(Jesus prayed) ²⁰ "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may 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 that you have sent me.

I think there are two important messages for us in these two verses from Jesus pastoral prayer that comes near the end of John’s gospel.

First and foremost, in this prayer Jesus conveys to his followers their mission. His prayer, which in earlier verses has been for the safety of his disciples, is now extended to those outside his immediate followers. Jesus is praying for those who will come to faith through the words and work of his current disciples. This prayer assumes the mission of his faithful. To be a disciple of Jesus is to share his word and his love with others, "....so that the world may believe..." Jesus’ mission and God’s intent is that the whole world believe in Him and trust in His love, grace and forgiveness. The mission of Jesus’ followers is to do the work of the resurrected Christ in this world so that, in fact, the whole world might believe.

The second message in Jesus’ prayer is his desire for his disciples to be one as he and God are one. It is prayer that the followers of Jesus be united in their mission. Just as Jesus and God were of one mind in their mission to love, forgive and save the world, so are Jesus’ disciples to be of one mind in their calling to bring the love of God through Jesus to the world.

Now I don’t think that means that the followers of Jesus must necessarily agree on everything that they say and do. God created us all with varied gifts. We are different. We come to faith from different perspectives, with different experiences and with different talents. Jesus’ prayer is not that we all be identical. We can have our discussions and disagreements. We don’t even have to agree on the best way to do things.

But where we must be one is in our mission to the world. While we may have disagreements within our fellowship of faith, once we walk out our doors Jesus calls on us to go as one - united in our mission to proclaim the gospel in word and deed to the world. It is a call to be united so that Christ’s mission (and our mission) may be successful - that all the world may believe.

In Christ,

Pastor Knowles