Jesus' Prayer - 3

We are looking at Jesus' prayer, when he was with the Twelve, right before his arrest. His primary concern, and focus, was those who would give him their allegiance. The Twelve, and those who would respond to the gospel through the Twelve.

There seems to be two things he brings to the Father, concerning his followers. The first is the Truth. He was. And  concerned how they saw, kept, and were committed to the Truth. We looked this in the previous post.

Second, he was concerned about the relationships his followers had with one another. And he described that relationship as being united.

Unity is usually a bond formed around agreement in the same issue. In God's family, unity is formed around agreement about Jesus. Who he was. What he did. Who he did it for. And what our response should be.

Jesus knew there was going to be a learning curve after he returned to the Father. Jesus knew there was going to be issues, misunderstandings, and maybe some out and out fights. But he also knew his family needed to stand together, and behind one another.

Now Jesus did not use the word "unity." He said, "May they be one, as we are one." He prayed that the connection in his family would be as strong, as complete, as the connection with the Trinity, within God himself.

All those, who have allegiance to Jesus, should stand with, and behind, those who have allegiance to Jesus. Whoever. Wherever. However. Reformed. Baptist. Charismatic. Cru. Intervarsity. Navigators. India. Africa. Asia. America.

We need to have the same commitment to Jesus' children, as Jesus does. Practically, this is hard to do. Parts of God's family have a particular focus that they believe is really important. So, there are divisions in practice, in emphasis, and how they operate. It is easier to stay within the borders each group has set for themselves.

But there are two things in Jesus' prayer that he said, that we need to be aware of.

One, the unity of God's people demonstrates that God sent Jesus. Unity is a weapon of the gospel. Unity amid all the diversity of God's family proclaims the truth about Jesus. The connection, and commitment, of God's people to one another is a loud bell, or siren, that say this is new, and different. Pay attention!

Two, the unity of God's people demonstrates God's loves for his family. Unity is a weapon of the gospel. It shows that God sits in the midst of his family. It shows God's positive attitude toward his people. It shows what God's love can do in people.