Jesus Shows Us How and What to Pray (John 17)

Scripture: John 17

Translation: ^{John 17.1}Jesus said these things and lifted His eyes toward Heaven and said, “Father, the time is really coming. Glorify Your Son, so that the Son can glorify You, ²just as You gave Him authority over all flesh, so that He would give them everything that You really are giving Him, especially eternal life! ³And this is the eternal life, that they would know you, the Only True God and Jesus Christ, Who You sent. ⁴I will glorify You on the earth by finishing the work that You really are giving Me to do. ⁵And now glorify Me—You, Father—with the glory coming from Yourself, which I had from You before the world existed!

⁶I revealed Your Name to the people You gave Me from the world. They’re Yours and You gave them to Me and they really are obeying Your message. ⁷Now they know that absolutely all that You really are giving Me is from You, ⁸because the words that You gave me I really am giving to them! And they received and truly know that I came from You and they believe that You sent Me!

⁹I’m asking for them; I’m not asking for the world, but for who You really are giving to Me, because they are Yours. ¹⁰And all My things are Yours and all Your things are Mine! And I really am being glorified in them. ¹¹And I won’t be in the world anymore, but they will be in the world, and I will come to You. Holy Father, protect them in Your Name, which You really are giving to Me, so that they would be one just like We are. ¹²When I was with them, I was protecting them in Your Name, which You really are giving Me. And I stood watch and none of them was destroyed, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. ¹³And now I’m coming to You and I’m speaking these things in the world, so that they would have My joy richly filled up in themselves. ¹⁴I really am giving them Your message. And the world hates them, because they aren’t part of the world, just like I’m not part of the world. ¹⁵I’m not praying that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not a part of the world, just like I’m not a part of the world. ¹⁷Make them holy by the truth! Your Word is truth. ¹⁸Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹And I make Myself holy for them, so that they also would be made holy by the truth.

²⁰And I’m not only praying for these people, but also for those who will believe in Me through their message, ²¹so that they all would be one, just like You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, so that that they would also be in Us, so that the world would believe that You sent Me! ²²And I really am giving them the glory that You really are giving Me, so that they would be one just like We are One. ²³I am in them and You are in Me, so that they would be made perfectly one, so that the world would know that You sent Me and You love them just like You love Me. ²⁴Father, concerning what You really are giving to Me, I desire that wherever I am, that those people would be with Me, so that they can see My glory, which You really are giving to Me, because You loved Me before the creation of the world. ²⁵Righteous Father, indeed the world doesn’t know You, but I know You! and these people know that You sent Me. ²⁶And I made Your Name known to them and I will make it known, so that the love that You loved Me with would be in them and I would be in them!

Intro:

1.      Story of how that little girls started praying for God to kill people

Interpretation

1.      Structure

a.       Intro (v.1a)

b.      Jesus Prays: Glorify Me, because I Revealed You (vv.1b-8)

c.       Jesus Prays for the 11 Apostles (vv.9-19)

d.      Jesus Prays for All Future Believers (vv.20-23)

e.       Jesus Prays for the 11 Apostles (+ Future Believers?) vv.24-26

2.      Themes

a.       Giving

b.      Glory

c.       Joy

d.      Love

e.       Prayer

f.       Protection

g.      World vs. non-world

h.      Name of God

i.        Eternal life

j.        Unity

k.      Revelation

l.        Believing

m.    Trinitarian Life

n.      Jesus wants for the disciples what He enjoys Himself with the Father

o.      Everything comes from the Father

3.      Doctrines

a.       Jesus is God

b.      Jesus is Eternal

c.       Jesus and the Father are One

d.      Christians are not part of the world system

e.       Christians should be unified

Applications

1.      Outline

a.       How Jesus Prays

                                                              i.      Jesus Prays with Goals

1.      To glorify God

2.      To bless us

3.      To reveal truth

a.       that the Father sent the Son

b.      that the Father loves the Son

c.       that Jesus has the glory of the Father

                                                            ii.      Jesus Prays with Humility

1.      By depending on the Father

2.      By asking respectfully

3.      By asking honestly

4.      By asking for His needs

5.      By asking for others’ needs

b.      What Jesus Prays

                                                              i.      Jesus Prays for Himself

1.      He prays for Glory (vv.1b-5; cf. v.24)

2.      He prays for Us to be with Him (v.24-26)

                                                            ii.      Jesus Prays for Us

1.      He prays for God to make us safe

2.      He prays for God to make us holy

3.      He prays for God to make us one

c.       What We Learn from How and What Jesus Prays

                                                              i.      We learn how to pray

1.      We pray with goals

2.      We pray with humility

                                                            ii.      We learn what to pray for

1.      The glory of Christ

2.      The protection of Christians

3.      The holiness of Christians

4.      The Unity of Christians

                                                          iii.      We learn what We should Value

1.      The Glory of God

2.      The Glory of Christ

3.      The Truth of God

4.      Humility

5.      Mission

6.      Holiness

7.      Unity

2.      Discussion Questions

a.       Why do you think that Jesus would want to show the world that God sent Him?

b.      Do you think it would ever be appropriate for you to ask God for glory? Why or why not? Why do you think Jesus feels comfortable asking to be glorified? What is His purpose behind asking for glory?

c.       Does it comfort you to know that Jesus prayed for God to protect us? Why or why not? What do you feel like you need protection from?

d.      On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you depend on God in prayer? Why?

e.       Jesus prayed for God to make us holy. Do you ever pray for God to make you holy? Either way, take a moment to ask God to make you holy.

f.       Why do you think unity among Christians is so important to Jesus? What could we do to increase our unity with other Christians?

g.      Why do you think Jesus prays for God to protect us in the world and not for God to remove us from the world?

h.      How are you participating in Jesus’ mission to the world? Try to get specific. If you’re not, talk about some ways you could advance Jesus’ mission in the world. Be specific. Brainstorm a little.

i.        Please take extra time in prayer today, praying the kinds of things Jesus prayed.