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About-Him.Com Devotional 03-25-2006
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My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension.

214: The Intercessory Prayer Jn. 17:1-26  

The synoptic gospels are almost identical in recounting the last days and final words of Jesus. The book of John is remarkably different because John always stressed the Deity of Christ. The intercessory prayer is only recorded in John.  

In contrast to Luke who wrote on the theme of the humanity of Christ, John always followed the theme of the Deity of Christ. He was and is the living Word, which from the beginning was with God and was God. He, the eternal Word or Logos (John 1:1), was manifested in flesh and born of a virgin (Galatians 4:4). He is known to us as the only begotten Son of the Father (John 1:14). The subject can be very deep and difficult to understand. As some creeds correctly state, Jesus is fully God and fully man in one visible being. Thus, when Jesus  uttered this High Priestly prayer, He  was functioning and praying as  a man. When He agonized in the garden and the angels came and ministered to Him, they were ministering to the man Christ Jesus (I Timothy 2:5).  

He died for us as a sinless man (Hebrews 4:15).  He ascended to heaven and placed his sinless blood on the mercy seat, as a glorified man (John 20:17). As stated before, He is both fully God and fully man. As a man in His glorified body, He has entered the presence of God on our behalf (Hebrews (9:24). As a glorified man in whom it pleased the Father for all the fullness of the Deity to dwell bodily, He ever lives and makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). While doing all of this as a earthly and then a glorified man, He never for one instant ceased to be the One eternal God. The Jesus of the New Testament is still the God of the Old Testament (Revelation 22:16).  

After giving the Promise of the Holy Spirit and just prior to entering the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus opened His heart in verbal prayer for the eleven to hear. He prayed a three fold prayer:  

Firstly (Vss.1-8), that He would be able to complete the mission that He had come to do. His opening words were, "Father the hour is come."  

John 17:1 ¶  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
 

 He was speaking of the cross on which He would be hanging the very next day. This was the day and hour, appointed by God in eternity past. Christ was a Lamb slain before the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:8). Ephesians 1:4-5,10 tells us that God did all things after the council of His own will and  had determined to bring all things together in One, even in Christ. Tomorrow would be that day and hour.  

The Psalmist, seeing Calvary,  saw this day many years before and said, "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalms 118:24). May we join with this writer and proclaim, "Thank God for the blood, Thank God for the stripes. Thank God that because of that day we have access to the very throne of God. Thank God for the abiding Spirit of Christ.  Thank God that because of Calvary, we have a hope beyond the grave." All because of Jesus!    

Jesus was confident that He had done all in His power to glorify His Father.  He had proclaimed the Father’s name (His character and attributes) and had offered eternal life to all who would accept it (John 6:47).  He longed to be glorified once again with the glory that He had in the beginning which He described as “thine own self.” This is the glory that God said He would not share with another (Isaiah 42:8), but which Christ possessed as the eternal Word or Logos of God.  

 After His ascension Jesus demonstrated His  absolute unity with the Father. He was able to claim all the power of heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18) and the apostle Paul stated that it pleased the Father that all the fullness of the Deity dwelled in Christ Jesus bodily (Colossians 1:19,2:9).  

Secondly, Jesus prayed that His immediate disciples would be able to carry on His work.  

John 17:6 ¶  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
 

He had kept them through the Father’s name which He had manifested to them (Exodus 3:15, 6:3). They were dedicated men who had left their homes and businesses to follow Jesus. Jesus did not pray that they would escape coming hardships and persecutions. He knew that they would be imprisoned and put to death, all because of their love for Him. His simply prayer was, "Father keep them and sanctify them by your word of truth."  

Thirdly, Jesus  prayed for you and me.  

20 ¶  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;  

He has given us the glory that He received from His Father. His prayer was that we would filled with God’s eternal uncomprehensible love and that we would all come into the perfect unity that He shared with His Father. He didn’t promise us a bed of roses either. Jesus like the apostles we will be hated of all men for His name’s sake.  Most of our burdens are very light compared to what many have suffered for confessing Christ. However we can have confidence that the One who prayed for us just prior to shedding His blood, is still at the throne interceding on our behalf.  

With that assurance, we can’t miss!  

Links Applicable to this devotional:
  Behold Your God! The Name of Jesus   

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Humor
Just as she was celebrating her 80th birthday, our friend received a jury-duty notice. She called to remind the people at the clerk's office that she was exempt because of her age.  

"You need to come in and fill out the exemption forms," they said.  

"I've already done that," she replied. "I did it last year."  

"You have to do it every year," she was told.  

"Why?" came the response. "Do you think I'm going to get younger?"

Somebody Has Said
"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think’. Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!" - Andrew Murray

Keep Looking Up!

Don and Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries

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