Read John 17:20-26
The context of this passage is in the middle of Jesus praying what is known as “The High Priestly Prayer”. This is a famous prayer that Jesus gives as the final act that Jesus does in the book of John before he is betrayed and turned over to Pilate. In this context, we are to discern that this prayer is at the very core of what Jesus desires and is of upmost importance to him. In this prayer rich trinitarian theology comes out as we see the Son of God in dialogue with God the Father through God the Spirit.
Jesus’ words are poetic and wonderful as they weave through the various relational harmony of the trinity and then to our utter amazement, he begins to weave his people into that same harmony. Jesus desires his people to be one, even as he is one with the Father. Jesus desires that the people will be empowered by the Spirit to continue to love and serve the world just as he has as a way of glorifying God and loving the Father.
In verse 20, Jesus turns his attention to the disciples of the future. The first thing that he prays for us is that we would be one just like the Son and the Father are one. Intimately connected with the oneness that Jesus desires for the people is the relational closeness and warmth that he expresses with language of indwelling. Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in Jesus, and in the same way Jesus asks that we would be in God and he would be in us. This indwelling produces a glory that is from God that is given to us by Christ. Our unity is an expression of the glory of God and must be cherished as such! This glory has immediate expression and it also has future expression. Jesus desires for his people to be glorified just like he is glorified. He asks the Father to persevere all of his disciples so that they will make it to the same destination that Jesus has.
Finally, Jesus closes his prayer by grounding his prayer in the love of God and in the love that God has for us in Christ. This contrasts with “the world” which does not love God and does not know God and as a result will not love his disciples. Jesus, anticipates the persecution that will take place for his people, but focuses not on protecting the physical wellbeing of his people, but on protecting the unity of his people in love. Just as we know and love God, we will know and love God together because it is Jesus’ love that he has loved us with.
Questions
Why does Jesus care so much about the unity of his people?
How does true knowledge of God protect and preserve unity? How does this relate to love?
How do the persons of the trinity work together to answer the prayer of Jesus for his disciples?
How have you seen the love of God for his Son also in your life?