Rev. Ronald C. Purkey,
Pastor
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The following Bible study outline was
prepared by Rev. Ronald C. Purkey for
the Adult Bible Class at Paul’s Chapel where
Rev. Purkey is the teacher.
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SCRIPTURE:
INTRODUCTION: There
are a number of references to Jesus’ prayer life in the Gospels. Usually the
actual prayer which He prayed is not recorded in the Bible. There are four
notable exceptions to this statement. The four instances when a prayer of the
Lord is recorded are at the time of Lazarus’ resurrection (John
“Someone has aptly termed
this chapter ‘The Holy of Holies of John’s Gospel.’ We have the privilege of
hearing the Son conversing with the Father. You could spend many weeks
meditating on the truths in this chapter, but here we can only touch upon the
highlights.” – Warren Wiersbe, Expository
Outlines on the New Testament
I.
JESUS’ PRAYER FOR HIMSELF. (John 17:1-5)
I want you to notice that it
is not out of line nor even a mark of selfishness to pray for one’s self. I
believe that when you and I go to God in prayer, we need to get our own hearts
and lives right with God. We need to get in tune with heaven, as it were. Every
instrument should be tuned up before it is played. Before you and I begin to
pray for others, we need to pray for ourselves. That is not selfishness; it is
essential. – J. Vernon McGee, Thru the
Bible
A. The outline of Christ’s earthly work. (17:1-3)
1. Notice that Christ prays that He will be glorified.
(17:1)
“Lifted up his eyes to heaven.” This was a common practice when one prayed, since
He was addressing Himself to God. “Father.”
Christ uses this term six times in His prayer. “The hour.” The
moment of crisis had come when Christ would consummate His earthly ministry. “Glorify
thy Son.” The hour that Christ referred to was not only the hour of
death, but also His resurrection and exaltation.
“9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: 10That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the
earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11)
“But God forbid that I
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal. 6:14)
2. Notice the “gives” in this passage (17:2)
As a result of His work of redemption at the cross,
God has given His Son “power over all” mankind. This “power”
entitled Him to “give eternal life to” those whom the Father had “given
Him.” Here again we are reminded that before the foundation of the
world, God marked out certain ones as belonging to Christ. Remember, though,
that God offers salvation to anyone who will receive Jesus Christ. There is no one who cannot be saved by
trusting the Savior.
3.
Notice that each believer is God’s love gift to the Son. (17:3) (Also,
Here is a simple explanation of how “life eternal” is obtained. It is by knowing “God and Jesus Christ.” “The only true God” is in contrast to idols, which are not
genuine gods at all. This verse does not mean that Jesus Christ is not the true
God. The fact that His Name is mentioned together with God the Father’s as
being the joint source of eternal life means that They are equal. Here the Lord
called Himself “Jesus Christ.” “Christ” was the same as Messiah. This
verse disproves the charge that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah.
B. The outcome of Christ’s earthly work. (17:4-5)
1. Jesus finished the work the Father gave Him to do.
(17:4)
Even before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus spoke of having
completed or accomplished the mission the Father had given Him. The Father had
been glorified. Jesus had fulfilled the Father’s plan, and now the glory of
heaven awaited Him.
2. Jesus prayed to be restored to His former eternal
glory. (17:5)
Christ again asks the Father to glorify Him. He
desires that glory which He had in eternity past, but which He voluntarily laid
aside to redeem mankind (John 1:1–3, 14).
II.
JESUS’ PRAYER FOR HIS DISCIPLES. (John 17: 9, 11b, 15-19)
A. Jesus prayed only for those who believed in Him. (17:9)
“I pray for them.” Christ’s concern was for His own (Rom
B. Jesus prayed that the Father would protect and guide believers. (17:11b, 15)
1. Christ prays for the Father
to stand guard over the disciples in the wicked world. (17:11b)
“That they may be one.” This does not mean that Christ wants all
denominations to be as one; He is praying that the disciples would be united in
their stand against the wickedness of the world.
2. Christ did not want the disciples taken out of the
world. (
(1) Because He would fulfill His purpose in their
lives while they were in the world. (2) Because He wanted them to be delivered
from the evil one (Satan himself). (Matthew 6:13;
C.
Jesus prayed that believers would be sanctified. (17:16-19)
What does it mean to be
sanctified? It does not mean sinless perfection, otherwise Jesus could
not say: “I sanctify myself” (
A. Jesus prays for those believers with Him then and for all those in
the future who would believe on Him. (
Jesus had you and me in mind.
Now, many centuries later, we can know our great High Priest is praying for us.
In fact, every believer reading this verse can say, “Jesus prayed for me over
1900 years ago.”
B. Jesus prays for the unity of believers. (
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)
This prayer has been answered. The church is an
organic unity. Believers are one in Christ, for the church is one body. The
minute any sinner trusts Christ, that saved sinner is put into the body of
Christ. If believers would manifest that union to the world, the world would be
more impressed with Christ. Too often the world sees believers hating each
other which may well be one of the reasons that lost sinners will not accept
Christ.
C. Jesus prays that the world may believe in Christ. (17:22-23)
1. The unity between the
Father and the Son is the basis for the unity among believers.
Just as the persons of the Godhead are one in
purpose and action, so too should be their spiritual children. And just as the
Father and the Son are united in their mutual love, so too should be the
members of their eternal family.
2. Jesus knew that the
continued unity of His disciples would be a powerful witness to the world of
the reality of God’s love.
Lost people will be more convinced of the
truthfulness of the Gospel when they see believers avoiding gossip, building
one another up, working together in humility, and refusing to get sidetracked
arguing over irrelevant issues.
D. Jesus prays that all believers may be with Him in heaven. (
It will be wonderful to be with our Lord in heaven and
have perfect fellowship. I take it that this was God’s purpose in creating man.
There are other creatures in the universe and on the earth, but God made man a
creature with whom He could have fellowship. God created man with a free will;
and, even though man sinned, God wants his fellowship. Heaven is going to be
wonderful, and it will be important that every one of His sheep is there with
Him. Each one will have his contribution to make.
To behold the glory of the Lord Jesus will be the
satisfaction of the believer. Moses asked to see the glory of God. Philip asked
to see the Father. Sometimes we get a glimpse of glory in a rainbow or a
sunset. Think what it will be when we come into His presence and behold His
glory! That is the goal to which we are moving.
CONCLUSION: At
the Last Supper the day before Jesus’ horrible crucifixion, the Lord prayed for
those He loved with deep compassion. Jesus knew that His disciples were about
to face severe testing, and He prayed that they would be united in order to
strengthen one another during this ordeal.
We were also included in
Jesus’ prayer. He knew that His church will always encounter forces from within
and without that will try to disrupt and divide His followers. So Jesus prayed
that we, too, will remain united in Him through His love.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: “Unity among Christians comes from their union with Christ.”
Judges or Witnesses?
In his commentary on the
Book of John, Warren Wiersbe says this about Christian unity:
“One of the things that
most impresses the world is the way Christians love each other and live
together in harmony. It is this witness that our Lord wants in the world ‘that
the world may believe that thou has sent me’ (John 17:2 1, KJV). The lost world
cannot see God, but they can see Christians; and what they see in us is what
they believe about God....
“Jesus has assured us that
some will believe because of our witness (vs. 20), but we must make sure that
our witness is true and loving. Some Christians are prosecuting attorneys and
judges instead of faithful witnesses, and this only turns lost sinners away
from the Saviour.
“There is every reason why
believers should love one another and live in unity. We trust the same Saviour
and share the same glory. We will one day enjoy the same heaven! We belong to
the same Father and seek to do the same work. We believe the same truth, even
though we may have different views of minor doctrinal matters; and we follow
the same example that Jesus set for His people, to live a holy life.”
– David C. Cook Publishers, Bible-in-Life
3123 Manitou Park Road --
Telephone:
E-Mail: Pastor Ronald Purkey
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