WHEN JESUS PRAYED FOR YOU! Part 1

"Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:24-26 ESV

John 17 is one of the most profound prayers in the entire Bible. Here we have before us one of the most intimate glimpses anywhere in Scripture of the mind and heart of the Lord as He prayed this prayer while on His way to Gethsemane. On that night we are revealed Jesus Christ’s ultimate concerns. His words are dominated, even in His darkest hour, by a spirit of high reverence for His Father and a loving concern for His then-present and future followers.

An overview of His prayer is that first, He prayed for Himself that night (Verses 1-5). He spoke of unimaginable glory and of perfect union with the Father in that glory. As He prayed He revealed as never before the single purpose of why He had ever left the glory of heaven. The hearts of the disciples were stirred as they realized the Presence of Deity. And then Jesus prayed for them! (Verses 6-19)They listened as He asked the Father to make them a part of the fellowship and life which Jesus Himself shared with the Father. But then, wonder of wonders, Jesus prayed for you and for me! (Verses 20-26) Jesus reveals His deepest desires and wants to His Father for you and me! Here is the climax of his desire:

"Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am" (verse 24).

Here is Jesus praying for us. He loves us in this prayer. Oh how He loves us in this prayer! Jesus is praying for all of His future disciples, these are those whom God has drawn to the Son (John 6:44, 65). These are Christians, people who have "received" Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior and Lord and Treasure of their lives (John 1:12; 10:11, 17-18; 20:28; 6:35; 3:17). Jesus says he wants them to be with him. Why does Jesus want us to be with him?

“. . . To see my glory that you [Father] have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Verse 24B)

This expresses Jesus’ concern not for our companionship with Him but instead for the fulfillment of our deepest longing. If Jesus loves you and prays for you, do you know what he finally asks for you? That you may see him. The ultimate answer to the prayer of love is, "Show them my glory, Father. Show them my glory, and they will have arrived at ultimate purpose."

As Augustine said, “Oh Lord, thou hast made us for thyself and hearts find no rest except we find it in thee.” The deepest longing of the human heart and the deepest meaning of heaven and earth are summed up in this: THE GLORY OF GOD. Nothing less will do. Jesus is not lonely and is not needy for our companionship. He and the Father and the Spirit are profoundly satisfied in the fellowship of the Trinity. We, not He, are starving for something: THE GLORY OF GOD! Jesus knew this. That is why He prays this way!

“To see my glory”. This is the very purpose of God creating us (Isaiah 43:6-7; Romans 9:23). This is the heart of all that the apostles preached (2 Cor.4:6). This is the goal of every Christian act (1 Corinthians 10:31). This is the focus of all Christian hope (Romans.5:2). This is what will someday replace the sun and the moon as the light of life (Revelation 21:23) and even now what the heavens are proclaiming (Psalm 19:1). When people see it and discover its worth they cry out like Moses, “Show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18) and David “One thing I ask and what I seek after is to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4).

So here Jesus’ love is manifest by praying for us to experience the fulfillment of what we were really made for, seeing and cherishing His glory. Oh, that God would make this sink in to our souls! Oh that we would bask in this amazing love!

This is the most loving thing, the highest good, that Jesus could do for us and ask the Father to give us sight. The love of Jesus drives Him to pray for us and then die for us, not that our value may be central, but that His glory may be central, and we may see it and savor it for all eternity.

"That they may see My glory!" For this sight is the very healing of our souls and the strengthening of our lives and the meaning of our creation and the fulfilling of our salvation! Jesus is praying that we would see His glory like the Father sees His glory. The Father sees the Son as He really is in all His worth and value. The Father who is the God of glory has given Jesus glory and sees the glory of His Son. How does the Father see His Son’s glory?

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5)
“The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Hebrews 1:3)
“He is the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

So the first part that we learn from Jesus as He prays for us is that God loves us in a way that enables us to see His glory. But that is only half of what Jesus wants in these final, climactic verses of his prayer. I will discuss that next time...

Pastor Bill