John 17:6-10 - A Prayer For His Lordship

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you. It's such a beautiful thing when God weaves together Church services in ways that are beyond our ability to understand. A moment ago Derek was talking about The hills and how they remind us of God's covenants and there's a theme in the Bible that has to do with mountains.

Mountains as Sacred Places for Covenant and Worship

That's the introduction to my sermon actually and I love how God weaved those two thoughts together. In the ancient world mountains were considered to be some of the most sacred spaces in Topography. In a sense if you were climbing up the mountain.

It was and it was like you were climbing up to God because you were nearer to the presence of God Who dwelt in the heavens? Mountains symbolized nearness to God. That is why all of the altars and the temples are built on top of mountains.

For instance the Tabernacle in Jerusalem built right at the base of Mount Sinai or the tabernacle in the wilderness. The Temple of Jerusalem built on a mountain. Jerusalem is a city that sits on top of a mountain all of the altars in the high Places even the pagans built their altars not in the valleys, but on the tops of hills and on the tops of mountains.

If you remember Abraham sacrificed his son or was going to sacrifice his son on top of a mountain. You remember Elijah battles with the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel or Carmel? The covenants themselves are drawn up on the tops of mountains.

From all the way to the Adamic Covenant all the way to the Davidic Covenant. Adam Was his his covenant was with God on top of Mount Eden. I'll explain that in a moment Noah his covenant was drawn up by God on Mount Arab.

Abraham his covenant was was concluded and crescendoed on Mount Moriah. Moses on Mount Sinai. David on the top of the hill that the mountain where Jerusalem would eventually be built. Now you ask why and I mentioned Eden.

Eden is a garden. We think about gardens being in low topography. Well the way that the Jewish people viewed Eden was a mountain paradise. It it says that there were four rivers that flowed out from Eden.

So if you're gonna have rivers that flow out from somewhere then that somewhere it's got to be a higher Geography higher elevation than the surrounding areas. Also in Ezekiel chapter 28 verse 14. In a symbolic way the writer calls it the mountain the holy mountain of God and he's talking about Eden in that passage.

So all of the covenants are made on Mountains and the reason for that is because God is demonstrating the sacredness of the covenant. This covenant that he's making is something that's not happenstance or commonplace.

He's calling the people up into covenant life also. He is showing that he is an exalted God. That he is a God who is high in the heavens and he's also showing that he's a gracious God that he would stoop Down low to meet with his people on the tops of mountains.

This idea that mountains are all over the Bible is Significant and it may not be the way that we think today. We think today going to the mountain is is sort of a fun weekend trip or we climb the mountain or we put on You know our hiking gear or whatever, but to them mountains were sacred there were places where you could go and meet with the Almighty and God in his grace uses that Convention of thinking to make covenants to build temples and to meet with his people which demonstrates a lot about God and how he condescends to our level and uses our thinking to enter into and Incarnate in our space so that we can know him.

Jesus' Mountain Ministry and the High Priestly Prayer

Now if that's the case where God uses mountains in the Bible God has these great events that happen at mountains in the Bible. It should not be any surprise that Jesus has many mountain events in his life as well.

It shouldn't surprise us that many of the most consequential events in Jesus's life actually happen on mountains. For instance Jesus was born at the foothill of a mountain then the Town of Bethlehem was right in the foothills of the Judean plain or the Judean mountain.

It wasn't a high mountain like the Himalayas. But in that region it was considered a mountainous region. The hills of Judah. John Jesus was baptized near a mountain. The rivers that flowed the Jordan River that flowed flowed near a mountainous region.

So Jesus was baptized like the people of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. Washing themselves and cleansing themselves before they enter into the presence of God. Jesus is washed at a mountain. Jesus preached his first sermon after he is tempted in the wilderness.

It says in Luke chapter 4 that he was tempted on a high mountain. Then he leaves the temptation. He comes and he preaches his first sermon like Moses on a high mountain. Where Moses at Mount Sinai taught the people of God all of the law.

Jesus sits in the sermon on the Mount. Apropos title and he teaches his people the new law. Matthew 5 6 7. There's midlife examples as well. He fed the 5 ,000 on a mountain. He performed healings on that same mountain.

He was transfigured on a mountain. He gave us all of it discourse, which is the greatest instance of prophecy ever given. The most specific Prophecy ever getting ever given of the downfall of Jerusalem and it came to pass in perfect clarity.

He gave that on the Mount of Olives. He was crucified on the mountain hill of Calvary. He was buried in the mountain tomb in the city of Jerusalem and in the Great Commission. He gave his commission to his disciples on a mountain and then ascended to heaven on the Mount of Olives.

The most major events of Jesus life happen on a mountain if we don't pay attention to the details. We'll miss that fact. Well being as that Jesus is on the Mount of Olives for his high priestly prayer.

He's also having this moment that we've been looking at on a mountain as well. Now if you remember the Old Testament priest what they would do is they're not in service all the time. Especially the high priest the high priest once a year and we're talking about the Day of Atonement would come to the mountain tabernacle or the mountain temple and He would do two things before he would enter the presence of God He would purify himself and then he would prepare himself at the base of the mountain.

He would purify himself with water by washing his body.

Ceremonially and.

Then he would dawn an outer garment. That was to cover his nakedness and that sort of imagery back all the way to the Garden of Eden where Adam was covered. His Nakedness was covered by God himself. The high priest in the Old Testament was to have a White linen garment that covers his nakedness to show that God is the one who is purifying his priests to serve his people.

All of this happened at the base of a mountain then after that the high priest would prepare. He would not only purify himself and get ready. He would prepare himself and the first thing he was he would do is he put on three layers of clothing.

The first was that initial garment that covered his nakedness. The second was a blue linen ephod which set him apart as the high priest and that really applied to the Aaronic priesthood a royal line of priests and then after that he would put on two pieces of of Clothing that are strange to us, but but they had great symbolic Relevance, he would put on a chest piece and the chest piece had 12 stones 12 jewels that represented the 12 tribes of Israel and what he was Essentially symbolizing in that is that the 12 tribes of Israel the people of God are near and dear to the heart of God.

The priest was representing God the father's love for his people in wearing these 12 stones these that represented the priesthood. The second piece of clothing that he would wear is sort of like shoulder pads.

Like he's going into the presence of God protected almost like a football player is going into the line protected. He's armoring up. These shoulder pads were called filigrees. You don't have to remember that but Inside those golden filigrees would be two onyx stones one on this side one on that side and on each of the stones were written six out of the twelve tribes of Israel.

So what it's symbolizing is that the holy or is that the high priest would carry? God's people into the presence of God because you bear your burden on your shoulders. So he would go to the mountain he would wash himself he would close himself and he would bear God's people into God's presence because God's people are near and dear to The heart of God and they are born into his presence by the representative by the high priest.

This is exactly what Jesus is doing in John 13 through 17 and John 13. Instead of going to the river to cleanse himself like the high priest of old. He got down and he washed his disciples feet and he cleansed them.

And then he went back to the table and he put on his high priestly outer garment. He sat down as priest and then here instead of instead of putting on the the high priestly chest piece. He himself is carrying his people into the presence of God through this prayer.

He doesn't put on three layers of clothing like the high priest does he goes through three layers of prayer? Where he is clothing himself with prayer so that he can represent his people to the father and he's carrying his people into the presence of God on his own shoulders.

And he will do so in John 19 when he carries the cross on his shoulders. To bear his people into the presence of God through his death burial and resurrection. What Jesus is doing in these passages is he's being our high priest and He's not being a high priest that can be that can that can be ended or the line can be destroyed.

He is a forever priest and he's forever serving us. Forever caring for us forever. Purifying us to be in God's presence. And he's doing it through this high priestly prayer and eventually he will do this through his own Sacrifice.

The story of John is the crescendoing story of the priest who offers himself as a sacrifice. And that is what Jesus is doing here. So I say that to you just to give you another aspect of the beauty that's going on in the text.

To show you that Jesus is the one who brings us into the presence of God and he's doing that here on the Mount of Olives he's doing it on a mountain just like all the high priest did before. Now today we're gonna look at John 17 again.

We're gonna look at the high priestly prayer and we're gonna move past verses 1 through 5 which focus on Christ. Focus on his glory that he has always had from all time with the father. Focuses on the salvation that he's going to bring to his people that is gonna give him great glory.

And we're gonna move beyond that. Now to verses 6 through 10. Which begin the section where Jesus is talking about his people? Today, we're gonna look at Not eternal life, which is what we looked at last week today.

We're gonna look at what is temporal life with Christ actually going to look like what kind of life does this high priest? Carve out for you and I. What does it mean that we belong to him? What does it mean that we're saved?

These are questions that we're going to answer today. The high priest has already answered them in his prayer so if you will join me as We look at this prayer once more as we read verses 6 through 10.

And as we dive into the truths that are revealed there in John 17 I have manifested your name To the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours and you gave them to me and they have kept your word.

Now they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you. For the words which you gave me I have given to them and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from you. And they believe that you sent me.

I Ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world but of those whom you have given me for they are yours and All things that are mine are yours and yours are mine and I have been glorified in them.

Election, Revelation, and the Sovereign Grace of God

Let us pray Lord we thank you so much. That you're our true high priest. That you are the one who purified us. You are the one who prayed for us and you were the one who Revealed the father to us. Lord we pray that as we analyze today sort of this Idea of what does it mean that we are saved?

Based off of Your high priestly prayer Lord. I pray that we would see the fullness of what that means Lord I pray that we would see the beauty in what that means and Lord I pray that we would have right views of what your salvation accomplishes.

Lord I pray that as we examine these texts. That they would become real and near and dear to our own lives and hearts and Lord I pray that by your spirit you would invigorate us to holy life and holy living.

It's in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Again Jesus finishes his prayer for himself, which is verses 1 through 5 where he prays for his own glory. And that's a pre incarnational glory the glory you have forever with the father.

And it's also an incarnational glory where he will win the salvation of his people. Today we're gonna shift to the prayer that he prays for us. What does it mean that you and I are his? What does it mean that we're going to be saved?

What does that mean now? I'll tell you that does not mean he's not praying for everyone here. He is not praying for the entire world. He is praying only for his people. He does not pray for the reprobate here and that is not guesswork for the Savior.

He knows the ones who are his and he prays for them and for them alone. This is a specific group of people that has been hand-selected by the father given over to Jesus Christ. He prays for them the elect and no one else in this prayer.

He does not pray for the world. He says so himself. Now this is a very difficult doctrine for us in the modern world. We immediately conjure up things of well, this is it fair. Well, if we're speaking of fairness, none of us deserve to be saved and all of us deserve to die and go to hell.

So if it's a fairness argument, I think all of us lose. It's not about fairness. It's about God's election that we're talking about and I understand that it's a it's a tough doctrine. The Lord is immeasurably sovereign.

He's holy and perfect and all of his wisdom. He has unlimited goodness and perfect moral judgment and he's done something to offend you. I get it. We who are sovereign over nothing. We who are unholy and lacking in all wisdom.

We whose goodness doesn't even move the scales of justice and we whose morality is shaky at best. I understand why you're offended. Truthfully brothers and sisters. We're not in the position to even speak on these matters.

Mike Job who stands in front of the mountain and he says I've spoken about things that are far too wonderful for me to understand. I repent and then God gives him two more chapters on Why Job was not in a position to speak on such holy beautiful and lovely things.

You and I are just not in the position to be able to cry foul on this particular topic. If we were NBA referees, we would be blind. Trying to make calls blinded by our sin and by our depravity and by our finitude.

Sometimes you think the refs are blind. We actually are. If you and I picked salvation and damnation if you and I were in charge of it It would be sinful because there would be ways that our sinfulness and our selfishness in our and in our human Finitude would creep into our decision-making to where we said Well, this person is saved because I like them or this person is not our sinfulness would get in the way.

But brothers and sisters do not project your finitude and your sinfulness and your selfishness on to God because God can make these decisions on who is his and who is not with perfect holiness with righteousness with goodness with with love and grace and with his justice.

He does not pray for the whole world. He prays for his people. Now if he prays for his people alone That means that there is a subset of people who are called his and if they're a subset of people who are called his there's also a subset of people who aren't.

Which means that he doesn't pray for everyone. It also means that some will never belong to him and That's scary because when salvation is not dependent upon our goodness and our ability and our righteousness and our Strivings we are entirely Indebted to the grace of God.

The only reason that anyone here is saved is not because you're better smarter more equipped than anyone else. It is because God in his gracious goodness has decided to overwhelm your sinfulness with his election.

You are saved by the sheer pleasure and kindness of God. That means you have no room for boasting. You have no room for arrogance. You have no room for thinking that you're high and lofty and high and mighty.

You are his by his good pleasure. I remember when I understood this it broke my mind. Listen I am NOT a guy who struggles to eat a good hamburger but on the day that I discovered this I couldn't eat. I Took it back to my hotel room and I did eat it later.

But I didn't eat it then. The guy that I was sitting across from said there's nothing that you can do and I said, what do you mean? There's nothing that I can do. There's nothing like he said. No, you're totally Lost without God and in that moment the vulnerability hit me.

There is nothing that I can do to be saved if he picks me. He picks me he chooses me for his glory. And if he doesn't he doesn't. I can't manipulate it. I can't control it. I can't do anything to influence it.

That is a vulnerable position To be in and it is also a godly lovely Worshipful place to be in because if you are his you did not do anything to get there. Which means that all glory goes to the father.

All of our worship goes to him because we didn't do it.

If you love Jesus at all, it is because Jesus first loved you.

If you care for him at all is because he's first cared for you if you have kind Affections for you. It's because he's turned his affections towards you in our sin and in our death. We do not love God He has to first love us.

I was talking to my daughter about this and She said it's my it's my daughter Raelynn and she said I don't understand why. Why how is this possible? How what you know people have to choose to Follow Jesus and I said well think about it like this you walk into a room where there's a corpse Laying in the coffin and you say hey, I want you to follow Jesus.

What is the corpse gonna do and She said nothing. I said you're right good thing. You're taking biology in high school. I'm really proud of you. I Said now what if you yell really loud? Nothing, what if you what if you put on a night show and you do an evangelical worship service?

Nothing.

If that man or that woman wakes up who is it going to be the what's gonna be the only reason that they wake up. She said because God brought them back to life. I said, that's it. When we're saved and we open our eyes and we cry out dear Jesus save me the only reason that happens is because prior to that when we were dead a resurrection happened and Your eyes got open and your heart got open and you said I want Jesus.

Yes, we cry out to Jesus. Yes, we say please save me after we've been resurrected. That's the point Jesus is praying for us. Who he rose from the dead? Not for the world. Not for the goats. Not for the tears.

Not for the chaff. That he will drive away by his wrathful wind. He says that they come from the world. Because the spirit of the world is in them the love of the things of the world is in them. He says that we have been resurrected out of the world so that we have a new heart and new passions and new and a new.

Mind.

But if he does not do that work in their life. They remain in the wells of the world and they cannot save themselves out of it. He passes them by. He prays. He doesn't pray against them in this prayer.

But he doesn't pray for them. He passes them over. Because they are not in the Lamb's Book of Life. Because they are not on the high priest shoulders. Because they are not on the high priest breastplate.

Now you and I. You and I must pray for the world. Jesus is not praying for the world, but we must pray for the world. Why? Because we are not sovereign and we are not omniscient and we don't know whose are his.

He knows perfectly whose are his but we don't.

He prays.

Exactly and specifically for his but we pray for everyone because we don't know who belongs to the father. That's why if you have someone in your life. And I'm so thankful every week that we have prayer requests for people's salvation.

Because we don't know who the father is chosen if they're not dead. God's not done and the only way that we know if someone is truly his or truly not is if he raises them from the Dead in their life and it could take years.

There's people who are in your life right now who hate Jesus who may come to faith in the future. Because of because of his faithfulness in your prayers. Because of the preaching of the gospel and because of all of the means of grace that he uses you pray for all people.

Christ prays for you. That's the point now beyond just praying for his people. It tells us a little bit about what salvation actually is. Versus six or verse six sort of opens up the door to that. He says I have manifested your name To the men whom you gave me out of the world.

They were yours and you gave them to me and I have kept your word. So we're talking about now salvation and the word manifest is a little strange. I Mean, it makes me feel like maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm wrong here makes me feel like a magician the word actually.

The better word is revealed. Which I guess also could be used in Magician stuff as well, but manifest just it's just a weird word to me. The word means revealed that Jesus himself is the one who revealed the father to us.

He revealed it says his name. Now you and I don't think about names like this. We don't walk up to anyone else with a five by seven card and reveal our name. The only thing you would do on that end is you would probably confuse people on why are you doing this?

But when Jesus said that he revealed God's name he is leaning into an ancient Semitic sort of cultural practice that the name is what it tells us about the identity of the person when he says that he revealed The name of God he's saying that he revealed the character of God to these people.

He pulled back the curtain and showed them the Shekinah glory of the father and he did that for his Disciples he revealed God to them. That's what he's saying. I revealed God's character to them through revealing God's name and How did Jesus do this for his disciples?

How did he reveal the character of the father by revealing the father's name? John 14 9 tells us explicitly Jesus said to them have it have I been so long with you and yet you do not know Me Philip, he was seen me as seen the father.

Jesus is telling them that that I and the father one. So Jesus over the course of his life is revealing who the father is by revealing who he is. To them the revelation of Jesus Christ is showing them who the father is.

If you want to know the father you must know the son. Matthew 11 27 gets that sort of the same thing. All things have been handed over to me by my father and no one Knows the son except the father and no one knows and nor does anyone know the father except through the son and Anyone whom the son wills to reveal him the only way to know the father is through the son and the only way to know the father through the son is if the Son chooses to reveal the father to you.

Jesus is telling us that no one can know the father apart from revelation and No one can know the son without the father choosing them. Therefore all of this is an entirely God-centric salvation where the father must choose you out of the world and the son must reveal the father to you so that you will Know him if those two things are not true.

You do not know God. Colossians 1 15 is another example. He is the image of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of all creation. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3 is another example. He is the radiance of the glory and the exact representation of God's nature.

And he upholds all things by the word of his power, which he had When he had made purification of sins and he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. He is uncovering. Jesus is praying. He is revealing to us that salvation is first a two-part work.

It is the work of God the Father Electing you and drawing you to the feet of Jesus Christ and when you're in front of Jesus Christ It is Christ awakening you and revealing to you the nature of the Father.

Those two things are critical to understand when it comes to our salvation. Our salvation is not The fact that we woke up and we realized how bad we were and we picked him. He seeks he saves the lost he reveals he awakens he opens up the eyes.

That's his work before it's ever our declaration. Now when he says them he says I revealed this to them. I think first and foremost we need to acknowledge that he's talking about his 12 disciples. These are the men who were his pupils for three years.

The ones who saw every miracle heard every sermon who sat in on the campfire. Bible studies that he did where where they were gathering together in. But you know off the record as it were that wasn't revealed in the Gospels for three years.

He spent this time with him teaching them who he is so they would know who the father is. But also This applies to us as well. This is not a reality that is lost in the pages of the New Testament. It works its way down to us how.

Because we were saved the exact same way the Apostles took the Word of God and declared it and through the preaching of the word the father picked and chose his people that he knew before the foundations of the world and drew them by the preaching of the word to Christ and Then in their salvation Christ revealed to them the father.

All the men and women who were saved in the Roman Empire in that first century were saved that way the preaching of the word drew them to Christ. Christ revealed the father and in that revelation their lives were completely transformed and they were changed and They were changed into the kind of people who went out and declared the word and then the cycle started over.

They declared the word men and women were drawn to Christ. Christ revealed the father and he sent them out. To do it again and again and again for the last 2 ,000 years. Salvation brothers and sisters is the story of the Word of God.

Winning his people. Christ revealing the father to them and sending them out to do it again and again and again. Every person who's ever been saved has been saved that way. Now let's transition because I want to hit on that last point a little bit harder as we close.

Salvation as the Beginning of Discipleship

Because in.

American Christianity. There's been a sort of easy believism that Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about. There's been a cheap grace. There has been a finish line Christianity that is set in that has caused a nation full of converts to not Go deeper in Christ and to not ever become disciples.

Where we've treated salvation like it's the finish line. Well, I'm really glad I'm saved now. I've done that brothers and sisters. Salvation is not the finish line. It's the starting line. This is why a culture of hyper Evangelistic Christianity Televangelist regular evangelist and let's save as many possible people as we can without making a single disciple has proliferated in this culture where we have a nation that is filled with toddlers in the faith that have never been discipled and Because of that we treat salvation like it is the end unto itself instead of the beginning of everything.

After justification and the Bible comes sanctification. Jesus says in this passage That although the father did choose and although the son did reveal there's more to it than that. That's the beginning of our life.

That's the beginning John 17 3 of the eternal life. And the first thing that he tells us is that we will come under his lordship and love his word. For all who are truly saved they will love his word.

They will keep his word. That is not a that's not a suggestion. That is a reality. Look at what it says in verse 6 you gave them to me and they have kept your word. This is not what we've joked about many times before.

It's not a might could. This is not a might would or might should.

They.

Jesus gave them or Jesus revealed the father to them. God gave them over to the Son and Because of that then they kept his word and they loved his word. He doesn't say that when the father gives them over to them They're gonna fail to grow and they're gonna basically be immature for the rest of their life.

He does not say that. He doesn't say that they're gonna limp along in mediocrity for the rest of their life, and they're never gonna advance in their faith. He doesn't say that they're gonna be lukewarm uninvolved and unconvicted Compromisers for the rest of their life.

He does not say that. And I'm pressing on this not to offend. I'm pressing on this because Jesus says in the scriptures that if you're lukewarm, he will spit you out of his mouth. There's no expectation for a Christian to remain immature for the rest of their life.

It's just not there.

Altered the scriptures we were to grow up into maturity of Christ. We're to grow deeper into the gospel of Christ. We're to have more passion as we get older more love for the word more obedience. These things are not.

Antithetical to the Christian life.

I've preached the gospel in a sermon before and I preached obedience at the end as the outworking of the gospel and somebody called me a legalist for that.

Because we're afraid.

To obey Jesus lest we do it for the wrong reasons. Yes, of course, we will pervert anything. But the expectation of our life is not that we would live in obedience this mess. The expectation for our life is not that we would avoid Obedience for fear that we might get it wrong.

The expectation is as children of the Living God that we would grow up into better Obedience that we would follow him if my children said dad. I don't want to obey you because I don't want to get a big head.

You'd have a swollen bottom for that. This is how we treated God though. God. I want to obey you. So I don't get a big head.

That makes no sense.

He elects us. Jesus reveals the Father to us to transform us. To make us love him more to make us worship him better to make us obey him more and more. This process is called sanctification and that process of sanctification is bringing you under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

So that you forget your thoughts you forget your opinions and you forget your need for control and you become a faithful slave of.

Jesus.

Listen, the Christianity is not a glamorous life. If you want that go to Scientology or Go to Mormonism where you can one day be a god of your own universe. Christianity is not a glorious life. You're a slave and your happiness as a slave is dependent totally upon your submission to the master.

The more you submit to the master the more happy and joyful you will become. That is what Christianity is all about. Christianity is a religion of joy, and it's the only religion that's actually true.

But my point in that is that it's a religion of great joy and the joy doesn't come from Pumping yourself up. The joy comes from putting your face on the ground and saying I follow you Christ. Whatever you say, whatever you want.

You are my king. I am NOT the one in charge. You want me to give my whole life to you? Okay, you gave your whole life for me. You mean to you want to be in your word? Okay, Bible says you're the word.

I want you. So I'm gonna be in your word. I'm gonna pray. I'm gonna seek your face. I'm gonna be like David and I'm gonna stay awake at night and I'm gonna run after you and chase after you and I'm gonna Lose sleep over that because I want you.