Now, if you will, turn in your
Bibles to John chapter 17. My message today is on the subject,
the Lord prays for his own. In the 17th chapter of John,
verse 9, let's read that verse for the text. Our Lord said,
I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
I pray for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine,
and all mine are thine, and all thine are mine. I pray for them.
Back in Old Testament days, when the high priest of Israel would
go under the veil into the holy place once a year with the Great
Atonement, he would take in one hand a censer, and in that censer
were hot coals of fire that he'd gotten from the altar that he
placed in the censer. And in the other hand was a crushed
incense. And when he went into the Holy
of Holies, once a year, in the Holy of Holies was the mercy
seat and the Ark of the Covenant, the broken law, on which the
blood atonement was placed. But before he placed the blood
atonement on the mercy seat, once a year, as the great high
priest of Israel, he would go under that veil with a censer
in this hand and the crushed incense in the other hand. And
when he came into the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, the presence
of God, He would put that incense on those hot coals in the censer. And when the incense landed on
the coals, it began to burn. And the sweet fragrance of that
burning incense would fill that holy place. And the scripture
says the smoke of the incense would cover the mercy seat and
would cover the Ark of the Covenant. This represented the prayers,
the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words,
before the atonement was put on the mercy seat, the intercessory
prayers of Christ went up into the nostrils of God on behalf
of his people. And this is what the 17th chapter
of John is all about. Our Lord was spending the last
days with his disciples. They'd eaten the last supper,
they'd gone to the Garden of Gethsemane. And here our Lord
prayed for his own. He is our great high priest.
We have a high priest. All of these things that happened
in the Old Testament were pictures of what Christ would do for his
people. You remember in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote, Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the scriptures. He ascended to the right hand
of God and intercedes for us according to the scriptures.
And so this great high priest, once a year, going into the holy
place and into the holy of holies, burning the incense and slaying
the lamb and putting his blood on the altar, on the mercy seat,
was a picture of Christ. And our Lord is about to go to
the cross. He is about to suffer and bleed
and die for his people. But before he sprinkles us with
the blood, he sanctifies us with his prayers. Now, this 17th chapter
of John essentially and preeminently is the Lord's Prayer. I know
that people often say, well, now let's pray the Lord's Prayer,
and then they start off, Our Father which art in heaven, but
now that's the disciples' prayer. The disciples asked the Lord
to teach them to pray. They said, Lord, teach us to
pray as John taught his disciples to pray. And our Lord said, Well,
when you pray, say, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. So that's a disciple's prayer.
But this passage of scripture in John 17, this is the great
priestly prayer of Christ on behalf of his people. This is
the Lord's prayer. It begins this way. The Lord
Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven and said, Father, Now, you and
I don't lift our eyes to heaven when we pray. There's nothing
wrong with that. I'm sure if we're in Christ, we're holy.
But we're like the publican in the temple. We're filled with
shame and embarrassment because of our sin, because of our evil
thoughts, and because of our evil hearts. And instead of lifting
our eyes to heaven, we bow our heads and close our eyes and
like Republicans smote upon his breast and cried, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. But our Lord was not a sinner.
Our Lord had no sin. Our Lord was perfect. And so
he could lift his eyes and look right into the throne of deity,
right into the presence of the Heavenly Father, because he was
one with the Father and he had no sin. And here in John 17,
in verse 1, he lifted his eyes to heaven and he said, Father,
the hour has come. This is the hour set forth in
the eternal purpose. This is the hour for which Christ
came into the world. This is the hour of redemption. This is the central hour of all
scripture and of all time. This is the hour that divides
the old covenant from the new covenant. This is the darkest
hour in the history of the world, and yet the brightest hour, for
it's the delivering hour. It's the hour when Christ would
die for his people. The hour has come. You remember
when they were at the wedding feast and ran out of wine, and
his mother came and said, son, they're out of wine. He said,
woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour has not yet come.
Mine hour. This is the hour he's talking
about. The hour of substitution. The hour of sacrifice. The hour
of the sin offering. The hour of the cross. And then
on another occasion, the disciples talked to him about not going
to Jerusalem, and he said, For this cause came I to this hour.
Shall I say, Deliver me from this hour, when for this very
cause I came to this hour? He was born crucified. He was
the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Every prophecy
in the Old Testament said the Lamb must die, the Lamb of God
must suffer, bleed, and die. Father, the hour has come. Now
watch this. Glorify thy Son. that thy son
may glorify thee." This is the proper order. This is the way
it has to be. He that honoreth the son honoreth
the father. And he that honoreth not the
son honoreth not the father that sent him. No man comes to the
father but by the son. Father, the hour is come. Now
glorify me that I may glorify thee. Christ has to be glorified,
and Christ has to be honored, and Christ has to be set forth,
exalted as the Redeemer of Israel, in order to glorify and to honor
the law of God, and the justice of God, and the holiness of God.
And if there's any portion of Scripture in this Bible that
ought to be the most precious to every believer, And all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. And man does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of
God. And all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction,
instruction, and righteousness. But if there's any passage of
Scripture that ought to be referred to as holy ground, that we ought
to approach in the way that Moses approached the burning bush by
taking off our shoes and realizing we're in the very presence of
deity, We're in the very presence of an awesome, fearful time. It's this passage right here.
It's a precious passage because our Lord is praying for us. The Master is praying for his
people. Those for whom he suffered, he
prayed. Those for whom he came to die,
he prayed. Those whom he came to redeem,
those he prayed for. And six times in this passage
of script, six times in John 17, and I hope you'll read the
17th chapter of John. It's impossible for me to cover
this whole chapter in one half hour message. It can't be done.
One verse can't be covered in a half hour. But I want to touch
lightly upon about six verses from this 17th chapter and ask
you to read the rest of it later, if you will. But in John 17,
six times, our Lord identifies those for whom he prayed, for
whom he suffered, for whom he died, for whom he interceded,
for whom he's the high priest. He says six times, now this is
the key passage of John 17, those that the Father gave me, or them
that thou hast given me. He says that six times in this
one chapter. Here our Lord is the great high
priest, and he's interceding, he's talking with his Father.
Father, Christ lifted his eyes to heaven, he said Father, Glorify
thy son that thy son may glorify thee." And here six times he
uses this phrase, them that thou gavest me. Now the first time
is found in verse 2. When you turn to John 17, look
at verse 2. The Lord Jesus Christ says, thou
hast given me power, authority over all flesh that I should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. Thou hast
given me power over all flesh, that I may give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given me. Our Lord has all authority
in heaven and earth. He said that to the disciples
in Matthew 18, before he went back to the Father, telling them
to go preach the gospel and baptize men and teach them. He says,
all authority, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has all authority and all power over
all things, even the most stubborn things, all flesh. That's right. He has authority
over all flesh. He has power over all fallen
men to pardon whom he will. There's not an angel in heaven.
There's not a creature from pole to pole. There's not a man of
any rank or station or nation who is not under the authority
and the dominion and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what he's saying here. All authority is given unto me
over all flesh. God has vested all authority
and all judgment in the hands of the Son, and all salvation
is in the hands of the Son. The Son quickeneth whom he will. Now this, as a result of this
mediatorial kingdom of Christ, the Father had turned everything
over to the Son. He had made him the one mediator
between God and me. And given to our mediator, our
King of kings and Lord of lords, all authority and dominion over
all the world, a fallen race is permitted to exist. A fallen race is permitted to
survive and continue because there is a mediator. because
Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners, because the blood of
Christ has been shed, because the great high priest intercedes
before the throne of God. Our Lord has all authority and
all power over all flesh in order to accomplish one purpose, to
redeem from that flesh and from that earth a people given him
by the Father. Hear what he says? Father, all
authority has been given to me over all flesh in order that,
to fulfill this purpose, that I should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given me, of people out of every tribe
and kindred and nation and tongue unto heaven, of people as innumerable
as the stars of the sky and as the sands of the seashore, but
nevertheless of people out of a fallen race, and that fallen
race is permitted to continue and permitted to exist because
of the mediatorial work and sacrifice and person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let me give you an example of
that. Joshua, the leader of Israel, was looking over the valley where
a great battle was taking place, Israel against the heathen, the
pagans, the nation of God, the people of God against the pagans
of this world. They were fighting. The sun was
going down. Joshua said, Lord, if the sun
goes down, our cause is lost. We need some more daylight. And
so Joshua commanded, according to the word of God, the sun to
stand still. And because the sun stood still
and gave another hour or so of light, Israel prevailed. But now wait a minute. The sun
stood still for Israel. And Israel profited by that hour
of daylight. But so did the rest of that half
of the hemisphere. So did the rest of the people
who were in daylight at that time. And on the other side of
the world, the thief had another hour of darkness. On this side
of the world, the rebel farmer had another hour to get his wheat
in before dark, or his hay or his oats in before dark. But
anyway, everybody had another hour of light, or two hours,
however long it was. When our Lord Jesus Christ stilled
the storm, the disciples were in the boat, and the boat was
being tossed by the waves, and they were concerned and worried.
And the Lord stood out and said, Peace, be still. And the storm
settled the sea. The storm ceased, and the sea
was settled and was quiet and calm. But now, wait a minute. Every other ship on that sea
also benefited by that miracle. Here were some pirates or thieves
or robbers on their way to overtake another ship and steal from them. Well, they got a calm sea too.
And one time Assyria came against Israel, and God overthrew Assyria
and destroyed the whole army and saved Israel. But Babylon
was also saved, the pagan, heathen nation of Babylon. And Babylon
even sent a note to the king of Israel thanking him for destroying
this area. So you see, our Lord Jesus Christ
came to this earth on purpose to redeem a people. But the whole
world benefited by his coming. Our Lord died on the cross to
redeem a people. He came to save his people from
their sin. And yet the whole world benefited
by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It stayed the wrath of
God. It held back the hand of judgment. It kept God from destroying
this world. And the only thing now that holds
back the wrath of God, for their foot shall slide in due time,
is the fact that Jesus Christ has an elect people on this earth
that have not yet been called out. And when he calls the last
one, that'll end it. But he says, I have all authority.
Even those people who crucified him carried out the will of God.
That's what Scripture says. Peter said on Pentecost, You
with wicked hands crucified the Lord of Glory, but you did what
God purposed before to be done. You with wicked hands crucified
the Lord of Glory, but you carried out the determinant counsel of
God Almighty. For our Lord, even the wrath
of man praises the Lord. God Almighty has authority over
all flesh, and Christ has all power over all flesh. Why? That
he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given. That's
what he says here. All right, what's the second
point now in verse 6? He says, I have manifested, I
have declared thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out
of the world. Here it is again, there's that
statement. The first one is, I have all authority over all
flesh that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given me. And here he says, I have manifested your name. I have
declared your name. unto those men which you gave
me out of the world." Would you know God? Then seek to know Christ. Would you know the Heavenly Father?
Then seek to know the Son, because the Son reveals the Father. The
Son declares the Father. The Son manifests the Father.
Philip asked him that one day. He said, Lord, show us the Father,
and it'll satisfy us. And Christ said, Philip, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet you haven't known me?
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, because Christ is
the brightness of his glory, the exact image of his person. I have manifested to those whom
you gave me out of the world thy name. Now, what do we mean
by the name of God? Well, my friends, the name of
God is meant God himself. When we call a person by name,
We mean to declare all that that person is, his character, his
attributes, his glory, his strength, all of these things. When you
call a person's name, you visualize that person as he is, his character,
his personality, his age, everything is revealed in the name. And
so when Christ said, I've declared the name of God, I've manifested
the name of God to those whom you gave me, He's saying, I reveal
God himself. They know God because I declared
unto them who God is. You know, back in the Old Testament,
these Old Testament prophets and men of God, they were often
very precise in declaring the name of God. They put the name
of God on monuments, and they put the name of God on altars,
and they put the name of God on special places. For example,
let me give you five or six or seven Abraham on that mountain
when he sacrificed Isaac and God gave a lamb to die in the
place of Isaac He called the name of the place Jehovah Jehovah
Jireh and that means the Lord will provide The Lord will provide
see that's the name of our God God will provide he will provide
himself a lamb He will provide a sacrifice, and he will provide
a sacrifice to himself and of himself. God will provide. Another
name is found in Exodus 17, verse 15, Jehovah-nisa, the Lord, our
banner. He rules over us. The Lord, our
banner. The Lord, our ensign. The Lord,
our king. And then in Exodus 15, 16, Jehovah-rapha,
I am the Lord that healeth thee. And then in Ezekiel 48, 35, Jehovah
Shema, the Lord is present. Omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent,
always there. Jeremiah 33, 16, Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord, our righteousness. And then in Judges 6, 24, Jehovah
Shalem, the Lord, our peace. You know, when the Israelites
greet someone, Shalom, they say, Shalem, or something like that,
means peace, the Lord, our peace. Eternal life is to know God,
and God is known in Christ. And he said, Father, I've declared
your name, your person, yourself. I've manifested your name, not
a god or some god, but the living God. You know, David cried, as
the deer panteth for the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, the living God. It's not enough to know a God,
or worship some God, or any God. I long to know the living God.
Eternal life is to know the true and living God. And He's known
in Christ. And that's the only way He's
known. Now look, if you will, at verse 9. The same prayer,
John 17. Our Lord said, I pray for them.
I pray for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. and thine are mine, and all mine
are thine." Now, he gives two reasons why he prays for these
people. And the first reason is this,
I pray for them because they are thine. They belong to you. Father, you chose them. You determined
to save them. You purposed to redeem them.
You gave them to me. I pray for them because they're
yours. That's why I pray for them. Whom he foreknew, the word
is foreordained. He predestinated to be conformed
to the image of His Son, Romans 8, 29. Whom He predestinated,
He called. Whom He called, He justified.
Whom He justified, He glorified. Father, I pray for them, because
they're Yours. And secondly, because Yours are
mine, and mine are Yours. He uses six statements there.
I pray for them, that You gave me, because they're Yours. And
Yours are mine, and mine are Yours. And I've been made the
surety for these. I have undertaken to be the surety
for every one of these people that belong to you. I've promised
to come down here into the world and work out a perfect righteousness
for them. I've promised to go to the cross
and work out a perfect redemption. I've promised to present them
without losing a one before your throne with exceeding joy and
exceeding glory. When Joseph was down in Egypt,
And the little handful of Israelites at that time, there weren't very
many of them, Jacob's family. Anyway, when Joseph was down
in Egypt, Jacob sent his sons down to Egypt to get some corn.
And they hadn't seen Moses in years. He was just a teenage
boy when they tried to kill him and sold him into slavery. And
I was 40 years old. And he recognized them, the 10
brothers, but they didn't recognize him. And he said, you're spies.
And they said, no, we're not. We got one brother dead. They
thought Joseph was dead. We got one little brother at
home and there are ten of us. And so Joseph said, well, I'm
going to keep one of you and the nine go home. And when you
come back for corn, bring that little brother with you. He wanted
to see his little brother. And so they went on home, nine
of them. There was Joseph supposed to
be dead. And Simeon stayed in Egypt with Joseph, not knowing
who he was. And when they came to Jacob,
they said, now this king said, if we'll bring back our little
brother, he'll give us more corn. Jacob said, oh, no. Joseph dead
and Simeon is not would you take Benjamin to no way? Well, finally
they begin to starve and and Judah and that's the tribe from
which Christ came Judah came to his father Jacob He said father
let Benjamin go with us or we're gonna starve gonna die us and
all our little ones Let him go with us and father. I'll be surety
for him if I don't bring him back I'll bear the blame forever
and that's what Christ is saying right here father. I pray for
them because they're yours And yours are mine, and mine is yours.
And I've undertaken to be the surety and to redeem them totally,
completely, meet every need, restore their soul, and bring
them home to glory." And that brings us to the next point in
verse 11 and 12. Father, keep. Now watch the word
keep and kept here. These verses deal with keeping,
and we need to be kept, don't we? We need to be kept from error.
We need to be kept from sin. We need to be kept from falling.
We need to be kept from division. We need to be kept from indifference.
We need to be kept from discord. Oh, we've been redeemed, but
we need to be kept. We're not there yet. We're not made like
him just yet. But he says, Father, keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me. While I was in
the world, I kept them, but now I come to thee. Thou, those that
thou gavest me, I have kept. None of them is lost, but one,
the son of perdition, Judah, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
I kept them. Father, keep them. I've lost
none of them. My friends, the Lord Jesus Christ
is going to keep his sheep. He came to redeem them. He gave
them a perfect salvation and sanctification, and he says not
one of them will be lost. Now unto him, Jude pronounces
that blessed benediction. Now unto him who is able to keep
you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence
of his glory with exceeding joy." Now watch the last point. In
verse 24, the Lord Jesus comes to the end of this prayer, and
he says, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given
me, those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory. Two things I want you to see
before I close. We have two great things here,
especially two great things. Number one, we have heaven's
greatest joy, that they may be with me. And we have heaven's
greatest employment, that they may behold my glory, the glory
of my person, the glory of my grace, the glory of my love,
and the glory of my righteousness.