John 17:20-26 (ESV) 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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 have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 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. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is Jesus’ final prayer before being arrested and tried. The passage is divided into three portions: verses 1-5 are a sort of progress report (vs. 4) and Jesus saying it was almost time for Him to return to the Father (vs. 5); verses 6-19 are Jesus’ prayer for the apostles, “the twelve,” that the Father would help them complete their work, that they would remain doctrinally sound, and that the Father would protect them from the devil.
The passage above is Jesus’ prayer for us, those who have come to Christ through the writings of the apostles. He wants us to remain united, as one family, as loving of our fellow Christians as we are of our Lord and Savior. To tell you the truth, I think we’ve done a pretty terrible job of that. Churches have cliques, narrow, exclusive groups of believers who have separated themselves from others in the congregation. That isn’t what Jesus prayed for. We shouldn’t have divisions within the body of Christ.
Yes, we have thousands of denominations with differing views or interpretations of Scripture, but the central truths remain the same: the Trinity, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the deity of Christ, salvation by grace alone. The historic Christian Church actually excludes as heretical or cultic any group which disagrees with these doctrines.
A good example.
Early in my Christian walk, we had a wonderful pastor, “Pastor Dan.” As a fairly young couple, my wife and I began to serve at that church and were excited to be used so much by the Lord. Saying “yes” to everything, however, brought us to a point of being overwhelmed. At the same time, I was feeling a lot of pressure at work. The result was that I started looking for someone to blame. Pastor Dan had started on his PhD, and I felt he was letting his pastoral work suffer as he needed to dedicate more time to school.
I wrote him a very nasty letter accusing him of “starving the congregation” and worse things. My wife and I left the church as a result.
God used the next year and a half to reshape my attitude. I began to see my hypocrisy clearly. Through a brief set of circumstances, we returned to that church and were welcomed with open arms.
When I was able to talk alone with Pastor Dan, I deeply apologized for the letter and asked if he ever wanted to give me something that would mean the world to me; could he please give me back my letter?
A few years later, Pastor Dan, the man who had every right to never do anything for me and who, by worldly standards, should have banished me from the church, asked me if I would like to be a deacon. A few years after that, he invited me to be an elder.
It was later that he said he could see God’s hand in my life for ministry and suggested I be licensed (an honor second only to ordination). At the licensing service, the one being licensed is expected to give a sermon. As I stepped up to the pulpit, I saw a sealed envelope. Pastor Dan had returned my letter.
Why is this important?
We as human beings are attracted to those who are like us, not so much to people who are different. Jesus’ prayer is for us to treat all people in the body, whether they’re heavy, ugly, smarter, dumber, or stuck up, as brothers and sisters. In fact, I think Jesus wants us to seek those people and pray for them.
Like Pastor Dan, we can’t carry a grudge. In fact, we should reach out to those who have wronged us. We must forgive and continue as if all is well. Are we treating others differently because we heard a rumor, because they don’t look or think like us, because “just something about them bothers me?” We don’t have that privilege. Heaven isn’t going to have separate neighborhoods for Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed, Independent, etc. The only question we will face at the gates of heaven is “Do you know Jesus?” Let’s act like it.
