Fully Man / John 17
Introduction: Shadows vs. Substance
If you have your Bibles, we are going to be in John 17 here in a little while. What I would like to do, if we can, is take the scenic route because we are in the midst of this Advent series. We are talking about Emmanuel—God with us. We are exploring the reality that this Jesus is completely unique from anyone who has ever come before Him or after Him. He is both fully God and fully man, living in perfect unity in what theology calls the hypostatic union. That makes Jesus unique from any other religious teacher, any so-called prophet, or any spiritual leader. He is wholly and completely different than any who have gone before.
What we have tried to do in this series is raise our affections for Christ. We need to recognize that marketing has an agenda, and our consumeristic culture has an agenda: to woo your affections and woo your finances toward whatever they think you need. They believe that if they can communicate with enough wisdom, with strategically placed ads at just the right time, you will, with one click, order what they have, thinking it will somehow make you happy. Now, don’t get me wrong—I am all about Amazon’s one-click, and Prime shipping is fantastic! However, those things are lesser things. They are shadows. The real substance is Christ. The real joy in life is in Christ, and the real meaning in life is in Christ. So we are simply trying to raise our affections.
Fully God and Fully Man
Last week, we saw that this unique Jesus is fully God. I shared that historic theological summary: Jesus is fully human and fully divine, having two natures in one person without confusion, without division, without change, and without separation. This is an incredible mystery. In many ways, our minds cannot fully exhaust it.
I was talking to a parent recently who asked, “Hey Brad, can you help me explain the Trinity to my seven-year-old?” I told them, “No, because there are a thousand metaphors that come to mind, and every single one of them falls apart!” You can talk about water, ice, and steam, or you can talk about an egg, but all those illustrations fall short. It is nearly impossible to fully explain the triunity of the Godhead, especially to a child. You just end up saying, “Look, the Holy Spirit is God, Jesus is God, God the Father is God, and they are all one God.” And at that point, I’m out of words.
We talked about how essential it is that Jesus is fully God. He cannot be a lesser divinity; He cannot be a mere manifestation of God. He has to be the full radiance of God’s glory in order to satisfy the wrath of God on our behalf.
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And yet, Jesus was also fully human. It wasn’t like carrying a large pan of water where it sloshes back and forth—sometimes He is more God than human, and other times He is more human than God. He is fully both, without separation, division, or confusion, at the exact same time. If Jesus were not fully God, He could not have satisfied the wrath of God. But if He were not fully human, you and I would look at Him and say, “Yeah, but You don’t know what it’s like to be me. Sure, You’re God, You’re superhuman, so You don’t get what it feels like to be tempted like we are.” There would always be an insurmountable disconnect.
Not only that, but Jesus modeled for us what true humanity looks like in relation to God. He shows us how those created in God’s image are designed to interact with a holy God. If He were not fully human, we couldn’t truly connect, because we could argue that He cannot sympathize with our condition. But Scripture tells us otherwise.
Hebrews 2:18 (NASB)
For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Jesus understands our human condition. He can relate; He can empathize. It wasn’t that Jesus had superhuman powers where temptation bounced off Him like bullets off of Superman. Jesus faced genuine temptation, yet lived in perfect obedience to the Father.
When I was first exploring the things of God, someone told me, “Hey, you should read the Gospel of John.” Have you ever tried to read the Gospel of John with zero context for who Jesus is? By verse five, I was completely lost.
John 1:1-5 (NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
I remember thinking, “Alright, there’s some guy whose name is ‘Word’ with a capital W, and He’s a really big deal.” But then I reached verse 14.
John 1:14 (NASB)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
As a guy investigating faith, the pieces started falling into place: “Hey, I think that’s Jesus!” I began to realize what the plan of God really was. God wasn’t going to rule from glory and simply pull puppet strings from heaven like the Wizard of Oz. Instead, God incarnated. He took upon Himself the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. God’s plan of redemption was not distant; it was intensely personal.
He wasn’t going to save the world by a mere divine decree from afar. Instead, redemption came through incarnation—the humility, vulnerability, and intimacy of the manger. Jesus didn’t arrive via a meteor strike or drop down through the Bifrost as a superhuman baby. He came in profound humility. He wasn’t born into royalty; His birth narrative was surrounded by scandal. He was born in Bethlehem, fled as a refugee to Egypt, and grew up in Nazareth. When Nathanael heard where Jesus was from, he asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” That place was considered a dump—kind of like Sparks, Nevada. (No offense if you’re from Sparks; my wife is from Sparks, so don’t tell her I said that!)
The Biblical Jesus vs. The Religious Jesus
His humanity makes Jesus extraordinarily relatable. I want to make a clear distinction between the biblical Jesus and the religious Jesus. The religious Jesus is the sanitized, ethereal version many of us grew up imagining. I remember going to a little church as a kid, and they would put us down in the basement—it felt like a dungeon and smelled like dirty socks. They taught us stories about Jesus, but He felt like an untouchable, distant figure. I couldn’t connect with Him. I wasn’t convinced He understood my life, and I wasn’t sure He was someone I would actually want to hang out with.
When you read the Scriptures, however, the biblical Jesus is completely different. Did you know that Jesus grew up in a complicated, broken household dynamic? Consider His family life. Jesus grew up with a earthly stepdad, Joseph, who is barely mentioned by name after the birth narrative. The only other time Joseph appears is when Jesus is twelve years old and left behind at the temple for three days. After that, Joseph disappears from the scene, leaving Mary as essentially a single mother.
When Mary and Joseph finally track down twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple, Mary approaches Him with deep maternal frustration.
Luke 2:48-49 (NASB)
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.’ And He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s [house]?’
Later in Matthew 12, Jesus is teaching, and the crowds pack the house to overflowing. Someone comes to the door and says, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, wanting to speak with You.” They seem to be claiming special family privilege. Look at how Jesus responds.
Matthew 12:48-50 (NASB)
But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, ’Behold My mother and My brothers! ‘For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’
Furthermore, Jesus grew up with half-brothers. Scripture tells us He had at least four brothers: James, Joses, Judas, and Simon—none of whom believed in Him during His earthly ministry.
Mark 6:3 (NASB)
‘Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at Him.
John 7:3-5 (NASB)
Therefore His brothers said to Him, ’Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ‘For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be [known] publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.’ For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
Imagine that: Jesus begins His public ministry, and the very first people to oppose and mock Him are His own brothers! That sounds an awful lot like real life. His brothers didn’t believe until after the resurrection. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He didn’t entrust His mother to His brothers; He entrusted her to John. But after the resurrection, Jesus made a specific, personal appearance to His brother James.
1 Corinthians 15:5-7 (NASB)
and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
Can you imagine that conversation? “Hey brother, I know we had our issues growing up. I know about that stickball game, and I know I never got in trouble while you did. But look at My hands and My side. Do you believe now?” Both James and Jude went on to become pillars of the early church and authors of New Testament epistles. But during His earthly life, Jesus experienced the pain and tension of a divided family.
Delighting in Humanity
Who is this biblical Jesus? He is someone who enjoyed celebrations with friends, showed radical grace to the broken, gave second chances, told captivating stories, encouraged the weak, and gave hope to the hopeless. When He was tempted in the wilderness with power, prestige, and possessions, He stood firm, modeling what faithful human trust in the Father looks like.
Luke 2:52 (NASB)
And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Luke 4:16 (NASB)
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
Jordan Harris, our pastoral intern, made a wonderful observation: Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” twice as often as He used the title “Son of God.” It is as if Jesus genuinely delighted in His humanity and in being a relatable example for us.
When you read the Gospels, you see that Jesus got hungry, tired, and thirsty. He wept at the graveside of a dear friend. He took naps—yes, taking naps is biblical! He attended dinner parties, spent time with friends, and loved children. When the disciples tried to shoo the kids away, Jesus rebuked the disciples and welcomed the children into His arms. He was moved with deep compassion, and He lived in perfect, loving obedience to the Father.
Hebrews 4:15 (NASB)
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin.
Hebrews 7:26 (NASB)
For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
Walking to the Garden: John 17
This brings us to John 17. To appreciate the power of this passage, we need to understand the geography and timeline of the Last Supper.
In John 13, Jesus and His disciples are in the upper room sharing the Passover meal. At the very end of John 14, Jesus says something crucial.
John 14:31 (NASB)
but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.
They leave the upper room at the end of chapter 14. Then, in John 18:1, the text notes that Jesus and His disciples cross the Kidron Valley and enter the Garden of Gethsemane. This means that everything in John 15, 16, and 17 took place on foot, en route from the upper room to the garden. This is Jesus’ final discourse before His arrest.
At the end of chapter 16, Jesus concludes His teaching with these unforgettable words.
John 16:33 (NASB)
‘These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’
That was His “mic drop” moment; His teaching to the disciples was finished. So what is John 17? Look at the opening verse: Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and begins to speak to His Father. John 17 is a prayer.
In this High Priestly Prayer, Jesus, in His full humanity, expresses His deepest longing for us: that we would experience the very same oneness with the Father that He enjoys.
The High Priestly Prayer: An Invitation to Oneness
Let’s walk through this prayer.
John 17:1-5 (NASB)
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ’Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ’This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ’I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. ’Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Notice verse 3: eternal life is not merely a ticket to heaven when you die. Eternal life is knowing God right now. Jesus wants you to know that in your humanity, you can know the Father today through Christ.
Jesus continues praying for His disciples.
John 17:6-11 (NASB)
’I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ’Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received [them] and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ’I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ’I am no longer in the world; and [yet] they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, [the name] which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We [are].
Jesus knows He is about to leave, and His disciples will face a hostile world. He prays, “Father, keep them in Your name so that they may be one, just as We are one.” He is leaving breadcrumbs along the trail to show us where true joy is found: in unbroken intimacy with the Father.
John 17:15 (NASB)
’I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil [one].
The goal of intimacy with God is not isolation from the world. God does not intend for us to retreat into hiding, nor did He immediately beam us up to glory the moment we trusted Christ. We have a mission: to reflect the love and truth of God in the middle of a broken world.
Then, in verse 20, the scope of Jesus’ prayer widens dramatically. It shifts directly to you and me.
John 17:20-21 (NASB)
’I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, [are] in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Jesus was not just praying for the eleven men walking beside Him; He was praying across the centuries for everyone who would come to faith through their message. He was praying for you.
John 17:24-26 (NASB)
’Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ‘O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.’
Abiding and Obeying
Do you see what Jesus is offering? He is not an aloof, untouchable religious figure. He is a relatable Savior who invites us into deep fellowship with the Father. Jesus lived in perfect obedience to the Father because He lived in perfect relationship with the Father. He did not earn a relationship with the Father through His obedience; His obedience flowed naturally out of His love and intimacy with the Father.
That is the exact relationship He invites us into. Through grace, by faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit seals us and brings us into communion with God. As we abide in Christ and experience the Father’s love, that love begins to transform us, and genuine obedience flows out of our hearts.
Conclusion: Coming to the End of Ourselves
If last week was about the ultimate expression of God’s love through His deity, this week is about the ultimate invitation of His humanity. The biblical Jesus says to us, “Follow Me into intimacy with the Father.”
Matthew 11:28 (NASB)
’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
When you come to the end of yourself and realize you do not have the power to fix your soul or earn God’s favor, that is where the gospel meets you. In the gospel, you find Jesus, the perfect bridge between a holy God and fallen humanity.
This Advent season, let us move past the cold, unrelatable “religious Jesus” and embrace the biblical Jesus. He has paved the way, borne our burdens, and prayed that we would share in His joy and oneness with the Father.
Let’s pray together.
Father, thank You for Your incredible love and for welcoming us as Your children. Help us not only to know Your love intellectually, but to experience it deeply in our everyday lives. Thank You for Jesus, who bridged the gap, made a way, and set us free. May we find our deepest joy, peace, and rest in Him, our King. In Jesus’ name, Amen.