John 17 - What Is the Key To True Unity in the Church???

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 17 

Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

It's Jesus' last night before he goes to the cross, and he is doing something he always did when something important is about to happen. He prays. And there is a interesting structure to his prayer. First, he prays that he would be glorified. His whole mission was to glorify the Father, and now he is getting ready to be glorified. 

Jesus refers to the authority the Father has given him, including the authority to grant eternal life to those the Father had called. Jesus defines eternal life as, 

"They know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

This is in large part what Jesus' message has been about. He was sent to reveal the Father's love, so that they might know the Father. He also came so they could know Him, who is equally God. At the heart of what we believe is a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. God wants to know us, and this is what eternal life is about, knowing and enjoying him forever. 

Jesus' prayer is that in these last 24 hours, His Father would be glorified by his obedience, but also the Father would glory Him to show the world who He truly is. Then he says something important, 

"Glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

This is very clearly pointing to Jesus pre-existence with the Father in Creation. This why John says, "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." And, "The Word was with God in the beginning." John's purpose once again was to show Jesus is fully human and fully divine. 

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Next, Jesus prays for his disciples. He has prayed for them throughout these three years, but now he knows they will need to be covered in prayer more than ever. Jesus points to how specifically God the Father called these men to Himself, and then gave them to Jesus.Jesus had completed his training with the disciples and had shared everything the Father had asked him to. Jesus says during this specific prayer, 

 "I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." 

This might seem a little odd, what does Jesus mean by this? Commentator F.F. Bruce has this explanation, 

 “If he does not pray for the world, it is not because he had no concern for the world; he is, indeed, the Saviour of the world (John 4:42; cf. 3:17; 12:47). But the salvation of the world depends on the witness of those whom the Father has given him ‘out of the world’ (see verses 21, 23), and it is they who need his intercession at this junction.” (Bruce)

Then, we see another very important part of the prayer both for the disciples then, and the church now. 

"So that they may be one as we are one as we are one!"

I wonder what Jesus would think of the hundreds of denominations in the church that have been created over the church's history, which has caused so much division. There have been various "ecumenical" movements, which have tried to unify the church, but largely failed. 

Unity always starts with Jesus and the Father, who are one. The error of the ecumenical movement was it tried to get different churches from different denomination to agree on something in common, or at the least try to put aside their differences. Instead of starting with the unity we have in Christ, they tried to find the least common denominator they could all agree on. You can see why this would not work. 

Though the disciples will have their fair share of suffering and trials, Jesus says this, 

"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them." 

I have a close pastor friend of mine, who I worked with for 7 years who always signed his letters and emails, "In Jesus' Joy!". Joy is one of the most important things Jesus offers AND wants for us. Not just a little joy, but the full measure of his joy, so that our joy may be COMPLETE!~

Jesus Prays for All Believers

Finally, Jesus prays for those who will believe in Him, through the ministry of the apostles and future disciples. Jesus again says something about the unity He and the Father only give to the church, 

"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."

Not only does Jesus want the church to be one, but as new believers come into the church, they will experience this same unity we have in Christ. A lot of people look for peace in the world. There have been churches throughout church history who believed and dreamed that one day the church could create a utopian society on earth. This dream was shattered with World War 2. The whole idea that somehow man will get better and there will be peace on earth hasn't happened since Jesus rose from the dead, and won't happen until He returns. 

Jesus also says the world will know we are Christians by our unity. When Christians are constantly fighting what does that say about Jesus. If we are arguing over petty little issues of theology, or even whether we are "red" or "blue" politically, we offer nothing different than world.

A question we always have to ask as a church is, 

"What kind of community are we inviting people in our city into?" 

"Does our church look anything like the community Jesus established with his disciples, and the community the early church had in a book of Acts?

Questions to Think About?

1. When you pray who do you pray for? Do you pray that your life would glorify the Father and the Son? 

2. Do you have other Christians, like for instance in your small group, that you pray specifically for? 

3. What do you think the church needs to do to be more unified? How can you contribute to the unity of the church in your own church? How do support the pastor in keeping the unity in your church? 

4. Where is your joy meter at? Are you living in the "complete joy" Jesus wants for you?