The Lord’s prayer

In prayer (when we are genuine and truthful), our hearts are exposed and revealed as in no other way.

That is true as well of the heart of Christ, which makes the Lord’s prayer in John 17 a particularly rich and stimulating passage of Scripture.  Of this passage, Melanchthon wrote, “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime, than the prayer offered up by the Son of God himself.”  As another also noted, “We have before us one of the most intimate glimpses anywhere in Scripture of the mind and heart of the Lord…”

Believers have long been drawn to this passage:  John Knox had it read to him every day during his final illness, and it was read to him as he entered glory upon his earthly death.  James Montgomery Boice’s 17 sermons on the passage pale in comparison to Thomas Manton’s 45!  It has been called a “Holy of Holies.”

This prayer is given by Christ for the disciples in the Upper Room.  After these words, He went with the disciples across the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane, where He also prayed in the Garden for them immediately prior to His betrayal and crucifixion (cf. Mt. 26:36-46; Mk. 14:32-42; Lk. 22:39-46).  So this prayer serves as something of a benediction by Christ for the disciples after He has been with them and taught them during His three years of ministry.

Unlike too many of our prayers, this prayer is no shallow sentiment.  It is Christ revealing His eternal desires for His eternal people.  And remember this, since Christ has prayed it, by definition it must be fully attainable and He must have made all the resources that at are at His disposal available for the believer to realize these truths and “requests.”  And the requests are not mere wishes.  They are in a real sense Christ’s directives and provisions.

The cross is also clearly in view throughout the prayer.  It is Thursday night; shortly they would go out and Jesus would be betrayed by Judas.  “…spoken as it is in the shadow of the cross, it is invested with a peculiar solemnity.…The last words are important.  We so often understand this prayer as though it were rather gloomy.  It is not.  It is uttered by One who has just affirmed that He has overcome the world (16:33), and it starts from this conviction.  Jesus is looking forward to the cross, but in a mood of hope and joy, not one of despondency.  The prayer marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but it looks forward to the ongoing work which would now be the responsibility first of the immediate disciples and then of those who would later believe through them.  Jesus prays for them all.” [Morris, The Gospel According to John.]

As you read the prayer, notice that it is divided into 3 primary movements:

• Christ’s prayer for Himself (vv. 1-5)
• Christ’s prayer for the disciples (vv. 6-19)
• Christ’s prayer for the disciples to come (vv. 20-26)

It has been said of this prayer, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies.  Yet distance makes no difference.  He is praying for me.” [Robert Murray M’Cheyne].

This is Jesus’ very heart of desire for Himself and His followers.  It is a summation of His ministry and teaching.  It is what He wants so that the Father is glorified and His people are satisfied and sanctified.  This is what He wants for us.