Thank you, Daniel and Virginia. We're going to
do something a little special today in that we're
going to ask several of you to lead in prayer
here in our service. And to find out if you're
going to be leading in prayer, would you check
your chair to see if there's a piece of tape
around the bottom of the leg? And if so, oh,
I forgot to put the tape on this morning. Nuts.
Well, there was a lot of prayer going up just
then. Please, God. Not my chair, Lord. There's
something about being asked to lead in prayer
in a public meeting that makes us nervous, doesn't
it? We need to get beyond that point so that
we understand as we pray We're talking to God
and it doesn't make any difference if the people
listening like what we say or don't like what
we say. We're not talking to them. We're talking
to the Lord. But there is something about leading
in prayer in public that makes all of us stop
and think, do I really want to do this? Not so
with Jesus. Conversation with God was very natural
to him. And it was so beautiful that his disciples
said on one occasion, Lord, teach us to pray
like that. And so he gave them a model prayer,
which we sometimes call the Lord's Prayer, but
in fact is the disciples prayer. It's what we're
to pray. It's the pattern we're to follow. But
Jesus does pray in John chapter 17 in such a
way as that we can call this chapter the Lord's
Prayer. I invite you to turn there with me to
our text, John chapter 17. This is holy ground.
Here we have the Son of God praying to the Father
before the cross, and yet He speaks as though
the cross were behind Him. The one who is speaking
here in John 17 is the same as the Word whom
John introduced in chapter 1. John told us there
of the glory of the Word before the world was
even created. He went on to explain in verse
14 of that chapter that the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, John
says, in His ministry, in His life. Then as we
saw last week, the glory of Christ is seen in
His crucifixion. His hour came and He said, Father,
glorify Your name. And the Father spoke from
heaven and said, I have glorified it and will
glorify it again. And now as we come to chapter
17, hours before the cross, Jesus is praying
as though He were already back in heaven. And
this is what He says, beginning in verse 5. And
now, Father, glorify me in your presence with
the glory I had with you before the world began.
I have revealed you to those whom you gave me
out of the world. They were yours. You gave them
to me, and they have obeyed your word. Now they
know that everything you have given me comes
from you. gave them the words you gave me and
they accepted them. They knew with certainty
that I came from you and they believed that you
sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for
the world but for those you have given me for
they are yours." Where are these words spoken?
Have you ever wondered that? Where did Jesus
offer this prayer? Chapter 14 concludes with
him and the disciples getting up from the upper
room and leaving from there. Chapter 18 begins
by saying that they then crossed over the brook,
Kidron, into the Garden of Gethsemane. So chapters
15, 16, and 17 occurred somewhere as they walked
toward the Garden of Gethsemane. It is my conjecture,
and it's purely that, that they stopped in the
temple area. If you look at a map in the back
of your Bible and trace the route, you will see
that the path from the upper room to the Garden
of Gethsemane would likely have taken them through
the temple area. I believe it was there, in the
presence of priests and the altars and the sacrifices
of that Passover season, that Jesus stopped and
offered this prayer to God. You say, well, how
does Christmas relate to all of this? Listen.
Without the truth of Christmas, that God became
man, there would be no Savior. And there would
be no priest, no high priest who could stand
before God and pray like Jesus prayed in this
chapter. In this last of the series of the Christmas
season that we've entitled The Glory of Christmas,
we see the glory of Christ's session. Now we
need to think about the meaning of that word,
session. We use it sometimes today when we speak
of the legislature being in session. You know
what time that is, of course. That's the time
you need to get your hand on your wallet. when
the legislature is in session, what it means
is that the legislators are at work and they
are there doing what they're supposed to do,
I guess. And then we talk about courts being
in session. What do we mean by that? We mean
that the judge is in the courtroom and he's there
doing what a judge is supposed to do. So when
we speak about the session of Jesus Christ, we
are saying that Jesus is in heaven doing what
a high priest is supposed to do. And the glory
of Christmas directly relates to that. Because
if he hadn't come as a man, he could not be before
God praying for a man today. And so we close
this series by talking about the glory of Christ's
session. His glory is revealed in His current
ministry as High Priest on behalf of His people.
How is this so? But we observe His glory first
of all in the position He occupies. And then
again in the petitions He offers. And finally
in the perfections He owns. First, consider with
me the position that Christ occupies. His glory
cannot be surpassed, for he has the highest place
that God can give. Where is that place? Well,
turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1. We're going
to be using Hebrews as a corresponding book this
morning. And in chapter 1 and verse 3, about
the middle of the verse, it says, after he had
provided purification for sins. The Son, Christ
Jesus, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
in heaven. Notice three facts about the position
that Christ occupies. First of all, it's in heaven.
Literally, the language says here, the high places.
Jesus ascended from the earth, was taken out
of the sight of His disciples in the Mount of
Olives by clouds. And he entered into heaven.
We have an eyewitness that he arrived safely.
Stephen, not long after Jesus was taken into
heaven, saw him there and said so. The writer
of Hebrews says that we have a priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God. In other words, he has passed through the
atmospheric heavens and the starry heavens and
now has entered into the abode of God, the highest
place, the heaven of heavens. And that's where
he is today, but we know a little bit more than
that. For the verse says, secondly, that he's
at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. The
majesty is a name for God. He's at the right
hand of God. The right hand is the place the
sovereign gives to the one that he gives power
to. And so God the Father invited His Son now
to sit at His right hand in the place of supreme
authority. There is no throne higher than His.
And the third fact that we see is that He is
sitting there. He has sat down. at the right
hand of the Father. That is a position of rest
because his work is finished. Notice the writer
says after he had finished the purification of
sins he sat down. That of course is in contrast
to the high priest of Israel under the order
of Aaron. God provided in the temple for certain
pieces of furniture, a table, an altar. a lamp
stand. The one thing God did not provide for
in the temple was a chair. The high priest could
never sit down on his job because he was never
finished. When one sacrifice was finished, it
was time to offer another sacrifice because all
of these were atoning sacrifices, not the ultimate
propitiation for sin. And so he offered sacrifices
over and over and over again and was never finished.
But Jesus, once and for all, offered Himself
for our sins as the sacrifice of all time and
is now set down. His work for sins finished.
My friend, that is the position that Christ occupies.
And so Paul writes to the Philippians, God exalted
him to the highest place and gave him the name
that is above every name. And to the Ephesians
he wrote, he who descended, talking about Christ
coming at Christmas and the incarnation, he who
descended is the very one who ascended higher
than all the heavens in order to fill the whole
universe. And so today the whole cosmos is filled
with His presence, with His blessings, and He
is in absolute charge of it all. We see the glory
of Jesus Christ in the position that He occupies,
not only as the Son of God, which He eternally
is, but as glorified man now. As glorified man.
He is in the highest position. Secondly, we see
His glory in the petitions that He offers. Turn
back to the Gospel of John to the 17th chapter.
And notice with me here the petitions that Jesus
specifically asks of the Father. These are glorious.
They reveal to us His glory. As the God -man,
two of his position petitions are offered for
himself and four are offered for his followers.
And by the way, notice that his followers includes
the ones then, as he says in verse 8, they knew
with certainty that I came from you and they
believed that you sent me, I pray for them. So
he's praying for those who have followed him
in his earthly ministry. But look at verse 20.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also
for those who will believe in me through their
message. In other words, what Jesus prays for
in this chapter, he prays for you. Because you
have come to believe through the words of the
apostles. as recorded in God's holy book, the
Bible. Now, what is it that Jesus prays for?
Well, as I said, two things He prays for Himself.
In verse 1, He prays for the exaltation of Himself.
Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son,
that Your Son may glorify You. Is this wrong
for Him to pray to be glorified? Not at all.
He is the righteous Son of God, and He is praying,
Father, exalt me. Is God going to deny that petition?
No. Notice His second request. It relates to
this, verse 5. It is for the resumption of His
eternal glory. Father, glorify me in Your presence
with the glory I had with You before the world
began. And so now he prays, not only will he
be glorified with the Father, but he will be
able to resume the glory that he had before he
came. In fact, before the world was even created.
And today, he has resumed that glory as the God
-man. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand
of God and he has resumed the glory which the
eternal Son has always had with his Father."
God has answered the prayers of Jesus. Now let's
look at the four petitions that he offers for
us. The first one is found in verses 11 and 15,
and it is for protection. This implies that we're
going to have opposition in the world. For example,
in verse 11 he says, I will remain in the world
no longer, but they are still in the world. And
I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them.
Protect them by the power of your name, the name
you gave me, so that they may be one as we are
one. While I was with them, I protected them
and kept them safe by that name you gave me.
None has been lost. except the one doomed to
destruction so that the Scripture would be fulfilled
as Judas. The context here seems to suggest that
the pressure from the world is going to be to
try to cut off our relationship with God. And
if the world could do that today, it would. But
Jesus says, I'm praying that you will protect
them, Father. He is praying for the preservation
of that relationship that we have with the Father.
Now again, he mentions protection in verse 15.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the
world, but that you protect them from the evil
one, Satan. You see the world. is in the hands
of Satan. By the world, I'm talking about the
system that controls the world. Satan organizes
it. He energizes it. He directs it toward his
intended goals. Now in the end, he can only do
that within the boundaries that God has established.
But nonetheless, He is the force. He is the force
that holds together the world system. And the
one characteristic that describes it is anti
-Christ. Anything that is of God, anything that
claims to be Christian is attacked by the world.
And so Jesus prays that we might be protected.
Does that mean that the devil can never do anything
to us and we don't have to be cautious of him?
Not at all. Does that mean that the world can't
trip us up, that we don't have an enemy in the
world? Not at all. They are still enemies. But
ultimately the world nor the devil can ever sever
our relationship from God. It's permanent. Jesus
has prayed this. Will God not answer the prayer
of His Son? Father, keep them. The Father is
going to keep us. The second petition we see
for us is found in verse 17, where He simply
says, sanctify them by the truth. Thy word is
truth. Sanctify. What does that mean? Well, in
the most basic sense, it means set them apart.
Notice that Jesus goes on to say, as you sent
me into the world, and I've sent them into the
world, for them I sanctify myself, that they
too may be truly sanctified. So here's a word
that's used several times. Jesus says, Father,
I set myself apart to the work that you gave
me when you sent me into the world. Now Father,
set those people who believe in me apart from
the world. for the work that I leave them to
do." That's what he's praying for. Father, set
them apart so that they may go back to the world
out of which they've been called to deliver the
message. That's what he's praying for. And every
time that you witness to someone, every time
that you share your faith, every time you hand
out a tract to somebody, you are doing that in
answer to what Jesus prayed. For he says father
set them apart for that work that I leave behind
for them to do The third request for us is found
in verses 21 to 23 It is a prayer for the identification
of his own as one He says that all of them may
be one father just as you are in me and I in
you May they also be in us So that the world
may believe that you have sent me I have given
them the glory which you gave me that they may
be one as we are one I in them and you and me
May they be brought to complete unity to let
the world know that you sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me Jesus is praying
that his own will identify together I do not
believe that Jesus is primarily praying here
for the ecclesiastical ecumenism of all people
who call themselves Christians. Primarily, I
believe that Jesus is praying for spiritual oneness
of His people. That's the kind of oneness that
He has with the Father. And so on the day of
Pentecost, the Father fulfilled this prayer and
continues to fulfill it every time someone believes
and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. For at that
moment each one is placed into the body of Jesus
Christ and is made one spiritually. But I also
want to say this, that there is a place for a
visible expression of oneness with others who
are Christians. That is who named Jesus Christ
as Lord. I'm not talking about apostates or false
teachers under the guise of Christianity. But
I'm talking about those who truly love and know
our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a time when we
can join hands together with the blessing of
God and we should in the face of the opposition
of the world. Jesus prays for that. And he prays
that that oneness of believers will be visible
enough so that the world may believe that the
Father sent the Son. And then, in verse 24, Jesus
prays for the glorification of His own. He says,
Father, I want those you have given me to be
with me where I am. and to see my glory, the
glory you have given me because you loved me
before the creation of the world. Jesus prays
that every one of his own will one day be with
him in glory and be able to see with his own
eyes his glory as the exalted Son of God. That's
going to require our own glorification. We shall
Be like him for we shall see him as he is writes
John in his first epistle Is God going to deny
these requests of his son? No God is going to
fulfill every one of them This gives us an idea
of how Jesus is praying for us today. Do you
see the glory in it? He begins by saying father
glorify your son He concludes by saying, Father,
these who believe on me, I want them with me
there to see my glory. And so we have the glory
of Christ's session, His high priestly work in
the petitions that He bears and offers before
God. But thirdly and finally, I want us to look
at the perfections that He owns. For here again
we see the glory of His Session as high priest
and to do this we need to go back to Hebrews
the second chapter Verse 10 says in bringing
many sons to glory it was fitting that God for
whom and through whom everything exists Should
make the author of their salvation perfect through
suffering Both the one who makes men holy and
those who are made holy are of the same family
So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers
He says I will declare your name to my brothers
in the presence of the congregation I will sing
your praises and again. I will put my trust in
him And again, he says here am I and the children
God has given me Since the children have flesh
and blood he too shared in their humanity so
that by his death he might destroy him who holds
the power of death, that is the devil, and free
those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death. For surely it is not
angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For
this reason he had to be made like his brothers
in every way in order that he might become a
merciful and faithful high priest in service
to God. that he might make atonement for the
sins of the people. Because he himself suffered
when he was tempted, he is able to help those
who are being tempted. Consider with me the perfections
that he owns as our High Priest. First of all,
the perfections in his preparation for this work.
To become the author of our salvation and the
High Priest on our behalf and service to God.
He had to be completely identified with humanity
by becoming one of us And so verse 14 states
exactly that Because we are of flesh and blood
he too partook of flesh and blood the Christmas
story The verb tense here points to one act in
time when he became human as well as God Verse
17 says that he had to be made like his brothers
in every way. It was a necessity. It was a moral
obligation for him to become authentically, genuinely
man. God spared nothing. He sought every detail
so that nothing could disqualify his son. the
role of Savior and High Priest. Perfectly prepared
by becoming man to do what he is doing. But notice
secondly the perfections of his character for
doing this. He suffered as a man so that he could
know from his own experience the pain that is
caused by human sin. Now, he was not a sinner.
He did not sin. But he experienced the pain of
sin all of his life. Notice verse 10 says that
God made the author of their salvation perfect
through suffering. You say, I thought he was
already perfect as the Son of God. Yes, he was
and is. But there is another element that as
the author of our salvation, as our high priest,
he needed to be equipped to understand what we
pass through on this earth. And so in his service
to God now, in his session, he is perfect in
his character. He understands the loneliness.
He understands the power of temptation. He knows
thoroughly the weakness of our humanity. Notice
that it says that He is a merciful and faithful
high priest. He is sympathetic. Sympathetic.
He can understand exactly what we face. He knows
it. My wife and I have laughed about this thing.
number of times as I stood by her in labor and
she was bearing a child and I was able to say
to her I know just how you feel. What a joke.
For I have no idea I've never done that. Jesus
can stand beside you whatever you're passing
through and he can say I know how you feel and
he means it. every kind of temptation that you
could ever face, He's faced. And He's sympathetic.
And He's faithful. He's unfailing. He's always
there when you need Him. He has every quality
that is so necessary for His work as High Priest.
We see this symbolized in the Old Testament in
the adornment of Aaron the high priest. In Exodus
28 we have a description of his outfit, his garments
as a high priest. One of them was an ephod, a
robe -like thing that fit over the front and
back. It was held together by straps across his
shoulders and on each strap was an onyx stone.
And on those stones there were written the twelve
names of the tribes of Israel, six on each one.
In addition to that, the high priest wore on
the outside of this ephod another piece that
was called the breastplate across his chest.
It was made out of fine gold. And inset in the
gold plate were twelve precious stones. each
unique. And on each wand an artist engraved the
name of one of the tribes of Israel. So that
whenever the high priest went into the presence
of God, he bore there the names of the children
of Israel. One set on his shoulders, one set
across his chest. What does this represent? across
His chest, over His heart the names of the sons
of Israel. Sympathy. Mercy. On His shoulders
the place of strength. The names of the sons
of Israel. Faithfulness. Mercy. And Jesus Christ,
in His high priestly work before God today, is
perfect in his character. He is sympathetic and
he is faithful, always bearing up before God
our names in prayer. We must note the perfection
of his work in the past. That's the third perfection
that he owns. It says that he made atonement
for the sins of the people. That's not a very
good translation, in my opinion, in the NIV.
He made propitiation. He offered the final sacrifice
for sin. It wasn't merely a covering for sin.
It was a sacrifice that dealt thoroughly with
sin. And then there is the perfection of His
work in the present, fourthly. Verse 18 points
to it. He is able to help those who are being
tempted. Notice that he was tempted. Jesus was
tempted in every category of sin that you could
ever face yourself. And he was tempted far beyond
what any of us have experienced. He was tempted.
But notice that we are being tempted. We're still
here in the world. And we're passing through
temptation. And it says that he is perfect in
his present ministry. He's able to help. He runs
when he's called for. He comes to the aid of
those who are passing through temptation. And
verse 16 says that he helps the descendants of
Abraham. The word helps there means to seize,
to take hold of, to rescue. We have a great high
priest who is perfect in his work in the present
as well as his work in the past The glories of
Christ in his session The perfections that he
owns My friend with a high priest like this We
must beware of ever taking our salvation lightly.
We must never trifle with it We must never treat
our faith as though it is superfluous to life.
We should not play with it as though it were
some toy. Our faith is serious. And we must beware
of allowing sin to ever harden our hearts so
that we turn away from the living God. That's
what the writer of Hebrews warns us about. We
must take sin seriously because of the priest
who stands in heaven on our behalf. How good
it is to know when we fail, he's there faithfully
and sympathetically as our advocate before the
Father. Because we have this high priest in glory,
we must press on to maturity. It is time to put
away our childish faith. It is time to get on
with growing in it. It is time to be mature.
We have no excuse for remaining childlike and
childish, rather, in our faith. It is time to
grow up and be mature children of God because
we have one who stands before God on our behalf
and prays that we might grow. and mature, and
no longer be tossed and thrown about like waves
of the sea. Because we have one who is a high
priest in glory like this, we can be assured
that he's able to help in the time of need. Let
that be an encouragement to you. I don't know
what your time of need may be. Perhaps it's today.
Perhaps it's a job that's threatened. Maybe it's
some uncertainty in your health or in your family
As you look at 1993 you don't know what it holds.
Let me tell you Jesus does You say he's the he's
the same yesterday today and forever. He's already
in 93 He's already praying about those things
you're going to face next month He's already
there preparing so that he will be fully able
to meet your needs when you come to that day
or that crisis or that moment of that hour of
need. Be encouraged as you face the new year.
A year ago, we did not know what this year would
hold. And many of us have come to days and hours
in the last 12 months that we would never have
dreamed would have come to us. And Jesus was
faithful. He was there and He met our needs.
And He will be there tomorrow. And He will be
there the next day. Why? Because He is faithful.
Rejoice today in the glory of Christ's session
for you, my friend. Because of Christmas, because
He came as man and partook of our flesh and blood,
He today as glorified man is standing before
the Father on your behalf, praying. Be encouraged
and march on Let's pray Father I thank you for
your son Your son who is glorious In the position
that he occupies the petitions that he offers
the perfections that he owns We worship you through
him We thank you that we can call him our friend,
our brother, that he understands what it means
to walk as a human being in this world. That
he stands before you with perfect knowledge of
each of us and knows our battles. Thank you.
Friend, would you at this moment just tell him
thank you for yourself? And reconfirm yourself
to walk with Him, to trust Him, to be faithful
because of His present ministry on your behalf.
Amen. Amen. Would you take your hymnal please
and turn with me? We're going to sing a verse
of 435 that says, what a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege
to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what
peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain
we bear, all because we do not carry everything
to God in prayer. Let's stand together and sing
the second verse of 435. Let's bow together.
Are you weak and heavy -laden, cumbered with
a load of care? This precious Savior is still
your refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do
thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to
the Lord in prayer. In his arms he'll take and
shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there. Father,
we thank you. that as we leave this place and
begin to enter a new year in a few days that
we do so with our hand in yours and we do so
with a high priest who knows our situation in
this world and who is interceding faithfully
and sympathetically before you and your throne.
We are encouraged by that. And we go from here
with fresh strength because of this truth. As
Wesley said, our souls arise and shake off their
guilty fears. The bleeding sacrifice in our behalf
appears. Before your throne our surety stands.
Our names are written in his hands. And we say,
praise the Lord. Amen.