What did Jesus pray for you? On the night before He died, Jesus prayed for His people — including those who would believe through the ages. In John 17:1-19, Dr. Toby Holt opens what is called the High Priestly Prayer. As the true and greater High Priest, Jesus prays first for the Father's glory, then for His disciples — not that they be taken out of the world, but kept from evil and "sanctified" by God's truth. The comfort: Jesus says He has kept all whom the Father gave Him, losing none.

Questions this study answers:

1. What is the High Priestly Prayer? Jesus' great prayer in John 17, where He intercedes for His followers just before the cross, like a priest praying for his people.

2. What did Jesus ask for His people? That they be protected from evil and made holy by God's truth, while remaining in the world as His witnesses.

3. What comfort does this prayer give? Jesus loses none whom the Father gives Him. Our security rests on His faithfulness, not the strength of our own.

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." — John 17:17 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

In John 17, we encounter Christ's longest prayer, which was an intimate exchange with

2

00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:07,400

His Heavenly Father.

3

00:00:07,860 --> 00:00:10,020

But what did He pray for in this final hour?

4

00:00:10,300 --> 00:00:13,780

And why is John 17 referred to as the High Priestly Prayer?

5

00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,620

We'll address those questions and more in today's study.

6

00:00:19,620 --> 00:00:24,020

This morning's text is called the High Priestly Prayer.

7

00:00:24,300 --> 00:00:26,040

Now why do we call it that?

8

00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,980

Why don't we just call it the very long prayer, the very nice prayer, the Messiah's prayer,

9

00:00:29,980 --> 00:00:37,540

the savior's prayer why do we call it the high priestly prayer well in order to answer that let

10

00:00:37,540 --> 00:00:41,820

me ask you a different question in the old testament what was the job of a priest you've

11

00:00:41,820 --> 00:00:46,020

read about the priests you read about guys in tall pointy hats in the old testament and in the new

12

00:00:46,020 --> 00:00:51,280

testament what was the job of these guys what was the job of the priest what principally were they

13

00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:57,980

called to do number one when the people needed someone to be sent to meet with god to go into

14

00:00:57,980 --> 00:01:03,740

the holy place. Go into the holy of holies. Who did they send? They sent the priest. When the

15

00:01:03,740 --> 00:01:08,180

Israelites needed someone to offer sacrifices on their behalf, who did they send to go and offer

16

00:01:08,180 --> 00:01:14,080

the sacrifices? They sent the priest. When the Israelites needed someone to speak with God,

17

00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,880

to intercede with God on behalf of the people, a tradition that goes all the way back to Moses

18

00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:25,480

and Aaron, who did they send? They sent the priest. The priest's job was to stand before God

19

00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:33,000

and intercede for the rest. The priest was a representative of the people and his job was to

20

00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,820

intercede for the sins and the needs and the issues that faced the people. With that said, what kind

21

00:01:38,820 --> 00:01:43,180

of priest would you want? Let's say that you were to send someone to go meet with God on your behalf.

22

00:01:43,260 --> 00:01:47,480

Let's say that you had issues in your life and you wanted someone to go to God and take your issues

23

00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:53,400

to him. What type of person would you send? Would you send just anybody? Probably not. If you're

24

00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,820

going to send someone to go and meet with God, intercede on behalf of you, to pray on behalf of

25

00:01:57,820 --> 00:02:01,740

the things going on in your life, what kind of individual would you send? Well, you would go

26

00:02:01,740 --> 00:02:06,220

looking for the most holy individual you could, the most holy, the most pious individuals. Those

27

00:02:06,220 --> 00:02:10,460

were supposed to be the priests. These were supposed to be holy and righteous individuals

28

00:02:10,460 --> 00:02:14,800

who were set apart from the world, who were devout in their studies, priests who understood what this

29

00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,400

book said and shared it and poured it forth to the people that they were the priests thereof.

30

00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,320

The objective of the priest was to represent the people very well

31

00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,720

and in their own personal walk to be holy and righteous.

32

00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:32,460

However, across Israel's history, they had gotten a lot of bad priests.

33

00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:37,560

Ezekiel 22, and there's really a number of different passages across a number of different books

34

00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,340

you could go to to find selections just like this.

35

00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,500

But in Ezekiel chapter 22, God is going to describe the priesthood of the day.

36

00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:48,600

He's going to describe the priesthood as it was in Ezekiel's time.

37

00:02:48,900 --> 00:02:55,620

this is what it says. My priests have done violence to my law. They're not off to a good

38

00:02:55,620 --> 00:03:01,160

start. My priests have done violence to my law, and they have profaned my holy things. We just

39

00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,300

said that priests are supposed to be holy, supposed to have reverence for that which is holy. Rather,

40

00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:10,200

in Ezekiel's day, and as was the case many other times in Scripture, they did the exact opposite.

41

00:03:10,620 --> 00:03:14,680

My priests have done violence to my law, they profaned my holy things, they've made no distinction

42

00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:19,900

between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and

43

00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:25,600

the clean. They hide their eye from my Sabbaths, and I am profane amongst them. In that text, God

44

00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,940

is not critiquing, per se, the people at large, although they were absolutely open to critique.

45

00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:34,440

He's saying your leaders have failed. Your leaders have failed because they have made a distinction

46

00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,240

between that which is holy, holy, and that which is profane, and furthermore, they have not taught

47

00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:46,880

the difference to the people. Therefore, the people suffer because they do not have good priests.

48

00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:53,640

With that said, in today's text, we're going to see that the priesthood as an office, even if the

49

00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:59,200

individual men who occupied it for century after century after century, often failed. They didn't

50

00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,720

all fail and they didn't all fail equally. But even if the priesthood often failed, and it certainly

51

00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,480

failed in the time of Christ because it was the priests who were calling for Christ's head. It

52

00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:12,080

It was the priest, the high priest, Caiaphas and others, who said, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

53

00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:18,600

So even though the priest had failed, the office had failed, the office itself was created by God for the benefit of the people.

54

00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:28,680

And in due time, all those priests and all the sacrifices they offered were meant to point forward to a better, greater sacrifice that would one day come a greater and better priest.

55

00:04:29,500 --> 00:04:34,880

You have to understand that if you're going to understand why this prayer is referred to as the high priestly prayer.

56

00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,900

Because in today's text, we see Christ doing that which the other priests had not done.

57

00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:40,140

Let's return now.

58

00:04:40,140 --> 00:04:45,040

Verses 1 through 5, then we'll work our way through verse 19 with the time allotted this morning.

59

00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:45,960

Verses 1 through 5.

60

00:04:46,540 --> 00:04:48,720

So now Jesus spoke these words.

61

00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:50,660

Remember, this is at the end of the Last Supper.

62

00:04:50,820 --> 00:04:51,660

He's washed feet.

63

00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:52,420

He's broke bread.

64

00:04:52,700 --> 00:04:54,780

He's done all manner of things to instruct the people.

65

00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:56,000

The betrayer's conned out.

66

00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:57,220

Death is imminent.

67

00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:02,060

And what does he do with his last moments with the group, with the gang there in the upper room?

68

00:05:02,140 --> 00:05:03,000

He prays.

69

00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:04,020

He prays.

70

00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:05,280

So Jesus spoke these words.

71

00:05:05,460 --> 00:05:08,180

He lifted up his eyes to heaven.

72

00:05:08,620 --> 00:05:11,380

And he said, Father, the hour has come.

73

00:05:11,740 --> 00:05:14,980

So many times in his ministry, Jesus said, my hour is not yet.

74

00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,920

Remember way back when we started this series, we talked about Jesus changing the water into wine.

75

00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:21,520

Mary comes to Jesus and says, hey, can you help us out here?

76

00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,540

And he says, woman, my hour has not yet come.

77

00:05:23,860 --> 00:05:26,160

Throughout the book of John, my hour is not yet.

78

00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,620

Then as you progress further into the book of John, he says, my hour is coming.

79

00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:34,400

Well, here to the Father, he declares, my hour is nigh.

80

00:05:34,620 --> 00:05:35,540

My hour is now.

81

00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:37,260

Father, the hour has come.

82

00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:40,340

Glorify your Son that your Son may also glorify you.

83

00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:45,660

As you have given authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him.

84

00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:52,060

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, that Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

85

00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:53,900

I've glorified you on the earth.

86

00:05:53,900 --> 00:05:55,820

I've finished the work that you've given me to do.

87

00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:03,140

And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory that I had with you before the world itself was.

88

00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:09,040

Alright, the high priestly prayer across its verses is broken down into roughly three sections.

89

00:06:09,260 --> 00:06:10,220

This is the first.

90

00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,100

In these first five verses, Jesus is praying, in a sense, for himself.

91

00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,480

But his prayer for himself is very different from the prayers we offer for ourselves.

92

00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,340

Have you ever prayed for yourself?

93

00:06:20,780 --> 00:06:22,460

I know the answer. You know the answer.

94

00:06:22,780 --> 00:06:24,140

And there's nothing wrong with praying for one's self.

95

00:06:24,220 --> 00:06:26,980

But what we typically do when we pray for ourselves is we have an issue.

96

00:06:27,100 --> 00:06:28,800

We have a circumstance that's on our radar.

97

00:06:28,900 --> 00:06:29,640

We don't like it.

98

00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:30,540

We have some need.

99

00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:31,240

We have some want.

100

00:06:31,300 --> 00:06:33,020

We have some desire we want God to fulfill.

101

00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:34,180

So what do we do?

102

00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:35,540

We come to him with a prescription.

103

00:06:36,220 --> 00:06:37,480

We say, here's my prescription.

104

00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,580

My life would be so much better if you would just do this.

105

00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,140

This is what I would like you to do to help me out.

106

00:06:43,460 --> 00:06:44,940

Now, it might be something very understandable.

107

00:06:44,940 --> 00:06:48,500

If you're suffering from cancer, it's okay to say, God, would you please take away my cancer?

108

00:06:48,620 --> 00:06:49,200

That's fine.

109

00:06:49,260 --> 00:06:49,860

That's okay.

110

00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,200

With that said, so often the balance of our prayer life is nothing but supplication,

111

00:06:55,300 --> 00:06:57,940

nothing but giving them prescriptions, do this, do this, do this,

112

00:06:57,940 --> 00:06:59,480

as if he doesn't know what you need.

113

00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:03,860

We ask him to do things for us, especially when the ground shakes beneath our feet.

114

00:07:03,980 --> 00:07:06,340

People pray far more when the ground is shaking beneath their feet

115

00:07:06,340 --> 00:07:08,320

than in those times when everything is going fine.

116

00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:10,680

That's our prayer life, generally speaking.

117

00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,260

What we fail to do most often is to yoke our requests and our petitions

118

00:07:15,260 --> 00:07:19,400

to some manner or form or way in which, if those prayers are answered,

119

00:07:19,580 --> 00:07:21,560

God will be glorified because of it.

120

00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:24,480

If you want to pray that God would take away cancer,

121

00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:26,860

if you want to pray that God would heal some health condition you have,

122

00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:30,340

if you want to pray for a job that you desire or something along those lines,

123

00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:32,620

is pray for that, but ask yourself,

124

00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,940

how would God be glorified if he was to answer the very prayer that I'm praying?

125

00:07:36,540 --> 00:07:39,440

How would God be glorified if he takes away the cancer,

126

00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,800

if he gives me this job, if he gives me this relationship,

127

00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,420

if he fixes that which is broken, if he does X, Y, Z,

128

00:07:44,940 --> 00:07:48,700

how is God's glory to be impacted if he were to do so?

129

00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:53,120

The more often you pray with that in view, the more robust your prayer life will be.

130

00:07:53,840 --> 00:08:00,600

How would God be glorified if he were to give me or grant me the very thing I'm coming to him and asking for?

131

00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,260

Very seldom do we think that through.

132

00:08:03,340 --> 00:08:04,760

We know how it would benefit us.

133

00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:05,700

That's the easy part.

134

00:08:05,900 --> 00:08:10,900

But how would God be glorified if he answered the prayer in the way that you want it to be answered?

135

00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:16,480

And if, as you think about that, you can't really discern a good answer, then maybe you should take a look at the prayer.

136

00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,960

With that said, Christ's prayer here, Christ's prayer.

137

00:08:20,260 --> 00:08:21,680

He could pray for any man or a different thing.

138

00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:26,780

He was about to face the most horrific circumstance anyone has ever faced on the globe itself.

139

00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:29,180

The full cup of God's wrath poured out on him.

140

00:08:29,420 --> 00:08:31,300

There's a lot he could have prayed for right here.

141

00:08:31,740 --> 00:08:36,620

But his prayer was centered and anchored upon the glory of the Father.

142

00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:39,580

And in a sense, in verses 1 through 5, he says,

143

00:08:39,900 --> 00:08:41,460

Father, I'm coming home.

144

00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:42,640

I'm weary.

145

00:08:43,300 --> 00:08:44,240

This has been hard.

146

00:08:44,820 --> 00:08:46,720

It's been difficult, and it's going to get more difficult.

147

00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,600

But in that difficulty, Father, I pray that you'd be glorified.

148

00:08:51,140 --> 00:08:54,000

I pray that what I would do would bring you glory.

149

00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:57,880

This is what we see in verses 1 through 5.

150

00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:01,600

His hour has come, and he wants the will of the Father to be done.

151

00:09:02,260 --> 00:09:03,820

Let's look at verses 6 through 12.

152

00:09:04,340 --> 00:09:04,840

Verse 6.

153

00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:10,520

I've manifested your name to the men that you have given me out of the world.

154

00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:11,420

Remember that phrase.

155

00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:17,320

They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

156

00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,520

Now they've known that all things that you have given me are from you.

157

00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,780

For I've given to them the words that you gave to me.

158

00:09:24,060 --> 00:09:27,140

And they've received them, and they've known surely that I came forth from you,

159

00:09:27,340 --> 00:09:29,080

and they believe that you sent me.

160

00:09:29,660 --> 00:09:30,520

So they understand.

161

00:09:30,620 --> 00:09:32,860

They don't have the full understanding of the Trinity per se.

162

00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:35,860

They don't fully understand the Godhead, and yet they get this much,

163

00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:38,200

that when they see me and when they see my actions,

164

00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:39,920

when they hear my words, they're hearing yours.

165

00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:45,580

amen and amen is what he's saying here so verse nine he says i pray for them which is so cool

166

00:09:45,580 --> 00:09:50,060

they're all about to run away from him remember what's about to happen within 24 hours they're

167

00:09:50,060 --> 00:09:54,540

all going to run away they'll tell him no we'll stay with you to the end oh jesus we'll be with

168

00:09:54,540 --> 00:09:59,760

you to the end then they all run even peter the rock will deny jesus three times before the very

169

00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:04,300

night is out and yet he says oh i pray for them i pray for them even though i know what they're

170

00:10:04,300 --> 00:10:09,480

about to do they're going to run and turn and flee but i pray for the verse nine but i don't pray for

171

00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:15,000

the world. Notice that distinction. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those

172

00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,540

that you have given me, for they are yours. There is a distinction being made here, and we'll get

173

00:10:20,540 --> 00:10:24,660

to it in a few moments, but it's an important distinction if you're to get the greater scheme

174

00:10:24,660 --> 00:10:31,080

of theology correct. Verse 10, and all mine are yours, and all yours are mine, and I'm glorified

175

00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:36,180

in them. Now I'm no longer in the world, but they are. These are in the world, and I come to you.

176

00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:42,060

Holy Father, keep through your name those that you've given to me, that they may be one as we are.

177

00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,180

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name.

178

00:10:45,180 --> 00:10:50,820

Those whom you gave me, I kept, and none of them is lost except the son of perdition.

179

00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:56,820

This is a reference to Judas Iscariot, who God had ordained and decreed would do exactly the things that he did.

180

00:10:57,060 --> 00:11:01,080

None is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture itself might be fulfilled,

181

00:11:01,180 --> 00:11:05,580

because scripture prophesied that the son of perdition would turn and be lost.

182

00:11:06,140 --> 00:11:12,500

All right. After praying the first five verses for himself, Jesus spends the next 13 verses praying

183

00:11:12,500 --> 00:11:18,300

for his friends, his disciples. Verse six is that he's praying for those that the Father gave to him

184

00:11:18,300 --> 00:11:23,080

or entrusted to his care. And later on, he's going to say, all those you gave me, I didn't lose any

185

00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:28,740

of them. Let me ask you, do you think it's changed? Jesus says, all that you have given me, I have lost

186

00:11:28,740 --> 00:11:32,980

none. Do you think it's changed? Do you think all the disciples, all these years later, that the

187

00:11:32,980 --> 00:11:37,300

fathers and trusting the Son, all these, a big bushel full of disciples, people like you and I,

188

00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,600

and do you think he starts to lose them left and right? No, and we'll explain the theology behind

189

00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:46,580

that in a few moments. A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday night, we studied aspects of Reformed

190

00:11:46,580 --> 00:11:51,100

theology. We touched upon predestination and election and the like. Those concepts stress

191

00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:56,360

God's sovereign choice over those who are his, God's sovereign choice over the eternal fate of

192

00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:01,460

mankind. Well, God's sovereign choice, you can find it in Romans. We looked all over Romans the

193

00:12:01,460 --> 00:12:07,360

other than I, but you can also find it right here in John 17. God's sovereign choice could not be

194

00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:13,420

clearer than we see it in verses 6 through 12 of the High Priesthood Prayer. In verse 6, we see

195

00:12:13,420 --> 00:12:19,120

that the apostles were chosen. They were given to the Son by the Father. Now, how do you make that

196

00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,040

distinction? Who to give? I don't know. That's above our pay grade, but we know this much. He

197

00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:30,500

did it. His volition chose and gave to the Son those that he had chose. In verse 9, we see that

198

00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:36,160

not everybody was chosen. Not everyone was given to the Son. Not everyone was handed over to him,

199

00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:41,980

and nor does he pray for those that weren't. That can be hard to hear, isn't it? And yet,

200

00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:48,700

it's Jesus who said it. He says, I'm not praying for the world at large here, O Father. I'm praying

201

00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:54,440

for those that you entrusted to my care. I'm praying and interceding for them in a way that

202

00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,820

I don't intercede for others. So that's what we see in verse 9. Verse 12, we see that all who are

203

00:12:58,820 --> 00:13:06,280

given to the son are kept saved with only Judas being predestined for condemnation. Sometimes we

204

00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,020

think that our faith is such a wispy thing that what God did is he started a change in you. He

205

00:13:11,020 --> 00:13:14,820

regenerated your heart. You were born again. And then he kind of steps back to see what you're

206

00:13:14,820 --> 00:13:19,560

going to do. And he goes, oh my, I really was hoping that he would do what's right and really

207

00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,640

turn to me in faith. And it seemed like things were going good. It seemed like he had faith,

208

00:13:23,740 --> 00:13:27,140

but I guess he doesn't because look, he just departed from the faith and he's just consigned

209

00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:31,860

himself to hell. And the idea that God somehow stands back from all that and just kind of watches

210

00:13:31,860 --> 00:13:37,900

that happen. He spins the world like a top, stands back, sees what's going to take place. That, that

211

00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:42,580

is the belief system of the Arminians. That's the belief system that's foreign to us. You know, in

212

00:13:42,580 --> 00:13:47,240

Reformed theology, we have this acrostic, we have TULIP, you know, the five points of Calvinism. Those

213

00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,260

who've been in the church, you know, if you know, you know what TULIP is. Total poverty, unconditional

214

00:13:51,260 --> 00:13:55,140

election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the preservation or perseverance of the saints.

215

00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:59,680

These are doctrinal truths that we see here in John 17, Romans, and elsewhere in Scripture.

216

00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:06,300

Our theology is born out of something so clear as to give you great conviction this morning

217

00:14:06,300 --> 00:14:09,960

that if he has started a good work in you, if he has changed your heart from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh,

218

00:14:10,020 --> 00:14:11,140

he will see that work through.

219

00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,420

He will, he will, he will.

220

00:14:13,780 --> 00:14:15,880

And what is he saying right here in John 17?

221

00:14:16,020 --> 00:14:21,180

He says, Father, you gave them to me, and of those given to me, none are lost.

222

00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,680

Again, do you think that changes all these centuries later?

223

00:14:24,140 --> 00:14:26,100

Those that are entrusted into Christ's care,

224

00:14:26,260 --> 00:14:29,260

not a single one of them can be ripped from his hands,

225

00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:31,300

neither heights nor depths can separate us

226

00:14:31,300 --> 00:14:32,580

from the love which is in Christ Jesus.

227

00:14:32,780 --> 00:14:35,320

There is nothing out there, no force, no entity,

228

00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,500

no institution, no group of people

229

00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:39,880

that can ever tear you away from the arms of your Savior,

230

00:14:40,220 --> 00:14:42,000

but neither can you jump from them.

231

00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:43,580

You understand that?

232

00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:47,020

Nothing can separate you from the love

233

00:14:47,020 --> 00:14:48,040

that is in Christ Jesus,

234

00:14:48,260 --> 00:14:50,820

and neither can you jump from his care.

235

00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:52,900

Of all those you have given me,

236

00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,600

of all those you have predestined, of all that you've called out from this fallen globe,

237

00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:03,040

of all those you've given me, I have lost none. Why? Because they were entrusted to my care,

238

00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,540

and I see it through. Brothers and sisters, this morning, if you could have lost your salvation,

239

00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:12,680

you already would have. Your salvation is not upheld by your strength and your fidelity,

240

00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:20,120

but by his. That's his great covenant to us, and we see it in these verses. So in these verses,

241

00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,100

we see that when trials come, persecution, even the devil himself, he's going to identify a few

242

00:15:25,100 --> 00:15:30,380

verses from now. Jesus says, I intercede on their behalf. I pray for them. I pray for them that they

243

00:15:30,380 --> 00:15:34,640

would be preserved and protected in the midst of this evil world. All right, let's look at verses,

244

00:15:35,260 --> 00:15:41,600

our final verses. Let's look at verses 13 through 19. But now I come to you, and these things I

245

00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:47,860

speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Jesus wanted his disciples

246

00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:49,820

is to be joyful in the midst of really

247

00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:51,880

dark circumstances. Same is true

248

00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:53,820

for us. But I come to you, and these things

249

00:15:53,820 --> 00:15:55,820

I speak in the world, that they may have my joy

250

00:15:55,820 --> 00:15:57,940

fulfilled in themselves. I've given

251

00:15:57,940 --> 00:15:59,740

them your word, and the world

252

00:15:59,740 --> 00:16:01,960

has hated them because they're not of the world,

253

00:16:02,340 --> 00:16:03,480

just as I'm not of the world.

254

00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:05,640

I do not pray, notice this,

255

00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:07,520

I do not pray that you should take them

256

00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,780

out of the world. I do not

257

00:16:09,780 --> 00:16:11,720

pray that you should just send a life raft so that they

258

00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,820

never have to deal with fallen

259

00:16:13,820 --> 00:16:15,680

humanity, which desperately needs

260

00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,660

their witness. I'm not saying take them out of this

261

00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:23,300

world that needs the shedding of the gospel light upon it. I'm not saying that at all. But, verse 15,

262

00:16:23,660 --> 00:16:28,540

that you should keep them from the evil one. Protect them while they're in the world. Protect

263

00:16:28,540 --> 00:16:31,620

them while they're in the world. Verse 16, they're not of the world just as I'm not of the world,

264

00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:39,040

but sanctify them by your truth, your word. Your word is the truth. As you sent me into the world,

265

00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:46,480

I have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they may also be sanctified

266

00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:53,680

in the truth. Last week we made a statement. We said, if you fly the king's flag,

267

00:16:54,100 --> 00:17:01,840

if you fly the flag of your king, you will be hated by your king's enemies. If you're an

268

00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,160

ambassador for a great and a holiness spiritual kingdom that is different from this world,

269

00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:11,540

then do not be surprised when those of this world hate you. And that's not conjecture. That's what

270

00:17:11,540 --> 00:17:16,380

not only this chapter, but the preceding several chapters talked about. Jesus knew he was sending

271

00:17:16,380 --> 00:17:20,600

out lambs into the slaughter, so to speak. He was sending out lambs among wolves. He knew he was

272

00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:25,000

sending out sheep amongst those who desired to shear and kill and destroy them. He understood

273

00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,100

what was happening, and he understood what was about to happen to himself. He was under

274

00:17:29,100 --> 00:17:34,660

no false beliefs. You and I, sometimes we think we can carve out utopia in this fallen world as

275

00:17:34,660 --> 00:17:38,560

if that's the objective. Jesus says, no, I'm sending them into this world that they might

276

00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:43,140

make a difference for this world, which is not an easy thing. Last week, we also mentioned,

277

00:17:43,220 --> 00:17:47,400

know, if you were to take a sandwich board and go downtown, and it could be Gulfport, it could be

278

00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,660

Mobile, Bourbon Street, really anywhere, and you take a sandwich board and you just say something

279

00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:56,580

like this, God loves you, and you put it on either side of the board. No one's really going to reject

280

00:17:56,580 --> 00:18:01,840

that. Why? Because people want to be loved. The idea that there's some entity, something out there,

281

00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:07,120

something transcendent that loves me, I kind of like that. So people hear that and they respond

282

00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:11,480

generally positively. And the idea that God is love is a very biblical statement. Nothing wrong

283

00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:16,960

saying God is love. Nothing wrong with that. However, it's not a fully rounded gospel

284

00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,720

presentation, is it? If on that same sandwich board you were to flip it over and it said

285

00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,900

something like repent or something like faith in Christ is the only way into salvation,

286

00:18:26,460 --> 00:18:30,320

something along those lines, well, you would get a very different response from the same people

287

00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:35,240

walking by. God is love? That's a biblical statement. Repent and turn, O ye sinners? That's

288

00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,540

a biblical statement too, but people respond to these things in very different ways. The world

289

00:18:39,540 --> 00:18:44,500

doesn't like it when they are convicted of the very behaviors and attitudes and affections

290

00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:50,440

that they so desire. And frankly, neither are we. You ever read scripture and it calls out a

291

00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:55,460

behavior, attitude, affection that you were engaged in? What are you inclined to do? Sometimes we

292

00:18:55,460 --> 00:19:01,760

quickly skip past that, or we reinterpret it to fit us. We're very good at that, at looking at

293

00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,240

scripture and either ignoring the parts we don't like or reinterpreting the things that are there

294

00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,960

in a way that they don't convict, but actually encourage or exhort us. We can do this in all

295

00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:14,300

manner of weird and odd ways. With that said, Christ's concern is that he was about to send

296

00:19:14,300 --> 00:19:18,120

sheep out there amongst goats and wolves and lions and all these different things,

297

00:19:18,340 --> 00:19:24,580

and they were going to be persecuted significantly. And Jesus knows this, but he tells them, he says,

298

00:19:24,580 --> 00:19:27,940

if you're going to stand in the hour of test, if you're going to stand in the time of persecution,

299

00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:34,520

then you must be armed, you must be sanctified in the truth. What does he pray for there? He

300

00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:39,280

doesn't pray god take them out of this world he doesn't pray god to save them so they never have

301

00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:43,440

to deal with evil they never have to intersect with fallen humanity no he doesn't pray that at

302

00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,860

all he says when they do intersect with fallen humanity when they do face college students things

303

00:19:48,860 --> 00:19:53,500

in the classroom that are unbiblical when they do face on television in the media or just in our

304

00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:58,260

interaction with our peers when we do face things that are unbiblical that we would have the means

305

00:19:58,260 --> 00:20:03,000

to stand in that day not simply because we're strong and we like to fight but rather because

306

00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:09,620

we have been sanctified in that which is true. Jesus' prayer for his disciples, for the apostles,

307

00:20:09,820 --> 00:20:14,380

and later for all the church as a whole is this, that you would be sanctified in that which is

308

00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:19,980

true. You and I, we can access, where's my phone? We can access, I don't know, I got like 50 apps

309

00:20:19,980 --> 00:20:24,760

on this. I can access all manner of things, all manner of things, opinions, conjections, polls,

310

00:20:25,020 --> 00:20:32,160

surveys, studies, editorials, articles, what have you. None of that holds a candle to what's in this.

311

00:20:32,820 --> 00:20:36,500

This book is the divine, inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God.

312

00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:38,960

It alone is the rule of faith on which we can build our lives.

313

00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,940

The things that are here, is there truth sometimes contained in some of this?

314

00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,260

Can various apps say things that are true?

315

00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:44,640

Sure.

316

00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,140

Is it infallible, inspired, inerrant?

317

00:20:46,260 --> 00:20:46,600

No.

318

00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,680

Does the various resources that we might turn to our left and our right and the culture around us,

319

00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:51,920

can they say things that are true?

320

00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:52,520

Absolutely.

321

00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,720

Are they the measure for that which is ultimately true?

322

00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:56,400

Not at all.

323

00:20:57,060 --> 00:20:58,800

Scripture is the means that God has given us.

324

00:20:58,860 --> 00:21:03,240

So when Jesus prays for his disciples, he says, oh, Lord, sanctify them.

325

00:21:03,780 --> 00:21:04,660

He says, I know, Peter.

326

00:21:05,180 --> 00:21:07,120

I know how rough around the edges Peter is.

327

00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,580

Peter was really rough around the edges, especially when he was younger.

328

00:21:10,220 --> 00:21:11,960

Peter would betray Jesus a little bit later.

329

00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:16,100

So Jesus prayed for Peter because he had to be praying with the very men who were standing around him in mind.

330

00:21:16,820 --> 00:21:18,380

Oh, Lord, I pray for Peter.

331

00:21:19,020 --> 00:21:23,100

I know that one of Peter's problems is he has not been fully sanctified, which is true.

332

00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:25,060

And, Father, you know I've done my best for three years.

333

00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:26,540

I've been teaching him, but he needs more.

334

00:21:27,660 --> 00:21:32,340

sanctify him in your word and your truth. Peter, even after Jesus ascended, Peter continued to

335

00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:35,900

mess up. There's a number of other occasions you see in the book of Acts where Peter didn't always

336

00:21:35,900 --> 00:21:40,660

deal with that, which is right. But the good news is this, that Peter got older and he grew and he

337

00:21:40,660 --> 00:21:46,360

was sanctified more day by day, year by year in the truth, in God's word. And ultimately, Peter,

338

00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:52,520

when he would transition to glory, he was a far more sanctified disciple than he was in the upper

339

00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,780

room. But he had an advantage all those years. Number one, he was sanctified in the truth. And

340

00:21:56,780 --> 00:22:00,540

Number two, the high priest was interceding for him consistently, regularly.

341

00:22:01,140 --> 00:22:03,400

Do you have any idea what an advantage it is to you

342

00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,660

that as you live out your days in this fallen world,

343

00:22:05,980 --> 00:22:08,980

that Jesus himself is whispering into the ears of the Father

344

00:22:08,980 --> 00:22:10,820

things that are for your benefit?

345

00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:12,320

How cool is that?

346

00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:15,740

Jesus is not like just the admissions director in heaven.

347

00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:17,920

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.

348

00:22:18,020 --> 00:22:18,940

He is the singular path.

349

00:22:19,020 --> 00:22:21,680

He is the ladder which allows us to reach God's golden shores.

350

00:22:22,060 --> 00:22:24,140

And once we're there, he will never, never lose us.

351

00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:28,380

But until that time, when we reach that golden estate, even right now, he's interceding for us

352

00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:32,980

and praying for us. He's an advocate. You have an advocate. You have an advocate who's better

353

00:22:32,980 --> 00:22:38,960

than the rest of us. Any lawyers in this room? No, don't raise your hands. A lawyer's job is to

354

00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:43,600

be an advocate for the client. But the lawyers in our group, the lawyers in our culture, the lawyers

355

00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:48,780

in the world around us, they're no more sinless than you and I are. But you see, the purpose of

356

00:22:48,780 --> 00:22:54,180

a lawyer is to advocate on behalf of the client. In our culture, we cannot do that flawlessly. But

357

00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:58,940

we have the great paraclete the great lawyer the great intercessor the great advocate who in heaven

358

00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:05,700

right now is pleading your case believer you got this whatever is coming up next week next month

359

00:23:05,700 --> 00:23:11,360

next year you got this why because you're strong no but because you have a high priest who has

360

00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:15,320

demonstrated his love for you by pouring out his own blood for you if he gave his blood for you

361

00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:20,580

what won't he give for you we're much stronger position than we sometimes think that we are

362

00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,380

Christian, this morning, be encouraged.

363

00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,540

In John 17, with the very men around him that he was praying for,

364

00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,040

you've got to think that they went out of that room encouraged to hear,

365

00:23:31,620 --> 00:23:33,760

to hear their rabbi, their leader, their savior,

366

00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,240

pleading their case to the Heavenly Father.

367

00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:40,220

This morning, the same is true for you, and it always will be.

368

00:23:40,660 --> 00:23:42,580

No matter what you might face, remember,

369

00:23:42,900 --> 00:23:45,460

you have a great intercessor in heaven sitting at the right hand,

370

00:23:45,540 --> 00:23:47,660

pleading your case in the ear of the Father.

371

00:23:48,180 --> 00:23:48,600

Let's pray.