Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven

This title is taken from John 17:1 which informs us, "Jesus spoke these words and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, 'Father, the hour has come, glorify Your Son, that Your son also may glorify You'."

The scene is the upper room known as the setting for Jesus' last supper. The incidents in John chapter 13 to chapter 17 all take place in the upper room. It is the night of Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth.

In chapter 13 we have the Lord Jesus washing His disciples' feet. Later we have Judas Iscariot leaving to arrange the betrayal of Jesus.

In chapter 14 we have the Lord Jesus instructing and comforting his disciples.

In chapter 15 Jesus likens Himself and His disciples to a vine and its branches; pointing out the branches receive their life from the vine. "...without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5).

In chapter 16 Jesus tells them that when He goes away the Holy Spirit will come to them and guide them into all truth; and that He will be their Helper.

Then we come to chapter 17, a beautiful, instructive, compelling, compassionate prayer; which should enrich the lives of all true born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is before us here? I cannot hope to do an in depth exposition of this marvellous chapter in this short blog post. However I can highlight some of the rich truths in this chapter.

In verse 1 we learn that Jesus' time on earth was nearly over. He petitions the Father to glorify the Son, so that the Son can also glorify the Father.

Verses 2 & 3 reveal that to know both Father and Son is eternal life.

Verses 4 & 5, we learn that Jesus' work on earth was finished and now He wanted to be glorified with the glory He had in eternity.

Verses 6-8 The disciples are on his mind. He had revealed the Father to them and they believed the words Jesus had spoken to them about the Father.

Verses 9-12 Jesus prays for His disciples and reveals that the disciples belong to the Father and the Son. Jesus had kept them through the Father's name.

Verses 13-16 Jesus is going back to the Father [in heaven]. Jesus prays that the Father will keep them from the evil one [Satan].

Verse 17-19 Jesus prays that the Father will sanctify them through the truth; because Jesus has sent them into the world.

Verses 20 & 21 Jesus also prays for those who will believe in him through the faithful testimony of His disciples.

Verse 22 & 23 Jesus gives His followers the same glory that the Father gave Him as a man. The reason is that Father, Son and Jesus' followers may be united all together in one bond of life.

Verse 24, Jesus' desire is that all His own will be with Him in the Glory.

Verse 25 The world has not known the Father. Jesus has known the Father and His own know that the Father sent Jesus to them.

Verse 26 Jesus has declared unto them the Father's name and He wants His own to personally know the love of the Father for each of them.

Fellow believer in Christ read John chapter 17 again and let the truths in this chapter seep into your very soul. These are among His last words spoken to his disciples before His arrest, mock trial and crucifixion.

How fitting that this chapter is primarily a prayer to the Father for His [Jesus'] own; yet the glory of the Son is revealed to us yet again.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words in [ ] are there for the sake of clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point.]

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In all these things

The title of this blog post comes from a verse in Romans 8:37, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

What are the things that the apostle Paul is referring to? Verse 35 gives us the answer. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"

There are 7 things mentioned in this verse. If you look at them carefully you will see that all these things can be carried out by our fellow men. That is a very negative aspect of this verse.

The positive aspect is given to us in verse 37 "...we are more than conquerors..." through Christ. Let's look at the 7 things in verse 35.

Tribulation can be a time of testings and trial. Tribulation can come in many forms.

Distress I think we can all relate to this; to be in situations where things go wrong and we have no control over it.

Persecution can take many forms; such things as verbal abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, racial abuse, financial pressures, religious intolerance and bigotry.

Famine occurs in many countries when the food crops fail or there is insufficient food to feed these nations.

Nakedness can come about due to persecution or abject poverty. What a terrible plight; no clothing to wear and exposure to all kinds of weather conditions. On top of that the humiliation of it all.

Peril to me means life threatening situations.

Sword conveys the thought of death or life threatening injuries.

The apostle Paul was a person who experienced many of these 7 things in his own life and yet he remained confident, fully trusting in his Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. The last two verses of Romans chapter 8 seem to sum up his thoughts.

Romans 8:38, 39

(38) "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37).

An old Scottish Christian I knew had a favourite exhortation. "Keep looking up, keep going on!"

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words outlined in bold type are to emphasis a point]

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Draw near with a true heart

Let us draw near! What immediately comes before your mind as you read these words?

When I hear these familiar words I immediately think of a verse in the epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament. Let's have a look at this verse.

Hebrews 10:22, "'Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..." So what, or who, is it we are to draw near to? If we backtrack a few verses to verses 19, 20 we read these words. "(19) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh."

What a tremendous thing this is! We have boldness to enter into the Holiest (or Holy of Holies). The Holiest Place is the very Throne of God in heaven.

What qualifies us for this awesome privilege? The shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the answer; the precious blood that paid for my redemption and the remission of my sins.

Verse 20 tells us we approach the Throne of God by "a new and living way". The way has been "consecrated for us" by the Lord Jesus, Himself. "Through the veil" this is a direct reference back to Old Testament times.

In both the Tabernacle and the Temple, a veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. The High Priest once a year was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, but not without the shed blood of an animal sacrifice. The blood was sprinkled before and on the Mercy Seat. God then covered the sins of the nation of Israel for the past year.

Hebrews 9:11, 12 reveals the far greater blessings we receive under the New Testament covenant. "(11) But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. (12) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

His one sacrifice is sufficient for all of time and all of eternity!

Now can you grasp this? We have holy boldness to enter into the holy presence of God without fear; not needing the intercession of any man, or woman. Christ has done it all; and makes this possible.

If you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. You do not need a human to go between you and God. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith." (Hebrews 10:22).

May you fully realise the privilege that is yours as a true believer in Christ.

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted]

[You are welcome to comment on this post, by clicking on the comments section below]