OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON AUTHORITY OVER ALL FLESH

The book of John Chapter 17 verses 1 - 5 records the Lord Jesusˋ continued discourse to His disciples but now with His eyes lifted to heaven addressing His Father directly;

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus, approaching the last few hours of His life as a man, told His Father that He had glorified Him on the earth and that He finished the work His Father had given Him to do.

He asked His Father to glorify Him with the glory which He had with Him from before the creation of the world.

These statements Jesus made reveal  that the ancient metaphysical plan for the redemption of mankind was reaching its conclusion.

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 OUR FATHER FROM WHOM THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH PROCEEDS

The book of John chapter 15 verses 26 - 27 concludes the chapter with this;

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

The Lord gave His disciples some last minute guidance as they approached the garden of Gethsemene.

The Holy Spirit would come from heaven who Jesus calls here, the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, would testify about Jesus and this would be in conjuction with the witness the disciples would bear having been with Him from the beginning.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SON CALLED US OUT OF THE WORLD

The book of John chapter 15 verses 18 - 25 gave his followers a caution about how they would attract the same hatred that He attracted because they would not longer bear the identity of the world.

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’

The reaction of the world to the kingdom of righteousness was forseen by the prophets and reflects the viscerally felt conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.

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OUR FATHER WHO CALLED HIS FOLLOWERS HIS FRIENDS

The book of John chapter 15 Verses 9 - 17 says this:

9 “As the Father loved Me I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

The Lord Jesus, talking to His disciples as they travelled to the garden of Gethsemene, spoke uplifting words to them. He told them they were now included in the knowledge of the things that the Father was making known to Him and thus they were no longer servants but rather friends.

He adjured them to love one another and to use the privilege of being chosen to bear fruit.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER  WHO IS GLORIFIED BY THE FRUITFULNESS OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE

The book of John Chapter 15 verses 1 - 8  captures the Lordˋs words as He and disiples left the venue of the last supper.  In these last-minute exhortations, the Lord teaches His followers that they should abide in Him in order to bear fruit in the same way that  a branch must stay connected to the vine in order to bear fruit.

In the state of connection with Jesus and heeding His word, the requests we make of heaven will be heard and fulfilled.

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

The Father is glorified when the followers of Jesus remain connected with Him such that they look to heaven for their supply and they bear much fruit.

The Lordˋs emphasis to His disciples is that they should be permanently connected to Him.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER TO WHOM JESUS WAS ABOUT TO RETURN

The book of John chapter 14 verses 25 - 31 says this,

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Jesusˋ concluding statements to His disciples just as they were about to go to the garden of Gethsemene assured them that even though He was leaving them, they would not be without Him. He told them that teh Father would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and teach them and to remind them of all the things Jesus had taught them.

Jesus then promised that He would give them His peace which born again believers experience when they turn to Jesus. The apostle Paul in the book of the Phillipians chapter 4 verse 7 refers to this peace that is beyond understanding but guards our hearts and minds.

Jesus told His disciples not to let their hearts be troubled inspite of what was about to happen. He said that if they loved Him, they would understand and rejoice in the fact  that He had to return to His Father because His Father was greater than He. 

The final sequence of events, foretold from centuries before, was now unfolding and Jesus told His followers that He would not be saying much to them henceforth. 

The great test of Jesus was about to begin and Jesus told the disciples that the ruler of this world was on His way to put maximum pressure on Jesus but Jesus asserted that the ruler of this world had no claim on Him.

The test at hand was whether Jesus loved His Father to the point where He would voluntarily obey his Fatherˋs commands even to the point of death and the last thing that Jesus said at this gathering was that He ldid indeed love His Father to that degree that there would be no daylight between His father and himself no matter how much pressure was put on Him.  This is the perfection of Christ.

Jesus then said that it was time to get up and leave the place they were.

Have mercy on us. O God.

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