Pastor Slaughter

May 29, 2022

Easter 7

Complete Unity

Text: John 17:20-26

What would you pray for the night before you know you were going to die? Would you pray for peace? Would you pray for forgiveness? Would you pray that your end may come quickly? Would you pray for friends and family?

Today we get to hear about what Jesus prayed for the night before he died before he went into the garden of Gethsemane. The last part of Jesus prayer, he specifically prays for you and me! How cool is that? The night before Jesus died, he prayers for us. It is like Jesus in his infinite wisdom knows the struggle believers will have. He knows the sinful nature. He knows the divisions that creep into the hearts and minds of people. He prays for us. He prays for unity. A complete unity for us. The kind that Jesus has God the Father. This unity comes through eh Word of Christ. This unity is to the glory of Father and the Son.

Jesus prays, “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you” (21a). To have the kind of unity that Father has with the Son, to have this complete unity… it’s hard to grasps isn’t it? Just think about How Jesu sand the Father share that perfect unity. They were united in their thoughts. They were united in their desire to bring us salvation. They were united in their will. It was a perfect unity.

But is this prayer one of those prayers that you pray for and know that you will never get? Like the little girl who prays for a pony but will most likely never get it or a little boy who prays for that toy but probably won’t get it. Can this unity exist in a world full of diversity? Just think about the cultural differences from country to country. Think about the cultural differences that exist from state to state, like southern hospitality and midwestern niceness. Just think about the differences between the twin cities and Bell Plaine. There’s not only cultural differences abut there are personality differences where it seems like some people just don’t mesh. With so many differences can there be this complete unity?

What is the thing that brings this unity in a world of diversity? It is the message! It is the Word of God. Jesus prays, “I am praying not only for them (disciples), but also for those who believe in me through their message” (v.20). This message was passed down to us. The disciples took that message and shared it with others. We have the written record of the historical account of Jesus, the letters that were sent to other churches. That message made it’s way to you and me. Who was it that shared God’s word with you? Your parents and grandparents? A friend? A pastor?

That message is what Jesus did. That message proclaims the forgiveness of sins. That gospel message is what the Holy Spirit uses to create saving faith in our hearts. “Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” That message is what connects us to Jesus and unites us with him and thus unites us with other believers.

But this unity in God’s Word doesn’t mean that we compromise on what God’s Word says. It doesn’t mean that we gloss over hot button issues like abortion, same sex attraction, the practice of close communion or fellowship principals. It doesn’t mean that we compromise on God Word in order to achieve this unified visible church on this side of heaven. In this sinful world errors creep in and divisions result, and God warns us to keep all his teachings pure to hold on to Jesus’ teachings. That is the only way to bring us together in one body on earth. In the glories of heaven where there is no sin, all who believe in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior will be one! Jesus’ prayer will have its final answer.

But there are things besides disagreements on what the Bible teachers, things that shouldn’t cause divisions among believers and yet it does. Different personalities clash. Sin tears people apart. Our own selfish sinful nature leads to stubbornness, quarrels. Unwilling to forgive leads to holding grudges. I am willing to be united with them but not with that person.

If someone from the world could know your thoughts, hear your words, and see your actions, would they be able to see Christ’s love in you and Christ’s love for others. Jesus prays, “May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (v23). What is the reason for this complete unity with Christ and one another? It is for evangelism! So that the world can see how much God loves us and in turn want to hear more about that love.

When the world looks at us do they see God’s love in our lives which expresses itself in unity, or would they see that we are divided? Do we hold on to grudges and stay divided, or do we forgive and work on being united? Do we let disagreements (which are not a bad thing in and of themselves) turn into barriers because we didn’t get our way?

This is hard, isn’t it? As I was writing this sermon, I kept thinking about all the times I have failed at this and wondered by my actions how many people couldn’t see the love that God has for us, and did it keep me from telling them about that love that God has for them? Lord forgive me when I have failed to show your love for me by failing to show it to others.

How do we get past this? We have to see the bigger picture. There has to be something greater to unite us than the sin that divides us. What is that thing? God’s love. Jesus prayed, “I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have for me may be in them and that I may be in them” (v. 26). Jesus has made himself known to us. Jesus has made his Father known to us. He has done this with a purpose. So that perfect love that God has for Jesus will be in us.

How do we know that God the Father’s love is in us? It is because the perfect love of the son was given to us on the cross and we receive the benefits of that love through faith which was given through the message that was proclaimed. That perfect life of Jesus is yours. And because of that you have God the Fathers love in you.

And guess what? That same love that is in you, that same love that unites you with the Father and the Son, is the same the love that is in your brothers and sisters and unites them to the Father and to the Son. Because we are united with Jesus. We are united with one another.

What does Jesus give to us? His glory! Jesus prays, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am so that they may see my glory—the glory you gave me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.” When Jesus prayed this prayer he was going to return to the glory he had enjoyed from the beginning with the Father. Jesus wanted all believers to share that glory. Jesus prayed and he saw this being fulfilled in eternal glories.

Jesus wants us to have this complete unity. The devil will do anything to divide us up. What color carpet is at the church, what hymnal we use or songs we sin. He will try to use past sins to create barriers that make it seem impossible to get past. What will be the next thing threatening to divide us in the future? I don’t know. But it will come. But I know we will overcome because of Jesus who in love has united us to himself through the message revealed to us and being united with Jesus means that we are united with one another. We will enjoy that perfect complete unity in heaven.  Until then, let us be united in God’s Word, so that we can be witnesses, for when the world looks at us they can the love of living in us! Amen.