John 17:1-5 - Homiletics

Christ's intercessory prayer.

The great High Priest appears on the eve of his final sacrifice of himself for his people. He prays, first, for restoration to his Divine glory.

I. THE ATTITUDE AND SPIRIT OF THIS PRAYER . "He lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father."

1. His attitude , as he looked upwards , bespoke his reverence for God , whose throne is in heaven , his confidence in God , and his expectation of help and comfort from on high .

2. His spirit is that of confidence and filial affection , if his prayer was in Aramaean, he said, "Abba," which henceforth passes into the usage of the Church, as the term so sacred to Christians ( Romans 7:15 ; Galatians 4:6 ).

II. THE PURPORT OF THIS PRAYER . "The hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."

1. There was an hour appointed in the Divine counsels for his death and Passion . It was the fitting time. The best remedy for such a sad moment is prayer.

2. It was an hour that involved in its consequences the glorification of the Son .

3. Mark how the glorification of the Father and the Son are inextricably linked together .

4. Mark the authority which Christ has received , as Mediator , over the whole human race . "As thou hast given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."

(a) All believers are the Father's gift to the Son, as his charge and as his reward ( Isaiah 53:10 ). We may, therefore, infer that such a gift will not be in vain.

(b) Eternal life is Christ's free gift to sinners.

( α ) It is not temporary life, but life without break or end.

( β ) It is a life, as a Puritan says, unbought, unsought, unthought, by sinners.

III. THE TRUE NATURE OF ETERNAL LIFE . "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

1. The life of grace begins with knowledge .

2. The true objects of holy knowledge are God and Christ .

(a) Without him, we do not know God as reconciled, and therefore cannot come to him with boldness.

(b) The dependence of eternal life in the knowledge of the Son implies his coequal Godhead with the Father and the Spirit. How could the knowledge of a mere creature be equally necessary to salvation with that of God himself?

(c) The mission of the Son was

( α ) from God and heaven;

( β ) it was into this world;

( χ ) it was in our business and for our benefit.

( δ ) Therefore we ought to honor the Son as we honor the Father.

IV. THE SON 'S GLORIFICATION OF THE FATHER ON EARTH . "I have glorified thee on earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

1. The Son glorified the Father by

2. The work of his life was now ended .

V. THE PRAYER FOR THE SON 'S GLORIFICATION IN HEAVEN . "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." These words imply:

1. That the Son had an essential glory with the Father before the foundation of the world .

2. That he emptied himself for a time of that which he received again . ( Philippians 2:7 .)

3. That the glory of his Divinity was fulfilled in his ascended manhood .

4. Mark the glorious advancement of our nature in the Person of Christ .

5. The true fulfillment of this prayer is set forth in the exaltation described in the Philippian Epistle . ( Philippians 2:9-12 .)