“Jesus Prays That We Be One” (John 17:20-26)
“Pray for me.”
That’s a common request among Christians. Or you might ask to have a prayer offered on
behalf of a friend who is ill or who is having a difficult time.
The invitation to prayer is one of the greatest gifts God
has given to his Church. To bring your
requests, your concerns, your needs, your fears, your confessions to Almighty
God, your heavenly Father … and to know that he promises to hear you and answer
according to his will … is an astounding privilege. And yet, too often, you and I take this
privilege for granted. We neglect to
take time to pray. It’s far down on our
list of priorities.
For Jesus, prayer was always a priority. He often took time away from the press of the
crowds to speak to his Father (Mt. 14:23; Mk. 6:46; Lk. 5:16; 6:12; 9:28). He taught his disciples how to pray when he
taught them what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”
And in John 17, the evangelist records for us what is known as “The High
Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. This is in
the upper room at the Last Supper. It is
the night before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. He knows what is ahead. He knows what agony awaits him. And what does he do? He shows concern for his followers. He prays for them. Jesus is still with his disciples. But already he anticipates his resurrection
and ascension into heaven (which we remembered on Thursday). He prays, “I am no longer in the world, but
they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they
may be one, even as we are one” (Jn. 17:11).
And if there’s anyone whose prayer is going to be heard and answered,
you can be sure it’s the Son of the Father!
What’s more, in this High Priestly Prayer Jesus also prays
for you! His prayer anticipates the
gifts of God to his Church, specifically to all those who would believe in Christ
through the apostle’s testimony. The
second half of the prayer begins in this way: “I do not ask for these only” …
meaning his chosen apostles who were with him in the upper room … “but also for
those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just
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.”
Did you ever stop to think how amazing this is? On the night Jesus was betrayed, the night he
instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, the night before Jesus went to
the cross to shed his blood for your sins … he prayed for you! You were on his mind. That’s how much he loves you.
What did Jesus pray for?
He prayed for our oneness with God and our oneness with each other, and
that the goal of this oneness would be manifested in the world: that the world may believe that Jesus was
sent from the Father (v. 21), and that the world may know that God loves them
in Christ (v. 23).
Jesus enjoys oneness with the Father in his essence as
God. The members of the Holy Trinity all
share in a common divine nature. Brought
into God’s kingdom by baptism and by faith in the Word of God, we are made to
be one with the Triune God. The Holy
Spirit is given to us and binds us together in the intimate fellowship that the
members of the Trinity share with each other.
And in this divine life, Jesus shares his glory with
us. “The glory that you have given me I
have given to them,” Jesus prayed.
Jesus shared his glory with the world in his
incarnation. He is God made flesh for
the salvation of the world. At the very
beginning of his Gospel, St. John writes, “the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). In
the womb of the Virgin, God’s glory was manifested. In the manger bed, God’s glory was
manifested. In his miraculous signs,
God’s glory was manifested. At the
cross, God’s glory was manifested, although hidden under our Lord’s humiliation. But it was glory nonetheless, because that is
where God’s love was supremely manifested.
By nature, we are not one with God.
We are separated from him, from his life and from his love. We are under his wrath. But Jesus came to unite us with the
Father. He brings us back into
fellowship with God. Our sins are
forgiven because the flesh of God made Man was pierced for us.
Jesus also shares with us the glory of his resurrection
and ascension. In his prayer, Jesus
prayed, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with
me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.”
Once again, Jesus is already looking ahead to what is to come. He is so sure and certain of his destiny that
he prays as if his resurrection and ascension have already occurred. And because you and I are one with Jesus in
Holy Baptism, we will one day see and share in his glory. In his Ascension, Jesus removed his visible presence
from us and is now seated at the right hand of God, “far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion” (Eph. 1:21).
Jesus removed his visible presence from us, but this does not mean he is
far removed from us. Enthroned and exalted as our everlasting King, Jesus fills
all things, especially his Church, “which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). Jesus
also promised that he will return visibly on the Last Day. In John 14, Jesus said, “If I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am
you may be also” (Jn. 14:3). “Surely I
am coming soon,” he says in the Revelation to St. John. And the faithful reply
of the Church is, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
Jesus prays for our oneness with God. He also prays for our oneness with each
other. Twice he makes this request: “That
they may be one even as we are one … that they may become perfectly one.”
We live in a disconnected world. Everywhere we see signs of disunity and separation. We see it in our communities. We see it in our families. We even see it in the church. Congregations are divided internally. Denominations are divided externally. We must repent of the ways in which we have
brought this upon ourselves and contributed to this division.
In spite of this, we do have a real, spiritual oneness
with each other. Jesus prayed for
it. It’s a gift. And this oneness even reaches across denominational
lines. All Christians are united to one
another by faith in Christ. This does
not mean, however, that we should ignore our differences. This is all the more reason why should seek
to achieve unity on the basis of a common confession of God’s Word. A good example to follow is the way the early
church handled their problems. Look at
today’s reading from Acts 1. There it
says the followers of Jesus were “with one accord devoting themselves to prayer”
(Acts 1:14). They had the same mind and
spirit. They prayerfully made decisions,
working through their challenges. Here
it was who should replace Judas in the apostolic “roster.” Later the church would deal with other
problems … personal, pragmatic, and doctrinal.
And this has continued down to our present day. But rather than teaching us to “go along to
get along,” St. Paul taught the Corinthian congregation that they should all “agree,
and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same
mind and judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).
How do we do this today?
We seek unity on the basis of a common confession of what God’s Word
teaches. But we should do this lovingly,
charitably, not mocking those who hold to a different confession, but loving
them as fellow believers in Christ. And
we should also be ready to repent if we find that we have mistakenly been
holding to something that God’s Word does not teach.
In his prayer, Jesus gives the goal of this oneness for
which he prays: That the world may believe that Jesus was sent from the Father
(v. 21), and that the world may know that God loves them in Christ (v. 23). Jesus unites his church spiritually so that we
can all play a part in proclaiming to the world that Jesus is the Savior of the
world, and that in Christ people are dearly loved by God. The world that is opposed to Christ will
always mock and discredit the Church because of the divisions that they see. But we can rejoice whenever the Gospel is
proclaimed … by whomever it is proclaimed.
God’s Word is so powerful that it will go forth and achieve the purpose
for which he sends it (Is. 55:11).
Take comfort in the fact that your Lord Jesus prayed for
you. Take comfort that your Lord Jesus, risen
and ascended for you, fills all things and rules and reigns for the good of his
Church … for you, his baptized child. In
a world full of disharmony and disunity, take comfort that Jesus makes you to
be one with him and with the Father and with the Spirit. Give thanks that the love with which the
Father loved Jesus is in you. Give
thanks that Jesus himself, your risen and ascended Savior, still dwells in you
today to forgive you, to strengthen you, and to give you his peace until the
day when he visibly returns. Then finally,
all our sinful divisions will be done away with, and we will be one with him for
all eternity.
Amen.
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