Scripture Daily

Context No. 1064 of 4322 · John

Context · Reflection

John 17:20-26: in context

20“Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. 22The glory which you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one, 23I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me. 24Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me. 26I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

This is the end of Jesus' great prayer on the night before he died, and here he prays for us, for those who will believe in him through the disciples' word. His central request is unity: that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may be one in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. He has given them the glory the Father gave him, so they may be one as he and the Father are one, and he asks that they be with him and see his glory, and that the very love with which the Father loved him would be in them.

What Jesus prays for his future church, and that means us, is oneness, and he ties it to two staggering things. First, the pattern of the unity is the unity of the Father and the Son: that they may be one as we are one. This is not mere organizational agreement but a shared life, believers drawn into the very oneness of God, so that our unity is meant to reflect the love inside the Godhead. Second, its purpose is mission: that the world may believe you sent me. Jesus says the world will be persuaded of who he is by the love and unity of his people. Our togetherness is not a private comfort; it is evidence to the watching world. And the prayer ends with a tender line: that the love with which you loved me may be in them. Jesus asks that the very love the Father has for the eternal Son would come to dwell in ordinary believers. That is the destiny he prays for us, to be caught up into the love between the Father and the Son, and for that love to become visible in how we love each other, so that the world sees and believes.

Does my life contribute to or fracture the unity Jesus prayed for, and do I believe I am meant to be caught up in the very love the Father has for the Son?

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