19th of November Public Seminar - John 17 and the Prayer of the High Priest by Professor Peter Lillback

 Hello! Today is a public seminar. This post tries to cover the whole seminar dialog and will only cover the body of the seminar, without the beginning announcements and worship songs.

Bible Reading: John 17:1-25

Prof Peter Lillback: I want to say a greeting to our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Jakarta, Indonesia. It's a great honor to be with you to be welcomed by my friend Benjamin Intan and for the translator. It is a joy to turn your attention to the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. As we  look in this passage tonight, we must remember we are in an unique Gospel. The gospel of John is very different from the first three gospels that we call the Synoptic gospels. When you hear the reading of the Synoptic Gospels, its hard to tell whether its from Matthew, Mark, or Luke. 

They look at Jesus from a similar vantage point. But the Gospel of John is very distinct. Why is John so different from the other gospels? Some has called this the Johannine problem. But those of us who think this is the inspired work of God don't see it as a problem. We must give an explanation about why is it so different. I have explained it from a parallel from what I saw in the Grand Canyon. We can see the open space from the south and west. People from the southern or western rim can see a very similar thing on the ground with little difference. But the northern rim view is different from the view of the southern rim. Everything looks at the same Grand Canyon but those from the north sees it differently. Matthew, Mark, and Luke sees Jesus' ministry in an earthly perspective. 

But the Gospel of John looks at Jesus as a heavenly perspective. So that is why the first verse of John it says that in the beginning there was the Word and the Word is God. The uniqueness of the gospel of John is from the prayer in John 17. We know how to pray the Lord's Prayer because we always pray it in Sundays. John do not mention the Lord's Prayer but another one, an unique one. The prayer before Jesus went to the cross. So we put it in a lesson called the Upper Room discourse. All the words that Jesus spoke as he ate the Lord's Supper is missing in all the other gospels. And as Jesus is teaching that ministry there, he prays as a high priest. This prayer could be called as the true Lord's Prayer because only Jesus prayed it. We cannot pray it but only read and study it. Because this prayer is the prayer for the people who will sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of others. Jesus occupies three offices: prophet, priest, and king. These are the three great positions of Old Testament Israel.

 And we can see how Jesus is these three things in the prayer. But what we hear dramatically is as a priest who offers sacrifice. So keep in mind that image of a person coming to the priest with a lamb as a sacrifice. The lamb would come as a substitute to take the guilt of the sinner away as it is sacrificed. The priest would lay his hand on the lamb, confess the sin of people, and would slay and sacrifice the lamb. Here in this prayer the High Priest not offering a lamb but Himself as the sacrifice. He is looking at himself and dedicating himself as the one who would go to the cross in the place of sinners. We remember in John 1 that John the Baptist says that "Behold, this is the Lamb of God that will be sacrificed." And Jesus is fulfilling this prophecy of John's and says He is the lamb of God to die in the place of sinners. And now he offers this prayer on behalf of his people that will believe in him. We might ask the question, "How did John get the words of this prayer anyway?". Think of it - Jesus prayed many prayers throughout his ministry. We know Jesus prayed every night to His Father. It is just this one that is kept out of all other prayers. We don't know how John received this prayer, whether Jesus told it or not. 

Perhaps John, when he heard the prayer, was so  touched he remembered every word. So this extraordinary prayer is an opportunity to study Jesus' prayer for others. As we look at the prayer, we see three distinctive parts. In the first five verses, it is the introduction to his prayer. Then, in verses 6-19 he prays for His disciples, those who followed him on the earth. From verses 20-24, he prays for those who believes in Him through the apostolic teaching. Let that sink in - He was praying for YOU as a Christian! In the last few verses he prayed for all believers as a family of faith. We begin to look at this prayer with the context of the end of John 16. John 16:28 says Jesus says he has  has came from the Father to the earth and is about to come back to his Father. He has came through Incarnation and will leave with Ascension. He says he to have peace in Him even under persecution from the world because He has overcome the world. Jesus says to His disciples they will be endangered and the world will bring on them tribulations and problems. But he says not to be afraid but rather take heart. Because Jesus will defeat and overcome the world. Notice how he says "in me you may have peace". He says in this world you will have trouble but in Him we will have peace. He will give you peace in the troubles of life. As we prepare to look at this prayer, we must focus on the phrase "in me". Today, I came to speak to you and there are some things in me. I think there are two slices of pizzas in me. There are also some spicy noodles in me. What I had for dinner was in me, so it went along with me. My heart is also in me. Jesus says, "If you are in me, you will have peace because I am the King of Peace". Theologians called this a  union with Christ. If we are in Him, everywhere he goes we go. Paul writes "in Christ" 80 times. Paul is a great theologian of our union with Christ. It is from this point that Paul gets his doctrine about the union with Christ. 

As we begin to offer this study of the prayer of Jesus, the question is, "Are you in Him?"Are you united with him? A true saving faith is an expression of being united with Christ. Jesus' prayer is for those who are united to Christ. Having said these words we read now in Verse 1, "When Jesus spoke these words, he said, Father, the hour has come". Jesus said that in the history of redemption, the key hour and reason of His coming was his death. I came to this seminar at 7'o clock to speak to you. Jesus said I have come to do what I must do. When we think about Jesus is getting ready to do, we might think this time is not of glory. Jesus says "this is my Glory" although there was suffering and problems. How is it possible that Jesus' humiliation and mocking is His Glory? Because there is no other Lamb that can accomplish this one sent by the Father himself. This profound humiliation was his Great Glory because He was the Lamb of God that could save sinners from the wrath of God. And as he accepts the shame and His death he says that he will glorify his Father. We know the Cross was the most worrying and feared death in Roman territory. 

If you were a Roman citizen, it was illegal to be crucified. But Jesus knew that through this method, salvation would come to people. In verse 2, it says, by accomplishing the sacrifice, Jesus would gain authority over all humanity. We can hear in this the echo of the Great Comission. As the risen Christ speaks. He says all authority is given to me on Heaven and on Earth. He says to become disciples to all nations and we think that all his authority comes from resurrection. And that is absolutely true. But we fail to realize his authority also comes from his crucifixion. He was the only one to be crucified for sinners. He says that when He was resurrected, everyone in Him, including Jesus and His believers, will be resurrected. It is his privilege to give eternal life to everyone His Father had given Him. Let's focus on the phrase "had given him". This means God the Father has given people to Christ. Jesus says all of those who was given to Him will gain eternal life. Do you notice Jesus doesn't say "I'm making salvation possible for some people." Rather, he's saying that His Father gave him a chosen people and Jesus would give eternal life to Them". Who are these people? These are the people Paul describes in Ephesians 4 - elect people of God that was chosen before the foundation of the earth. 

These are the people that God has chosen to be the possession of His Son. This is Reformed Theology. Jesus is praying somewhat like a Reformed theologian. Jesus defines the eternal life that He owns. The third verse Jesus says eternal life is the true knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. John Calvin says our salvation is based from complete knowledge of God and humanity. We cannot truly know ourselves without the knowledge of God. And if we truly know ourselves, we know who God is, and vice versa. And that is why Calvin bases his institutes on the knowledge of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so the knowledge of God comes through the preaching of the Gospel but it is only possible through the sovereign election of people that are won by the death of Christ. In verse 4, "I glorify You by finishing the work you have sent me to do". Jesus said he has came to complete the mission on the earth. 

And Jesus says He has completed said work and it is finished. His final words on the Cross was "It is finished!". Jesus finished what He came to do. As the High Priest, he was praying to do what he knew he must do on the Cross. So he finishes the introduction to the prayer in verse 5 and asks for His Father to glorify Jesus with the glory before the world was created. He is saying he will return to the original place with His Father. My humiliation on earth is complete. I am coming back to give and share the glory to God the Father. He said this is my Glory before there was a World in existence. Jesus as the High Priest is saying, "I was always in the glory of God from eternity past." If you existed before the world was, you have to be eternal. He says He shared in full the Glory of God and is One with God the Father. Jesus says when he is crucified, he is not just a man who dies, but also a full God who dies - a full man and God - that will be sacrificed for sinners. We recognize Jesus is a Trinitarian theologian. So we understand that if we want to appreciate what Jesus thought we must remember there is an extraordinary theology in His sermons and prayers. This prayer has many theological themes. 

He takes us from eternity past all the way to eternity future. He presents himself as fully God but incarnate in the world. He presents himself as a neccesary one with the Father for the salvation of sinners. And from this great theological introduction to his prayer, he moves to the second part, which is the prayer for his disciples.

Prof Peter Lillback: As we begin to look at this section, let us recognize how the knowledge of God weaves in this prayer. He says knowing God is essential for eternal life. In other words, understanding the gospel includes your thoughts of theological reflection. In verse 7 it says "they know everything they gave to me". Jesus is preaching what the Father had gave him. Jesus said the disciples knew the divine origin of Jesus and His coming from the Father. In verse 23 it says the world recognizes his authority but does not know God. Jesus says He will continue to make His Father's name known. So this makes us remember if we love the Gospel, we must love the theology of Christ. To be a Christian is to care about the theology of Jesus. In the sixth verse it says He has told the people (about His theology) God the Father had chosen Him, including the disciples. Notice that they were God's People and were given to the Son.

 Jesus is giving us insight about the eternal council of God and the eternity past. Reformed theologians have spoken about this as the eternal covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son.  Before Jesus came into the world, in Eternity Past, God the Father and the Son has planned everything. Jesus prays that he has done the work His Father told him to do. Jesus came to the world with a mission he must fulfill. He refers to those who were given to the Son by the Father and that God has given Jesus His name and the Words he must speak. Jesus entered the world with a sovereign purpose to fulfill a plan. From eternity past, he says He and the Father is one. Jesus came to a fallen, sinful world, however. In John16:33 it says Jesus said this is a world of tribulation and suffering. Jesus says this is a place where they hate God's word. In verse 15 He says this is a place where the evil one is at work. In verse  25 it says that this is a world that does not know God. So we realize that Jesus descended to the world to save the people given to Him. In his prayer for the disciples, there is a phrase in verse 9 that is amazing. It says "I am not praying for the world, but for those who you have given me, for they are yours". Let that sink in - He is not praying for the Lord. Rather, He is praying that the Lord has given to Him. 

The High Priest is getting ready to offer himself as a sacrifice. He does not pray for all the world without exception - but those who the Father gave him. He is praying for the elect. It is important to understand what is happening when the priest is offering the sacrifice - the sacrifice that is being offered is being offered to the person who brings it. The sins are on top of the lamb of sacrifice and this sacrifice is only for the elect who wants to sacrifice themselves too. He is prayed and died for the elect and precisely the elect - those God given his son. If we think carefully, we are touching on of the most debatable points of reformed theology. Reformed Theologians says that Jesus died for only the elect, not everyone. Sometimes people get upset with Reformed theology because of said statement. But here we see Jesus as the high priest saying, "I am not praying for the world but for the people you have given me". This is the L of the Tulip - limited atonement - that only the elect was saved with the sacrifice. God has chosen people to get out of the world that he will redeem. As a High Priest, Jesus will fie for these elect, chosen people. Jesus says he will leave the world but the chosen people will stay in the world. So in verse 11, it says Jesus is leaving the world for the Father and prays that the believers in the world will be still united with Jesus and the Father (us). Jesus said that we will be taken care of by the Father. 

This is called the perseverance of the saints (the "P" in TULIP). Jesus is keeping us with the Father through his prayers. While Jesus was on the earth, he guarded the disciples and they did not go lost besides for the evil one who betrayed Jesus to fulfill the Scriptures. There was a mystery of someone who was a disciple but betrayed Jesus. This is God's sovereign purpose, even in Judas' actions. As Jesus prays, we see the sovereignty of God in all things. These things are mysteries but they are revealed in His prayer for us to cherish and believe and trust. Listen carefully to verse thirteen where he says "But now, I am coming to you and I will say all of this in the world so my joy being a Son of God will be fulfilled in my disciples". Jesus says that when we understand the great truths of salvation that God has done in his sovereign purpose it will fill us with joy. Instead of saying this theology is heavy, we must appreciate the amazing grace towards us as sinners. We must be filled with joy and gratitude because of God's election. Jesus prayed for His joy and not their joy. He also says, as followers of Christ, the world will persecute us just like it persecuted Jesus. If Jesus is leaving and the world is filled with trouble, why didn't Him bring the believers with Him? We hear the dispensational theology that we want the rapture before to take us out. However, Jesus' eschatology is different - He does not ask they leave the world. In verse 23 it says in the world we will have tribulation. So why doesn't Jesus want to take out the believers from a world of tribulation? Instead, Jesus asks the Father to keep them in the world - to do the work God had given to them. Jesus, however, asked the Father to defend them. How will the Father keep them safe in this world of tribulation? The answer is in verse 17 - "sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth". 

Instead of praying to just rapture everyone out, Jesus wants us to be sanctified in the Truth. The word of God is what makes us strong because the word of God keeps us safe. But we are not only strong in the fave of tribulation but a mission of our own to fulfill. It says in verse 18 "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world". Jesus is saying that He is a heaven sent missionary and He was sent as an evangelist in a fallen of world, and His disciples would become the same - missionaries and evangelists - to make disciples and enter the fallen, troubled world. Just like Jesus entered a troubled world, His disciples will. Jesus says that he consecreated himself for their sake so they may be sanctified in the truth. Consecrate means to separate and make holy. 

Jesus is looking at himself as a consecrated lamb of God to bear the cross for His Father's purpose. His disciples would do the same and they would sanctify and consecrate themselves. Jesus told his disciples to "take up your cross and follow me". Jesus has a strong theology that does not contradict with missionary work. He is the greatest missionary and, before he dies, he calls his disciples to become missionaries. When God is sovereign, we cannot fail when doing missions. Every one of God's chosen people will come to faith when the gospel is preached. We go forth boldly because God's gospel has power to change these chosen people. 

 Peter Lillback: We must finish this prayer summary. The last part of the prayer is a prayer for the future generations of missionaries that were evangelized by the apostles - for us. Jesus does not only pray for His disciples but the future generations of the elect to also be one with Jesus and the Father. What we hear is the union of God the Father and God the Son is so amazing it is also the union between all believers in the history of the Church. We are united with the disciples because we are one with them in Christ. Let's make some applications from this prayer. Do you realize we are one with every true believer, different theology or not? This doesn't mean we should compromise our theology but remember that all Christ's true believers are one in Him. The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 4, tells us to speak the truth in Love.

 We cannot truly love without the Truth and cannot have the Truth without love. The ultimate fulfillment of this glory will be the glory in heaven. But there will be steps there - our sanctification. In the next verse (verse 22), we can take an application. It says the glory the Father gave to the Son has been given to Us. All the glory of Jesus is shared with us. The apostle Paul says that Jesus predestined, justified, sanctified, and GLORIFIED us. Remember that we are perfect in Christ - we are glorified in Christ, with our other aspects or conditions, whether it is good or not. Our glory is not complete, but we have a true theology. When the Allies came on D-Day, they could see they were victorious though it was incomplete. 

The Lord is saying the gospel victory is done in our heart and we will be fully glorified. Let us see that ultimately, we are one with and in Christ. We will become perfectly one, even with the Christians we do not get along with, but we will unite with them and love them fully. That is our future, but let us begin the process to get to that. Lastly, in verse 24, we can make a analogy. Imagine a son who is loved by his father very much. But the son is dying and makes a last request. But the Father did not ignore his request - a request that us, the believers, will be with him forever. Sometimes we doubt our salvation and own goodness, but Jesus prayed for us to be one with Him forever. This is just the surface of this great prayer and the last prayer of Jesus on the earth. Amen.

OFFERING

Question and Answer

1. How can we be sure that the Gospel of John was authored by John the Apostle?

Peter Lillback:

Firstly, the direct evidence of the Gospel indicates it was written by someone who was a 1st Century Jewish person who knew all the aspects of the city of Jerusalem. Further, he had to be a highly trained Biblical scholar because he knew the Old Testament texts so well and how to apply it. And further, we know he had to be extremely close to Jesus because he recorded what He said and thought. It had to be one of his disciples with said circumstances  and requirements. He was described as someone who Jesus loved, someone with a close personal relationship with Him. Further, he keeps himself unnamed because there is another important "John" which was important for him to emphasize, that is, John the Baptist. It has to be an inner, personal, close disciple of Jesus and there must be a reason he did not put his name. Through process of elimination, the only person that fits was John the Apostle. Early manuscripts also called it the Gospel of John. Both the internal and external evidence verifies John as the author of the book.

2. The original reader may not understand "in Christ" as Calvin did. How did first century Christians understand the phrase "in me"?

Peter Lillback: I do not say that "in Christ" was first referred to by Calvin but also referred to by Paul, which was a 1st century Christian. Paul deeply emphasizes on this "in Christ" phrase. Also in the book of John, Jesus says He is a Vine and His believers is a branch. So John  17's "in Christ" phrases can be explained from John 15. Calvin tried to unite Johannine and Pauline theologies. He recognized different vocabulary and emphases. 

3. Does the union with Christ involve the union of substance in Christ? If not, what part of us united with Christ?

Peter Lillback: If we did have substantial union with Christ, it means we are divine, or that Christ changed. Instead, it is a covenantal and federal union - just like how we are either a citizen of God or of the fallen. We are a part of his kingdom and moved from Adam to Christ. We made a covenantal and federal union instead of a substantial union. Our body and soul is united with Christ and both will be in covenant with Christ forever. The ressurection of Christ means our body and soul is sacred after glorification.  

4. How does Jesus' prayer of John 17 speak to our global crises such as Trump's election, wars, bad dconomy, and massive ecological crisis?

Peter Lillback: Jesus' prayer says we are not looking for an utopia here in this world made by humans. We believe different leaders have different amounts of qualities, but we will still have tribulation. Our hope is not in this world but in the success of Jesus' completed mission to redeem His people. The  teaches us not to look to this world. We should still engage in our world boldly because God the Father is keeping us . Be the salt and light to the world. Jesus does not pray to His Father to take the Christians out from the troubled world but to enter it. Because of the covenantal union with Christ, we will share his joy and peace. In our troubles, we are agents of peace and joy.

5. Jesus' Prayer shows the majesty of God, who saves. How can we show this majesty with relevance to the changing world? 

Jesus did show the majesty of God by having the abillity to give such an extraordinary prayer in a crisis during his life. This is not a nornal human being, because no normal human can pray during such a time with peace. We do not have the same greatness as Jesus but we are one with Him as an agent of peace and joy. We must remember there is hope greater than the crisis we are facing. Jesus can give us a solution in this changing world.

6. Theology is essential for salvation - fact. What would you say to those who says "I already believe in the Gospel and thats all I need"?.

Peter Lillback: I would agree with that statement but we need to ask if they have any theology or not, if they have a proper claim or not. How did he/she know theology is essential for salvation? If he/she did not have proper theology, we should evangelize towards them. All Christians are theologians, but are we good ones or not? Be loyal to the Bible and we will be a good one.

7. (My personal question) Is doubt about the existence or any other aspect of the nature of God a sin? 

Peter Lillback: Doubt is OK, but doubt should not be a final answer or condition. Every time we doubt, we should find the answer to the question "Does the Bible answer this question?" This is because the correct theology is essential for salvation. So, doubt is alright, but we must ask more about it.

THE END