The High Priestly Prayer Part 1

About the Series

Students are continuing through the Gospel of John, working toward the story of the cross. This week, Aaron started a new section: John 17, the long prayer Jesus prayed with His disciples the night before His arrest. Since this prayer wasn't preached to a crowd but spoken privately to the Father, Aaron framed it as a rare chance to hear exactly what was on Jesus's mind hours before He died.

Passages: John 17:1-12

What Was Taught

Jesus prayed for God's glory, not His own comfort

Aaron opened with a picture: imagine finding a letter your parents wrote about you that wasn't meant for you to read, or overhearing your coach talk about you when he didn't know you were listening. That's what it feels like to read John 17. We aren't hearing Jesus preach. We're overhearing Him pray.

Jesus says "the hour has come," language John has been building toward through his whole Gospel, referring to the cross. Aaron pointed out that Jesus's first request wasn't to be spared from suffering. It was "glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you." Jesus cared more about God's glory than His own comfort, which raised a challenge for students: when you pray, is your goal usually your own comfort, or God's glory?

Jesus then defines eternal life in verse 3 as knowing God and Jesus Christ, not simply living forever or avoiding judgment. Aaron's point: eternal life isn't only something we receive when we die. It's a relationship with God that starts now. The real question for each student is whether they know about Jesus, or actually know Him.

Jesus prayed specifically for His followers

Aaron explained that Jesus had manifested, or made clearly known, the Father's character to His disciples, and that they had received it and believed He was sent from God. Jesus then prays directly for them: that the Father would keep them, protect them, and make them one, even as He and the Father are one.

Aaron noted that Jesus prayed this knowing exactly what His disciples would do in a few hours: panic, scatter, and in Peter's case, deny Him three times. Jesus wasn't praying for their physical safety alone. He was praying for their faithfulness, because nearly all of them would eventually be martyred for their faith anyway. And this wasn't a one-time prayer. Aaron pointed to Romans 8:34, where Paul says Christ is still interceding for us today. Jesus is still praying for His followers right now.

Aaron closed by tying it to the Gospel itself: Jesus knew His disciples would fail Him and run, and He went to the cross anyway. Despite humanity's failure, God still sent His Son so we could be forgiven. Aaron encouraged students, with camp only a couple of days away, not to lose sight of that: even in His most stressful hours, Jesus still took time to pray for them.

Talk About It at Home

These are the questions the group discussed:

1. If someone secretly listened to your prayers this week, what would they say is most important to you?
2. Jesus said eternal life is knowing God. What's the difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Him?
3. How does it encourage you to know that Jesus still prays for His followers today?
4. Jesus described His disciples as people who received His words and believed Him. What are some ways we can show that we really believe Jesus, not just say we do?

A few easier openers if you want to start smaller:

• If someone could hear everything you prayed about this week, what would surprise them?
• What's one way you can tell the difference between knowing facts about someone and actually knowing them?
• Does it feel different to think of prayer as a conversation instead of a list of requests?
• What are you most looking forward to, or nervous about, heading into camp?

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