Jesus Prepares for the Cross Part 1 - Prayer for Glory
Jesus Prepares for the Cross • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Easter is in a little over a month and we are going to start this week in preparing for celebrating the resurrection. Starting on that Sunday, I will be preaching a message of Joy…Joy in the Resurrection. Let me read a passage from John 16...
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Jesus is saying that soon He is leaving, but that joy will be complete in His followers as a result of His going. Easter Sunday will be the first of 3 messages on Joy. Please prayerfully consider who you might be able to invite for that Sunday that people will here the Gospel and be transformed by the joy of the resurrection.
Today is the start of a new series titled Jesus prepares for the Cross. We are going to look at what Jesus did in the days leading up to the cross and how He prepared His disciples. For the next 3 weeks, we are going to examine Jesus’ longest prayer recorded in the Bible. Turn with me to John 17. Each of the next 3 weeks, I am going to read the entire chapter to start off. Before I do that, let me tell you how this passage is most often broken down. Verses 1-5 is Jesus praying for Glory - We’ll talk through that today. Next week, we’ll look at verses 6-18 where Jesus prays for his Disciples. And then we’ll talk through verses 20-26 where Jesus prays for all believers. Let’s read -
Read John 17 in it’s entirety. AMEN!
Right now, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father still interceding like this for us. How wonderful to see the heart of Jesus as He was on his way to the cross.
Let’s look again at the first 5 verses and see exactly what Jesus was praying, but before do, we need to realize the proper context for this prayer.
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
“After Jesus said this, he looked up toward heaven and prayed...” is a reference to all that Jesus had said just before, and it goes all the way back to chapter 13 as they were sitting down for the meal on the night he would be betrayed. Just after this, we read in chapter 18 that Jesus then went to the Garden with his disciples. By all accounts, this prayer occured at end of the last supper. At this point, Jesus has washed their feet, instituted communion, predicted Judas would betray him, Judas leaves, settled a dispute among His disciples on who would be the greatest, told them that they would deny him - calling Peter out specifically, and then in John 14 - 16, Jesus comforts His disciples on what is about to happen.
So here we are at the end of the night, just before they leave the upstairs room and Jesus prays: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”
1. Jesus prayed for the glory of the Father(vs 1)
What does he mean by glorify? Glorify is a means of bestowing honor and praise.
He has come in human form and in a way given up His glory that He had in heaven. His desire for glory is not for himself, but instead it is in order that the Father might be glorified. Jesus just had this long conversation with the disciples that ends with them expressing faith in Jesus as the Son of God. The only way his disciples could have had this faith was to see the glory of God in Jesus. John 1:14 says:
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John starts off His gospel account having testified to the fulfillment of Jesus prayer. Jesus was glorified that He would glorify the Father.
2. Jesus prayed for eternal life (vs 2-3)
The authority for eternal life was given to Jesus and He alone gives it to us. I think we hear eternal life often times and we don’t fully understand what that means. Eternity is a long, LONG time…sometimes just getting through one day is a struggle, and now I’m promised eternal life…How’s that going to work?
Jesus here defines for us what eternal life is…To know God and to know Jesus. It is all about relationship.
This word to know the only true God brings with it a sense of understanding. We will understand God. I think of 1 John 4 where this same John says that God is love. So we will fully understand love.
I would like to play a clip of this love. Let me give you a setup here. Ivey was in foster care for several years and separated from her 2 younger siblings. Jaime and Daniel had the chance to foster Ivey and she immediately fell in love with the couple. After three years, Jaime and Daniel gave her this gift:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=266517684071703
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/girls-reaction-finding-shes-adopted-beautiful-thing-internet/story?id=57430288
What an amazing story of love. In the same way, we are just in this foster care of a life here on earth and God has said in Ephesians 1:5 that
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
We can cry out like this little girl and I say I am adopted and loved!
Story after story in the Bible we see Jesus interacting with people and leaving behind a fullness of joy and contentment in their lives. This is what eternity will be like. We will be in relationship with the God of the universe who will complete every piece of us. We will be so content that we will want for nothing - that is eternal life!
3. Jesus praised God for a finished work (vs 4-5)
4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
The apostle Paul prayed it like this...
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Jesus was heading into what had to be the hardest part of his work - the cross - and He already was praying like it was finished. He was praising God for that finished work and was looking forward to being restored at the right hand of his father in the same position he was at the beginning.
Whatever situation we find ourselves going through, I can’t imagine any of us are looking ahead with certainty that we are going to suffer death on the cross like Jesus. And yet here He was praying - God be glorified, God fulfill your promise of eternal life and God I praise you for a finished work.
Can you pray for these same things? I know sometimes we want to skip a step and avoid the child-berthing process and just have the joy of holding the baby, but we have a promise of eternal life and a finished work.
Let’s pray
Father, may your glory shine through this church and its people. We desire that you are known and lifted up. Help us resist hanging on to the glory you deserve. Lord, I pray that everyone here knows Jesus as Lord that they might experience the promise of eternal life. We confess to you that we are but sinners and need you to forgive us. Help us to turn away from our sinful ways and head toward you Jesus. Thank you Lord for allowing us to read your prayer and following after you.