The Prayer That Started It All

Reading from God’s Word

John 17:20–23 CSB

20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. 21 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. 22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 23 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.

Introduction

Imagine walking into a room where everyone disagrees with you.

Not on small stuff.

On the things that matter.

Things you’ve argued about. Things you’ve lost sleep over. Things you’ve staked your reputation on.

Now, imagine standing up in front of that room - knowing all of that - and saying, “I think we should all be one.”

This is exactly what a man named Raccoon John Smith did on January 1, 1832.

Two great religious movements had gathered in the same place.

Something had been drawing them toward each other for years — a shared conviction about Christ and the Bible.

But, deeper down, this wasn’t a friendly reunion.

These were people who had been on opposite sides about a number of doctrinal issues.

There was real disagreement.

And in the middle of it all, Raccoon John Smith stands up and draws his words from John 17.

And you know, he wasn’t some polished, seminary-trained theologian.

He was largely self-educated, with no more than 6 months of formal schooling.

He grew up on the Tennessee frontier.

He introduced himself at a camp meeting once by saying:

“I am John Smith, from Stockton’s Valley. Down there, salt caves abound, and raccoons make their homes.

On that wild frontier, we never had good schools, nor many books — consequently, I stand before you today a man without an education.”

The crowd loved him for it. And the nickname stuck.

But don’t allow the folksy reputation fool you.

By 1820, Raccoon John had become a living legend in Kentucky.

Many regarded him as the greatest preacher of his day.

Alexander Campbell - who was brilliant and refined and did have an education - once said that John Smith was the only preacher he’d ever known that an education would hurt rather than help.

And this man had suffered.

He lost two of his children to a cabin fire, and his wife died from shock shortly afterward.

He knew what it meant to have his theology tested by real life.

He came out on the other side not bitter — but convicted.

So, when he walked into that meeting in Georgetown, KY on January 1, 1832, he wasn’t naive.

He knew the two movements represented there had real differences.

Theological ones.

Philosophical ones.

Differences about the Spirit, about education, about Calvinism, about what to even call themselves.

He stood up anyway.

He drew his remarks from Jesus’ prayer in John 17 - saying that if our Lord prayed it, it can be realized.

He said:

There are a thousand opinions among us, but there is only one faith. We can never unite on opinions. We can only unite on the faith that centers in Christ.

Then Barton Stone walked onto that stage. Took Smith’s hand in his. Called for union.

The room erupted. People embracing. A hymn breaking out spontaneously.

They called it the handshake that shook the frontier.

30 years later, at the beginning of the Civil War, the movement numbered over 300,000 and stretched from Texas to Maine.

And while major denominations were fracturing along North-South lines, this movement, born from a handshake rooted in John 17, held together.

All of it started because one rough-edged, self-educated frontier preacher believed that Jesus meant what he prayed.

The question this morning is simple.

Do we?

And so, for a few moments this morning, we’re going to look together at Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23.

What Jesus Actually Prayed For

Before we talk about what Jesus prayed for, let’s talk about what He didn’t pray for.

He didn’t pray for everyone to agree on everything.

He didn’t pray for one translation, one style, or one way of doing things.

And, note carefully, he didn’t pray for a group of people who are right about all the right things.

Look again at v. 20:

John 17:20 CSB

20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.

Look carefully at v. 20.

Jesus is hours from the cross.

Judas is already moving through the dark toward Gethsemane.

The weight of what’s coming is real, and it is crushing.

And he’s praying for us. For those who believe in me through their word.

People he’s never met. People who won’t exist for another 2000 years. People sitting in a church building in Centerville OH on a Sunday morning in 2026.

But then, look at what he prays.

John 17:21 CSB

21 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.

This is the standard.

Not “get along reasonably well.”

Not “tolerate each other’s differences.”

The model he sets is the relationship between the Father and the son.

Now, think about what that relationship actually is.

The Father and Son are not identical.

They’re distinct.

Different roles, different expressions, different ways of relating to us.

And yet, they’re completely one.

Not uniform. One.

So, here’s what Jesus was — and was not — praying for.

He wasn’t praying for a religious movement.

He wasn’t praying for a tradition — even a good one.

He wasn’t praying for a group of people who all do church the same way.

He was praying for people who are one in Him.

And I think this is really important for us to consider for a moment.

We need to be clear where this oneness has to start — it doesn’t start out there somewhere in the broader brotherhood.

It doesn’t start in some theological debate between movements and institutions.

It starts here.

In this room.

With the people sitting around you right now.

This is the context of passages like Colossians 3:12-14.

Colossians 3:12–14 CSB

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Remember, Paul is writing to the local church in Colossae.

This is not about a concept.

He is writing to real people, with real differences, real history, and real friction.

And he said — put on compassion. Kindness. Humility. Patience. Bear with one another.

And above all — love — because love is what holds all of it together.

Not agreement on everything.

Love.

That’s what Jesus was praying for … and it starts right here.

Why This is So Hard

So, if Jesus was praying for oneness — not uniformity, not everyone doing church the same way — why is it so hard?

And it is.

But why?

Here’s something I’ve observed … and maybe you have too…

Those who push hardest for uniformity — who draw the lines the tightest, who make the circle the smallest — they almost never think they’re causing a problem.

They think they’re protecting something.

And I think they have the best of intentions.

But, here is what can actually happen:

When the driving question inside a congregation becomes are you doing it exactly the way we do it — something starts to die. Slowly at first. Then faster.

People get worn down.

They get tired of being measured.

Tired of never quite being enough.

And eventually they go elsewhere.

Not because they stopped loving Jesus.

But because they couldn’t survive the scrutiny.

And the group that demands all the precision?

They get smaller.

And then smaller again.

Until one day, there is a handful left of those absolutely convinced that they alone have it right.

This is not faithfulness. It’s a tragedy.

And the scary thing is that it can happen right here — among us.

And that’s because the uniformity doesn’t only show up in big theological debates.

It shows up in smaller ways too. Subtle ways. For example:

It shows up when someone does something differently than we’re used to — and instead of curiosity our first response is suspicion.

It shows up when we’re more focused on whether someone agrees with us on every point than whether they love Jesus and are trying to follow Him.

This is the uniformity trap.

And it’s closer than we think.

Now what does Paul say about it?

Ephesians 4:3 CSB

3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Note what He doesn’t say:

He doesn’t say create unity. He says keep it.

The unity is already there — given by the Spirit, secured by Christ.

Our job isn’t to manufacture it.

Our job is to stop destroying it.

How do we keep it?

Ephesians 4:2 CSB

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

Not agreement in everything.

Not everyone doing church identically.

Ephesians 4:2 CSB

2 bearing with one another in love,

This means some things are going to rub us the wrong way.

Some people are going to do things differently than you’d do them.

Some conversations are going to be uncomfortable.

And you bear with it because that is what love does.

And as we really think about bearing with one another…

It costs something.

It’s not passive.

It’s an active choice we make toward a specific person, probably someone who has frustrated us at some point, … probably someone we have a history with.

Jesus knew that when He prayed this prayer.

He wasn’t praying for a congregation with no tension.

He was praying for a congregation with enough faith to push through the tension toward something bigger than themselves.

The question is not whether there is tension … there is and always will be.

The question is what we do with it.

Philippians 2:3 CSB

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.

Listen … the root of the uniformity problem isn’t really theology.

It’s pride.

It’s the quiet, stubborn conviction that my way is the right way and everyone else needs to come around to it.

And note, the antidote is not more debate … it’s humility. (v. 3)

considering the person across the aisle as more important than yourself.

v.4:

Philippians 2:4 CSB

4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

That’s not weakness.

That’s exactly the kind of courage Raccoon John Smith walked into that room with in 1832.

And it’s exactly what Jesus was praying we’d have.

Church Division Actually Works Against Our Witness

So, here’s what we haven’t looked at yet.

Jesus didn’t pray this prayer because he wanted us to have a pleasant experience on Sunday morning.

He didn’t pray it because congregational harmony is a nice thing to have.

Look again at v. 21:

John 17:21 CSB

21 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.

Do you see it?

So that the world may believe…

This isn’t an internal church matter.

It’s about our evangelism.

Our unity — or lack thereof — is either drawing people toward Jesus or pushing them away from Him.

There is no neutral ground.

No third option.

And again, I want you to think about this in a very specific way.

Not the brotherhood.

Not churches of Christ across the country.

This congregation. This zip code. Right here on Wilmington Pike.

The people in Centerville who drive past this building every single day - your neighbors and coworkers, the people your kids go to school with - they are watching.

Maybe not consciously… but they’re watching.

And what they’re looking for — whether they know it or not — is something they can’t explain apart from God.

A group of people who are genuinely, impossibly one.

People from different backgrounds, different personalities, different opinions on a hundred different things — and yet love each other in a way that doesn’t make sense by the world’s standards.

That is what Jesus was praying for.

And when we let uniformity thinking take over — when we make the circle smaller, draw the lines tighter, treat every disagreement as a threat, we don’t just damage each other, we damage the gospel’s credibility in this community.

People look at us and think — if that’s what Jesus does to people — I want no part of it.

And really, can you blame them?

But, when we get this right, when the world looks at us and sees people who have every reason to be divided - just like the rest of the world - and choosing oneness anway …

When they see humilty where they expected prider…

When they see people bearing with each other, forgiving each other, considering each other more important than themselves…

They see something they cannot produce on their own.

They see something that requires an explanation.

And the explanation is Jesus.

That’s what this prayer is about.

Not a pleasant Sunday morning.

Not a congregation where everyone agrees about everything.

A witness. A living, breathing, costly witness to the reality of Jesus Christ in the middle of His people in Centerville, OH.

Raccoon John Smith understood that in 1832.

He walked into that room of tension and said if our Lord prayed this prayer, it can be realized.

And then he did something about it.

The same prayer has been prayed over us.

The same Jesus who prayed it for Smith’s generation has prayed it for ours.

He was thinking about what we can be for this community if we take His prayer seriously.

The question isn’t whether Jesus prayed for our unity.

He did.

The question is, whether we will have the faith and the courage to answer it.

As We Close…

Before we wrap up, I want to go back to that room.

Not Georgetown, KY

The upper room.

Jesus and 11 men around a table.

The last meal finished.

Hours ticking down toward something none of them fully understood yet.

Judas is already gone.

The soldiers are coming.

And Jesus prays.

Not for himself first. Not to be spared what’s coming.

He prays for his disciples.

And then he prays for us.

John 17:20 CSB

20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word.

That’s you.

That’s the person sitting next to you.

That’s every person in this room who has put their faith in Jesus.

He was thinking about you in that moment. You were on His mind.

And what he wanted for you is that you would be one.

That prayer is still standing. It hasn’t expired. It hasn’t been fully answered yet.

Every time we choose humility over pride - every time we bear with someone instead of writing them off - everytime we consider someone else more important than ourselves.

We are answering it.

One small act at a time …for His glory.

In a moment, we’re going to sing together.

And before we do, I’m going to speak to two groups of people.

If you're here this morning and you've never given your life to Jesus Christ. You've been watching from a distance. Maybe for a long time. And something today has stirred in you.

I want you to know — that prayer Jesus prayed in John 17? He was praying for you too. Before you ever stepped foot in this building. Before you ever considered any of this.

He was thinking about you. And today can be the day you answer that.

We'd love nothing more than to talk with you, pray with you, and help you take that next step toward him.

Second — maybe you're already a believer. But if you're honest, your spiritual life isn't where it needs to be. Something has drifted. A relationship is broken. A sin has taken hold. A coldness has settled in that wasn't there before.

The same invitation is open to you.

He's not finished with you. He's not disappointed beyond reach. He prayed for you in that upper room and he's still interceding for you right now.

Whatever you need this morning — come.