The Upper Room Discourse - The Heart of Christ Opened

John 17:1-5

We have been listening to the Lord talk to his disciples. Now they are silent. We continue listening as the Lord talks to His Father. Like Moses at the burning bush, we would do well to remove the shoes from our feet. The place whereon we now stand is holy ground.

This remarkable model prayer is the longest recorded prayer in the New Testament. It is indeed “The Lord’s Prayer.” James Montgomery Boice notes:

“The prayer that begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name …” (Matt. 6:9-13), should more accurately be termed The Disciples’ Prayer. The one in John 17 is Jesus’ prayer. It has properly been designated his High Priestly Prayer, for he intercedes for us here as our High Priest before his Father’s throne.”

This prayer in John 17 was known from the 5^th-century as the priestly prayer of Jesus and from the time of the Reformation it has come to be known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Nowhere is it specifically said that Jesus is engaging in a high priestly ministry here. But there’s so much about this prayer reminiscent of the ministry of the high priest on the Day of Atonement.

       “Luther said of this prayer, “This is truly, beyond measure, a warm and hearty prayer. He opens the depths of His heart, both in reference to us and to His Father, and He pours them all out. It sounds so honest, so simple; it is so deep, so rich, so wide, no one can fathom it.” Melanchthon, Luther’s friend and colleague, wrote, “There is no voice which has ever been heard, either in heaven or in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime, than the prayer offered up by the Son to God Himself.” The Scottish Reformer, John Knox, had this prayer read to him every day during his final sickness, and in the closing moments of his life he testified that these verses continued to be a great comfort and a source of strength for his conflict” (quoted in James Boice’s Expositional Commentary on The Gospel of John, vol. 4, p1246-47).

For the next three weeks we will work our way through this High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Join us this Lord’s Day as we look at “The Heart of Christ Opened” from John 17:1-5.

For Us,

Pastor Wayne