Seventh Sunday of Easter (A)
May 17, 2026
Text:
John 17:1-11
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
On the night in which He was
betrayed... the night in which He gave us a new commandment, that we should
love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34)... the night in which He
loved us such that He gave us His Meal of Love, the Supper of His true
body and blood... knowing what would happen to Him... that He would shed
His precious blood... suffer for sins, and for sinners (for us!)... be
crucified, dead and buried... and the Third Day rise... Knowing all of that,
our Lord Jesus prayed for us. Well,
I think if you knew you were going to die in the next several hours, you
would spend your time, too, praying for the loved ones you were leaving
behind. Some Christians are given that
gift, and it is beautiful. I’ve seen it. I’ve been at the bedside. Those moments are holy.
What did Jesus pray when He was
about to die? St. John, God bless
him, wrote it down for us. We call it
the “High Priestly Prayer.” Now, today
we only get the first part of that prayer.
The committee that put together the three-year lectionary divided the
Prayer into three parts, so that we get one part each year, always on the
Seventh Sunday of Easter. And it’s very
important. Because, when you are about
to die, you don’t waste your breath on frivolous things. No, you speak profound things. So, what does Jesus pray for us in the text
we hear today? May I suggest that we
divide it into three categories.
1. “(G)lorify your Son that the
Son may glorify you” (John 17:1; ESV).
“Glorify Me,” Jesus says. Now,
you may find the meaning of this to be rather shocking. The world certainly doesn’t understand
it. But in the Gospels, and especially
in John, you know where the Father glorifies His Son? On the cross. That’s the glory. Beaten, torn, nailed, and bloody. And then, hanging there, dead. Where everything looks least glorious. God... the Son of God... dead. See, that is the Hour. THE Hour. Jesus speaks of it throughout the Gospels. The Hour for which the Son of Man came
into our flesh. The Hour to which
His whole ministry was driving. Really,
THE Hour upon which hinges the whole history of the world... The Hour
of your salvation. The cross. The “hour has come; glorify your Son that
the Son may glorify you,” Jesus prays.
“Father... time for the Sacrifice.”
Isn’t this astounding? He’s
praying to go through hell. For you. He’s praying for His own agonizing
death. For you. Why?
For the forgiveness of your sins.
For your salvation. Because He
loves you and wants you to be with Him forever.
And in this way, He glorifies the
Father. It is, after all, the
Father’s love that sends Him. It is the
Father who sacrifices His beloved and only-begotten Son. Remember Abraham, ready to sacrifice his
beloved son Isaac on Mount Moriah?
And then God provides a ram caught in the thicket to take Isaac’s
place? But see, when God raises
the knife to sacrifice His Son... no one stays His hand. Jesus is the Sacrifice God provides. Jesus is the Ram. So, the Son glorifies the Father by willingly
and obediently suffering the cross for us. Father and Son, glorified on the
cross.
And it is in that way, then...
and only in that way... that the Son may be glorified by the Father in
the flesh now, with the same glory He has had with the Father from
all eternity in His divine nature.
That is, this human flesh had to be redeemed before it could be glorified. Well, how can that happen? How would that work? The Son of God has to take on this
flesh... and die in it! Redeem it
by His own blood... that it may be raised anew, and eternally,
and ascend into heaven, to be seated at the right hand of God the
Father Almighty. He does it in His
flesh, that He may then do it in ours.
Redeem us. So that when we
die, we know He will also raise us, and we can follow Him into the glory
of eternal life. So, that is the First
Petition: Glory. Glorify Your
Son, Father. In death. And then, in life.
2. We might summarize it this way:
“Give eternal life, dear Father, to those to whom I have manifested Your
Name.” “Give My disciples”... that’s you!...
“eternal life.” How? Well, “this is eternal life, that they
know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (v.
3). Faith. You have eternal life by faith in the
one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
By faith in the Son, who became flesh, suffered and died, for the
forgiveness of your sins, and who is risen, and lives, and reigns for all
eternity. He wants you to live
forever with Him. As a beloved
child of His Father. As a citizen
in His Kingdom, and a member of the Royal Household (that’s what the
Church is). After all, that’s why
Jesus did all this work of suffering and dying and redeeming sinners. He didn’t do that just so you could reject
Him and go to hell (although He did do it for people who end up doing just
that, so great is His love for us).
He did it so you could be His own, and live under Him in His Kingdom,
and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness
(remember that from the Catechism? SC II:II).
“You gave them to Me, Father,” He says (cf. John 17:6-8). “You gave them to Me out of the
world. They belong to You, and You gave
them to Me (entrusted them to Me). And
they have kept Your Word. And they know
that everything You’ve given Me, which I’ve now given to them, is from
You. And they believe it. And they trust it. And they live in it. And they ‘have come to know in truth that
I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me’” (v. 8). So... faith. Faith in Christ. That’s what that is. “Keep them in it, Father. Keep them in Your Name (Baptism). That they may glorify Me, even as I glorify
You, and they may be in Me, and I in You, and Us in them.” All one. One in God. One with each other. That is what we call the mystical union
in theology.
And, 3. “That as they remain in
the world (even though called out of the world, to be distinct
from the world), they would preach the Word that I’ve given them from You. That more may be called by the Word,
and come to faith by the Word, and so have eternal life in My Kingdom.” This one is, perhaps, more subtle, in the
section of the prayer we’ve been given, but listen to this again: “I have
manifested your name to the people whom you gave me” (v. 6). “I have given them the words” (v.
8). “(T)hey have received them and
have come to know in truth that I came from you” (v. 8). And the implication is, He’s sending them
out with those Words that they've received and believed. To speak it into others. Preaching.
Confession. He says it explicitly
a little later (we’ll get this in year 3): “I do not ask for these only,”
(the Apostles), “but also for those who will believe in me through their
word” (v. 20).
Now, Jesus prays a number of other
things for His Church, which is to say, for you, in His High Priestly
Prayer, and I think you ought to just read all of John Chapter 17 when you get
home tonight. And when you do, think
about this: He’s not just praying for all y’all (although He is most
certainly doing that). He is praying
for you, personally. On the night
in which He was betrayed. On the night
when He gave us to love one another, as He has loved us. On the night in which He took bread, and a
cup, and drew us into the Communion of His very body and blood. He was thinking of you. And He prayed that He would be glorified
on the cross for your redemption.
And that you would know that, and be kept in it by His
Word. And that you would speak that
Word to others.
You know, someday you will die. I hope that isn’t a surprise to you. It is true, you don’t know when,
yet. But why not pray, now, for those
you love? I hope you already
do. If not, start today. And whatever else you may pray, you could do
a lot worse than praying these three things for them: 1. That the glory of the
cross and death... and life... of Jesus Christ be imparted to them, 2. through
the Word of Jesus. That they receive it,
and know it, and trust in it, and live in it, all the way into eternity and the
resurrection of the body. And so, 3.
That they speak it to others. Especially
the coming generations. Confess the
faith of Jesus. Take up the cross. That through them, others may believe and
know.
Jesus prays for His Church. The Church prays. Jesus prays for you. You pray. The Father hears and answers. What tremendous love for us. Alleluia!
Christ is risen! He is risen,
indeed! Alleluia! In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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