We're going to move now into our time in God's Word together.
If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to John chapter 17.
For those of you who are visiting or new,
we have been traveling through the Gospel of John.
It's been some years now since we started that journey.
And we're really taking our time because we really want to come to terms
with what God is saying to us through John about Jesus.
So as we pick up the story here, we're in chapter 17.
It's the night of Jesus' betrayal.
Jesus has had his last supper with the disciples.
Judas has left to begin enacting his betrayal.
And Jesus has been taking time to talk to the disciples.
He's been giving them words of encouragement and comfort,
instruction, promise, warning.
All to help carry them through the difficult things that are about to happen.
And we saw as all of a sudden the disciples just have this like aha moment.
Now we understand what you're talking about, Jesus.
And very soon after that, Jesus begins to pray right there in front of them.
And the content of his prayer is chapter 17.
We heard already how his prayer began.
Jesus expressed his longing to be restored to the glory that he had with the Father before the world began.
And then we heard him go on to pray for his disciples,
reflecting on how they have responded well to his word.
They have believed.
And he prayed for their protection.
Because Jesus says, I'm going out of the world.
But they are going to remain here.
So protect them, Father.
We're going to pick up Jesus' prayer in verse 15 of chapter 17.
Jesus prays,
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world,
but that you protect them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
For them, I sanctify myself,
that they too may be truly sanctified.
Now we're going to zip through these first couple verses,
verses 17 to 19.
These are some difficult words to understand.
We've got that strange biblical word, sanctify.
And we've got some differences in the translations.
Is it by the truth or is it in the truth?
And what does that even mean?
And then we've got Jesus telling the Father
that he has sanctified himself for them.
There are many pages of commentaries written on these few verses
and differing interpretations and opinions.
So I'm just going to skip over some of that
and share briefly with you my take on it.
My take on these verses is that Jesus is praying
a prayer of dedication for the apostles.
A prayer to consecrate them,
sanctify them,
and set them apart for your special service,
your special work.
And that work or that service for the apostles
is to speak the very words of God
and to bear witness to Jesus.
There seems to be a bit of a parallel here
in verses 18 and 19.
Jesus draws that parallel between himself and them.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself
that they too may be truly sanctified.
And so he prays, sanctify them.
Jesus has set himself apart,
dedicating himself to that special service of God.
And now he's praying that God would do the same for them,
set them apart for his special work and service.
So that's my take on those verses.
Now we come to a bit of a shift in Jesus' prayer.
Let's read it in verse 20.
Jesus says,
My prayer is not for them alone.
I pray also for those who will believe in me
through their message.
So this signals a shift in Jesus' prayer.
This statement sort of clues us in
that up until now,
Jesus has mainly been praying for the 11,
the apostles who are with him.
And now he kind of expands the circle
to include all who will come to believe in Jesus
through their word, their message.
Now I want to be careful here.
I think that there is probably two mistakes
that we can make.
One mistake is to assume
that everything Jesus has prayed so far up until now
is a sort of general, indiscriminate prayer
for all of his followers of all time.
But verse 20 here makes it clear.
There's a bit of a dividing line here.
It's mainly the disciples who are with him
that he has been praying for up until now.
They are the ones who up till now in the story
have believed and accepted and obeyed Jesus' words
as Jesus described in verses 6 to 8.
They are the ones whom the world has hated
as Jesus describes in verse 14.
And they are the ones whom Jesus has sent into the world
as he describes in verse 18.
That word sent, by the way,
goes back to in the original language.
It's apostello from which we get our designation apostle.
So we might be mishandling Jesus' words, I think,
if we just take them all as a sort of general prayer
for all of his followers for all time.
The second mistake, that being said,
is to assume that everything that Jesus has prayed so far
applies only to the apostles
and has no relevance for us who believe today.
And I think this we just know.
We know that Jesus doesn't just want protection
for these 11 men,
but that he desires it for all his people.
He's already said,
I am the good shepherd
and taught that he wards off the thief and the wolves.
Similarly, we know that Jesus doesn't just have a purpose
for the apostles remaining in the world,
but for all who will come to believe in him
remaining here in the world.
That each one of us would fulfill our unique purpose,
our unique role in the body of Christ.
So just to sum that up,
once again, there's two errors that we can make here, I think.
Where did that come from?
We could assume that everything Jesus prays
in these first verses,
he prays indiscriminately for all believers.
Or we could assume that nothing he prays in these verses
reflects his heart and prayers for all of us.
Let's continue on.
My prayer is not for them alone.
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,
may they also be in us,
so that the world may believe
that you have sent me.
So Jesus makes this grand request
of his Father.
He asks that all of them,
all who will come to believe in him,
that's the whole Christian church,
that all of them may be one.
Up until now,
what is it that's been holding
this rag-tag bunch of men and women
from Galilee and Judea together?
Jesus has been the uniting factor.
But now,
as Jesus has said many times,
he's leaving.
He's going to the Father.
And all of his followers,
and all who will yet become his followers,
they're going to still be here.
They're remaining in the world.
They're going to have to face trials
and temptation.
They're going to have to figure out
how to live as his followers,
even with their many differences.
You've got Jew and Gentile,
slave and free,
rich and poor.
And they're going to have to figure out
how to do all this
in the face of hostility
and persecution,
because as the story went,
the religious leaders of the Jews
continued to persecute
and go after Christ's followers.
And so is it any surprise
that Jesus asks the Father
for the oneness of his people,
that they would remain united,
together, undivided?
Now, I'll be honest.
Sometimes I think we look at this prayer
and we wonder,
what happened?
Why hasn't God answered this prayer?
I mean, look at the world today.
Look at the church,
all the denominations today.
But I got thinking about this.
Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way.
Is it possible that God
has been answering this prayer all along?
Let's think about how things unfolded.
Jesus, the leader, was crucified.
And the disciples were scattered.
But that wasn't the end of the story.
They all came back together again
and became witnesses of the risen Christ.
The disciples were opposed
and persecuted by the religious leaders.
But did they become so divided
that they all just turned away
and abandoned following Jesus?
No.
The apostles would later be arrested
for proclaiming Jesus
in the streets of Jerusalem.
And I'm reminded what Gamaliel,
the Pharisee,
said in the assembly
that day
while they were all there on trial.
He stood up
and said,
some time ago,
Thutis appeared
claiming to be somebody.
And about 400 men rallied to him.
He was killed.
All his followers were dispersed
and it all came to nothing.
After him,
Judas, the Galilean,
appeared in the days of the census
and led a band of people in revolt.
He too was killed
and all his followers
were scattered.
Therefore,
in the present case,
in the case of these 11 men,
the apostles,
I advise you,
leave these men alone.
Let them go.
For if their purpose
or activity
is of human origin,
it will fail.
But if it is from God,
you will not be able
to stop these men.
You will only find yourselves
fighting
against God.
Gamaliel was right.
Without the leader alive,
things like these
fizzle out.
Followers get into fights
and divide
and it all comes to nothing.
But that's not what happened
with the followers of Jesus.
2,000 years later,
we still haven't fizzled out.
We're still here.
We still believe in Jesus.
We still love him.
We still love his words.
Yes,
we still get into fights
sometimes and arguments
and even divide.
But every true believer knows
by the testimony of God's Spirit
living in them
that they are part
of the one body of Christ.
That he is alive
and that he will someday
unify us deeply,
powerfully,
and permanently.
That from every tribe
and tongue and nation
and people on earth,
we will stand before
the throne of God
and the Lamb
and worship with one voice
saying,
salvation belongs to our God.
So back to Jesus' request.
He prays,
asking the Father
to make all his followers one.
And as we look at
how the story continues,
it's a prayer that God
has been answering.
It didn't all fizzle out
and come to nothing
as movements of men
usually do.
Just the opposite.
The church has been growing
and spreading
ever since that day
to every corner of the world,
uniting people
of all different kinds.
I invite you to look
around the room
here this morning.
Look at how different we are.
Some of us younger,
some of us older.
Some of us born and raised
in rural Saskatchewan,
some from the cities
in Ontario,
some from China,
some here with disabilities
and health problems,
some with good health,
some single,
some parents,
some empty nesters,
some who love sports
and some who couldn't
care less about them.
If we were to sit down
and tease out
all our differences,
I think the list
would probably blow us
all away.
Like, why are we here
in this room together today?
It's because of Jesus.
So God is answering
this prayer
that we would be one.
And this is not
the end of the story.
Someday,
the Bible tells us
that Jesus will be
revealed in glory
and that every eye
will see his glory.
In the same way,
all of us who believe
in Christ Jesus
will be revealed
in glory with him.
The one body of Christ.
Paul said it this way
in Colossians 3, verse 4.
He said,
when Christ,
who is your life,
appears,
then you also
will appear with him
in glory.
That's a you plural,
by the way.
Now let's consider
for a moment
the kind of unity
that Jesus is asking for.
He says,
I pray that all of them
may be one,
Father,
just as you are in me
and I am in you.
May they also be in us
so that the world
may believe
that you have sent me.
I have given them
the glory that you gave me
that they may be one
as we are one.
I in them
and you in me
so that they may be brought
to complete unity.
Then the world will know
that you sent me
and have loved them
even as you have loved me.
Every time I read that,
it blows me away.
Like this is next level unity.
This is an out of this world
kind of unity.
The kind of unity
that Jesus asks the Father for
on our behalf
is the same sort of unity
that he has
with the Father.
Father.
He says
that they may be one
just as you are in me
and I am in you, Father.
I think this is our clue right here
that this request
will not be fully answered
until the end
when Jesus returns.
in order for us
to be united
this deeply
with God
the Father
and God the Son
and with each other
we need
to be perfected
finally and forever.
We need sin
to be out of the equation
gone
and dealt with
forever.
The way Jesus
prays this
here
you know
it opens up
a whole new
vantage point
for meditation.
Our unity
with each other
as believers
will someday
reflect
the unity
that Christ
has
right now
with his Father.
And so now
we need to go back
and we need to
restart the sermon series
go back through John
we need to
look at this relationship
that Jesus has
with his Father
and that
amazing unity
that's there
it's breathtaking
it's wonderful
it's mysterious
we've seen that
all the way through
how Father and Son
speak
and work
together
purpose
together
honoring
one another
acting
in perfect
harmony
always
aware
of each other
your will be done
not mine
and yet
not unaware
of their own
desires
and this is a
picture of how
it will be
between
me and you
brothers and
sisters in Christ
it's wonderful
there's coming a
great and grand
display
of the glory
of God
and part of that
display will be
you and me
and all who
believe in Christ
living together
in perfect
unity
the kind
that Jesus
has right
now
with his
father
it's amazing
and this is God's
purpose
for this unity
this oneness
he prays
that all of
them may be
one
so that
the world
may believe
that you
have sent
me
he goes
on and
gives another
rationale a little
further down
in verse 23
then the world
will know
that you have
sent me
and have
loved
them
even as you
have loved
me
so twice
we hear
Jesus express
the purpose
the grand
result
of our
unity
in Jesus
we are
to become
in our
unity
a sign
to the
world
a testimony
to the
world
that yes
God really
did
send Jesus
and yes
God really
has loved
us
people of
the world
Paul tells
us in Romans
that the
world
acts
wickedly
suppressing
the truth
distorting
the truth
denying
the truth
but someday
God in
answer to
Jesus prayer
here will
give the
world another
great sign
that breaks
through that
suppression
and undeniably
proves
yes
this Jesus
we've been
proclaiming all
along he
really did
come from
the father
and he
really
has
loved
us
people
of the
world
so what is
Jesus saying
here
let me just
sum it up
for us
this morning
he's praying
for all
who will come
to believe
in his name
the whole
Christian church
and he's
asking God
for their
unity
not just
some kind
of a
visible
charade
that we
put on
for the
world to
see
but he's
asking for
that deepest
possible
unity
a unity
that reflects
his unity
with the
father
he asks
that we
would be
joined
to one
another
and to
the father
and to
him
as deeply
as he
is joined
to his
father
such that
we are
in
God
in
Christ
and he
is in
us
and the
glory of
Jesus
Christ
he says
is to be
given to
us
revealed
in us
and our
unity
is to be
proof to
the world
that God
sent
Jesus
and in
doing so
truly loved
the world
this is what
Jesus is
thinking about
this is what's
on his
heart
the night
before
his
crucifixion
he's been
thinking
back
and longing
for that
glory
that he
had
with God
before the
world began
and at the
same time
he's also
looking ahead
to the end
of this
world story
to the day
when his
glory
will be
shared
with his
people
the ones
that he's
about to
die
to save
it's a
magnificent
glimpse
for us
who believe
in the
name of
Jesus
so what
do we
do
with all
this
well first
of all
if you're
here this
morning
and you
haven't put
your trust
in Jesus
yet
let me
urge you
to do
that
today
Jesus
prayed
for all
who would
come to
believe in
him
through
the
message
of his
apostles
in this
gospel of
John
he is
one of
those
apostles
do you
hear what
Jesus
prayed
do you
see
Jesus
heart
of love
for his
people
wanting
them all
to be
united
together
and to
share in
his glory
and so
if you've
not yet
put your
full trust
in Jesus
let me
urge you
to do
that
today
only
those
who
believe
in him
will
share
in his
glory
when he
comes
again
it's
free
it's
a gift
of
God's
good
generosity
second
there's
a personal
obligation
that we
all have
in response
to these
words
Jesus
prays for
the unity
of his
people
he longs
for it
he desires
it
and so
I think
we must
carefully
and prayerfully
ask ourselves
this question
Lord
have I
been
contributing
to division
and disunity
in my
church
have I
been bringing
those
attitudes
that cause
conflict
and disunity
an attitude
of superiority
pride
a selfish
attitude
the desire
to have
my way
despite
what others
want
or desire
am I
combative
prone
to arguing
debating
proving my
point
being right
what about
anger
am I
harboring
bitterness
and unforgiveness
against someone
in the
church
I pray
that each
one of us
would soberly
ask this
question
Lord
have I
been
contributing
to the
division
and disunity
the tension
the conflict
in my
church
through my
attitude
my
actions
further
growing
in unity
requires more
than just
self-examination
we must
go beyond
a broken
and contrite
heart
to action
Jesus
said
blessed
are the
peacemakers
not the
peace
wishers
the peacemakers
there's action
there
Matthew 5
verse 9
he said
if your
brother or
sister sins
against you
go to
them
Matthew
18
15
and Luke
17
3
go to
them
too often
we cower
in fear
or
we stand
aloof
in pride
and we
just let
the
grievance
fester
and so
we should
ask this
question
Lord
have I
been acting
to bring
about
peace
resolution
reconciliation
in my
church
as I
should
is there
a conversation
that I need
to have
with someone
here in
the church
in the
quest for
Christian
unity
we must
first
deal
with
ourselves
am I
hindering
that unity
am I
helping
that unity
then we
can start
to think
about
unity
outside
the walls
of our
church
outside
the borders
of our
church
many point
to this
prayer of
Jesus
and they
ask
why don't
we all
just come
together
and become
one church
here in
Davidson
one church
around the
world
you might
think that
that's a
philosophical
question
but I
hear it
regularly
isn't that
what Jesus
was asking
for
this is the
cry of the
ecumenical
movement
but the
problem with
the ecumenical
movement
is that it
aims to
achieve
unity
without
building that
unity
on a
proper
foundation
if you
go to
the world
council
of churches
website
you'll find
one thing
totally
missing
there's
no
statement
of faith
there's
no
statement
of
beliefs
they're
calling
out for
all
Christians
everywhere
to be
on the
way to
visible
unity
in one
faith
but there's
no
definition
of what
that one
faith
is
what is
that one
shared
set of
beliefs
that will
bring us
all
together
they won't
define it
they won't
put words
on it
because as
soon as
you start
to put
words on
it
that visible
unity
evaporates
it's
gone
and so
we must
be constantly
carefully
doing as
the reformers
did
we must
be going
back to
the source
back to
the words
of Jesus
back to
the inspired
authoritative
words of
the men
he sent
the apostles
we go
back to
the bible
and
amazingly
when we
do that
we find
that this
one
faith
of which
the apostle
Paul speaks
in Ephesians
4 verse 5
is quite
well defined
here in the
words of
Jesus
and in the
words of
the men
he sent
the apostles
in fact
holding fast
to these
words
became the
litmus test
it became
the measure
of a faithful
shepherd
like Timothy
1st
Timothy 4
verse 16
it became
the qualification
for someone
to serve
as an
elder in
the church
1st
Timothy 3
verse 9
and Titus
1
verse 9
it's the
good deposit
that
pattern
of sound
teaching
that we
are to
keep
and to
guard
2nd
Timothy
1
verses
13
and
14
it's
the
test
that's
given
to us
to know
who
really
knows
God
1st
John
4
verse
6
as
John
himself
the
apostle
so
poignantly
said it
in his
second
letter
2nd
John
verse 9
and 10
he said
anyone who
runs ahead
and does
not continue
in the
teaching of
Christ
does not
have God
whoever
continues
in the
teaching
has both
the father
and the
son
if anyone
comes to
you and
does not
bring this
teaching
do not
take them
into your
house
or welcome
them
so
unity
with other
Christians
outside
our
own
church
it
has
to
start
right
here
with
the
word
of
God
are
they
holding
fast
to the
faithful
word
the
gospel
are
they
continuing
in that
teaching
of Jesus
and the
apostles
or are
they
leaving
it
behind
or
adding
to
it
it's
rather
fitting
that we
come to
this
passage
today
as we
have
representatives
here
from
the
Baptist
General
Conference
of
Saskatchewan
as most
of you
know by
now
we are
exploring
whether or
not we
can
partner
with them
and have
fellowship
with them
and the
churches
that they
represent
so that's
what the
meeting is
all about
we'll have
some questions
for them
and I'm
sure that
they have
questions
for us
but
the most
important
question
before we
even get
to most
of those
questions
is whether
we're both
standing on
this common
ground
and holding
fast
to the
word of
God
the faithful
word
the gospel
that's been
entrusted
to us
on that
foundation
the kind
of unity
that Jesus
prayed for
can flourish
and grow
between
local churches
fellowship
can happen
partnership
and working
together
to reach
the people
of our
province
and beyond
can happen
so what
we're doing
today
after the
potluck
is just
one of
those ways
that we
are seeking
after this
kind of
unity
that Jesus
prayed for
with other
Christians
outside our
own church
and we'll
see what
the Lord
has for
us with
that
let's
take some
time now
to pray
together
and just
talk to the
Lord
about what
we've
heard
Lord
Jesus
we open
ourselves
up before
you
and we
invite you
to examine
us
and to
search our
hearts
Lord we
bring these
questions
to you
would you
show us
if there's
any way
that we
have been
hindering
the unity
of our
own
church
here
attitudes
that we've
brought
things that
we've said
or done
and if
so we
ask for
your
forgiveness
and we
ask that
you would
show us
how we
can make
this right
Lord you
know that
there are
some of
those things
that get
such a
deep
hold
in our
lives
whether
anger
bitterness
hurtful
habits
I pray
that you
would deal
with us
that you
would help
us to
overcome
Lord I
do pray
that you
would show
us
if there's
anyone that
we need to
have a
conversation
with
if there's
anyone that
we've been
offended with
or that
we've
offended
show us
Lord
we desire
that unity
that you
prayed for
here in
our church
please
work it
and build
it here
among us
make us
a testimony
to this
community
of Davidson
around us
we also
pray as
well for
wisdom
in our
meeting later
this afternoon
we do want
to be part
of what you
are doing
in the
larger scale
of things
here in
Saskatchewan
around the
world
so give us
wisdom
about those
things as
well
we just
commit ourselves
to you
and to your
grace
in Jesus
name
amen