Study 5

Text: John 17

"FATHER, THE HOUR HAS COME" John 17:1

The "High Priestly Prayer" recorded in John 17 gives us a glimpse of the things that Jesus must have spoken to His Father in His many sessions of prayer. One of the things that Jesus must have spoken to His Father about and often was the subject of His death.

Jesus often spoke of His death. He referred to this event on numerous occasions. Sometimes, He would speak about it directly, and at other times, He would speak of His death as "the hour."

1. Cryptic References:-

• "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19).
• "And as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14).
• "And the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).
• "My time has not yet come" (John 7:6).
• "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me" (John 7:33).
• "His hour had not yet come" (John 8:20; Cf. John 2:4).
• "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John 12:23).
• "For this purpose I came to this hour" (John 12:27).

2. Direct References

• "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
• "I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:15).
• "I lay down my life" (John 10:17, 18).

It is quite an amazing thing to be able to talk calmly to God about one's death. Many people cannot talk about death without breaking down in tears. Jesus on the other hand had such a deep and trusting relationship with His Father that He could speak about His death in calm prayer! Do we dare to speak to God calmly about our death?

Jesus had come to the close of His earthly life. He knew that there would be great pain and suffering when He was betrayed into the hands of the Jews. Nevertheless, He was absolutely calm as He talked to His Father about His death! What great depth of prayer this is!

"GLORIFY YOUR SON, THAT YOUR SON MAY GLORIFY YOU" John 17:1

Supposing we were to come to the end of our life, would we be able to say these words? Would we be conscious of wanting to glorify the Lord? Would we be able to pray that even in our death, we might be able to glorify the Father!

It takes a lot of depth, maturity, and trust to be able to say words like these! He was able to pray thus, because He had spent a whole lifetime praying in similar fashion!

LET US CONSIDER THE CONTENT OF OUR PRAYERS

As we consider the content of the Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us examine the content of our prayers offered to God!

• What do we normally pray about?
• What are the common items we bring to the Lord in prayer?
• Are our prayer requests essentially self-centered?

Let us be deeply challenged to re-think the content of our prayers! Let us seek to become more conscious of the need to pray as Jesus did!

PRAYING IN GREATER DEPTH

Would you really like to have a deeper prayer life? Would you like to make a new beginning? Let's try and pray as Jesus did!

• Let's pray about the way we live! It is only when we have lived well, that we will not be afraid of dying!
• Let's pray about our understanding of human mortality. Let us not be afraid to talk about death- our death! Let's seek to make our life really count for the Lord!
• Let's pray about glorifying the Lord at all times. Let's even pray that the Lord's Name be glorified in our life and in our death!

May we be deeply moved by the way the Lord Jesus prayed. May we be deeply challenged to desire a deeper prayer life!

~ Pastor Charlie Tan ~

First released 3 June 2001 © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore