Jesus Prays for Unity
Notes
Transcript
Jesus came to a village and found a man there who was blind. He laid hands on Him and prayed over the man, and he was healed completely. The townspeople were so appreciative that they built a church, and they called it the first church of laying on of hands and healing.
So, Jesus goes to the next village, and there He found another blind man. So, Jesus spits on the ground and makes some mud, and applies it to the man’s eyes. He then tells the man to go wash in the pool, and the man receives his sight. The townspeople are so overjoyed that they decide to start a church in Jesus’ honor, and they called it the first church of Here’s mud in your eye and be healed. Jesus goes on to yet a third village, and finds a third blind man there. So, Jesus tells the man, “If you go and wash in this pool seven times, you will receive your sight back.” So the man does as Jesus says. The third set of townspeople was so appreciative of God’s work that they built a church in Jesus’ honor too. They named it the first church of washing seven times and healing.
One day, the Lord calls all these groups together for fellowship. But, over the course of time they began to break down over doctrinal discussion as to how healing takes place. One group said, “You can’t heal unless you lay hands on those who are sick.” A second group said, “That’s fine, but if you forget the mud in their eye it doesn’t work.” The third group said, “You guys only have part of the truth, washing seven times is the real key.” The contention became so great among them that they broke fellowship between them, none of them wanting to fellowship with heretics any longer.
The reality is that their judgments were based on a sliver of insight that God had given them each individually. There was no 1 thing that was more true than the others- but their vision of the truth ultimately lead to their division.
Here is Jesus, praying in his final moments that God would keep his followers one and keep them that way. Praying that we would not splinter or divide, or allow anything to ruin our communion with one another.
Today, let’s look at some of the particular things Jesus says in this passage because they are extremely important for us as the people of God as we think about unity in our church; in the American Church; and in the Universal Church.
First, notice who Jesus is praying for. In verse 9 Jesus is pretty specific about who he is praying for in these moments
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
Jesus is praying for his church; his people; his followers. Jesus flat out says that his prayer of unity is not being prayed for the entire world- but for those who are gathered and bound by the name of God.
Jesus’ primary concern when it comes to unity is unity in the Body of Christ. Jesus never called for us to have unity with the world. In fact, he flat our said that this world will HATE us. In fact, listen to some of what the New Testament says about our relationship with the Word:
James 4:4 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”
1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Sounds to me like the Bible is very cautious about us hitching our wagons to the things of the world. In fact, it sounds to me like the Bible flat out condemns this sort of thing.
So, when we are at odds with the world- or people who are of the world- that is not a cause for concern, it should be expected. After all, as Christians we are operating from a completely different set of morals and values. So, I do not want unity with those who are not submitting to Jesus- because if I am unified with them it means I am not fully submitting to Christ.
In the past decade or so there has been a rise in a theology that calls us to be unified with other religions and belief systems. The rise of the COEXIST movement, which is rooted in a belief that all paths lead to God, has gained more and more influence in our society. But, frankly, it is not one that Christians should ever embrace.
Now, please hear me. I am not saying we should not get along with other faith groups. We do not need Holy Wars or conflict; but we should not seek UNITY with them either. I serve on the Faith Relations Team for H4H and one of our tasks is working with different faith groups to help build houses for families in need- that’s cool. I can play nice and get along with other faith groups- but I cannot and will not unify myself with them.
And Jesus tells us exactly how we can have unity in his prayer as well in verse 11
And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
It is impossible, at the most fundamental level, for us to have unity with anyone who is not kept in the name of Jesus Christ. That should be the bottom line for the Church- Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
That means the most foundational question that we need to ask when aliening ourselves with any ministry, church, program, or anything else is- what do they say about Jesus? Do they believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, the only way of Salvation, crucified for our sin, and risen again on the third day? That should be the entry examination question for unity in the church. Every other question should be an offshoot of that, and every other question should be secondary to it.
It does not matter if the program is good if they don’t have Jesus right
It does not matter if they are friendly if they don’t have Jesus right.
It does not matter if they have good music if they don’t have Jesus right.
It does not matter what they say about anything else if they don’t have Jesus right.
And frankly, if we are trying to find unity based on anything else- then we are wasting our time...
There is an old saying that has traditionally been attributed to Augustine that says “In essentials, unity; in differences, liberty; in all things, charity [love]."
In other words, there is definitely a fabric of essential truths that hold Christians together. Things like Jesus as Gods only son, the savior of the world, the authority of the Scriptures, love of God and neighbor at the center of our faith, and some others that we cannot compromise on. They have to be unwavering.
But there's other parts of our faith where unity is found by practicing grace and love as taught by Jesus. For example, baptism- dunk or sprinkle; music- piano or praise team; sanctuary- carpet or wood. Those things are moments where what matters is grace and mercy in the midst of discernment.
But that still leaves us with the question of why. Why is this so important to Jesus? Why was Jesus praying for us to have unity?
I have always thought about the ministry of the church in a 4 fold pattern. That the church in its most healthy has a ministry that includes:
Equipping
Evangelizing
Worshiping
Encouraging
And that a healthy church puts intentional time and energy into each of these areas.
So, if we use any significant portion of our time, energy, or effort defending Christianity against other Christians, we have less time and energy to spend on stuff that matters. If the church is fighting then we have less ability to equip, evangelize, worship, and encourage- and the work we are doing will not be nearly as effective in the midst of disunity.
There’s a book entitled War In The Pews that talks about real-life instances that split churches which are absolutely outrageous.For example a church that split began over an argument at a potluck supper when a lady brought a congealed salad she made with Cool Whip instead of real whipping cream.
Churches have split over whether the pianist should sit to the right or the left side of the podium, over whether the Lord’s Supper should be served from the front to the back or the back to the front, over trying to decide whether a kitchen should be a part of the church building or not.
One church split over who was the real pastor. They had two pastors. Two groups thought they each had their own guy, and both of them got up to lead a service one Sunday. Both led the singing. Both groups tried to out-sing each other. Then both pastors started preaching, trying to out-preach each other. Finally, they just broke out into fisticuffs, and the police had to come in and break it up. That’s absolutely outrageous.
So, the more energy we use up on ridiculous stuff like that, the less we have for things that matter; and the more we argue about foolishness like this, the more ridiculous we look to the world around us and Satan can use that to keep people from the church.
Here’s the thing friends, we cannot achieve unity outside of Jesus. This is where many churches, denominations, and organizations get it wrong. The seek unity, instead of seeking Jesus. For many organizations unity is their God. It’s unity at all costs- they water down their belief systems, they dial back their convictions, they mute their teaching in order to keep the peace and the unity.
However, the truth is not that we need unity at all costs, because the unity of the church came at one cost- Jesus.
So, instead of seeking unity as the primary gift, we need to see unity as a fruit of faithful ministry. Unity is not “the thing” but unit comes from “the things.” Unity, as the Bible describes it, is not something that we achieve, but something that is birthed from a faithful walk with other brothers and sisters through the name of Jesus.
But that does not mean that we will not have to give some effort to keep it, because we will.
Paul gives his thoughts on unity in Eph 4; listen to what he writes for us:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But did you notice, Paul did not tell us to run after unity at all costs? He called us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling; to have fruits of the spirit like gentleness, patience, and love be evident; and then live into the oneness of our Lord, faith, baptism, and God.
