Jesus Lifted His Eyes to Heaven

It's only fitting to read the words of the One who we worship and adore tonight. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to open them up. Let's turn to John 17, and we will begin in verse 24 on this wonderful opening night of the Feast of Tabernacles, an incredible evening. John 17 verse 24. We'll read in just a moment.

You know, there's something sacred about being allowed into someone's last words here on earth.

If you've ever been bedside of someone you love in their last days here on earth, as they prepare to rest from this physical life, it is in those days and in those moments that those final words seem to carry more weight than any others. The words of a loved one, those final last words, they aren't to be wasted. Why? Because it is in those final words which reveal what truly matters most.

And it is that kind of sacred moment that we step into here in John 17 where we have John's reportings of Jesus, his final prayer before the night of his death, the night before his death, in the shadow of his crucifixion.

His crucifixion was looming, the nails and thorns awaiting him, and it is in this moment that Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven, begins to pray. And what takes our breath away is that in those last hours, with all that suffering ahead of him, his heart was not consumed with fear, his heart was not consumed with escape, but in fact his heart was consumed with you, you, and with all those to whom the Father would give him, and all those even that would believe in him through their word.

And it's in those final moments that he did pray for his brothers and his sisters, his spiritual brothers and sisters, his church. And what is his greatest desire? His greatest desire is that you would come successfully to the fulfillment of these days that we are here to observe. John 17 verse 24, Jesus prays these words, Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Stop there. Do you feel that love tonight? I hope you do. Jesus's deep desire was not only to save you from sin and death, his deepest desire was not only to walk with you during your days here on earth, but his deep desire was to bring you all the way to him and where he is forever in love, in the love that he shares with his father.

Continuing here, verse 25 and 26. O righteous father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, Jesus says, and these have known that you sent me, and I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, and here it is, that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them. Stop there. The Son longs for you to be part of the love that he shares with his father.

Amazing. So he's lifting his eyes up to heaven, speaking these words to the Father. These are his final words here on earth, and this is deep within his heart here, and again, we see that his thoughts are consumed with you and for you. Look at how this conversation begins.

Allow your eyes to go up to verse 1. You know, you don't waste these words. You don't waste these final words. Look at how he begins here in verse 1. John refers that Jesus began in this way.

Verse 1, Jesus spoke these words, lifted his eyes up to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you, as you have given him authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him. Verse 3, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have glorified you, Father, on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do.

And now, O Father, verse 5, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. Let's stop there for a moment. So think about this request here. He's requesting to have his own glory restored with the Father, and it's even in that request that he has you in mind.

Because you'll notice there in the middle of verse 1, glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. Why? Verse 2, so that in being given authority over all flesh, he should then give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him. So the purpose, the motivation for his request to have his glory restored is so that he would have the authority then to give you eternal life. Eternal life living with with he and his Father. This is his deep desire for you. It motivated everything he did here on earth.

You. His full motivation is that you would come become successfully to the fulfillment of these days to live with him and his Father for eternity. I hope he filled this love for you. And listen, look at how he continues here. His focus is still fully upon you and in all that he wanted to accomplish in you. Verse 6, he says to the Father, now I've manifested your name. That's verse 6. To the men whom you have given me out of this world. They were yours, Father. You gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they have known that all things which you've given me are from you. For I have given 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. 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 and all mine are yours and yours are mine and I am glorified in them. That's you! Did you know that Jesus Christ is to be glorified in you? That's what you are to accomplish here on earth. If you don't accomplish anything else on this earth, if you accomplish Jesus Christ being glorified through you, that's something. That's something. Verse 11, look at this focus on you. I am no longer in the world but these are in the world. I am about to come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you've 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 were lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. Let's stop there for a moment. Jesus is concerned is for your safety. It's his top concern to you.

Father, I'm no longer going to be able to keep them close in my physical presence. I'm not going to be here much longer. So, Father, would you keep them? Would you keep them for me while I'm gone? It's amazing. Verse 13. But now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Jesus wants us to have a joyful life. Verse 14. I've given them your word that the world and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I'm not of the world. Verse 15. I do not pray that you take them out of the world but that you would 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 by your word your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world I also have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they may also be sanctified by the truth. Let's stop there for a moment. I just want to pause again for a moment and just punctuate the fact that here is Jesus Christ hours away from his crucifixion and he's not thinking about all that is to come. What is he thinking about? Your protection. Your protection. Not his own.

Father, would you protect them from the evil one? Would you do that for me?

I'm not going to be on this earth much longer. He worries about you and your protection. But no matter his deep desire to just collect you up and usher you up to be with him now, he says here next I actually pray that you do not immediately take them up to glory. And he prays actually that the Father would allow you to remain on the earth. Why?

Why not at baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit usher us up, you know, to be with him? Well, it is because, in fact, he's not only in this moment praying for his immediate brothers and sisters at that present time and verses 20 through 23 reveal the fact that he's actually praying for his future brothers and sisters. Versus 20 through 23, he continues. Verse 20, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their work, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me and the glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one, I in them, you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me and I've loved them as you have loved me. Stop there. Absolutely incredible. He's speaking of the world here. So broadly, this is a foreshadowing of the incredible eighth day. This is Jesus's grand desire, is that all would come to know the Father, the Father that he came to reveal. So, we must stay, for now, on this earth and have our glory delayed so as to carry on the mission to the world here. The world needs us. And the Father and the Son need us to carry on what the Son began here. And because of that, the Father's going to honor the Son's request here and not take us out of the world at this time. But just know that the Father will also absolutely honor the Son's other request to keep us from the evil one. I hope you know that that's the prayer that the Father will answer. So, through all trial, through all tribulation, as long as we're here on earth, we will be kept protected by the Father.

As He answers His Son's prayer, so that we can go out and proclaim the gospel of the coming kingdom of God, just like Jesus did. And all the while, have His joy fulfilled in us. Well, brethren, your presence here is an answer to Jesus's prayer. You're the answer to His prayer. He's so delighted and overjoyed that you're here. He and His Father, I'm overjoyed that you're here. And I hope we can go into these days with that joy. So, as we work to a conclusion tonight, I want to conclude with the verse that we began. That's here in verse 24, where Jesus expresses His deep desire. Father, verse 24, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which you have given me. For you loved me before the foundation of the world. Stop there. You know, isn't this a remarkable thing? What a long journey it's been. From Genesis 3 to John 17, Genesis 3, God drives man out of the garden, places an angel with a flaming sword there at the entrance, so that man and woman should not go back in and eat of the tree of life, banishing them out of paradise at that time, but only for a time. As Jesus now prays and says, the time of separation is now over. Father, restore my glory, He says, because I want them to be with me where I am. Father, I want to share our love with them. I want to share our glory with them. Father, I want to share eternity with them forever. But not only them. Father, I want our glory to just flow over all those to whom I've created. All of your children, Father, that's my desire. What beautiful last words from Jesus. Not a word wasted. And He's longing for you to come to the fulfillment of these days. So as we go forward, let's do so knowing that the Son of God has prayed for you and He has prayed that He would have His authority restored so that He would have the power and all the resources to bring you safely to these days. So may God bless you and keep you during these days and every day until the day we are all glorified with Him.