2 Samuel 13:23-39; John 17:1-26; Psalms 119:81-88; Proverbs 26:3-5
NT: “Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed. I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word… I pray for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they are yours… I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one… I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world… I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me… I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”” (John 17:1-6, 9, 11, 15-18, 20-23, 26 CSB)
This is probably one of the most encouraging sections of the Gospel of John… to me at least. This is known as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. This truly is the Lord’s prayer. The prayer that is known as the Lord’s Prayer is more aptly called the Disciple’s Prayer, for it was given to disciples of Jesus as a model. This particular prayer in John 17 is a prayer that Jesus actually prayed, and I imagine is very similar to the intercession that He continues to give as He is seated at the right hand of the Father. In this prayer, Jesus first prays for Himself, then for his remaining eleven disciples, and then finally for all who will come to place faith in Him in the future. Two major themes flow through this prayer: glory and unity. It is quite telling to see how much God’s revealed glory on earth relies on the unity of Jesus’ followers. God the Father answered Jesus’ prayer for Himself, for He has now been glorified above every other name and has returned to His throne at the right hand of the Father. Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” Jesus was sent to the world to reveal the Father and to glorify His name. Now we, His disciples, are here on earth and it is our commission to reveal God’s glory to the world The primary way we do that is by walking in unity: Unity with the Father through the Son, and unity with the body of Christ by grace through faith. Psalm 133 says, “How delightfully good it is when brothers live together in unity.” The psalm goes on to speak of a top-down blessing that flows from the highest heights to give life to all who are joined together in unity. That is exactly what Jesus prayed for all of us who claim to be His: as we are all joined together in unity with Him, and He is in unity with the Father, then the glory that the Father has given the Son is able to be displayed through all of us. God dwells in us as we walk in unity with one another and dwell unified in Christ. That also means that if we walk in discord and are not in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we cut off the flow of God’s life and glory into our lives. Brothers and Sisters… let us walk in unity and bring glory and honor to our Savior and our God.
Jamie Hicks 