Let us turn again to the chapter
that we read in John, the Gospel according to St. John chapter
17, and directing you for our text to the words that we find
in verse 9, John 17. 9 I pray for them, I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. last week we were considering
verses in the former chapters remember previously here we have
these discourses in chapters 14 and 15 and 16 and all leading
up ultimately to this great prayer the chapter begins these words
spake Jesus referring to what he had been saying to his Disciples
there in those previous chapters, these words, baked Jesus and
lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father. And so turning
from addressing his own disciples, the Lord now begins to address
his Father in heaven. Now last time, as I say, we were
looking at verses in those previous chapters. We looked at verse
26 there. at the end of the 15th chapter,
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall testify of mercy. And so we spoke there of His
coming. We spoke also of His procession,
how He proceedeth from the Father he is that one who proceeds both
from the Father and the Son later we see how the Son will breathe
on the disciples after his resurrection and say unto them receive ye
the Holy Ghost but as we thought last time of his coming so we
also went on to consider something of that ministry that the Holy
Ghost exercises. And we have it there of course
in the verses that we were looking at last Lord's Day afternoon. In chapter 16 and verse 13, Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all truth. For he shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will
show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that
the Father hath are mine. Therefore said I, that he shall
take of mine, and shall show it unto you." He comes, does
the Holy Ghost, that One proceeding from the Father and from the
Son. He comes to bear His testimony
to the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a remarkable emphasis
upon that aspect of his ministry. He comes as the Spirit of Christ. He shall not speak of himself,
says Christ, though he be God, the third person in the Blessed
Trinity, yet he doesn't draw attention to himself. He shall
glorify me. He shall receive of mine, says
Christ, and shall show it unto you." What a remarkable ministry
as he directs to the Lord Jesus Christ. And coming now to what
we have here in the 17th chapter, this prayer, and what do we see
in the prayer? Of course it was the Holy Spirit
who inspired John in the writing of this Gospel. John is not writing
simply his own words. This is the Word of God. A Scripture
that is given by inspiration of God. And as John is guided,
directed, inspired by the Spirit, so here he speaks something of
Christ's authority. And that's the theme really that
I want to take up as we look at the text that I've announced
this morning. The authority of Christ's prayer. I pray for them, he says, I pray
not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for
they are thine. We have references to other prayers
of the Lord Jesus here in John's Gospel. They're short prayers
but we can easily identify them if we go back to chapter 11 and
there at verses 41 and 42 we're told how Jesus lifted up his
eyes and said, Father I thank you that thou hast heard me and
I knew that thou hearest me always but because of the people which
stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent
me." The prayer that the Lord prays there at the grave of Lazarus
as he raises Lazarus from the dead. A short prayer. But again
we see how he clearly is addressing himself to his Father in heaven. And then again in chapter 12, verse 27, now is my soul troubled
and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour,
but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. And as the Father answers, then
came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it again. But here in the 17th chapter
we have a long prayer the longest prayer that we have recorded
anywhere in scripture with regards to the prayer life of the Lord
Jesus Christ himself it is high priestly prayer and as we come
to consider more particularly what he is saying here in verse
9 I want to observe with you how we see how it is a prayer
in a sense that is limited and is particular in its scope. Though a long prayer, it is limited. It's very particular, very specific. Christ says, I pray for them.
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given
me, for they are thine. Here we have a negative and a
positive, and really that is the division, the basic division
that I want to follow as we examine this particular part of the prayer,
this petition. "'I pray for them,' he says,
"'I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me, for they are thine.'" To begin, then, by considering
this negative aspect of this part of the Lord's Prayer. He does not, He says, pray for
the world. And yet, and you may have observed
this as we were reading through the chapter, later, He does pray
for the world. There in verse 21, the end of
verse 21, He prays that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me. Again, verse 23, And that the
world may know that thou hast sent me. he does pray for the
world and so some on a superficial reading of the words might say
well here's a contradiction the Lord is contradicting himself
even in his prayer to the Father but we know that that's that
cannot be true the Lord never contradicts himself anywhere
in his words he is that one who is spoken of as they are men,
the faithful and true witness. All he ever says is truth, he
is the wife, he is the truth, and he is the life. He is God,
and he is in one mind, and who can turn him? asks Job. He doesn't in any sense contradict
himself at all. And so when we come to examine
such statements as we find apparent contradictions here in the prayer
of the Lord Jesus, it becomes us that we carefully look into
the Word of God and recognize the fact that in Scripture this
word world clearly has more than one meaning. It has more than
one meaning. When we see the word we might
immediately think in terms of the world as it has been and
is populated by millions of people. The world, we might say, means
everyone. Everyone who has ever lived,
everyone who ever will live on this globe. But then when we
come to scripture we see that there are occasions when clearly
that's not the meaning of the word world. There in Luke chapter
2 the opening verse of that chapter we read of that decree that went
out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. It's a the context, the historic
setting of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's the reason,
of course, why Joseph and Mary have to go to Nazareth, because
that's where they must pay that tribute that he's being demanded
of the Caesar. That was the hometown of Joseph. But what do we read there? The
decree is that all the world, all the world was to be taxed. Clearly the reference is simply
to the Roman world. It's the world of the Roman Empire.
It's limited. It's limited. And so many times
in scripture we see this word world as different meanings. Sometimes the word is used in
reference to the world of the whole election of Christ. The familiar words of John 3.16,
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. What are we to understand by
that world that God has loved? and made provision for. Isn't
that the world of the elect? Oh yes, in the Old Testament
we see quite clearly that God's grace is confined to the nation
of Israel. You only have I known, He says,
of all the families of the earth. God had chosen them as a people. They were a typical people, but
they're a type. Israel, the type of God's spiritual
Israel. What is God's spiritual Israel?
That is the church. And so when we come to the New
Testament and we find this word being used on occasions, the
world, it means that God's grace is not confined now to one nation,
Israel. Think of the language that we
have there in 1 John 2.2, concerning Christ, a propitiation for our
sins, says John, but not for us only, but also for the sins
of the whole world. John is writing as a Jew and
he is reminding the Jews that the propitiation, that great
sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ has made, bearing in his
own person the wrath of God, suffering the just for the unjust,
it's not just for the Jew, not just for the elect amongst the
Jews but for the Gentile sinners as well the propitiation for
our sinners says John but not for ours only but also for the
sins of the whole world that world that God has loved the
words in that sense is clearly limited and and restricted but
then Also the word can be used in reference to that that is
ungodly, that that we might associate with the reprobate. Here the Lord says, I pray not
for the world, and He is referring to that reprobate world, that
rejected world, that world that there is no provision of salvation
for. the whole world says John lieth
in wickedness and so believers are told not to love the world,
love not the world neither the things that are in the world
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, the pride of life is not of the father but is of the
world and the world passes away and this word then is used in
in different ways. And here, in our text this morning,
what is the Lord saying? He makes it quite clear that
His prayer is limited and it's particular. He is not praying for the world, but He is clearly
praying throughout for for the world not praying for the reprobate
world but praying for the world of the elect and so when we come
to those later statements that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me and that the world may know that thou hast sent
me there we are to understand he is speaking in terms of the
election of Christ but let us come in the second place to the
more positive aspect of the text. The Lord says quite clearly here,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world but
for them which thou hast given me for they are thine. Who are these then that the Lord
is praying for? And what is peculiar with regards
to this people where they have God's word they have God's truth
as we see in the context verse 8 I have given unto them the
word which thou gavest me and they have received them and have
known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed
that thou didst send me I pray for them Oh, they have God's
Word, they have God's truth. What do they have? They have
the great doctrines of the Gospel. And as we come to consider the
positive aspect of the petition that we have here in the prayer,
there are two particular Gospel doctrines that I want to mention
in relation to the prayer of the Lord Jesus. Firstly, to see
the primacy of election with regard to the manner in which
the Lord Jesus Christ is praying, and then secondly, to consider
the importance of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ in relation
to His prayer. "'I pray for them,' he says,
"'for them which thou hast given me, for they are Thine." Clearly
here the words indicate that the Lord is very much aware of
the great eternal purpose of the one to whom he is addressing
himself. Throughout this prayer Christ
is very much aware of the primacy of election. He is that one who
is partly to the eternal councils of the Trinity. We spoke somewhat
last week when we were considering the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We made mention of the truth of the Trinity, of course, with
regards to the procession of the Holy Ghost. As the Son is that One who is
eternally begotten, the eternal Son of the Father, so the The
Spirit is that One who is eternally proceeding from the Father and
from the Son. There's that relationship between
the three divine persons. The Father begetting, the Son
begotten, the Holy Spirit proceeding from Father and from Son. And the Lord Jesus here is that
One, the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh the great mystery
of godliness the glorious truth of the incarnation and as he
comes to pray we have to remember that he is party to that great
eternal purpose of salvation that's covenant that covenant
of redemption that covenant of grace and throughout the prayer
We see how he pleads with the Father in terms of that covenant. What does he say? Verse 2, "...as thou hast given
him power over all flesh," referring to himself, "...that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." He is
acknowledging that the Father in that covenant had given him
a people. Again at verse 6, I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy words. Verse 11, Holy Father, keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may
be one as we are. Again in verse 12, those that
thou gavest me, I have kept." When were these given to the
Lord Jesus? They were given to Him in eternity. They were given to Him, committed
to Him in that covenant of grace. And remember how the Apostle
brings that out in Ephesians 1 verse 3 following, "...Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world." Well Mark, what he says here, Paul says that
God hath chosen a people in his Son before the foundation of
the world. That's the covenant. According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted
in the Beloved." And though the Lord Jesus in this prayer is
constantly aware of that, and He's praying, And he's praying
always in terms of the covenant. He's pleading that promise that
the Father had given to him in that covenant. And it's not just
the disciples. Oh yes, he's praying for the
disciples. But what does he say? Verse 29,
"...that pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their works." He is praying for all that the
Father had given to Him. He's about to make that great
sin-atoning sacrifice, and He is praying that that sacrifice
will not be in vain, that that people given to Him in the covenant
will be saved and kept, and kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation. But what is the significance
of this? Surely there is a lesson for us to learn here. We are
to learn from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that we are
to be followers of him, as he is a follower of Christ. That
is the mark of the disciple, he is a follower of Christ. And
isn't the Lord Jesus here a great pattern of prayer? How are we
to pray? We are to plead the covenant,
we are to plead the promises of God. Oh, that's what the Lord
Jesus is doing. He is pleading in terms of what
God had promised in that eternal purpose of salvation, and that's
how we're to pray. That's why we need to familiarize
ourselves with the great truths, the great doctrines of Scripture,
that we might pray over these things. as the old Puritan says
that we might come before God and thicken our prayers with
his promises and to be so bold as to be those who would seek
to hold fast God to his promise for he is not a man that he should
lie neither the son of man that he should repent hath he said
it shall he not do it hath he spoken it shall he not make it
good that's our comfort when we come and have dealings with
God, when we pray to God. We're not dealing now in ifs
and buts and possibilities and probabilities and maybes. We're
dealing with that God who is Sovereign and there's nothing
impossible with Him. Why? He's able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think. We're to be emboldened
then as we look to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great Patron. But we have to also observe a
significant thing here that the Lord Jesus Christ as He comes
to pray is somewhat different to us because He can speak to
the Father as one who is equal with the Father. That is the truth. Look at how
He addresses the Father later at verse 24 Father, He says,
I will. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold
my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before
the foundation of the world. Oh, He is speaking here as the
Eternal Son and He is equal to the Father. There in verse 24
the words are mandatory I will, he says. When we pray, we can't
address God in such a fashion as that. We pray, nevertheless,
not our will but God's will. We see that also in the Lord
Jesus, of course, ultimately in the garden. But here, there
is this other aspect. Here we see something of His
glory. He is never anything less than the eternal Son of God.
Isn't that eternal Sonship His glory? What does John say? The Word was made flesh, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. And it's interesting here, the words that are being used. I pray for them, he says. I pray not for the world. Now, The word that we have, of
course, I pray for them, it has a basic meaning of asking. I
ask for them. But there are two words in the
original that are translated by the English word ask. There
is a word that clearly has reference to an inferior who is approaching
someone who is superior. That's one of the words that
is often used, rendered, normally, I ask. But that is not the word
that we have here. It has no reference, this word,
to someone in theory, are coming to a superior to ask a favour,
to ask a blessing. No, there's another word, and
this other word really indicates that there is an equal dignity
between the person who is making the request and the one to whom
the request is being made. This is the word that is used
here. Here we have the Eternal Son coming to the Eternal Father,
and they're equal. They're co-eternal, they're co-equal. All the persons in the Godhead,
remember, no superiority, no inferiority in the Godhead. The
Son is no less God than the Father is God. The Holy Ghost is no
less God than the Father and the Son are God. And the particular
word that's used here, and not only here, it's used again. We
have it also in verse 15, I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil. Again in verse 20, Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.
On these three occasions, it is this particular word that
indicates quite clearly an equality between the person asking and
the person who is being addressed. And we see the same back in chapter
14 and verse 16, where Christ says, I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with
you forever." He prays to the Father, but there he is praying
to the Father as one who is equal with the Father. And of course,
as I said last time, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, he proceeds
from the Father and from the Son. Oh, it is important that
we recognize here then the authority the authority with which the
Lord Jesus Christ can pray in His prayer. And yet, at the same
time, we have to remember that great mystery of godliness, the
mystery of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, because He
is also man. He is God, but He is man. And
as a man, does he not live the life of faith? And living that life of faith,
does he not have to come and pray time and again in faith? Oh, remember those words that
we have in chapter 11? We referred to them just now.
There at the grave of Lazarus, what does he say? verse 42 I
knew that thou hearest me always he knew that when he prays to
his father he's living the life of faith he's living that life
of dependence he looks to the father as a man as a man he is here to serve
the father oh remember how in the eternal covenant He becomes
the servant of God. God says, Behold, My servant
whom I uphold, Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth, I have
put My Spirit upon him. He is the Christ, the Anointed
One. And as the Christ, He comes not to do His own will, He comes
to do the will of Him that has sent Him. And so whilst here
we recognize the The primacy of election in his prayer, he
comes and he speaks to the Father, and he can speak to the Father
in terms of the eternal covenant, and he is party to that covenant,
and he is equal to the Father. But here also, in this prayer,
we see the importance of Christ's priestly office. His priestly office in his prayer. And in that priestly office he
is here as the Christ to serve God. Now what does a priest do? Well, the Lord Jesus as a priest
comes to represent a people. And who are the people that he
represents? They are a particular people. And so what does he do as a priest?
He ministers for them. He stands between them and God. A priest comes, what does he
do? He makes sacrifice. We're familiar with these things,
our basic truths really. We see it all prefigured there
in the types of the Levitical priesthood. You can think of
the work of the great high priest on the day of atonement in Leviticus
16, he is there. to make sacrifice for the sins
of the people it is the great day the one day in the calendar
when the high priest can enter in beyond the second veil go
into the holy of holies appear before the mercy seat but he
goes with the blood of sacrifice and he sprinkles the blood there
upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat or remember that's
such a significant part of his business on that great day. He
is there to make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. Leviticus 16.15, Then shall he
kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people. and bring
his blood within the vial, and do with that blood as he did
with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy
seat and before the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement
for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children
of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle
of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their
uncleanness. It is the great atoning day. And the Lord Jesus, as a priest,
he makes sacrifice. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I lay down my life
for the sheep, he says. Oh, he's not only the priest,
he's the sacrifice. He's the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. And this is the work that he
came to do, he's a priest. Therefore does my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me. I lay it down of myself, I have
power to lay it down, I have power to take it again this commandment
have I received of my Father all the Lord Jesus Christ is
that one then who comes to make the great sin atoning sacrifice
such a significant, such an important part of his priestly office and
of course That's what follows here in John's Gospel, chapters
18 and 19. We see how he must go that way
of the cross. He must endure all that mockery
of a trial before Pontius Pilate. How unjust it all is. And yet,
does he not become the Lord Jesus to fulfill all righteousness?
and so willingly he goes that way of the cross all we quoted
those words from John's gospel he has power, he has authority
from God authority to lay his life down and he will be obedient
and he will be obedient to the end even to the death of the
cross He loves the Father. He loves all those that the Father
has given to Him in that eternal covenant, having loved His own
which were in the world. We are told how He loves them.
On to the end, even that bitter suffering that He has to endure. Not only physical sufferings,
but all that suffering that is taking place in the very depths
of His soul. He is to make His soul an offering
for sin. or the anguish, the agonies.
My God, my God, he cries, why hast thou forsaken me? But then as a priest, and this
is what we see of course in the 17th chapter of John, as a priest
he also makes intercession. That is the priestly office in
the Old Testament. The priest is a sacrificing priest,
but he's also an interceding priest and again we have it in
that 16th chapter that we referred to Leviticus chapter 16 and look
at the language there at verse 12 and verse 13 Here is the priest, the high
priest, going into the holy place on the great day of atonement. He shall take a censer full of
burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and
his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within
the vow. And he shall put the incense
upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense
may cover the mercy seat, that is, upon the testimony that he
die not. And he shall take of the blood
of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy
seat eastward, and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle
of the blood with his finger seven times. But it's not just
the sprinkling of the blood of the bullock, and then the sprinkling
of the blood of the goat for the sin offering that we referred
to previously but it's also the significance of what he does
when he takes the sweet incense and brings that within the veil
and puts the incense upon the fire and the cloud of the incense
covers the mercy seat just as the mercy seat is sprinkled with
the blood. What is the significance of it?
Well, it is of course a type as all those Levitical sacrifices
and services were and it's a type of prayer and we know that because
we see it in the New Testament. And this is how we interpret
the Old Testament. Constantly we interpret the Old
in the light of the New, because it's in the New Testament that
we have the fullness and the finality of the revelation that
God has given to us. Revelation chapter 8, verse 3,
another angel says, John came and stood at the altar, having
a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon
the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of
the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended
up before God out of the angel's hand." Oh, we have you see the
incense. and the incense offered together
with the prayers of all saints." And it's repeated there, verse
3, and again in verse 4. The priest prays. The priest
intercedes. And what do we see here in our
text this morning? As I said at the outset, the
Lord's prayer is limited and it is particular. and that shouldn't
surprise us because the atoning sacrifice is limited and particular
and those that Christ sacrifices for are the same ones that he
prays for I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them
which thou hast given me for they are thine All we see quite clearly is that
as Christ is a priest sacrificing, a priest interceding, in each
case it is the same people. The ones that he makes a sacrifice
for are the ones that he is praying for. And as I said they are more numerous,
they are more numerous than these disciples. who were the Lord's
followers whilst he was here upon the earth. What does he say back in chapter
10? At verse 16, other sheep I have which are not of this
fold, them also I must bring. All the disciples they were Jews
but there was a purpose yet to be fulfilled, the calling of
the Gentiles as we see in Ephesians chapter 3 where Paul makes clear
he is calling to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, are the sheep
I have which are not of this fold. Verse 20 here in John 17,
neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall
believe on me through their work. Well, what do we see then with
regards to this prayer, this authoritative prayer of the Lord
Jesus Christ? He prays for them before they
are born. He prays for them before they
are born. Those which shall yet believe
on them. He says back in Jeremiah to the
prophets, before I formed thee in the womb I knew them. All
the Lord knows His own, before ever His own are born into this
world. Why? He has known them from the
foundation of the earth. He has known them in the eternal
covenant of grace. He prays for them before they
are born into the world. He preserves them and He prays
for them before ever they're born again. They're all born
dead in trespasses and sins, each and every one of us. That's
our natural condition. It matters not, as I've said
many a time, it matters not who our parents are, though they
be the most gracious people on the face of the earth. Thank
God. Thank God if you have gracious parents. but you were born dead
in trespasses and sins but the wonder is those that Christ has
known from the foundation of the world or they are preserved
as Jude says there in the opening words of his epistle preserved
in Jesus Christ and called before they are called by the sovereign
grace of God before they know that efficacious work of the
Holy Ghost in their souls They're preserved. And you know, maybe,
for the Lord's people, we think back to days before our regeneration,
and can we not sometimes think, well, there were incidents in
childhood, when something happened in my soul, or it might not have
come to anything. But now as we look back, we see
the finger of God in these things, preserved. Preserved in Jesus
Christ and core. And so the Lord will still pray
for His people. He prays for His people after
they are born into this world. He prays for them after they
are born again. Of course He does. That's our comfort when
we come to pray. All we know that He is able and
He is able to save for the Ottomans all that come to God by Him. When we come by our Lord Jesus
Christ, I pray for them, He says. And now the Lord, of course,
risen from the dead, ascended on high. He has entered into
heaven, into His kingdom, His mediatorial kingdom. He is there
as the great mediator. He ever lives to make intercession.
His very presence, His session there at the Father's right hand. It's a constant prayer on behalf
of His people. As the hymn writer says, He ever
lives to intercede before His Father's face. Give Him, my soul,
thy cause to plead, nor doubt the Father's grace. Oh, let us
not doubt these things. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
One who is risen, is risen indeed, is ascended on high. And this
Word still holds true for His people today. I pray for them.
I pray not for the world, but for them which have given me.
For they are Thine. May the Lord bless His Word to
us. Amen.