Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 17:1-5 (Ep. 43)

Episode Date: June 4, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers Dial In - John 17:1-5.Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. We arrive at the 17th chapter of John's Gospel which records the longest prayer of Jesus Christ. Our passage is John chapter 17 verses 1 through 5. Let's dial in. John chapter 17 verses 1 through 5. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh

to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. Now we come to the passage of Scripture in John 17. That is the Lord's Prayer. This is Jesus' prayer. Now you might be wondering, Wait, I thought the Lord's Prayer was when Jesus prays,

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. No, that's the disciples prayer. That's the prayer that Jesus teaches his disciples when they come up to him and say, Lord, teach us to pray. But here in the 17th chapter of John's gospel, we see Jesus praying to his father. And this is the longest recorded prayer that we have of Jesus in all of the gospels. Here is the model of how Jesus prays to the father on our behalf, not just then, but right now, even today. Did you know that? That Jesus is constantly praying to God the father on your behalf if you're in Christ. This is amazing.

Now, throughout John's gospel, we have seen Jesus and the gospel writer John refer to the hour of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 2, when Mary comes up to Jesus at the wedding in Cana and tells him to do something, he says, my hour has not yet come. John chapter 7 verse 30 tells us that they were seeking to arrest Jesus, but no one laid a hand on him. Why? Because his hour had not yet come. John chapter 8 verse 20 says, These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple, but no one arrested him. Why? Because his hour had not yet come. We've seen this over and over again in John's gospel.

And I've mentioned before that Jesus's hour refers to the hour of his humiliation, the hour of his shame, and the hour of his death. But here we see a shift in verse 1. It says, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son. Jesus acknowledges that his hour has come. Jesus is staring at the cross and his hour is no longer looming, but it is right in front of him. And he prays to the father before he heads to the cross.

Now, one more thing to note that I've mentioned before. Jesus's hour was not random. It was predetermined before the foundation of the world. And here, remember, on this Friday, what are the Jews celebrating? They're celebrating the Passover. And the hour of Jesus's death occurs simultaneously with the slaughter of thousands of Passover lambs. And Jesus on this Friday evening would be the final Passover lamb ever needed to satisfy the wrath of God. Jesus is not a victim of the unfolding events. He is orchestrating them. Now, Jesus continues in verse two and says, since you have given him, he's referring to himself here, authority over all flesh to give

eternal life to all whom you have given him. Now, this life to all whom you have given him. Now this phrase, to all whom you have given him, appears seven times in this prayer. This is a defining statement regarding all Christians. All believers, all of them, have been given to Christ from the Father. Now many people claim that God conceived a possible plan of redemption, meaning that his death was potentially for everybody, but consequently, potentially for no one, because all of these people could have theoretically denied Jesus's sacrifice. But the reality that I cannot escape here in this text, nor in the gospels collectively, is that Jesus didn't devise a plan that could have failed, but a plan that was certain and specific, and he died for those whom the Father had given him. Jesus did not waste a single drop of blood.

He died for those whom the Father had given him. Back in John 6, verse 37, Jesus said, All that the Father gives to me will come to me and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. The father chooses, the father gives and the son saves and the son receives. Jesus continues in John chapter six, verse 44 and adds, no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him on the last day. Now listen here. What we see in John chapter 17 and throughout all of the gospels is that the only reason I'm a Christian is because I am a gift from the father to the son, not because of any gift

that I give Jesus. The father gave me personally, Johnny Artavanis, and he has given you, if you're in Christ, as a gift to the Son. And that's what salvation is, a gift from God. Even the faith that you exercise in God is a gift from God. And that's why it's all by grace. And all those who receive God's grace receive

eternal life. Now, before I read this next verse in John chapter 17, I want to ask you, what is your definition of eternal life? We've covered John 3, 16, which says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have what everlasting or eternal life. But have you ever wondered what is eternal life? What does that even mean? Typically we take those words eternal, which means forever in life, and we smash them together. So we conclude that the eternal life that Jesus offers us in himself is merely living forever. But is that all? Did Jesus die so that we can merely live forever? Don't those who reject God also live forever? How does Jesus himself define eternal life? Now, imagine

this with me. This is the night that Jesus has told his disciples that he is going to die. He is praying out loud to the father. And he says in verse three, this is eternal life. Now, Peter, James, and John are leaning in. What does Jesus say next? How does he define eternal life? This is how Jesus defines it. Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Jesus defines eternal life not in quantity of time, but in quality of life. Eternal life as Jesus defines it is not just living forever and ever and ever in heaven and something that you will experience only in the then and there, but it is something that you can experience in the here and now because eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Jesus came to give us eternal life. And in John 10, 10, we see that he came to give us life abundantly, but the abundant

life and the eternal life that Jesus gives us is knowing him. Jesus doesn't merely offer us the forgiveness of sins. He offers us and he offers you himself in a real, not fake, non-imaginary relationship with him. Eternal life is knowing God. I remember reading J.I. Packer's book, Knowing God, when I was in high school, and it truly changed my life. I love what he says in that book. He says, what makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination

and lays hold of our allegiance. And this, the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God? There is no higher, more compelling goal than knowing God. And Jesus has made this possible in himself. This is eternal life, knowing God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. Stay dialed in.