jesus praying in retrospect. He makes a request then he prays in retrospect back to the Father. He says back to the Father what he has done. This is not a request. He is simply praying back to the Father what he has done for the disciples and we saw this back at verse 12. What does he say?

He says in verse 12, "That I have given them your word." Now notice this simple statement here. Jesus prays that he had given them his word. We saw this back at verse 8. In verse 8 he says, "For I have given them the word you gave me." The word word here, it means the entire message as it was revealed by God to the Son. That is what Jesus is saying back in verse 8. This word was revealed to me and I gave them that word. So what do we see here? Jesus is praying back to the Father that he had given these disciples his revealed word. He performed this task perfectly and these men received the word that he gave them.

We saw that last week in verse 8. Now notice our fifth major truth, our fifth major truth. Jesus prays, "Keep them from the world." Jesus prays, "Keep them from the world." This is at the end of verse 14 or the second part of verse 14 and verse 15. "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. Here we have Jesus making contrasts before he makes this request. This is an obvious request at the end of verse 15. This is just as obvious as the request that we see in verse 11.

Now there are three observations, three ways I want to break down these verses. First of all notice the hatred of the world. Notice the hatred of the world. Verse 14, "And the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world." Because the disciples were born again, they knew Christ, their home was not in the world. They were as 1 Peter would say in chapter 1 verse 11, "Sojourners and exiles in the world." In chapter 13, James reads, "Strangers and pilgrims. Because of this fact the world hates them." Remember what the world is. We've discussed this many times.

The world is this evil world system that is governed by Satan and his fallen angels or demons. And the world is comprised of all unregenerate or unsaved people. These men, the 11, they were not of this system the world. Therefore the system of the world hated them and ultimately we know the rest of the story, the world would persecute them and kill them. Except for the Apostle John, he did live a long life. So we see the hatred from the world. And then the third observation, a request not to take them out of the world. A request by Jesus not to take them out of the world.

Verse 15, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world." Here we see Jesus ask the Father not to take them out of this evil world system. Their place was to remain in the world. Jesus knows what is best. And I love what Leon Morris says, the Bible commentator. He says it would be bad for them and disastrous for the world to have them taken out of the world. So Jesus knows best and he requests that they not be taken out of the world. And then the third observation, a request to keep them from the evil one.

Verse 15, "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." Though Jesus does not ask for these men to be removed from the world, he does ask that the Father would protect them from the evil one, that is Satan. Here Jesus recognizes the power of Satan and he is asking for protection for these men from God the Father. So what do we see here? These men were to remain in the world. They would be hated by the world, ultimately they would be persecuted and even killed by the world. But here Jesus asked the Father to keep them from Satan and his schemes.

Notice this, they were in Christ and in the world but kept from the world and from Satan and his schemes. Of course anything that the evil one would do would be a part of God's sovereign will. Now as I move away from breaking down these verses, I want to move into application. You know that sometimes when I'm preaching and teaching I make application as we divide the verses. While at times I make application after we divide all of the verses, that's been the case with every message in John chapter 17, dealing with a high priestly prayer.

I haven't necessarily planned it that way but that's just the way it has come about in my mind and in my heart. Now I want to do two things. First I want to make a theological application and I want to make a theological explanation concerning Judas in verse 12. And then second I want to make practical application out of the verses that we have divided. So first an explanation and application concerning this Judas, this verse in Judas. What is he saying? And not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction. Now personally I do not believe that Judas was created as a robot.

I do not believe that this term son of perdition or destruction speaks to his destiny only. I believe it speaks to his nature, his character and his heart. Judas chose to reject Jesus' teaching in that three year ministry. Judas chose to ignore the great signs which attested to his deity. As the believing disciples were being sanctified more and more into more and more Christ likeness, Judas was retreating more and more in sin and hatred. Judas chose to conspire with the religious leaders to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas revealed his love of money by stealing from the treasury and selling out Jesus.

Judas revealed his hatred for Jesus by betraying Jesus with a kiss. I believe that Judas was like all men. He was created with a will. He was a responsibly human being and he chose to sin. All men are created with a will. Adam and Eve in the garden. They possessed a will and they acted sinfully. The 11 other disciples, they possessed a will and we saw in verse 8 last week that they exercised their will. You and I possess a will. This week I did some research. I wanted to see what theologians had to say. I went all the way back in time to the famous Christian Augustine. Many of you might not know who Augustine was.

He was the first writing church theologian. He lived in the time of the first century. As a matter of fact, he is very influential even in the church today. He wrote extensively about justification by faith and many other central theological truths. But Augustine himself, he stated about Judas and this verse and I quote, "He would not be saved and after the commission of his crime, he might have returned to God and have found mercy." And what is Augustine pointing out? His choice, his responsibility that he acted of his own will.

One of the leading reformers in the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin says of Judas in this verse and I quote, "It would be wrong for anyone to infer from this that Judas fall should be imputed or blamed to God rather than to himself." One of the commentators that I cite regularly, very rich theologically, Leon Morris, he says, "He," that being Judas, "was a responsible person and acted freely." But then Leon Morris turns and says, "But God used his evil act to bring about his purpose." But we must not only see his human responsibility and choices. We must see the sovereign plan of God determine an eternity past.

Judas and his actions, this was a fulfillment of the Scriptures. What does it say at the end of verse 12? That the Scriptures might be fulfilled. This was a fulfillment of Psalm 41 and Psalm 109. This is speaking of Judas and his actions. But we must see that this did not sneak up on God. Judas and his actions were a part of God's purposes and plans which were determined and forever past. Now a warning here. We must not emphasize one above the other. Now we state God's sovereign plan first because these things were determined first. They were determined by God forever ago. And then we state man's responsibility.

We see Judas' actions, his responsible choices all throughout the Gospels and even at the Last Supper when he chose to betray Christ. Now remember the illustration of the train tracks. We see God's sovereignty running all throughout the Scriptures and then we see man's responsibility running all throughout the Scriptures. Sometimes one is more prominent in the teaching while the other is more prominent. As a matter of fact, sometimes one is not even seen but they are both there. Now instructions here. We must not be afraid of the great mysteries of God and the mysteries within the Word of God. We should study them and we should teach them.

But Keith and I have discussed numerous times this week and even this morning how many noted and respectable Bible theologians and commentators simply avoid this passage. One must wonder if they're just afraid to deal with these mysterious issues. So we must not be afraid to deal with the great mysteries of God and the mysteries contained in the Word of God. Now a word of instruction. How do we teach them? How do we teach these types of truths? We go as far as the Word of God allows us to go and then we stop. We rest in the sufficiency of Scripture in explaining these things and as far as the Word of God goes, that is enough.

We trust in God and we trust in His Word. So when we deal with a subject such as this, we teach what God's Word says, we let the mystery remain and we accept it by faith and move on. Now second, I want us to make some practical application from the verses. From these verses. Verses 11 on through verse 15. So first in this practical application, as born again Christians, we need to see that we experience this keeping in His name. Is it that what Jesus did for these disciples? What does He say? I kept them. I kept them perfectly. I lost not one. And what does He say as He is about to depart? He has one foot on earth and one foot in glory.

He's saying now Father, you keep them in your name. And just as they were secure in the name of God as Christ ministered in their life and then ultimately as the Father kept them, we experience the same keeping. He keeps us in His name. He keeps us in His Word. And He keeps us relationally in Christ. That should bring about great comfort. We are in Christ. That's why I use Bible language to describe who we are and what we are. We are redeemed. We are born again. We are in Christ. Great Corinthians 5, 17 says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. And as born again Christians, we experience this same keeping.

No matter where we go or what we do or what we experience. No matter if we travel around the world to the most dangerous part of the globe, He can keep us. And then second, practically, as born again Christians, we experience this keeping from the evil one in the world. We live in the world. We live in this evil world system. Satan is real and the dark forces of the demonic world seek to steal, kill and destroy. But God the Father keeps us. Satan cannot touch one hair on our head unless it comes by God. Just like the persecution that these men experience, it came by the throne of God. God allowed it and it was for His purpose.

Anything that goes on in our life, it goes by the throne of God and God allows it for His purposes. Even when it is painful, even when we do not understand, He keeps us from the evil one in the world. But then third, in application, this keeping, this work, all of this produces joy. Isn't that what we see with these disciples? He's praying for this joy. But really, this is kind of a fruit of this keeping and this work. And see for us when we are born again and we walk with God and we are in Christ and we see that we are kept by Him and we rest in His sovereign control and protection in our life and we trust God no matter what.

There is a joy that we can have in our life no matter how dark the storm, no matter how strong the wind, no matter if the waves are coming over the side of the boat and we feel like we're going to drown, we have joy. Now listen people, you can't manufacture that. You can't fake that. There's one thing that proves that if that's real in our life and that is T-I-M-E time. Listen, if you are not kept in His name and kept in Christ and if you are not persevering in Him and Him persevering in you, you will not have joy. That's why so many people seem to fall away. But we've learned that He keeps His on.

But in the fourth application we are just like the disciples. Now we need to hear this as a church. Our place for now is in the world. Isn't that what we see with the disciples? Jesus said, "No Lord, don't take them out of the world. Keep them in the world. Protect them in the world." And see our place for now is in the world. Leon Morris said of the disciples here in these verses, "It would be bad for them and disasters for the world to have them taken out of the world." What is Morris saying? "It would have been bad for their sanctification to take them out of the world.

And it would be disastrous for the world because they were to go out and reach the world." And it's the same with us. If the Lord takes us out, then what happens is the work of sanctification is thwarted. God leaves us in the world to produce Christ-likeness in us and to make us more like His son Jesus. And He leaves us in the world to carry out the Great Commission. And if God were to take us out, the world would suffer. We are in the world. That is our place. We are to be in the world but not of the world and kept by the Father.

And look, if the Lord can't keep you in Lincoln County, Lawrence County, if the Lord can't keep you in Brookhaven or Monticello, He'll never keep a missionary around the world. We believe in what theologians call the perseverance of the saints. If we're born again, He perseveres in us and we persevere in Him and we can go into the world victorious because God leaves us in the world for a reason just like He did these disciples. So what are we looking at this morning? It's the high priestly prayer of Jesus. He's interceding for these disciples. They're hearing great and wonderful things. Jesus is praying for His disciples.

He's praying for protection and care as He is about to leave and the disciples are hearing every single bit of this. And many commentators I read said this would have produced an awesome all in their hearts. And it should do the same for us. So what are we looking at? The high priestly prayer of Jesus. Jesus prays for His disciples. May the Lord do this work in us that we would be full of joy and see our place in Him and be used in the world as these men were. Let's pray together.