Jesus Teaches Us to Pray – Easter 7

Jesus Teaches Us to Pray

Easter 7 T John 17:1-11

INI

            Today marks the last day of our Easter season. Next week, the white will turn to red as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. But before we give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, we turn our attention to one last thing Jesus would have us to learn in this Easter Season. He teaches us to pray.

            Prayer isn’t a particularly natural thing to do. As life gets busy, it’s easy an easy task to forget. Or, we only pray when we need something, or we’re experiencing some kind of lack in this body and life. But that’s why we need to be taught to pray. Perhaps, we don’t always know the best or most needful things to pray for.

            Even Jesus’ disciples were unsure what to pray for. Right before Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer – which is one of the most complete prayers there is – the disciples gave voice to something we’ve all wanted to ask God – “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

            And here today, Jesus teaches us how to pray, and what to pray for. John’s text shows Jesus’ discourse with His disciples in the Upper Room right before the events of Good Friday unfolded. And this text is the very last thing that Jesus taught His disciples on that Maundy Thursday night – so you know it’s important. But it isn’t so much a formal lesson or teaching moment – “pray in this way, or use these words”. Rather, your High Priest prays for you.

            So, first question – what does Jesus pray for? In His prayer, Jesus glorifies His Father. Specifically, Jesus says, “Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.” And later, Jesus says how He has brought glory to His Father. He says, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” And certainly, the Father has given lots for His Son to do. For instance, the Son preached to great crowds, gathered disciples that follow Him who would then later preach Christ’s work to the world when Jesus returned to the Father. But most of all, the Son has glorified the Father by going to the cross to satisfy the Father’s wrath on sin for THE WHOLE WORLD!

            And now that the Son has lived in perfect obedience to His Heavenly Father, the Son asks the Father to glorify Him. But we must understand, Jesus isn’t selfishly asking for glory in a vain way. He’s asking the Father to glorify the work He would soon accomplish at the cross – revealing the self-sacrificial nature of God’s love to the world. He says, “Glorify your Son… And now Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (v.1, 4).”

            He asks the Father to glorify this horrific moment of crucifixion so that WE would now the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the only true God to be worshipped and adored. So, Jesus prayed for His Father to be glorified, and thus, for Himself to be glorified too. So, when we pray, we don’t ask for vainglory. We boast not in ourselves or our good works. We pray that the glory of God would be manifest through our actions to the world, and that our good works would shine light on God’s goodness, grace, and mercy.

            The second thing Jesus prays for is the manifestation of the Father’s NAME. He says “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world (v.6).” And isn’t that the truth! At every opportunity, Jesus manifested the Father’s name! Everything He ever taught and DID manifested the love of the Father to the world – including the care for those in need, including miracles – which all reached a crescendo at the cross.

            And now, Jesus desires that His Father’s name would continually be made known through Word and Sacrament. The Gospel message proclaims Christ’s sacrificial love, shown through His willingness to be beaten and crucified. And He wishes that God’s name might be manifested in believers through the faith given through their baptism – the moment where God places His name on the foreheads and hearts of believers.

            The third thing Jesus prays for is… US! He prays, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. And I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

            On Thursday, we celebrated the Ascension. Jesus has gone up to heaven to be with His Heavenly Father. Thus, He’s not in this world anymore. But we are! With all it’s trouble too! So, here Jesus is, right before His crucifixion, not praying for Himself. But for you. And all His children – that despite our sufferings, we wouldn’t lose faith.

            But by His example in prayer, we learn that we can take the cares of our hearts and lay them at the feet of our Heavenly Father in prayer. There’s no request to large or small. Whether that be prayers for our aches and pains. Or for non-church goers to find refuge in Christ again. Or whether that be for the unbelievers to repent of their sins and live in the Gospel’s freedom.

            But we must take notice. Christ teaches us that must not neglect the important things to pray for. We aren’t perfect like Jesus, and there’s other things we need that aren’t explicitly mentioned in Jesus’ prayer here. But still, He teaches us what’s most important to pray for.

            For example, He teaches us to pray for faith. And as we navigate life, we know how much we need it strengthened each and every day. We aren’t perfect. Neither do we live with a perfect trust in God. We doubt. We question. We hear Satan’s deceitfulness from a sinful world.

            Even without our knowing, we can be pushed and pulled by strange teachings and pointless myths – which was even a concern at the time of the apostles –  all of which have the purpose of distraction and an unfocused, undisciplined life in Christ. So, yes, we NEED to pray for the strengthening of our faith, even as our Great High Priest prays for us even now in heaven.

            Faith and the strengthening of it, is something we need to ASK for. It’s not something WE can develop by our own reason or strength. As Jesus says in verse 8 of the Gospel, “For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you.” Jesus gives the Words. The Holy Spirit testifies to the works of Christ within us. And through that word received in faith, the heart is shaped and molded to live the forgiven life, becoming more like Christ in what we say and do. But this motivation cannot come from within – it must be given by God and received by us with full expectation that we are new creatures. We die, yet Christ lives within us. This is the faith Christ wants us to pray for, because through this kind of faith, the Holy Spirit keeps us in the safety of Christ and Him crucified.

            Also, Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness. Jesus Himself didn’t pray for forgiveness. He had no sins to be forgiven of. But what can be striking to us from the text is that Jesus isn’t praying “for the world”. That is, for the unbelievers. But how often do you and I act just like an unbeliever? We’re not immune to breaking the commandments. We wane in our love for God by thinking ourselves first before Him. We pick activities over worship and prayer. And we certainly pick pleasure over service for our neighbor. We love to appear righteous, but act as if Christ weren’t our master. So, what’s really the difference between us – the ones that Jesus prays for – and the unbelievers – the ones Jesus doesn’t pray for?

            It’s forgiveness. Received from a truly repentant heart. Our sins are forgiven – though not excused. That is, our guilt for sin has been removed because of Christ’s work. But they aren’t excused – meaning, we don’t just get to pretend our sins or no big deal, continually living in them. Or that we were RIGHT in committing those sins. We repent, and pray for forgiveness. Continually. That’s what Jesus has prayed for us to do.

            And isn’t that what our Savior taught us to do? He taught His disciples to pray in the Lord’s Prayer – “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He taught us to pray for forgiveness, because He wants us to ask for it! For this is what He’s earned for the world at the cross!

            Finally, Jesus teaches us to pray for eternal life. To have eternal life is to know the one and only God. In His prayer, Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you , the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” To know God is to have life, because death couldn’t hold God’s only Son. After the eternal son’s incarnation and death, He rose from the dead, and returned to eternity to reign from His Father’s throne!

            So, to know this one, is to know life eternal. And we pray we remain in Christ, thus, remaining in life eternal. And through the strengthening of our faith, the forgiveness of our sins, and a living hope in our knowledge of Christ, we can be assured that Christ gives His faithful all that’s needed to endure to life everlasting.

            But we pray not only for eternal life for us – but for others. That the whole world would repent of their unbelief and come to saving faith in God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, life would be shared with all for whom Christ died.

            Christ’s high priestly prayer teaches us what’s truly worth praying for. He teaches us to not simply pray for shallow things, but the things most needful – forgiveness, preservation of the faith, and the glorification of God’s Holy name.

            And even now, your Great High Priest stands before the Father’s throne with your name on His lips. And because Christ prays for you, you can be assured that no one can snatch you from the Father’s hand.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston