The Hour Has Come

THE HOUR HAS COME
Sunday, August 07, 2022

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” . . . (John 17:1).

Every word of this prayer is precious, important, and revealing. It is purposeful. By that I mean it is not a prayer where the one praying is simply rattling off random thoughts and ideas, wants and desires, meaningless information (as if God doesn’t already know all things!), etc. No. Every word of Jesus in this High Priestly Prayer has meaning and purpose - it stands on a firm foundation, it goes somewhere, it accomplishes a higher and nobler purpose than mere praying for prayer’s sake. 

Father, the hour has come. Jesus, more than anyone else, was completely in tune with the Father’s timetable for His life, ministry, and death. There were opportunities for Jesus to be taken by the crowds and killed (Luke 4:28-30; John 7:44-46; 8:20), but those times were not in line with God’s timetable for Jesus. Only when the time drew near for Jesus to die did He close out His public ministry. (Luke 9:51-53) Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 

Jesus’ consciousness of the Father’s plan and timetable in executing His plan was the direct result of His consistent fellowship with the Father in prayer and in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in His life. Nothing took Jesus by surprise. Nothing rattled Him or caught Him off-guard. The hour has come. What hour? The hour when His earthly ministry would come to a close with His betrayal, arrest, condemnation by the Sanhedrin, scourging by Pilate, crucifixion, abandonment by the Father, defeat of Satan through the Lord’s death, His burial in a friend's tomb, resurrection, 40 days with the disciples, restoration of Peter to faith and ministry, commissioning the Apostles, and ascension. God’s eternal plan for our salvation, which plan was determined before the worlds were created, had been marked out, step by step, moment by moment, in our Lord’s mind, heart, and spirit. That plan had been followed by Jesus to the letter. Now the time for that plan to reach its zenith had come. And Jesus was well aware of every aspect of it.

Knowing that the hour of His supreme suffering, His resulting victory over Satan, sin, and death, and the terrified and broken-hearted disciples would abandon Him to die, Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and spoke intimately with His Father. Never was there a more poignant and profound prayer ever prayed. May we be so cognizant of the Father’s plan for us that we will move on through this life knowing, expecting, praying, and fulfilling that plan. May we be fully aware of and prepared for that hour when our time comes to conclude our ministry here on earth, to the honor and glory of God the Father who created us, Jesus Christ who has saved us, and the Holy Spirit who indwells us. Amen.

Pastor Martin