John 17: The Hopes and Prayers of Jesus

Aug 21

Jesus shared a meal with his disciples the night before he died, and when the meal was over, he prayed a prayer. He prayed this prayer with the full knowledge that in a few hours, he would be arrested, beaten, and nailed to a cross for sins he did not commit. Jesus prayed his last will and testament. These are his deepest concerns. These are the last words he could impart to his disciples and friends who will be left behind on earth.

What are these deepest concerns? His father’s glory. His disciples’ protection. The unity of all believers everywhere. These were Christ’s concerns on his way to the garden. He prayed not for his rescue, but for ours.

In our moment in history when we are divided by what seems like everything, unity can feel out of reach. We have been taught the very destructive lie—that our opinions are sacred. We’ve been taught the virtue of standing by our convictions, yes—but we’ve not been taught the humility to examine our convictions and limit them to those that actually matter.

Unity is hard. It always costs us something. Some preference, some persuasion, some pride.

Unity is rare. So rare, in fact, that Jesus’ prayer tell us: IF we can attain it, THEN the world will know that he is the son of the living God.

And the truth is, believers are already unified. We are made one by the Spirit of God inside of us. Our unity is a gift of God, not a work of man.
We already have it. We can’t make it a reality—we can only live out of it’s reality. Or choose not to. Will we live like the people we already are?

Join us for this 3 week series on John 17, August 21 – September 4.