Sunday, June 23, 2013

Today´s Sermon


2013.06.23                              Jesus in the Garden
                       Jesus´Agony and prayer                
                            Luke 22: 39-46  
750 years before Jesus was born…. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief……. As we know sorrow and grief followed Him all through His life…… We have been walking with Jesus on His way to the cross….. On the cross Jesus accomplished much more than just washing our sins away…. As we have seen in the last few weeks…… Jesus has also with His perfect sacrifice made it possible for all of the disasters in our lives to be turned into victory…… Our Heavenly Father uses every disaster in our lives to mould and share us into vessels fit for the Kingdom…… Grieve and suffer…… And the God of all comfort…. comforts us in all of our afflictions….
2 Cor 1….. Jesus also promised us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth….. And then he promised that he would not leave us as orphans…… He said I will come to you…. John 14: 18…He said I will come and live inside of you….
Then last week we were with Jesus as He prayed that great High Priestly prayer…… In it Jesus asked the Father to protect us and keep us without taking us out of the world… And He asked the Father to bring us to be with him forever….. John 17:24…. After the prayer…. They sang a Psalm and went out of the upper room….This morning we will pick up the events of this last night with the disciples….. Turn with me to Luke 22: 39…..
Luke 22: 39-46   NKJV
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.[e]

45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

 Luke 22: 39-46                        Schlachter 2000  
39 Und er ging hinaus und begab sich nach seiner Gewohnheit an den Ölberg. Es folgten ihm aber auch seine Jünger.
40 Und als er an den Ort gekommen war, sprach er zu ihnen: Betet, daß ihr nicht in Versuchung kommt!
41 Und er riß sich von ihnen los, ungefähr einen Steinwurf weit, kniete nieder, betete
42 und sprach: Vater, wenn du diesen Kelch von mir nehmen willst — doch nicht mein, sondern dein Wille geschehe!
43 Da erschien ihm ein Engel vom Himmel und stärkte ihn.
44 Und er war in ringendem Kampf und betete inbrünstiger; sein Schweiß wurde aber wie Blutstropfen, die auf die Erde fielen.
45 Und als er vom Gebet aufstand und zu seinen Jüngern kam, fand er sie schlafend vor Traurigkeit.
46 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Was schlaft ihr? Steht auf und betet, damit ihr nicht in Anfechtung geratet!

Jesus was a man of sorrows….. He was the suffering servant of God that Isaiah wrote about more than 2700 years ago….. He was often deeply moved and He was hated by many…. He knew tremendous grief in His earthly ministry…. But the highest point of His sorrow came in the Garden…..   He was in a few hours going to drink the cup of God’s wrath…... It is here that His sorrow became so severe that it came near to killing Him…… His sorrow in facing death, as the sin bearer, is beyond our comprehension…..  It is much higher than we can understand….
We are at the time of His agony before the cross….. We Jesus in this great battle against temptation…...
The letter to the Hebrews focuses on the grief of this event….. His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane…. Turn with me to Hebrews 5:7….

Hebrews 5: 7-9                              NLT
7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.
Hebrews 5: 7-9   Schlachter 2000
7 Solange Jesus hier auf der Erde lebte, hat er mit lautem Schreien und unter Tränen seine Gebete und Bitten an den einen gerichtet, der ihn aus dem Tod befreien konnte. Und weil er große Ehrfurcht hatte vor Gott, wurde er erhört.
8 Obwohl Jesus der Sohn Gottes war, lernte er doch durch sein Leiden, gehorsam zu sein.
9 Auf diese Weise machte Gott ihn vollkommen, und er wurde der Retter für alle, die ihm gehorchen., der Urheber ewigen Heils geworden,
Yes, He was the man of sorrows…… Jesus endured sinners and the hatred of the leaders of Israel….….. He suffered  unbelief and  rejection all through His life and ministry…… Finally Jesus was crucified…..
Satan did not kill Jesus on the cross, God did…… He is God’s Lamb….. God’s perfect sacrifice….. Jesus was slain by wicked men……..
But He dies as Peter would preach on the day of Pentecost….. Acts 2: 23….
Acts 2: 23    NKJV   Schlachter 2000
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken[c] by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
23 diesen, der nach Gottes festgesetztem Ratschluß und Vorsehung6 dahingegeben worden war, habt ihr genommen und durch die Hände der Gesetzlosen ans Kreuz geschlagen und getötet.
Wicked men Killed Jesus ….. but it was all part of the Fathers perfect plan…. As Jesus moves to the cross….. Satan attempts to stop Him…..
Luke 22: 53 says,

Luke 22: 53   NKJV  Schlachter 2000
53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
53 Als ich täglich bei euch im Tempel war, habt ihr die Hände nicht gegen mich ausgestreckt. Aber dies ist eure Stunde und die Macht der Finsternis.
Now the Father allows the power of darkness to lay hands on the perfect sinless Lamb of God…. This is the greatest spiritual battle ever….. And when it is over…. Satan is defeated and Jesus comes out of the Garden Victorious….. How severe was this battle? Look at Mark 14….
Mark 14:34               NKJV    Schlachter 2000
34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
34 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Meine Seele ist tief betrübt bis zum Tod. Bleibt hier und wacht!
As we enter the Garden with Jesus…… The 11 disciples are there…..  But we go where the Apostles did not go…... Eight of them slept near the entrance to the Garden….. Peter James and John went a little further…..
But only Jesus went in alone and agonized in prayer….  All of the gospels record this event….. We are taken in to that deepest place where Jesus struggled by Himself……. We witness Jesus´ private struggle with the powers of darkness…..
Remember as we have studied these many weeks now….. Jesus is on His way to the cross….. But Jesus is not focused on Himself…… He is concerned about His disciples…... This is a perfect illustration of His omniscience….. As God… He knows that victory is certain…. So Jesus in His unfailing love…. Because he is always the teacher......
He wanted them to know how to handle their own temptations……. Jesus is always the teacher….. He is just like His heavenly Father…. Full of compassion and unfailing love….  
This morning…. As we watch Jesus struggle as He is tempted… we’re going to learn how to face our own sin temptations…... Jesus temptation was far more powerful than anything that we have experienced….. But we’re still going to learn things that we can apply to our own lives…. ….. So let’s go to the Garden with Him, verse 39.
Look with me at Luke 22: 39….
Luke 22: 39                NKJV   Schlachter 2000
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
39 Und er ging hinaus und begab sich nach seiner Gewohnheit an den Ölberg. Es folgten ihm aber auch seine Jünger.
Jesus has celebrated the Passover with His disciples….. Jesus spent hours ministering to His own….. He warned and comforted them…..
There are only hours now and He will be crucified….  As we studied The Gospel of John in the last few weeks we have a fuller understanding of all that Jesus said and did this night….  John records much of what Jesus said in chapters 13 -17…... Jesus also prayed His great High Priestly prayer…… That is what we studied last week….It is  the most powerful prayer in Scripture…..
Then they did what they did every other night that week, went right to the Mount of Olives……. They went to  a Garden called Gethsemane…...
Here is our Lord Jesus at the heights of supernatural conflict with the devil….. And yet in compassion our Lord uses this conflict to instruct His own on how to face temptation….
We remember also that Luke points out to us how many points of trouble there were....... trouble with the betrayer Judas…..  trouble with the disciples arguing about which of them is the greatest…. trouble with Satan coming to sift them…..
Trouble with the hostile world….. Soon His enemies would kill Him and then persecute His followers……
In the case of the disciples…. There was lots of trouble….. They looked completely inept as those who would evangelize the world because all they can think about is their own glory in the Kingdom….. and yet they are faithful They are still with Him…. They are following Him…. Even though not perfectly….  Jesus comforts them and encourages them….  And Jesus says to them, You will all run away….. But I have prayed for you….. You will one day rule and reign with me in eternity….
Victory in the midst of trouble….. In fact the cross provides us troubles that are transformed into victory….. God uses our hard times for our own good and for His eternal Glory…. As I said Jesus prophesied victory over Satan because He prayed for them and for us…. He said….
Luke 22: 31,32            NLT
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22: 31,32            Neues Leben
31 Simon, Simon, Satan hat euch alle haben wollen. Er wollte euch durchsieben wie Weizen.
32 Doch ich habe für dich gebetet, dass dein Glaube nicht aufhöre. Wenn du also später umgekehrt und zu mir zurückgekommen bist, dann stärke deine Brüder.«
Peter will deny Jesus…. but he will be restored …. and he will become the great preacher on the Day of Pentecost…. And of course trouble from the world…. They will kill Him….  but the worst the world can do is to number Him with the transgressors and thus fulfill the Word of God as laid out in Isaiah 52-53……. The suffering servant passages….
But all of that trouble only leads up to this trouble….. The greatest trouble our Lord faces is not the indirect trouble from friends and enemies…. but the direct trouble that comes from Satan himself…..  Satan comes after Him in the Garden…... Jesus wins this battle in prayer….. intense agony and prayer…..
Our Lord also   instructs us here by His own example and His own words…..  Jesus shows us how we are to face our temptation and sin….. Because we see Jesus telling His disciples how they were to face theirs…… We can find four Important elements in Jesus temptation and prayer that I believe we need to understand……
Temptation and sin
1   Expectation    v 40
2   Affliction         v41,42
3   Submission    v 42b
4   Restoration    v43

Let´s start with 1 Expectation….. Luke 22v 40
Luke 22: 40                NKJV    Schlachter 2000
40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
40 Und als er an den Ort gekommen war, sprach er zu ihnen: Betet, daß ihr nicht in Versuchung kommt!
Jesus is saying expect to be tempted…. Pray that you may not literally “be overwhelmed by temptation” Pray.’”
Jesus he was temptable….. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin….. He could not sin but He could be tempted….. He did not sin…… but He was tempted….. He had been tempted before… but here would be the greatest temptation of His entire life….. . As a human…. He had become temptable….. Jesus is pure and Holy….  As God His is Totally  incapable of sinning…. He also knew the reality of human weakness…..  He had willingly subjected Himself to temptation…
Jesus temptation  became so intense  that it almost killed Him……
here’s Matthew’s record of Jesus’ statement in Matt 26:38,….
Matthew 26: 38     NKJV
38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Matthew 26: 38    Schlachter 2000
38 Da spricht er zu ihnen: Meine Seele ist tief betrübt bis zum Tod. Bleibt hier und wacht mit mir!
He is struggling so hard that He is on the brink of death….. He wants His disciples to stay awake and watch and pray….. Jesus is struggling with great temptation……
But it is different than when we struggle with temptation…..  
We’re all sinners….. And as believers, we struggle with temptation because of our sinful flesh….
Though we have been forgiven…… and though we have been made new in the Lord Jesus…..  we’re like Lazarus we came out of the grave….. we have new life but we still often stink……
We have our dirty grave clothes on……  And we are seduced by the remnants of our fallen sinful nature….. Satan’s temptation to us is to hold on to sin…… and  to avoid righteousness…….
Satan’s temptation to us is to hold on to our pride and sin…  We struggle because the power of evil is so strong in us…..
Unholy impulses reside in us…… Our battle is to fight against our internal attraction to sin….  to fight against our fallenness…… and to abandon it and embrace righteousness and holiness and purity…..
That was not the Lord´s struggle….. Christ struggled with temptation in exactly the opposite way......
He struggled because of His holiness…. He struggled because He was totally devoted only to that which was pure and righteous and perfect…..   everything Jesus did was holiness pure …… We struggle with three things… the lust of the flesh… the lust of the eyes…. the pride of life…. Jesus struggled his perfect Holiness….
For us, we’re trying to abandon sin and embrace holiness….. For Him, He was being tempted to abandon holiness and embrace sin bearing….. Just the opposite…..
This is repulsive to Him….. He’s not like us…. He’s not fighting against sinful impulses to be holy….. He’s fighting against the horrible idea of becoming sin…… because of His Holy impulses….  Jesus is like His heavenly Father…… Holy and blameless….. turn with me to Hebrews 7:26….
Hebrews 7:26                NLT       Neues Leben
26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.*
26 Denn ein solcher Hoherpriester tat uns not, der heilig, unschuldig, unbefleckt, von den Sündern abgesondert und höher als die Himmel ist,
It was God´s plan for Jesus to become sin for us…. for our Holiness….
2 Cor 5:21          NKJV   Schlachter 2000
21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
21 Denn er hat den, der von keiner Sünde wußte, für uns zur Sünde gemacht, damit wir in ihm [zur] Gerechtigkeit Gottes würden.
It was God´s plan for Jesus to become sin for us……. But still we see how hard that was…. Jesus was fighting against holy impulses……. We have to fight against sinful impulses……. We fight to hold on to God….. He fights to let go of God….. We fight to be joined to God….. Jesus fought against being separated from God…... We fight against God because we love our sin….. In the face of this huge conflict…. Jesus is thinking   about His own   Apostles whom He loves…..

 They are going to struggle that same night with their own temptations….. and they need going to be ready….. He makes Himself ready by prayer….. and He knows they need to do the very same…… He exhorts them to pray! Jesus had always expected this hour….. this hour of temptation…... It was a temptation to let go of all that He had known…… He had never been separated from the Father…. never been made the bearer of the wrath of God for sin…… It was terrible for Jesus….
And so, it says when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that You may not enter into temptation.” He was going to go and do the very same thing, they needed to do it as well. He left eight of them near where He entered, took Peter, James and John, according to Matthew and Mark, in deeper, left them and went alone to pray.
He told them….. Pray so that temptation does not overwhelm you…… And then He went to pray alone.
They couldn’t go with Him…... because it’s a temptation the likes of which none of us could ever stand up against…. Jesus warned them to prepare them…. And in order to prepare them for their own great struggles against sin and temptation… Jesus says Pray!
Peter, you’re going to deny Me…… I told you Satan’s coming after you, he wants to sift you like wheat…….   He wants to sift all of you…… And when they arrest Me and take and smite the shepherd according to Zechariah’s words, the sheep are going to be scattered…... It’s coming, you better pray…..
Here again is that ever-present balance between sovereignty and human responsibility….. Jesus says, “I have prayed for you that your faith fail not.” That’s divine sovereignty. “But you better pray as well.” That´s human responsibility… And what should their prayer be? He taught them that…... When they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray,” He said, “Among the things you need to pray for, pray like this, Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
So the lesson is clear…… Christ goes to His temptation, they go to their temptation….. Everyone needs to pray….. We have empty ourselves of all self-confidence….. We must empty ourselves of all spiritual pride…. and pray for divine help…….
Now as we go with Him into this prayer, the first aspect is expectation…..
1 expectation….
You’ve got to anticipate temptation and be ready with prayer…… Prayer that confesses weakness….  humble, meek prayer for help and deliverance…… Anticipation is the first principle of praying in the face of temptation....... expect trouble….. Pray…..
Jesus goes to pray in anticipation of His own temptation…..   He is praying in anticipation of and right through the temptation……

2 affliction……
He illustrates for us here in such powerful terms that one who prays honestly and earnestly in the face of temptation feels afflicted. There is an agony in legitimate prayer. Luke is brief on this. Matthew and Mark record how Jesus took Peter, James and John a little further and how He went a little further in alone and then how He came out once, and then He went back and prayed, came out again, then went back and prayed. Finally came out a third time. All those details are laid out by Matthew and Mark in their account.

For Luke, it’s enough to say, verse 41, “He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and began to pray.” And here we come face to face with His affliction….. “Knelt down,” that’s the term that Luke uses, a verb that he uses…..   Peter, James and John aren’t there, they’re a stone’s throw back……  but because of the Word of God… we are there with Jesus…. and it says He knelt down…... This is where we begin to consider the severity of the affliction that He is feeling as He struggles in this temptation…… a theologian from South Africa….. J. Norval Geldenhuys wrote this in his commentary on the Gospel of Luke…..
"The usual manner of prayer at that time was to pray in a standing position. That Jesus knelt down proves the violence of His struggle in Gethsemane." J. Norval Geldenhuys…..
He was kneeling down….. But that doesn’t tell the whole story because having knelt, Matthew 26:39 says, “He fell on His face.” And Mark 14:33 and 35, “He began to be very distressed and troubled and fell to the ground and began to pray.” And Hebrews 5:7, as I read earlier, “With strong crying and tears.”
What you have here is the Lord Jesus lying flat on the ground sobbing and crying out loud in the agony of this struggle….. This is the Man of sorrows at His most sorrowful moment…..   What distressed Him? What grieved Him? What made Him sorrow?
What was so very hard on Him was the   coming wrath of His own Father falling on Him…..  He’s now laying on the ground, and crying out at the top of His voice…..
There is a  very important lesson here for us.….. If we´re going to triumph over temptation to sin….. We have to  hate it….. you must feel the pain of it….. We have to know that we are sinning against the Lord Himself….. That´s what David said so very long ago…..  
We need to struggle and agonize in prayer….  because we like Jesus… love holiness and  hate sin…...
Unfortunately… because we’re not like Jesus…. , we don’t feel His perfect hatred of sin…...
But facing temptation in prayer has to include the basic attitude of a genuine hatred of sin…. We need to be afflicted by the thought of sin…..
We are believers have to feel the agony of sin because Jesus hates it….. That needs to be what motivates us when we pray….. lead us not into temptation…. But deliver us from evil….
Hating our sin is the key to victorious prayer…...
Our prayer should be characterized by
1 expectation of temptation to sin….  and
2 sorrow and affliction at our own sinfulness……..
Thirdly, it is also characterized by submission...
3  submission… submission to the Father´s will even in our sufferings… verse 42….
Luke 22: 42   NKJV  Schlachter 2000
42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
42 und sprach: Vater, wenn du diesen Kelch von mir nehmen willst — doch nicht mein, sondern dein Wille geschehe!
That´s what Jesus said….. Pray according to My will and I will hear and answer your prayers….. In all our struggles, the bottom line is to submit ourselves to the Father and pray just like Jesus did….
1 john 5: 14, 15     NKJV   Schlachter 2000
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
14 Und das ist die Freimütigkeit, die wir ihm gegenüber haben, daß er uns hört, wenn wir seinem Willen gemäß um etwas bitten.
15 Und wenn wir wissen, daß er uns hört, um was wir auch bitten, so wissen wir, daß wir das Erbetene haben, das wir von ihm erbeten haben.
We need to  plead to know and do the will of God…..
We need to pray with all of our hearts that God will deliver and protect and forgive us when we sin….. That’s the only way we can overcome the flesh…… We need to feel the weight of sin….   and long in our hearts to do the will of God……
David was such a man….. David is described in the Word as a man after God´s own heart…. We see David´s tender heart toward God when we read the Psalms…. For example Psalm 51…..     
A fantastic place for your own quiet times….
Back to v 42….
Luke 22: 42   NKJV  Schlachter 2000
42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
42 und sprach: Vater, wenn du diesen Kelch von mir nehmen willst — doch nicht mein, sondern dein Wille geschehe!

 In the Old Testament the  cup is often associated with the pouring out of judgment…... This is the cup Jesus has in mind….. the cup of suffering…..  the cup of wrath…..   Jesus said no man takes my life from me…. I lay it down……  Why is He even asking if You’re willing, remove this cup from Me?  Is this some weakness in the Lord…
No it is  not…... This is not a mistake….  He is so holy and   righteous…. He is the ultimate hater of all that is sinful and evil….. He is the ultimate hater of all that separates from God…. This is the most normal response to the thought of sin bearing…….  
Remember what Jesus said in John 12:23… let´s turn there…
John 12: 23,24    NKJV  Schlachter 2000
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
23 Jesus aber antwortete ihnen und sprach: Die Stunde ist gekommen, daß der Sohn des Menschen verherrlicht werde!
24 Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch: Wenn das Weizenkorn nicht in die Erde fällt und stirbt, so bleibt es allein; wenn es aber stirbt, so bringt es viel Frucht.
That’s what He said earlier….. Jesus knew exactly that His suffering for sin….. He knew that becoming sin for us ….. would be they way that He was Glorified….. But Now in the heat of the struggle…..  with Satan bringing temptation upon Him in ways that we’ll never understand….  it  is normal for Him to feel  this heavy load of sin and separation from the Father…..
There is a level of agony that we cannot understand…  
What marks His prayer so far is….
1 expectation of temptation….  
2 affliction in the horrors of sin…. and
3 submission in the end to the will of God…... These things must mark ours as well…... Finally there’s a fourth, Our prayer should also be characterized by restoration...

4 restoration…..Luke 22 v 43
Luke 22: 43   NKJV   Schlachter 2000
 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
43 Da erschien ihm ein Engel vom Himmel und stärkte ihn.

an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him?
This is wild….  There are only two times in His life when angels showed up........ between His birth and His resurrection….. The first time at His temptation in the wilderness, the second time, at His temptation in the Garden….. These are the only two times…..
What is the significance of the appearance of this angel? We don’t know what the angel did…… We don’t know what the angels did when they showed up after His temptation in the wilderness….. You remember the temptation in the wilderness ends, “And angels came and ministered to Him?” I think in both cases the angel came….  sent from the Father to affirm the Father’s love and care…… And He was strengthened in that…..  
The angel is an affirmation that the Father cared for Him….
How severe was the struggle? Why did He need an angel to come? Agony…. v 44…
Luke 22: 44   NKJV   Schlachter 2000
44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
44 Und er war in ringendem Kampf und betete inbrünstiger; sein Schweiß wurde aber wie Blutstropfen, die auf die Erde fielen.

“And “Being in agony He was praying very fervently...” Agony is agonia….. the verb form means to be in combat unto death, agonizomai…... He was praying fervently, ektenes….. medical term used of stretching muscles to the max of their capability….. Jesus is laboring in prayer…..Jesus can’t pray any harder….. He can’t pray any stronger…... He’s praying to the limits of His own capability….. and His sweat became like drops of blood falling down upon the ground…..  
Hebrews 12: 3,4    NKJV   Schlachter 2000
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
3 Achtet doch auf ihn, der solchen Widerspruch3 von den Sündern gegen sich erduldet hat, damit ihr nicht müde werdet und den Mut verliert!4 Ihr habt noch nicht bis aufs Blut widerstanden im Kampf gegen die Sünde
He is blood/sweat saturated as He lays prone on the ground…… He does this and then He goes back to the disciples and finds them asleep….. And then He goes back and continues and goes through the process until finally  the agony is over….. Now look at verse 45,
Luke 22: 45a    NKJV   Schlachter 2000
45a When He rose up from prayer
45a Und als er vom Gebet aufstand
“When He rose from prayer,” that’s all it needs to say…. The trial is over…..Jesus has labored in prayer and as always….. Victory is certain….. Jesus rises up from prayer….   
And He came to the disciples blood soaked and found them sleeping from sorrow…..
Luke 22v 45, 46
Luke 22: 45,46   NKJV   Schlachter 2000
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
45 Und als er vom Gebet aufstand und zu seinen Jüngern kam, fand er sie schlafend vor Traurigkeit.
46 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Was schlaft ihr? Steht auf und betet, damit ihr nicht in Anfechtung geratet!

We  can read more about that in Matthew…..  They should have been praying….. Jesus needed to pray…. how much more did they need to pray? They weren’t sleeping because they were tired….  They were sleeping from sorrow……  They were very sad…. They knew they were going to run away….  He told them that…. They knew Peter was going to deny Him….   They knew He was going to go to the cross and be arrested and die…..   

 He warned them to pray over and over…… Yes He would pray for them….. Yes He’s the great High Priest who intercedes for His own…... Last week we made a list of the things that Jesus prayed for us in John 17…….
Jesus prays for our
1 preservation… Father keep and protect them…. v11
2 joy… give them my joy…  v13
3 liberation…. Free them from the power of sin and Satan… v 15
4 sanctification… make them Holy…. v17
5 Unity…. Keep them united in Me and the Gospel… v22
6 unbroken Fellowship….. bring them to be with me… v24
7 glorification…… Glorify them with the same Glory that you have given me…. V22- 24
But we are to pray as well….., verse 46…

Luke 22: 45,46   NKJV   Schlachter 2000
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
45 Und als er vom Gebet aufstand und zu seinen Jüngern kam, fand er sie schlafend vor Traurigkeit.
46 Und er sprach zu ihnen: Was schlaft ihr? Steht auf und betet, damit ihr nicht in Anfechtung geratet!

 “He said to them, Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation…… He said it to them repeatedly but every time He came back…. Jesus found them asleep again….. Stay alert, keep praying…. in the words of Matthew 26:41….. The third time He came out, according to Mark, He said, “That’s enough. That’s it.”
No more time to pray….. No more time to prepare….. So our Lord goes to face the enemy triumph over temptation through a prayer….. And they go to face the enemy defeated by lack of prayer…... Our Lord has won the victory in prayer…..
He is ready to face the enemy……  He will go to the cross……
He will be made sin for us….. So that we might become the righteousness of God in Him….. 2 Cor 5: 21….
He will triumph over death and He will burst out of the grave….. Jesus will be exalted to the right hand of the Father as King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever…..
The cup is in His hand….. He’s about to drink it…..  Jesus has prayed for us that our faith would not fail….. And he tells us….. man ought always to pray and not lose hope….. Luke 18 v1
Jesus tells us to pray!    Why don´t we….

Monday, June 17, 2013

Sunday´s Sermon


2013.06.16                                  John 17: 1- 24                     Jesus´ High Priestly prayer
As we have been studying the Gospel of Luke ….. I have reminded us that a Large part of John´s Gospel….. happens in the Upper room on the night Jesus was betrayed….. I invited all of us to read John 13-17 in our own personal quiet times with the Lord….. We have seen Jesus telling His disciples what would happen……. That He would be betrayed and crucified…….. He Warned and encouraged them … to prepare them to endure the grief and sorrow that was soon to hit them…..
Jesus is preparing the disciples for hard times...…… Sorrow and fear will soon come upon them like a massive flood…… They will soon be discouraged and scattered as their world comes falling down….. He is not only preparing them…… He is also comforting their hearts by telling them what will happen….. He says you will be sorrowful….. but the sorrow is only temporary….. Your sorrow will turn to joy!
Last week we studied Parts of the evening that John recorded for us…. In John 13 v1 we understand something wonderful about our Lord Jesus……
John 13: 1             NKJV   Schlachter 2000
13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
1 Vor dem Passahfest aber, da Jesus wußte, daß seine Stunde gekommen war, aus dieser Welt zum Vater zu gehen: wie er die Seinen geliebt hatte, die in der Welt waren, so liebte er sie bis ans Ende.
Even though Jesus was tob e crucified the very next day…… He continued to love His disciples to the very last minute that He had with them….. Jesus was preparing them for the horrible times ahead……. He was only interested in loving and serving His disciples……. In John 14…. Jesus said…v 1 …. Don´t let your heart be troubled… in v 15 He again promised the Comforter…. And in v18…. Jesus said…. I will come to you…. lets it read again…. John 14: 18….  
John 14: 18           NKJV   Schlachter 2000
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
18 Ich lasse euch nicht als Waisen zurück; ich komme zu euch.
I will not leave you orphans….. I will come to you…..
Jesus was telling them all of this because He wanted them to be filled with joy and not sorrow! We saw that in John 15v 11….
Jesus says…..listen guys….. I have been telling you all this to take away the sorrow and turn it to joy…... But instead of being excited and joyful….. they're still sorrowful because he said that He is going away and they can´t come with them…... Sorrow has filled their hearts……
Jesus is responding to them in His unfailing love here……
There are 5 easily identifiable elements in this record of Jesus on that last night with His disciples…. We have already seen the first three in the last few weeks…. The 4th and 5th we will see this morning….
Jesus unfailing Love for His own…..
1   He has told them the future to prepare them…..
2   He has promised to Holy Spirit to lead and teach them……
3   He has promised His indwelling presence to sustain them……
4   He has promised that He will continue to intercede for them and all that would believe on His in the future…..
5   He has promised that His own will be with Him forever…..

This morning we will get a preview of What Jesus is doing now…. Jesus´ High Priestly prayer…..
Turn in your Bible with me to John17….
This passage is what is   known as Jesus' High Priestly prayer…. It is a picture of Jesus….. Loving and protecting His own…… and interceding for His own…… It is in this chapter that the veil to the Holy of Holies is drawn back….. and we  approach with Jesus to the very throne of God…….   For this is perhaps the holiest ground in the Scripture....... Jesus Himself is approaching the throne of Grace for His own….  
At the end of chapter 16 in verse 33…… Jesus said…..
John 16: 33        NKJV   Schlachter 2000
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
33 Dies habe ich zu euch geredet, damit ihr in mir Frieden habt. In der Welt habt ihr Bedrängnis; aber seid getrost, ich habe die Welt überwunden!
With that promise of ultimate victory….. Jesus Finishes His most important last words to His disciples….. He promised them peace….. He promised them joy…... He promised them support and supply….. He promised them answered prayer….. He promised them power…..   He promised them the Holy Spirit…… He promised them His presence in their hearts and lives….  And again now….. He promised them trouble…….. But He said…. Don´t be sad and discouraged…. I have overcome the World…. Victory is certain…….

Then  comes this prayer in chapter 17…..
Jesus turns to God the Father and prays this prayer….. It's the most amazing prayer ever prayed in all the Bible…...
Remember as Jesus prays….. there's one Heavy event on His mind….. Jesus is on His way to the cross….. In the morning…..  Judas´ betrayal is going on at this exact time…  Jesus will soon the trail and  the beatings….and soon now His execution on the cross…...
This prayer  Looks forward to His current great work of intercession for all believers….

The  book of Hebrews exalts Jesus as our great High Priest……. But we don´t learn a lot about His work in practice….. If you want to see Jesus´intercession  in action you go to this chapter……. HereOur Geat High Priest is interceding for us….  Jesus could havve prayed   silently and we would have never known what He said….. I think He prayed out loud to show us what His intercession is like…..
The prayer falls into three parts….  In the first five verses Jesus prays concerning The Fathers´ Glory and Himself.....
This wonderful prayer is an example of the perfect and unbroken communion and fellowship that Jesus had with the Father all this time….  it was unbroken  because They were One……  there were points of time in the earthly ministry of Jesus when He engaged upon uniquely prolonged times of prayer…… Jesus often got away from the crowds and went to pray….. Sometimes Jesus prayed all night….. But we don´t have much recorded of those prayers….
We can be very thankful for this chapter….. because here John lets us see the communion between Jesus and God the Father…… The whole prayer is recorded for us….. Awesome!
 The great High Priest interceding for His own…. There is one God and one mediator between God and man….. Christ Jesus…..
Let´s look at the first section….. v 1 to 5….
 Here  the focus of His prayer is personal….. He is praying in regard to Himself….. but its implications touch all of  us….. John 17 v 1…
John 17: 1- 5                   NKJV
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should[a] give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
John 17: 1- 5                   Schlachter 2000
1 Dies redete Jesus und hob seine Augen zum Himmel empor und sprach: Vater, die Stunde ist gekommen; verherrliche deinen Sohn, damit auch dein Sohn dich verherrliche
2 — gleichwie du ihm Vollmacht gegeben hast über alles Fleisch, damit er allen ewiges Leben gebe, die du ihm gegeben hast.
3 Das ist aber das ewige Leben, daß sie dich, den allein wahren Gott, und den du gesandt hast, Jesus Christus, erkennen.
4 Ich habe dich verherrlicht auf Erden; ich habe das Werk vollendet, das du mir gegeben hast, damit ich es tun soll.
5 Und nun verherrliche du mich, Vater, bei dir selbst mit der Herrlichkeit, die ich bei dir hatte, ehe die Welt war.
V1 "These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to Heaven, He said…… These things refers to John ch13 to 16……. Everything He'd been saying in that upper room discourse…..
Now Jesus is going to pray to the Father to  bring to pass the plan…… The paln that they had made from before the foundation of the World…..  To bring to reality all the promises that Jesus made……
Jesus knew the mind of God…. He knew what God had promised and what God was doing…. And He knew what God would do….. He was Himself the perfect reflection of the Father….. Why was Jesus praying? Jesus in His willing subjection and submission to the Father…..  Humbled and Submitted Himself to the Father's will….. knowing the Word of God did not cause Him to cease to pray….. Instead we see Jesus passionately asking God to do what He had He had said He would do…... Glorify your son….. as I glorify you by giving eternal life to those that you have given me…..
It´s time Father for all of our Plans to be accomplished….. v4… I have Glorified you here on the earth….  I have finished the work which you have given me….
Jesus says…. I have Glorified you! And now I have finished my work…. Father let our full and shared Glory be seen….. Just like when we were together before the World was….. Then in the next few verses we understand the work that the Father gave him to do….. John 17: 6….
John 17: 6- 8                     NKJV
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
  John 17: 6- 8                 Schlachter 2000
6 Ich habe deinen Namen den Menschen offenbar gemacht, die du mir aus der Welt gegeben hast; sie waren dein, und du hast sie mir gegeben, und sie haben dein Wort bewahrt.
7 Nun erkennen sie, daß alles, was du mir gegeben hast, von dir kommt;
8 denn die Worte, die du mir gegeben hast, habe ich ihnen gegeben, und sie haben sie angenommen und haben wahrhaft erkannt, daß ich von dir ausgegangen bin, und glauben, daß du mich gesandt hast.
Look with me at v 6….. I have revealed you to those that you have given me out of the world…. They were your´s and you have given them to me…. They have kept your word……. Not exactly perfectly….. But they have believed and followed Him….. They get it…… They know the truth and they have received it…. Let´s continue v 9…
John 17: 9- 14                          NKJV
9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17: 9- 14                          Schlachter 2000
9 Ich bitte für sie; nicht für die Welt bitte ich, sondern für die, welche du mir gegeben hast, weil sie dein sind.
10 Und alles, was mein ist, das ist dein, und was dein ist, das ist mein; und ich bin in ihnen verherrlicht.
11 Und ich bin nicht mehr in der Welt; diese aber sind in der Welt, und ich komme zu dir. Heiliger Vater, bewahre sie in deinem Namen, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie eins seien, gleichwie wir!
12 Als ich bei ihnen in der Welt war, bewahrte ich sie in deinem Namen; die du mir gegeben hast, habe ich behütet, und keiner von ihnen ist verlorengegangen als nur der Sohn des Verderbens, damit die Schrift erfüllt würde.
13 Nun aber komme ich zu dir und rede dies in der Welt, damit sie meine Freude völlig in sich haben.
14 Ich habe ihnen dein Wort gegeben, und die Welt haßt sie; denn sie sind nicht von der Welt, gleichwie auch ich nicht von der Welt bin.
V 9   I pray for them… Thank God! We have an advocate with the Father…
I pray for those that you have given me…. They are yours…..
V10 I am Glorified in them…..
Jesus says I am Glorified in them? WOW! Not ….. not very often does this happen…… But it will happen because it is part of God´s plan….
V11…. Now I am no longer in the world…. Jesus has already moved beyond the cross…… I´m out of here…… Father you keep and protect them…. So that they may be 1…. Jesus is praying for our preservation in the Father….. and He is asking the Father to do it for us…. He will keep us in the Lord Jesus Christ….. God himself will do it!
V12 While I was in the world…. I kept them in your name…. And none is lost…except the son of perdition…. So that the scripture is fulfilled….
V13 now I come to You…. I want them to have my joy in themselves….
V14 I have given them your word…. Remember Jesus said … What I hear…. That I speak (declare)… They are Hated…. Let´s look at verse 15 and 16
John 17: 15,16   NKJV  Schlachter 2000
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 1
5 Ich bitte nicht, daß du sie aus der Welt nimmst, sondern daß du sie bewahrst vor dem Bösen.
16 Sie sind nicht von der Welt, gleichwie auch ich nicht von der Welt bin.

V 15…. I do not pray that you take them out of the world…. but protect them from Satan…. We are here to proclaim the GOOD News! Just like Jesus was sent into the world… we have also been sent into the world….
V 16 They are not of the World…. We are in the world … but we don´t belong here…. Heaven is our home…..



Let´s look at these next verses in NLT and Neues Leben….

John 17: 17-19                 NLT   Neues Leben
17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
17  Reinige sie und heilige sie, indem du sie deine Worte der Wahrheit lehrst. 18 Wie du mich in die Welt gesandt hast, so sende ich sie in die Welt.
19 Und ich gebe mich ganz für sie hin, damit auch sie durch die Wahrheit ganz dir gehören.
V17 make them Holy by your truth…. 
V18 I am sending them into the world….
V19 Here we see another amazing thing that Jesus did for us on the cross…. He gave Himself as a Holy Sacrifice…. So that we could become Holy by God´s truth… Jesus has been praying for the disciples directly….
Now beginning in verse 20 Jesus is interceding for the church…... John 17 verse 20…..
John 17: 20- 26             NKJV
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17: 20- 26                Schlachter 2000
20 Ich bitte aber nicht für diese allein, sondern auch für die, welche durch ihr Wort an mich glauben werden,
21 auf daß sie alle eins seien, gleichwie du, Vater, in mir und ich in dir; auf daß auch sie in uns eins seien, damit die Welt glaube, daß du mich gesandt hast.
22 Und ich habe die Herrlichkeit, die du mir gegeben hast, ihnen gegeben, auf daß sie eins seien, gleichwie wir eins sind,
23 ich in ihnen und du in mir, damit sie zu vollendeter Einheit gelangen, und damit die Welt erkenne, daß du mich gesandt hast und sie liebst, gleichwie du mich liebst.
24 Vater, ich will, daß, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt vor Grundlegung der Welt.
25 Gerechter Vater, die Welt erkennt dich nicht; ich aber erkenne dich, und diese erkennen, daß du mich gesandt hast.
26 Und ich habe ihnen deinen Namen verkündet und werde ihn verkünden, damit die Liebe, mit der du mich liebst, in ihnen sei und ich in ihnen.
We could study these verses for the rest of our lives…. It is full of wonderful and powerful truth…… To me the most powerful is the amazing love that Jesus has for His own……. That´s us…… We belong to him…. Jesus is on his way to the cross….. Finally after being told many times…… The disciples are beginning to understand…… They are broken hearted….
Jesus has  great compassion and love for them….. 
Nothing is a better picture of the love of Jesus for us than that He prays for His own…. Listen to me…
He has you and me in His heart at every moment…. He is not praying that we will be taken out of this world,… He is praying that the Father will preserve and protect us…… He knows your deep sorrow and grief and He carries us to the throne of the Father….. He pleads for us….  And He also prays that He will sanctify and Make us Holy with His truth… His words of Life….…..  That's how much He loves His own……
Here in these verses… Jesus has prayed for His disciples… And now as He comes to verse 20 His prayer looks into the future beyond the Apostles…
Look at verse 20... I do not pray for these alone."
Jesus prayed for all that would ever believe….. Jesus is praying for you and me right now…..  
Before we were even born…. Jesus was praying and interceding for us…. Uli and I used to pray for our children before they were born….. I many parents do that… Here Jesus prays for all of us believers past present and future….  Even though most of them have not yet lived…. they are already on His heart….. and in His prayers … and their names  are written in the Book of Life… He was about to pay for their sins on the cross…… He knew that they would stumble and run away…. They would soon abandon Him…… Jesus had prayed for them that their faith would not fail…… He knew that they would make it through those very hard days and nights….. He knew that the Father would preserve them and restore them….. He knew that they would soon turn the world upside down with the Good News… These sorrowful and weak disciples would be restored…. They would become the first links in the powerful chain of witnesses…. that was going to begin the church….  
Jesus was also praying for those who He knew would be saved….. You know, I think it was good for the disciples to hear Jesus´prayer that night…. it would comfort and encourage them in the days to come…. Then when they saw Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit…. They would see a great revival right there in Jerusalem…… The whole flow of redemptive history would come from their preaching…... So, Jesus prayed for His very own...sheep yet unborn and unconverted.

It's amazing to think about but two thousand years ago Jesus was praying for you…..  as well as dying for you…..   And you see Christ immediately here taking care of His own by interceding for them…... And that's how He cares for us now, this constant intercession goes on and on……  Jesus is praying for His own….
1  He prays for our oneness (unity)…. v21
2 He prays for our personal presence with Him…… v24

Let's look, first of all, at oneness, verse 21, "I pray that they may all be one….
This is a very simple statement…. It's a very popular verse….. It is  often used by those who would like to get us to sort of set aside our doctrinal differences….
Others think that this is some kind of practical unity where...where we just look like we got it together as a group… Of course we need to accept each other as much as possible…. We need to work together as much as possible… But this text is talking about more than  just a simple external Christian unity….. There is a goal to mthe unity that Jesus is praying for here…. Look at v21 again….
John 17: 21             NKJV  Schlachter 2000
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
21 auf daß sie alle eins seien, gleichwie du, Vater, in mir und ich in dir; auf daß auch sie in uns eins seien, damit die Welt glaube, daß du mich gesandt hast.
You see… The key here is the phrase…. That the wold may believe….This oneness has to do with convincing the world that Jesus is God…… It has to do with convincing the world that the gospel is true….. And  that Jesus is the Savior….  that He alone can transform lives……
There are some religious groups and some non-religious groups that do a good job of supporting each other…..   That's not what it's talking about here…… This is much bigger than that…. v23…. The subjects here are perfection and love…. The father loves the son… The son loves the Father…. They love us….
The Father and the Son are one in holy perfection…… We should also be one in holy love……
Verse 24b "Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world."
Verse 26b "The love wherewith Thou didst love Me."
The Son wants only to express that holy love by honoring the Father….. The Father wants only to express that holy love by honoring the Son……
When Jesus is praying that we may be one….. I believe He is praying that we might have a holy love….. That  we might have a love of a holiness….. A Godly perfection is what Jesus is praying about….. just like He and the Father…..  Jesus wants us to be salt and light an unholy and ungodly world…..
If there's anything that defines God….  it is that He is separate from sin….. And that's the most defining reality about The LORD JESUS….. He is our perfect High Priest…. Interceding for us….. perfect in every way….  He is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, the writer of Hebrews says….. look at Hebrews 7 v26…
Hebrews 7: 26                 NLT   Neues Leben
26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.
26 Er ist ein Hoher Priester, wie wir ihn nötig haben, denn er ist heilig, ohne jede Schuld und unberührt von der Sünde. Er wurde von den sündigen Menschen getrennt und hat den höchsten Ehrenplatz im Himmel erhalten.
Jesus asks the Father to bring us to a holy ….Godly kind of Unity…. A unity centered in the Lord Jesus….. Shown to the world because He has given us His Glory….. backup to John 17 v 22…

John 17: 22, 23             NKJV    Schlachter 2000
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
22 Und ich habe die Herrlichkeit, die du mir gegeben hast, ihnen gegeben, auf daß sie eins seien, gleichwie wir eins sind,
23 ich in ihnen und du in mir, damit sie zu vollendeter Einheit gelangen, und damit die Welt erkenne, daß du mich gesandt hast und sie liebst, gleichwie du mich liebst.
Verse 22… Amazing the Lord has given us some of His glory...... Jesus says….. I have given them the Glory that you gave me….
What is the glory which God gave to Jesus? His own glory….. Jesus was God in human flesh…..
 And Jesus is saying, "I'm giving them the same glory." Amazing. "Father, You gave Me all Your attributes, all Your character in human flesh, and I'm giving Your attributes to them."
What happens when you're a Christian? Jesus comes to take up residence in your heart……
 Jesus has committed Himself to us to take up residence in our hearts….. John 14: 18   
John 14: 18             NKJV   Schlachter 2000
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
18 Ich lasse euch nicht als Waisen zurück; ich komme zu euch.
You couldn't live a holy life….. we couldn´t life a Holy minute……  unless we have Jesus living and working in our hearts and minds…. But we can live Holy lives….. Jesus has asked the Father to do this miracle in our hearts and minds….
God manifested Himself in Jesus and Jesus has manifested Himself in us….. This is wonderful truth…... And when there is that loving, holy, pure, righteous character, the world will say…… These people have been with Jesus…. "Jesus must be a Savior."
That´s the first thing that we see in this section….. Jesus asks the father for our holiness and unity in Him….
And then in verse 24 we have another important feature of Jesus' prayer….. This praying first for our holiness and our oneness….. Just like the Father and the Son are one in holiness…... now in verse 24…  Jesus prays for our eternal fellowship with Him…… This is how the whole prayer ends…...   v24….
John 17:24             NKJV  Schlachter 2000
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
24 Vater, ich will, daß, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt vor Grundlegung der Welt.

Amazing… Jesus  the glorious Son of the living God prays to His Father that He might have us with Him…. He asks for the Father to grant the eternal presence of all of us with Him in Glory….. This is also part of God´s perfect plan….. But it´s still incredible and wonderful….
God chose us before the foundation of the world….. John 6 says…
John 6: 39,40           NKJV  Schlachter 2000
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
39 Und das ist der Wille des Vaters, der mich gesandt hat, daß ich nichts verliere von allem, was er mir gegeben hat, sondern daß ich es auferwecke am letzten Tag.
40 Das ist aber der Wille dessen, der mich gesandt hat, daß jeder, der den Sohn sieht und an ihn glaubt, ewiges Leben hat; und ich werde ihn auferwecken am letzten Tag.

To share in the resurrection with Jesus…. And to be with Jesus forever…  that's God's plan…..
Back to John 17 v 24….


John 17:24             NKJV  Schlachter 2000
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
24 Vater, ich will, daß, wo ich bin, auch die bei mir seien, die du mir gegeben hast, damit sie meine Herrlichkeit sehen, die du mir gegeben hast; denn du hast mich geliebt vor Grundlegung der Welt.
He wants us with him so that we can see His Glory!
We see Christ with the eye of faith….. But there's going to come a day when He will show us He true Glory….. If it happened now we would not survive….. Our mortal bodies couldn´t take it….

You know, we're like Moses…. We see only glimpses of His Glory now…. He emptied Himself of all that glory and came to earth…. But   He's in full glory display right now and He wants us to be there with Him so we can see that…... More than that, He wants us to reflect it and that's why in 1 John 3:2….
 it says we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
One day we will see Jesus as He is…. In all of His Glory and we will worship Him forever and ever….. Because He is worthy to receive all Glory and Honor and power…..
And that was the whole purpose of God in the beginning…. So, Jesus is saying, "Father bring them all to glory…..
Let´s look at the final 2 verses…. John 17: 25,26…
John 17: 25, 26   NKJV   Schlachter 2000
25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
25 Gerechter Vater, die Welt erkennt dich nicht; ich aber erkenne dich, und diese erkennen, daß du mich gesandt hast.
26 Und ich habe ihnen deinen Namen verkündet und werde ihn verkünden, damit die Liebe, mit der du mich liebst, in ihnen sei und ich in ihnen.

Here is a perfect illustration of prayer….. He knows the will of God and He prays for it….. Prayer is not   about changing God's mind about things….. It is affirming God's will….. That's why we pray, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come...... and the next line says... Thy will be done."

And the Son always prays according to the will of God… and the Father always answers…. How wonderful that we have such a Faithful and awesome High Priest…… Jesus is at the right hand of the Father….. He is praying for us….. day and night…..
Close
In closing let´s make a list of the things that Jesus has been praying for….
Jesus prays for our
1 preservation… Father keep and protect them…. v11
2 joy… give them my joy…  v13
3 liberation…. Free them from the power of sin and Satan… v 15
4 sanctification… make them Holy…. v17
5 Unity…. Keep them united in Me and the Gospel… v22
6 unbroken Fellowship….. bring them to be with me… v24
7 glorification…… Glorify them with the same Glory that you have given me…. V22- 24