Word of Encouragement (4/2/2021)

The next petition in Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).

For whom was Jesus praying this? Not just for His disciples that were with Him but “also for those who will believe in me through their word....” This was why Jesus prayed earlier that His Father not take His disciples out of the world and keep them from the evil one (v. 15). This was why Jesus sent them into the world (v. 18). We can say that “those who will believe in me” refer to all Christians. This means that Jesus prayed this prayer for us. And it is because precisely Jesus prayed this prayer that we are here as God’s people.

But redemptive-historically speaking, “those who will believe in me” refer specifically to Gentile Christians. Earlier, Jesus spoke of them in this way: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (10:16). You can see the similarities between these words and the petition we are reflecting on: the themes of the “other” people/sheep [not of the fold of Israel] and the theme of unity.

In this prayer, the theme of unity is introduced as the purpose of the missiological petition of Jesus. Jesus was very much aware of “the diving wall of hostility” between the Jews and Gentiles under the Mosaic Covenant (Eph. 2:14) (which was to preserve the nation of Israel from the defilement of pagan religions). But His gospel was not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. When God called Abram, He set him apart from the world to be the head of the nation of Israel. But God did so in order that all the families of the earth should be blessed in him (Gen. 12:3) / his offspring (Gen. 22:18). God’s plan from the beginning was to save not just the Jews but also the Gentiles (through the Jews!). Jesus came to fulfill that goal and the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Jesus Christ would demonstrate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This theme of unity is one of the major themes of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. He prayed earlier, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (v. 11). He also says in v. 22, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one” and also in v. 23, “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one....” The model of this unity is the unity between the Father and the Son—“even as we are one” (v. 11); “...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you...” (v. 21). The trinitarian unity is the model and basis of our unity, not any other common grounds we happen to share, whether ethnic, socio-economic, political, etc. As the Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit) cannot be divided or opposed against one another, nor can we, and should we, be as those who are united in the triune God.

Let us diligently pray for and engage in the work of missions/evangelism so that others, too, may believe in the name of Jesus Christ through us. We believe because others shared the gospel with us. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, we become His witnesses. What God did with Abram, He does with us: God blessed us with salvation so that others, too, might be blessed through us. What a privilege that we can be a channel of God’s blessing to others!

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