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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 17. As we continue 
to work our way through this wonderful gospel narrative concerning 
our Lord Jesus Christ, we've seen the upper room discourse, 
or the farewell discourse, in chapters 13 to 16, and here we 
have the high priestly prayer. The hour had come upon our Lord 
Jesus, and according to chapter 18, verse 1, as Jesus had spoken 
these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook 
Kidron, where there was a garden which he and his disciples entered. 
And it's at that place that Jesus is then arrested and brought 
before the Sanhedrin, delivered up to Pontius Pilate, the kill 
order is given, and of course, our blessed Savior is crucified. Well, here in his high priestly 
prayer, we learn something of his heart toward his people. 
And so we have first his prayer for himself, petitions specifically 
for himself in verses 1 to 5, and then petitions for the apostles 
in verses 6 to 19. and then in verses 20 to 26, 
petitions for all believers. So I want to read that center 
section, verses 6 to 19, and then our focus this morning will 
be on verses 9 to 11. So beginning in John 17 at verse 
6, I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given 
Me out of the world. They were Yours. You gave them 
to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that 
all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given 
to them the words which you have given Me, and they have received 
them, and have known surely that I came forth from you, and they 
have believed that you sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray 
for the world, but for those whom you have given Me, for they 
are yours, and all Mine are yours, and yours are Mine, and I am 
glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, 
but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep 
through your name those whom you have given me, that they 
may be one as we are. While I was with them in the 
world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have 
kept, and none of them is lost except the Son of Perdition, 
that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and these 
things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled 
in themselves. I have given them your word, 
and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, 
just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should 
take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from 
the evil one. They are not of the world, just 
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent 
me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And 
for their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified 
by the truth. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and our Holy Father, we thank you for this wonderful 
passage of Holy Scripture to see our Lord Jesus Christ in 
prayer, in this high priestly prayer where he calls upon the 
Father for the glory of the Son to be given. We see as well in 
these petitions for the apostles, those things important in the 
heart of the Savior prior to his His departure to the tomb 
and then ultimately back to heaven to the Father. And we see as 
well His concern for all disciples and those things that should 
mark and identify and characterize the people of God, namely unity 
and sanctification and those things that are pleasing in your 
sight. We pray for Your Holy Spirit to guide us now. We pray 
for forgiveness through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ as we 
approach this holy ground. We pray for the salvation of 
any and all here that are dead in their trespasses and sins. 
We pray that your spirit would awaken them and demonstrate to 
them that Christ alone is the way of salvation for needy sinners. And we pray this in Jesus' name. 
Amen. Well, last week as we looked 
at these particular verses, we looked at or we're starting verses 
6 to 11a. So basically, Jesus' petitions 
come properly in 11b to verse 19. And there are two specifically. He wants the Father to protect 
the people of God in this present evil age. and he wants God the 
Father to sanctify the people of God in this present evil age. Well, in verses 6 to 11a, he 
gives the reasons for his prayer on their behalf, and I think 
that's instructive as well. When you look at the Psalms, 
for instance, you see the Psalmist say that he's afflicted and there's 
hardship, and it's that as the predicate for which he calls 
upon God. So before we get to the petitions 
proper, it's good for us to see why Jesus prays the way that 
Jesus prays for these disciples. So we notice with reference to 
the petitions for the disciples in verses 6 to 19, we looked 
at the objects of his intercession last week, verses 6 to 8. The 
disciples are given to Jesus, the disciples are taught by Jesus, 
and the disciples are obedient to Jesus. So it is that, or those 
rather, are the objects of his intercession. So this morning 
I want to look at the focus of his intercession in verses 9 
and 10, and then the reason for his intercession in verse 11a. So note first in terms of the 
focus, we see his prayer for his disciples. Verse 9, he says, 
I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, 
but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours, and all 
mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in that. I think there's a world of good 
encouragement in this particular passage along with some sound 
theology in terms of who our Lord Jesus Christ is relative 
to His Father. But the prayer for His disciples 
is prayer offered according to His humanity. Remember that Jesus 
as God is prayed unto. Jesus as man prays, and he sets 
forth that, not only example for us to follow, but that was 
characteristic of the life of our Lord. In the days of his 
flesh, he would rise a long while before daylight, and he would 
go and seek his Father in private communion. Jesus was a man of 
sorrows, as the prophet prophesied, but he was also a man of prayer. 
And there's no accident here that this is the way he goes 
into the Garden of Gethsemane. This is what is important to 
the Savior as the mediator of the New Covenant. So he prays 
according to his humanity, and he prays in light of his priestly 
office. Remember, Jesus functions in 
a three-fold office. He is the prophet, he is the 
priest, and he is the king. And here, specifically, we see 
the priestly activity of intercession. We will see, as we continue in 
John's Gospel, the priestly activity of sacrifice. That's what a priest 
does. Remember, the prophet comes on 
behalf of God to declare the mind and will of God to the people. The priest goes on behalf of 
the people to God, and on behalf of the people to God, he offers 
up sacrifice for them, and as well he offers up intercession. 
He prays for them, he speaks for them at the throne of grace, 
and that is precisely the identifying marker in this prayer. Jesus 
will sacrifice himself on behalf of all those whom the Father 
had given him, but Jesus as well intercedes for them. He makes 
intercession for them. And when he says, I pray for 
them, he understands as well the reality of the impending 
trials that are going to face them. Look at how he ends the 
upper room discourse in chapter 16 at verse 33. These things 
I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the 
world you will have tribulation. He doesn't say you might have 
tribulation, there might be some hardship, there might be some 
difficulties. For the most part, your children 
of the king, it'll always be health, wealth, and prosperity. 
That's not what Jesus says. He promises that in this world 
you will have tribulation. He then encourages them, be of 
good cheer, for I have overcome the world. So knowing their impending 
trial, knowing their impending difficulty, knowing that the 
world is going to basically collapse all around them, he gives that 
extended section in 1518 to 1604 with specific emphasis upon the 
unbelieving Jews who are going to persecute you. They are going 
to drive you out of the synagogues. They are going to kill you and 
think that in doing so they're offering up service to God. So 
he knows that these apostles are going to face hardship. The 
book of Acts demonstrates that these apostles underwent hardship. The New Testament epistles are 
marked by that reality. The people of God suffer. And 
so Jesus, knowing their impending trials and their difficulties, 
he prays for them. That is a wonderful expression 
of His goodness and His kindness. The Apostle in the book of Hebrews 
in chapter 4 verses 14 to 16 says this of our mediator. He says, For we do not have a high priest 
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points 
tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need. We've got omnipotent compassion 
in the person of our blessed Savior. He's able to sympathize. He understands what it is to 
be persecuted. In fact, He develops that thought 
as He continues in this prayer for their protection. Just as 
the world has been in opposition to Jesus, so is the world going 
to be in opposition to Jesus' representatives. Just as the 
world despised Jesus, so they're going to despise His apostles. 
Just as the world ultimately delivers Jesus up to the death 
of the cross, so they're going to deliver up these apostles 
if they live in like manner, such that the apostle puts under 
inspiration of the Spirit that maxim, that principle that is 
always abiding, that all who desire to live godly in Christ 
Jesus will suffer persecution. So I just think that we ought 
to observe here the kindness of the Savior. The fact is, is 
that he's going to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
The fact is, he's gonna be delivered up to the Sanhedrin. He's gonna 
get buffeted. He's gonna get slapped around. 
He's gonna get spat upon by these godless men. And then he's gonna 
be delivered up to Pontius Pilate, who Pontius Pilate is perplexed, 
because he knows that Jesus is innocent. He knows that Jesus 
is guiltless. He knows that he was delivered 
up because of the envy and the malice and the spite of the so-called 
religious folk in first century Israel. Jesus is going to suffer 
the very wrath and fury of God most high. What is it that evokes 
the cry of our Lord on the cross? It's not the piercings. It's 
not the crown of thorns. It's not the cavils of men. It's my God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me? And yet, prior to all that, what's 
heavy on the heart of the Savior? These men whom you have given 
me. These men who are going to be here in my absence, physical 
absence, and they're going to suffer for my name. They're going 
to be thrown into prison. They're going to be cast out 
from synagogues. They're going to lose their livelihood. They're 
going to lose their families. They're gonna lose their friends. 
They're gonna lose their social status. They're gonna become 
like the scum of the earth for Jesus. And yet Jesus prays for 
them. Jesus sympathizes with them, 
and Jesus intercedes on their behalf. So he mentions, with 
reference to the focus of his intercession, we see prayer for 
his disciples, but then we see specifically exclusion of the 
world. Exclusion of the world. Verse 
9, I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, 
but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. Now, I would suggest in the immediate 
context, what Jesus is saying is that He doesn't pray for the 
God-hating rebel armies that resist Yahweh and His Christ. 
He is not praying for those reprobate confederates that are about the 
destruction of his people. I pray for the men that you gave 
me. I pray for the elect. I pray for those whom you chose 
before the foundation of the world in me. I pray for them. 
I don't pray for the world. I don't pray for the wretched. 
I don't pray for the reprobate. There is exclusion here. And 
I think this bothers the people of God at times. Well, it doesn't 
seem fair. It just doesn't seem right. Now, 
I know the pagans don't like it, which, on principle, why 
would they care? Why do they want a savior they 
hate, reject, and despise to pray for them anyway? Seems pretty 
counterproductive in my thinking, but I think Christians get a 
little bit off by this. Well, brethren, the Lord Jesus, 
as our everlasting Father in a redemptive sense, Isaiah chapter 
9, shows his love for his family. Do you fault a man who loves 
his family and isn't necessarily as concerned about another? This 
is a debate presently in the Twitterverse. This is a debate 
presently amongst Christians that we're supposed to love everybody 
exactly the same. We're supposed to love everybody, 
but exactly the same? I gotta say I love my wife. I don't wanna say more than you 
sisters, but more than you sisters. I do not pray for the world. These who are resisting God at 
every step of the way, these in this particular context who 
are loading up burdens on the backs of people that they themselves 
are unable to bear. Remember the kinds of things 
that Jesus says to them in Matthew 23? Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites. He doesn't pray for them. Now, 
I want to qualify this because we ought not to conclude that 
the people of God are only just this small group. Now Jesus as 
priest intercedes for the elect. Jesus as priest sheds his blood 
for the elect. We call that particular redemption 
or limited atonement. Not limited because it's somehow 
ineffective, but limited by God in his sovereign decree as to 
who actually is going to be saved. But with reference to Christ 
as intercessor and as sacrificer, there is a particular focus that 
benefits, or those that benefit from His redemptive work, and 
it's the elect. But Brethren, John has a theology 
of the world. God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten son. John 4.42, what does that Samaritan 
village conclude after they had come to know Jesus? That Jesus 
is the savior of the world. What does Caiaphas prophesy in 
chapter 11 in John's gospel? That this man is going to not 
only save this nation, but the world. What happens when the 
Greeks, or rather, the Pharisees are whining in John chapter 12, 
the whole world's gonna come after him, and on the heels of 
that, you've got Greeks coming up and saying, sirs, we wish 
to see Jesus. You got our Lord's teaching in 
John's gospel, chapter 10, other sheep I have that are not of 
this fold, I must go get them, Gentiles. So there is a theology 
of the world, brethren, that we ought not to denigrate. We 
see that theology of the world in the hands of John in Revelation 
chapter 5. Every tribe, every tongue, every 
people, every nation. But in this particular context, 
as the priest goes to intercede, the priest is not interceding 
for the Hittites. He's not interceding for the 
Hittites. He's not interceding for the Canaanites. He's interceding 
for his Israelites. There is that analogy to the 
high priest on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus chapter 16, when 
he takes that scapegoat and he lays his hands upon that goat 
and he confesses the transgressions of what? Israel. He isn't there 
for the Hivites. He isn't there for the Hittites. 
He isn't there for the Jebusites. He's there for his ownites, and 
he prays for them, and he lays their transgressions upon that 
goat, and he drives that goat out into the wilderness as a 
beautiful demonstration of expiation, God's removal of our guilt and 
sin via this particular goat. We've got that same sort of emphasis 
in the New Testament. Jesus, according to the angel 
in Matthew 1, 21, will save what? His people from their sins. The 
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give 
his life a ransom for what? For many. That's the emphasis 
in the New Testament documents. Limited atonement or particular 
redemption is absolutely right. It's absolutely correct. God 
saves whom he purposed to save. Christ saves whom he was sent 
to save, particularly, limitedly, if you want, whatever you want 
to call it. He says here, again, analogously, 
he makes sacrifice, not for the world, but for the elect, so 
he intercedes, not for the world, but for the elect. Particular 
redemption is on vivid display in the high priestly prayer. 
And then notice, as we kind of work our way through this, the 
privilege of the elect. Look at verse 9. It's a simple 
statement. A simple declaration, but a simple 
statement and declaration loaded with encouragement for the people 
of God. Do you ever just stop and think in the midst of a trial 
or a difficulty or a hardship or an affliction? My Savior intercedes 
for me. Because the New Testament tells 
us that after he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, 
he gave gifts to men. The book of Romans tells us, 
the book of 1 John tells us, the book of Hebrews tells us 
that he makes intercession for us. I don't think it's praying 
the way he's praying here. I'll read a quote later from 
John Gill just to give you what I think the sense of it is, but 
he makes intercession for us. Whatever misery you're going 
through, whatever heartaches you're going through, whatever 
trials you're going through, whatever difficulties you're 
going through, do you realize you've always got a Savior interceding 
for you? I like that thought. I need to 
think that thought more, because I don't think it as I ought to 
think it. The Savior always lives to make 
intercession for us. I mean, come on, does it get 
any better? See, we think, well, there's 
trial, there's difficulty, there's hardship, that's not the better. 
Well, your Savior is interceding for you so that you can make 
it through it, being conformed further to His image and bringing 
glory to God through your suffering. So I think that is supposed to 
temper the way that we look at afflictions, hardships, and difficulties. And, dare I say, even the good 
times. I don't think Jesus is not interceding for us when the 
sun's shining and there's money in the account and the kids are 
all decent. He's still interceding for us. 
He always lives to make intercession for us. So in this particular 
context, I think one of the privileges that the elect has is that Jesus 
intercedes for them. Look at the book of Luke, Luke 
22, where I think you see this on display. Luke 22, in a practical, 
concrete way, You see it on display. Now, the first bit, it's an argument 
from silence, and arguments from silence aren't the best arguments, 
but I think it carries some degree of weight here. Notice in Luke 
22, specifically at verse three, Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed 
Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way 
and conferred with the chief priests and captains how he might 
betray him to them. And they were glad and agreed 
to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity 
to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude. Again, 
the silent part of this is that there's no indication that the 
Savior prays for Judas. None. None. Again, silence, but 
strong silence in light of verse 31. But he said to him, Lord, I am 
ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Then he 
said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day 
before you will deny three times that you know me. You see the 
privilege there? But I've prayed for you. And 
and when you've returned, What does that mean? Jesus knows that 
Peter is going to deny Him, but Jesus knows that Peter, by grace, 
is going to return to Him. And then He wants from Peter 
to strengthen your brethren. Let them see in your example 
and in your laps not to go thou and do likewise. The Lord Christ 
prays for Simon Peter. There's no mention that He prays 
for Judas Iscariot. As well, the nature of his petitions. In our chapter, he prays for 
our protection. The apostles immediately. He 
prays for the sanctification of these men. He prays for the 
unity of the church. Not at the sacrifice of truth. 
Jesus is not the arch ecumenicist that if you can just kind of 
say Jesus, well then everything's great. No, Jesus is all about 
sound doctrine. Love rejoices in truth. We don't 
have an ecumenical movement without truth foundational to it. And that's one of the problems 
with most ecumenical movements. Truth has nothing to do with 
it. It's just get them into the tent. Can they say Jesus? Well, 
let's have fellowship with them. The Lord Jesus Christ evidences 
or reveals in this section the things that are a concern to 
his heart relative to his people. I want you to protect them, Father. 
I want you to sanctify them, Father. I want them to be unified, 
Father. But there's also his words in 
other places in his gospel ministry. We see what concerns Jesus. In his works, we see what concerns 
Jesus. So we consider it a little bit 
in kind of another context in our prayer meeting this morning, 
the Psalms. If the Psalms are the prayers 
of Jesus, you've got 150 Psalms there to tell you about the nature 
of his intercession on your behalf. What's important to the psalmist 
relative to the people of God? Well, the glory of their God, 
that's certainly paramount, the protection of the people of God, 
the vindication of the people of God over and against their 
enemies, the destruction, the decimation, the demolishing of 
their enemies, and a whole host of things. So if you're ever 
wondering what is it that Jesus prays for, read the Psalms. What is it that concerns the 
Savior with reference to his people? Read the Psalms. What 
is it that concerns the Savior with reference to his people? 
Read his words in the New Testament. Read passages like these. Understand 
the comprehensiveness of the Son of God relative to his people 
in terms of intercession. He's not praying, I hope they 
get that new job, and I'm not saying that Jesus isn't for you 
getting that new job. The emphasis, and same with the 
prayers that we have in the New Testament epistles, the accent 
is typically on the spiritual. The accent is typically on holiness, 
and on protection, and on perseverance, and on endurance, and on the 
fight of faith. It's those things that tend to 
occupy our Lord Jesus and the disciples as they relate to us 
how they pray. Remember the Apostle Paul in 
the book of Ephesians, he wants you to know the love of Christ. 
He wants you to just be a scholar in the school of Christ's love. 
He wants you to know that. In fact, turn there for just 
a moment to Ephesians chapter 3. We've got Paul giving us a 
bit of an insight to his prayer closet. What is it that he prays 
for believers? Notice in Ephesians 3 at verse 
14. And then there's three petitions. He prays that they'd be strong 
spiritually. prays that they'd be strong spiritually, 
strengthened with might in the inner man by the Spirit so that 
Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. Wants you to be 
stable, wants you to be strong, wants you to be ready to contend 
for the faith. He wants you not to recant when 
a godless nation tells you to recant. He wants you to stand 
up like that pastor in China that we prayed for who's not 
gonna balk or balk at the glory of the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ because the government doesn't want him to. He's going 
to stand fast. Why? Because he's strengthened 
with might in the inner man. Christ is dwelling in his heart 
through faith. Notice the second petition, verse 17. That you, being rooted and grounded 
in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the 
width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ 
would pass as knowledge. He wants you to be strong, and 
he wants you to understand that love of Christ. Some good petitions, 
aren't they? And then that third one, that 
you may be filled with all the fullness of God. A passage at 
one time I thought was a difficulty. Now I've got it mastered. No, 
that's not the implication you should draw there. I think it's 
temple language. I think the way the Shekinah 
glory filled the temple in the old covenant, Paul is praying 
that the church as the new covenant temple, the people of God, would 
be filled with all the fullness of God. So they would understand 
the glory of Ephesians 2.18 and Ephesians 2.22, that we come 
to the Father through the Son in the Spirit And he prays that 
they'd be filled with all the fullness of God. Brethren, that 
ought to dictate and necessitate the ethic that we have on a Lord's 
Day morning when we say with the psalmist, I was glad when 
they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. We 
ought to pray, God, like the Shekinah filled Solomon's temple, 
send the Spirit that way into our midst. May we know the fullness 
of God as we gather for worship, so that we're not falling asleep, 
so that we're not thinking about the soup that's coming in another 
hour. We're not thinking about the things that I've got to do 
on Tuesday or Thursday or Friday. We're thinking about the glory 
of God. We get to come to the Father 
through the Son in the Spirit. That ought to affect the way 
that we see the Lord's day and the Lord's house and our time 
with the Lord's people. So the Lord Jesus prays for his 
disciples. He doesn't pray for the world. 
And then as he's want to do in many different places throughout 
John's gospel, he wants to once again underscore his relation 
to the Father. The end of verse nine. I do not pray for the world, 
but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." And 
into verse 10, and all mine are yours and yours are mine and 
I am glorified in them. All yours are mine, all mine 
are yours. Could a normal creature say that? Is there anybody ever that can 
say everything that is God, the Father's, is mine? I'm not prepared 
to say that. All the blessings that God has 
secured for me are mine in the Savior, to be sure. But to say 
that all that is His is mine, and all that is mine is His, 
with that reciprocity, what is Jesus indicating? Jesus is indicating 
what He's indicated over and over and over and over and over 
and over and over again in the gospel narrative. The Father 
sent the Son. The son is equal with the father. 
The son has the same essence, substance, nature as the father. John prepares us for Jesus' ministry 
where he teaches us these things in his prologue. When he says, 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God. And then when he says, The Word became flesh 
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the 
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We're 
prepared in the prologue for all that Jesus is going to say 
in terms of His relation to His Father. He's the one who sent 
me. I'm the one sent by Him. All that the Father has has been 
given to me. All that I have belongs to Him. 
Matthew Poole makes this observation, he says, Christ and his father 
have all things in common. Neither of them have anything 
that is not the others. They are one and they agree in 
one. They have the same essence, the 
same will, the same attributes, and I love this bit, the same 
friends. Because that's the context. Notice 
in verse 10, all mine are yours and yours are mine. Those are 
his friends. Those whom you gave me from before 
the foundation of the world. Those who I'm going to shed my 
precious blood for. Those who I'm presently interceding 
on behalf, not the world, not the reprobate, not the God-hating, 
demon-influenced Satanist that is murdering babies. That's not 
who he's praying for. He's praying for his people. And he does so as his friends. And then just before we move 
to the end bit where it talks about the reason for his intercession, 
look at that last statement there in verse 10. And I am glorified 
in them. I am glorified in them. Jesus 
in the petition to the Father for himself in verses one and 
five speaks about his glory from the Father. speaks about the 
glory of the Father being given to the Son. Jesus prays for that. Jesus wants that. And here Jesus 
assumes, at the end of verse 10, that in these disciples, 
these 12 apostles, or 11 apostles that are sitting there presently, 
Jesus is glorified in them. And Jesus is glorified in the 
disciples that are made by those disciples. In fact, verse 20, 
I mentioned earlier, there's a sort of theology of the world 
even right here in verse 20. I do not pray for these alone, 
but also for those who will believe in me through their word. So the Lord Jesus sends forth 
these disciples, these 12 or these 11. to go, therefore, to 
make disciples of all the nations, to baptize those disciples made, 
and then to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded, 
and promises that, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of 
the age. So the Lord Jesus says in the apostle sitting there 
with him or in his immediate context or his immediate venue, 
the believers that come as a result of their apostolic ministry, 
Jesus is glorified in them. That's kind of a neat one too, 
isn't it? He not only prays for us, but 
he's also glorified in us. What does he possibly mean here? 
Well, I would suggest he's glorified in them by his saving of them. They're like trophy cases, right? In fact, go back to Ephesians 
chapter three, you see a similar reference. analogous to a trophy 
case. Look at Ephesians chapter 3. 
Prior to Paul's prayer, he's talking about his place in terms 
of the mystery. And the mystery in the context 
is that Christ is the hope of the world, both Jew and Gentile. Gentile inclusion in the covenant 
promises of God. Not that it wasn't altogether, 
you know, it wasn't not completely unknown. It wasn't completely 
unknown in the Old Covenant. No, it was known in the oracle 
of Noah. It was known in the promises 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's a promise that gets its 
own psalm in Psalm 117. It's a promise celebrated throughout 
the prophets, Isaiah's servant songs, specifically 42 and 49, 
that Messiah will be a light unto the Gentiles. So it's not 
that it was absolutely, positively unknown, but the actual contour, 
shape, and identification of it comes at the fullness of the 
time, when God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under 
the law to redeem those under the law. And so Paul in this 
chapter, in chapter three, is kind of transitioning between 
sound doctrine in verses, or chapters one and two, to practical 
application in chapters four to six. So he's talking about 
his place with reference to his stewardship as the steward of 
the mystery of the gospel. Again, not something that was 
absolutely secret. Nobody ever knew, but Paul is 
able to say now, all that was spoken in the Old Covenant prophets 
are yea and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ. We've got Gentile 
inclusion in the covenant promises of God, and that's what Paul's 
function is. So that's just to set up what 
I want to read here. Notice in 3.8, to me, we're in 
Ephesians, who am less than the least of all the saints, this 
grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the 
unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the 
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages 
has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ. 
Note verse 10, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom 
of God might be made known by the church to the principalities 
and powers in the heavenly places. I get from that what I get from 
1 Corinthians 11, that in some way, shape, form, and manner, 
angels look at public worship. And when angels look at public 
worship, according to 1 Corinthians 11, they want to make sure they 
see men in the pulpits. And here, when angels look at 
public worship, they see the manifold wisdom of God in the 
assembly of persons from all manner and walks of life. Old sinners, young sinners, bright 
sinners, dull sinners, white sinners, black sinners, 
Canadian sinners, American sinners. Yeah, even American sinners. The angels see this. It's a trophy 
case. And the trophies don't get glorified. The angels aren't going, good 
on you for the decisions you made. God gets the glory. If I have a bowling trophy on 
my shelf, you don't come in and say, man, that trophy is phenomenal. No, you say, you must be a phenomenal 
bowler. God is assembling from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation so that the principalities and 
the powers, when they look upon a church like ours, they're amazed 
that the likes of us, have found entrance into the presence of 
a holy God through blood atonement wrought by the Son. Jesus is 
glorified in us. Jesus is gonna be glorified in 
these disciples because what are they going to do after he 
ascends on high? They're gonna go turn the Roman 
world or the Roman Empire upside down. These handful of men are 
going to so infect their people group, in a good way, not with 
COVID, but they're going to so infect them with the knowledge 
of God Most High through our Lord Jesus Christ that they will 
be a threat to that empire. They're a threat first to the 
unbelieving Jews, such that they're cast out of the synagogues, such 
that in various cities there's great division because they're 
preaching Christ and Him crucified to the chagrin of the unbelieving 
Jew. We see that threat posed by the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the then known world. We see 
it today, brethren. We read Voice of the Martyrs 
reports. Did you all know that in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, 70 believers got their heads 
chopped off two weeks ago? Do you know that right now in 
Syria, our brothers are dying, our brothers and our sisters 
are dying? That there's brothers in China in prison for the filthy 
crime of trying to lead people to Jesus. Christ is glorified in that. Blessed be His name. We get these 
reports and we read of these obscure people. They're not obscure 
to God. They're not obscure to the blessed 
Savior. They are means by which that 
Savior is glorified through the sufferings and the trials and 
the travails of His blood-bought folk. Jesus is going to be glorified 
in these apostles. He is glorified in their church 
planting. I mean, they go to these various 
places. They go to obscure villages. I think it was Lloyd-Jones who 
said something. He thought that one of the biggest 
challenges for the Apostle Paul was to preach to simple folk. 
I mean, you get that Paul was a giant intellect, right? You don't read Romans and go, 
man, he's a real dullard. No, no, you don't do that. You 
read Romans and you go, man, I'm a real dullard. Especially 
right there in 6, 7, and into 8. 6 and 7, wow. Probably why 
I don't preach through Romans. Those passages, I think I know 
what he's talking about, but to try to explain, it's pretty 
tough. At any rate, Lloyd-Jones says that would have been a challenge 
for Paul, this brilliant, giant intellect, dealing with very 
simple folk that most often, or more often than not, didn't 
even know how to read. They go to these obscure places. 
Yeah, they went to big places. We think about Athens and the 
Epicureans and the Stoic philosophers, you know, Sarah Paul. They went 
to a lot of nobody places. Brethren, why? Because Christ 
is glorified in the churches founded in nobody places. That's 
what he's talking about. I am glorified in them. I am glorified in those who will 
believe them with reference to the gospel. It is this perpetual 
glorification of our Savior in the blood-bought children of 
God, in the corporate gathering of his people, in the extension 
of his kingdom through proclamation to the uttermost parts of the 
earth. Christ is glorified in this. We're part of a big mission, 
brethren. Even if our part is little to 
play, we're about bringing glory to the one who lived for us, 
who died for us, and who was raised again for us. And that 
brings us then finally to the reason for his intercession in 
verse 11a. It's simple. He's going away 
from them. He's not gonna be physically 
with them anymore. That's what he says, verse 11a. He says, 
now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and 
I come to you. The petition proper starts in 
11b, and then in 17, protection, sanctification. But this is the 
rationale or the reason for his prayer on their behalf. And it's 
very simple logic. I'm not gonna be with them anymore. 
I'm going to be with you, Father. Remember, He's spoken of the 
hour. He's spoken of His departure. He's going back to the Father. 
He's going to be physically absent from them, but they're not going 
to be physically without the various difficulties that He's 
already promised to them in 1518 to 1604. I'm praying that you 
protect them, Father, because I'm not going to be with them 
physically. Now, he will there be at the 
right hand of the Father, making intercession for them, but I 
think Cyril gets it right. He says, while he was still living 
with the holy apostles and present with them in the flesh on earth, 
he was a clear and visible comfort to them. If he's there with you, 
it's kind of like in the military. Your commander just happens to 
be a really good one, and you'll follow him into battle. You'll 
do anything that he commands, because he's righteous, and he's 
just, and he wants to beat the bad guys. What happens if he 
takes one on the field? He gets shot in the head. He's 
blown apart with an IED. There's going to be some impact 
or an effect upon the troops that are following his lead. So these men had been with Jesus 
physically. They had seen him eyeball to 
eyeball. They broke bread with him. They ate with him. They 
see him suffer. They see him sorrowful. They 
see him die. They'll see him raised again, 
but they'll see him no more in terms of the physical eye. So 
Jesus says, knowing that, that I come to you, Father, so that's 
why I'm praying for them, so that you will steady them and 
stabilize them by protecting them in this world and sanctify 
them for my use in this present evil age, so that they go and 
proclaim the glorious gospel, so that the verse 20 others can 
hear their words and come to God through the Son in the Spirit 
and glorify. the triune God of glory and power 
and majesty. He prays for them because He's 
departing from them. So, in conclusion, I think that 
when we look at this particular passage, we see the rationale 
or the reasons why He prays for His disciples. And I think one 
of the things that ought to flow from this is an appreciation 
of the blessedness of being a disciple. If you're gonna go join a group 
or you're gonna join a club, there's gotta be some talk of 
benefit. Why would you join a club without benefit? I mean, there's 
just not enough time in the world to just sit in a club where there's 
no benefit. I mean, if you have that kind 
of time, come here and you help me police the homeless and keep 
the dirty things off the ground. What are the benefits of being 
God's people? No, they're manifold. Every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Ephesians 1, 3. But 
here specifically, the knowledge of the Father and the Son and 
the Spirit. This is eternal life that they may know thee, the 
only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Now the 
mention of the Father and the Son implies the presence of the Spirit. So the very sum and substance 
and essence of eternal life is the knowledge of the Holy One. 
That's a blessing. That's a privilege. Again, whatever 
bad things we may be going through, this much is true for us. We 
know God. We know God. I'd rather be a 
tried, afflicted saint that knows God than a wealthy, you know, 
jet setter who doesn't know God. It's not even like, no, there's 
no comparison. Paul in Philippians chapter 3, 
what things were gain? These are loss. This is dung. This is that which is only good 
to be thrown to the dogs. For the knowledge of the excellence 
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, that I may be found 
in him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from God through faith in him. Of course 
He'd give up all of His benefits that He previously enjoyed for 
the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Secondly, 
the knowledge of the mystery of the Trinity. We don't just 
know God in some vague general revelation sense. We know that 
He's there. We know that He should be feared, 
we know that He should be worshipped, but Jesus has let us in on the 
triunity of God. Jesus has brought us by the hand 
to show us the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten by the Father, 
and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. He's 
done all that in the Upper Room discourse. So not only do we 
know God, we really know God. We know the triune God, the living 
and true God. I would suggest, thirdly, the 
knowledge of the Word of God. Doesn't Jesus speak concerning 
them? They've listened. They're not 
like this world. They're not like the unbelieving 
Jews who called me the Beelzebul. That's what they did with Jesus, 
but rather the disciples, they respond, they believe, they follow, 
they obey. And the knowledge of the great 
salvation of God. These are all benefits and privileges 
that we have as the people of God that we need to rehearse 
in our minds and in our hearts. We need to think through these 
things. We need to speak the Balm of Gilead to our own hearts. 
We need to take ourselves by the struff of the neck sometimes 
and speak to ourselves. Say, why are you downcast, oh 
my soul? Hope thou in God. That's our blessedness, that's 
our everything in this present evil age. And then in terms of 
the glory of the Son, we see His saving power. We see the 
security afforded by His work, those whom you have given me. John 10, there's no one who can 
pluck them out of the hand of the Father and the Son. There's 
nothing, not even you. Isn't that beautiful? Paul says 
it in chapter eight in the book of Romans, nothing shall separate 
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
So if you say, well, I could. No, Paul says, or any other created 
thing. If you're in Christ, you're in 
Christ. And you ain't going anywhere. 
You're signed, sealed, and delivered. He doesn't shed His blood in 
vain. He doesn't waste His intercession. 
He doesn't pray for the reprobate. He doesn't die for the reprobate. 
But for all those whom the Father had given Him, He sheds His precious 
blood, He intercedes on their behalf, and He makes good the 
promise of God, which is yea and amen in Himself. As well, 
the glory of the priestly office of the Son, sacrifice and intercession, 
the power of His intercession now. Here's the Gil quote on 
Hebrews 7.25. He says, Christ ever lives as 
God. He is the living God, and though He died as man, He is 
risen from the dead, and will not die again, but live forevermore. 
and he lives as mediator and redeemer, and particularly as 
a priest, one branch of whose office it is to intercede for 
his people. This he does now in heaven, not 
by vocal prayer and supplication, at least not as in the days of 
his flesh, or as if he was supplicating an angry judge, nor as controverting 
or litigating, appoint in the court of heaven, but by the appearance 
of his person for them, by the presentation of his sacrifice, 
blood, and righteousness, by declaring his will that such 
and such blessings be bestowed on such and such persons, and 
by recommending the prayers of his people, and removing the 
charges and accusations of Satan." I think Gil's right. telling 
us what Paul means in Hebrews 7, telling us what Paul means 
in Romans chapter 8, and telling us what John means in 1 John 
2, 1 and 2. My little children, I write these 
things to you so that you may not sin. That's John's goal. He writes to the people under 
his charge, I'm writing so that you don't sin. It's a noble goal, 
John. It's a great goal. All of us 
should have that. John's a realist. I don't mean 
strictly philosophically, though he was, but he was a realist 
in terms of the human condition. So I write these things so that 
you may not sin, but if anyone does sin. We have an advocate 
with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Our blessed Savior 
identifies the Spirit as the advocate, the paraclete. The 
blessed Savior is an advocate. He's a paraclete. He's at the 
right hand of the Father. Five bleeding wounds, he pleads, 
received on Calvary's tree. That is the great blessing of 
the people of God in this present evil age. Christ is for us. And if you are not the people 
of God because you have not looked to Him in faith, I don't know 
how better to say this than to say, look to Him in faith. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That is the 
promise of the gospel. That is the promise of our Lord 
Jesus. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly 
not cast out. Come to the Savior. Reap the 
benefit. Reap the reward. Reap the joy 
and the blessing and the every spiritual blessing in the heavenly 
places in Christ. He has come to save His people 
from their sins. He saved the likes of us. There 
is certainly power and efficacy in His gospel for you. So come 
and be saved and enjoy the manifold blessings that the Savior gives 
and get about living in such a way as to bring glory and honor 
and praise to Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you very much for what our Savior prays 
for his people in this section of Holy Scripture and the reasons 
why he prays for them. Thank you so very much for sovereign 
grace. Thank you for election and predestination 
and those things that are such a blessing that we see in Scripture. 
We thank you for the work of the Lord Jesus on behalf of your 
people, for his blood atonement, for his intercession, for all 
of his priestly activity. God, may this bring a great encouragement 
to each and every one of our hearts. May you strengthen us, 
may you conform us evermore unto his image, and may you be pleased 
to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through 
him. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen.