Father, make us one so the world may be won.

Warren Brosi

March 23, 2025 (Third Sunday of Lent)

Dominant Thought: Father, make us one so the world may be won.

Objectives:

I want my listeners to understand Jesus prayed to His Father for His people to live in unity.

I want my listeners to feel burdened to pray for oneness with our Father and one another.

I want my listeners to pray, “Father, make us one so the world may be won.”

I have good news for you today. Jesus, our Savior prays for you. We have many examples of Jesus praying, but few recorded prayers of Jesus in the gospels. Today, we have a special treat to read the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the gospels. It is found in John 17. As we go through John 17, we’ll notice Jesus prays to His Father for His people so they may be one.

As we walk through this prayer, we will see how Jesus prays to His Father for His people so they may be one.

Jesus prays to His Father (John 17.1-8). The hour has come. Throughout John’s gospel, we’ve been waiting to hear these words. Now is the time for Jesus to finish the mission His Father sent Him to earth. It is time to go to the cross.

Jesus asks for His Father to glorify Him so He may glorify His Father. Again, that glory will be displayed on the cross.

Jesus gives a clear description of eternal life in John 17.3. “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” This is a bold and exclusive claim. God is the only true God. Last week, we saw how the Holy Spirit is called, “the Spirit of truth” (John 16.13). Earlier, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14.6). And now, Jesus calls His Father, “the only true God.” These are bold claims in a world that claims everyone can believe and define any way they want.

A couple of years ago, we went through the Room For Doubt study. In that study, we learned the following:

Each of the world religions have very different views of God and especially when they come to Jesus. So, when you are discussing and discerning different faith systems, ask questions about who Jesus is.

Do all religions lead to the same place?  Do all lead to God?

There are other fundamental differences between Christianity and other world religions. For instance, Christianity says there’s one eternal God who created the universe.  Hinduism says that everything is God—you’re God, I’m God, this podium is God.  Islam denies that Jesus was God or that he died on a cross for our sins. [See excerpts in the Qur’an.  “It is not worthy of the Beneficent God that He should take (to himself) a son” (19:92); “they did not kill him [Jesus] nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so … and they killed him not for sure” (4:157).] And the Buddha probably didn’t believe in God at all. Friends, these beliefs cannot all be true because their fundamental beliefs contradict each other.

So all religions are not the same. And while other religious leaders might offer some wise sayings or helpful insights, only Jesus Christ, because he is the perfect Son of God, is qualified to offer himself as payment for our wrongdoing. No other religious leader even pretended to be able to do that.

Knowing the Father and the Son leads to eternal life. Eternal life is not something we wait for when we die. It is experienced now with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus said it this way earlier in the gospel of John.

John 10:10 NIV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

When Jesus prays in John 17, He prays to His Father who gives eternal life to those who know Him and walk in relationship with Him.

Jesus prays to His Father for His people (John 17.9-19).

In these verses, Jesus prays for His disciples. Specifically, He prays for the eleven who are with Him. He notes that one is lost, “the one doomed to destruction” (John 17.12). Jesus refers to Psalm 41 when He speaks about Judas betraying Him.

Psalm 41 is a psalm of David. Read Psalm 41.8-13.

Jesus prays for His disciples and those who will follow after His disciples. That’s us.

He asks the Father to protect us. “Keep them in your name” (John 17.11, ESV). Jesus also prays that God will not take them out of the world, but the He will “keep them from the evil one” (John 17.15). The word means to watch over in order to protect (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament).

Jesus doesn’t ask the Father to take His followers out of the world, but to watch over and keep them from the evil one. He’s seen one follower surrender to the evil one. He doesn’t want any more to fall to the evil one.

Plato uses this word for protect or guard in his work, The Republic (6.484b-c).

“Whichever,” I said, “appear competent to guard the laws and pursuits of society, these we should establish as guardians.” “Right” he said. “Is this, then,” said I, “clear, whether the guardian who is to keep watch over anything ought to be blind or keen of sight?” “Of course it is clear,” he said. “Do you think, then, that there is any appreciable difference between the blind and those who are veritably deprived of the knowledge of the veritable being of things, those who have no vivid pattern in their souls and so cannot, as painters look to their models, fix their eyes on the absolute truth, and always with reference to that ideal and in the exactest possible contemplation of it.

He asks the Father to make us holy. In John 17.17, Jesus prays simply, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” To sanctify is to make holy. As followers of Jesus, we are constantly in this process of being made holy. In this prayer, Jesus prays about our position and our condition. Our position is eternal life by knowing the Father and the Son. Our condition is being made holy through the word of truth. The truth inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus prays to His Father for His people so they may be one (John 17.20-26).

In John 17.20, we have a clear reference of Jesus praying for us, “those who will believe in me [Jesus] through their word.” We follow Jesus as a result of the testimony of the apostles. We follow Jesus because someone shared the good news of Jesus with us.

This prayer of Jesus climaxes with a prayer for the followers to be one. Jesus asks the Father that the followers of Jesus may be one SO THAT the world may believe that God sent Jesus (John 17.21).

With over 300 Christian denominations in North America, it can be difficult for people to want to follow Jesus. I don’t think Jesus is after a unified denomination, but a unified body. He wants the followers of Jesus to give the world a beautiful picture of who He is. The body of Christ is called to display the oneness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This week, we had representatives from three different churches meet together over lunch to pray together and discuss how we can work together to bless the graduating class of 2025. That’s one way God answers this prayer of Jesus. Christians from different churches working together to love their community. I had another request this week asking the churches in our community to assist in teacher appreciation for the school. Pay attention for that opportunity this Spring. When the church comes together to love their community, God is glorified.

I used to think it was important for missionaries in foreign fields to work together with other Christians regardless of their church tradition or denominational background. After all is a mission context with few Christians, the churches need to band together to work together. Now, as I look around our community, I feel it is imperative for us to work together with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When I arrived here in New Berlin, there were 9 churches in our school district you could attend worship. Now, there are 6 in New Berlin, Berlin, and Loami currently meeting for Sunday worship.

We need this prayer. We are fond of saying, “We are not the only Christians. We are Christians only.” We believe we can achieve unity in the body of Christ by standing on the truth of Scripture. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.

Here’s our prayer for this week, “Father, make us one so the world can be won.”

How will our families look if we pray this prayer? How will our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, our nation? Our fractured world needs a unified picture of the body of Christ.

We should not be surprised that John records the final words of this prayer of Jesus with love. He wants the world to know that God loves them as He loves His Son. He wants the love of the heavenly Father to be in the world.

I heard a story similar to the following story last week at the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference.

There was a man who had a little boy that he loved very much. Everyday after work the man would come home and play with the little boy. He would always spend all of his extra time playing with the little boy.

One night, while the man was at work, he realized that he had extra work to do for the evening, and that he wouldn’t be able to play with his little boy. But, he wanted to be able to give the boy something to keep him busy.

So, looking around his office, he saw a magazine with a large map of the world on the cover. He got an idea. He removed the map, and then patiently tore it up into small pieces. Then he put all the pieces in his coat pocket.

When he got home, the little boy came running to him and was ready to play. The man explained that he had extra work to do and couldn’t play just now, but he led the little boy into the dining room, and taking out all the pieces of the map, he spread them on the table, together with some scotch-tape.

He explained that it was a map of the world, and that by the time he could put it back together, his extra work would be finished, and they could both play. Surely this would keep the child busy for hours, he thought.

About half an hour later the boy came to the man and said, “Okay, it’s finished. Can we play now?”

The man was surprised, saying, “That’s impossible. Let’s go see.”

And sure enough, there was the picture of the world, all put together, every piece in its place.

The man said, “That’s amazing! How did you do that?” The boy said, “It was simple. On the back of the page was a picture of a man. When I put the man together the whole world fell into place.”

Source: Meir Liraz, The 100 Top Inspirational Anecdotes and Stories (Bizmove.com, 2010) (https://philipchircop.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/the-little-boy-who-put-the-world-back-together/)

Only through Jesus can we be put together and made one with our Father and one another. Will you pray this prayer this week for your own good and the good of the world? Father, make us one so the world may be won.