Title: The Intercession of Jesus the High Priest
Contents
[The Intercession of Jesus the High Priest] John 17:1-6, 21-24 2006. 09. 02 Sunday Evening Service
?Last week, we received grace through [the Lord's Prayer], that is, [the Lord's Prayer], telling the saints to pray correctly. The Lord's Prayer teaches us in four main sections. First, “Our Father who art in heaven” is the call of prayer. Second, the saints should pray for the glory of God and exalt his name with prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and confession of faith. Third, seek the subjects of our supplications, our daily bread, and urgent subjects to seek. Finally, fourth, prayer needs the name of the Lord to elevate it. When you pray, do it in the name of Jesus. Word. ?But in this third paragraph we know that in our prayers to ask for our prayers there is a supplication for our own needs and intercession for our brothers and sisters and neighbours. And even though the Lord did not accurately describe the part of intercession in the Lord's Prayer, he emphasized that the ministry of intercession, interceding for us on behalf of our brothers and sisters, must enter into our prayers.
Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is called “The Intercession of Jesus the High Priest”. Jesus is the high priest who took our sins upon us and entered the kingdom of God.
What is the work of the high priest? When the people come to the temple with offerings for the forgiveness of their sins, the high priests are in charge of offering the sacrifices to God in their place. A person who asks God for the sins of the people. The Lord did the same thing and showed the example of that prayer in John 17. And the 17th chapter asks us to pray that such a prayer may be fulfilled for us as well.
Through John 17, we receive the lessons of grace that the Lord teaches us who offer intercession as follows.
1. Again, in all prayers, we must call on the one who hears our prayers.
No matter how we call on the Lord, the Lord who hears us must be confessed to us. The calling contains hopes and wishes for him. Israelis, in particular, give this child a name as they wish for what kind of person he would become. Such was the case with Samuel Daniel, Elijah Moses, and David. Likewise, even when we call on God, we have a desire for that God. The Lord's intercession in John 17 is called “Father.” God in heaven is our Father, who protects us, loves us, and hears our prayers.
?In this John 17 chapter, Jesus is called “Father” 38 times. Aryan, who calls the father's name so many times, is a testament to the closeness between the father and the son. The Lord calls the Father so many times is to reveal the close relationship between a son and a child by calling on the Lord who hears our prayers often.
2. The Lord confesses to the Father that he has accomplished all the purpose of the world.
?In the first half of today, verses 1-6, it is said that the Son glorified the Father by accomplishing all that Heavenly Father had entrusted to him in this world. Verse 4. And since the son has done this, first of all, I ask that the Father glorify the son who is about to do such a ministry. The prayer that asks Heavenly Father from a troubled heart before the Lord's Gethsemane is, "Father, glorify your Son so that he can bear the burden of the cross."
?And next, the Lord's prayer says, "It is finished" all these things. Of course, Jesus said this when He died on the cross, but He says that I have accomplished my mission even before Gethsemane. Verse 4. “Do what my father told me to do.”
?Third, it teaches us that we should pray to achieve God's righteousness just like Jesus, who finished the work by carrying the last cross and glorified God. This is the purpose of man's life. People live by fulfilling the mission God has given them. We must realize that our actions like this glorify God.
3. It is a prayer of intercession for the community and the people.
?The Lord came into the world to preach the kingdom of God and gather the people who followed Him to become the people of God. Among them were the twelve disciples and many others. But soon the time comes when they must leave Gethsemane as a starting point. The Lord was well aware of the worldly hardships they would face after he left. Then they ask God to intercede for them.
?We are going to meet a difficult world, but how do we keep our faith and live as God's people? The Lord's intercessory prayer begins with such earnest concern and love for the remaining disciples. When we pray for that intercession, we need earnest love for such a brother. It is a love that prays with a greater heart than praying for yourself.
?In Jesus' intercession, first
??I pray that we may become one in any difficulties. Verse 11. “May we become one as we are.” After Jesus passed away, the rest of the world will be tempted by the devil. The devil's clever work is to divide the church that the Lord has made into one into two or three. It is the result of the devil's work that divisions, divisions, and factions exist, and thus the church is not united and divided. That is why we must always be consistent in the direction of becoming one knowing the work of these devils. Sometimes, when it secretly enters into people's hearts and breaks their hearts, let's pray that we will not fall for the means in any way. Let's do it together.
??When the church and the people are exposed to danger, the Lord is interceding to preserve them. “Father, preserve them.” “Preserve them, so that none of them perish.”
Preservation means to protect completely, and also to keep it in its original shape. How did God first create us? It is reconciliation and peace with God that forms the image of God. So, the Lord has interceded for us so that we may become one as people of reconciliation and peace. Verse 14. The world hates us because we do not belong to it. Either way, I'm trying to take you into the world. So, in verse 15, he prays, “Only I pray that the people who are left on this earth will be preserved so that they do not fall into evil.”
The Lord's intercession teaches us to pray that the remnant of this earth want to be sanctified according to the holiness of the Father. Verse 15 and verse 16. I have chosen these people and sent them into the world as God's people, so that they may be holy so that they may overcome the world and make them holy. Holiness is the character of God. And when God made us in His image, He wanted us to be just as holy.
The intercession of that holiness is for the church to become one on this earth. Let's read verses 21-23 of today's text together.
“As you are in me and I am in you, so may they all be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that was given to me, that they may be one as we are one. I am in them, and you are in me, so that they may be perfected and become one, so that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me.”
Conclusion.
?Jesus tells us to pray in this world through the words of today's intercession in the Gospel of John. The Lord, who gave the subject of the supplication prayer, pray together with compassion for your brother's difficulties and sufferings in the supplication prayer.
?The purpose of God's establishment of the church on this earth is to unite and unite a community to overcome all difficulties with one mind. Let's pray for our brother. I believe that prayer will surely come.