Jesus prays for us

John 17. 20-26

People often remember the last words that others have said shortly before they died.

I was recently reading some real last words from famous people, …some were quite humorous, others very poignant. Here is a selection:

• The last words of Lawrence Oates, who left his tent and vanished into the blizzard during the Antarctic expedition in 1912: “I am just going outside and may be some time.”

• Humphrey Bogart who died in 1957, said: “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis”.

• Bing Crosby, who died in 1977, “That was a great game of golf, fellas”.

• Indira Ghandi, the night before Sikh militants assassinated her in 1984: “I don’t mind if my life goes in the service of the nation. If I die today every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation.”

• Noel Coward who died in 1973. On his way to bed said, “Goodnight my darlings, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

• Elvis Presley, in 1977: I hope I haven’t bored you.”

• James Rodgers, and American criminal, stood before a firing squad in 1960 and was asked if he had a final request. He replied, “Why yes, a bullet-proof vest!”

• John Sedgewick, in response to a suggestion that he shouldn’t show himself over the parapet during a battle in 1864: “Nonsense, they couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance”.

• Ayrton Senna, a few seconds before his steering column broke during a Formula One race in 1994: “This car seems OK…”

• Dylan Thomas in 1953 “I’ve just had 18 whiskeys in a row. I do believe that is a record.”

• HG Wells, in 1946 “Go away… I’m alright.”

Some of these people new they were going to die, others were taken completely by surprise.

In John chapter 17 we have the last recorded words that Jesus spoke with all his disciples on the night before he died. He certainly knew what lay ahead, the next day. And although his final words were on the cross, most of his disciples had run away by then, …so these are his last words when they were all together.

If you look at the beginning of chapter 17, (turn to page ____) you will notice that these final words are a prayer. v1 “After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed.”

It is rather a lengthy prayer, which breaks down into 3 sections.

• First, Jesus prays for himself (v 1-5). And if you are one of those people who think it’s wrong to pray for yourself, then please think again. Jesus prayed for himself when he was in great need, and it’s right that we should pray for ourselves too.

• Second, Jesus prays for the disciples who were with him (v 6-19). He knew that they were in great danger, and he asks his heavenly Father to protect and look after them.

• Finally, Jesus prays for all those who will become his disciples in the future, including you and me (v 20-end).

Many of us who saw the film, “The Passion of the Christ”, were overwhelmed with what Jesus went through for us. And it’s amazing to think that a few hours before his arrest, Jesus was praying for you and me.

So what did he pray. Well if I were to some it up in one work, Jesus prayed for our …(pause)… unity.

I think that Jesus knew that the main threat to the early church as one of persecution. That’s why he prays that God will protect them and look after them. It is certainly true that those first disciples did face a great deal of persecution, most of them died for their faith, …but nevertheless, the early church did survive.

And after that, I think that Jesus knew that the main threat to the church in later years would be one of internal division. If the devil failed smash the church from the outside, he would try to make it fall apart on the inside.

We only have to look at other organisations and political parties to see how destructive internal divisions can be. And ironically, it’s when things are going well that the seeds of division begin to grow.

The early church did face a great deal of persecution, …but it was largely united. But in later years it began to break apart.

A major division, known as the Great Schism took place in 1054. In early centuries both the head of Roman Empire and the head of the Christian church were based in Rome. But when the political powers moved from Rome to Constantinople, (there became great rivalry between the churches in Rome and Constantinople. And in 1054 the Christian Church spilt in half, with the Western Churches following the Pope in Rome as their leader, and the Eastern Churches following the emperor in Constantinople. Even today there is still a split between the Roman Catholic Church in the West, and the Orthodox churches in the East.

In the 16th century the Protestant Reformation began as a movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the west. It started out trying to reform the Catholic Church, but ended up splitting away from it, …thus creating several new denominations (including the Church of England).

And so divisions have continued through the centuries. The Methodists were a break-away group from the Church of England. Ten years ago other people left the Church of England because they could not accept the ordination of women priests. And today, even more people are threatening to leave because of the ordination of gay priests.

Today there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different Christian denominations. Which means today, more than ever before, we need to look again at Jesus’ prayer for unity.

v20 “My prayer is not for them alone. (In other words, he is not just praying for his current disciples.) I pray for those who will believe in me through their message, (in other words he is praying for us today), that all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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 have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you have loved them even as you have loved me.”

At the Parade Service two weeks ago I said that we had come to the end of our series of talks under the theme of ‘Gift and Invitation’. But as I was preparing this sermon, it occurred to me that this passage is best understood as ‘Gift and Invitation’.

In these verses Jesus is praying that we will accept the GIFT of unity. His starting point is the relationship that he has with his Father, and he prays that we will be drawn into that relationship. v 23 “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity…”

We have all experienced a variety of different sorts of relationships throughout our lives, ...with our parents, perhaps brothers, sisters, children, husband or wife…we have known friends, colleagues, neighbours. But there is no relationship that is more loving that that between Jesus and his Father. It’s part of the relationship that lies at the heart of God, …one that started before the world began, and continue for all eternity. And it’s amazing that Jesus invites you to be part of that, to be part of that unity with God, …and all you have to do is to receive it as a gift.

In two weeks time we will be celebrating Pentecost, and as last year, in the evening we will be having a special service called “Receiving from the Holy Spirit”. It will be an opportunity for you to experience that love which is God’s gift for you.

But when God gives us a gift, he often also gives us an invitation.

If the gift is unity with God… then the invitation is unity with other Christians.

…and this is where the Christian Church has badly failed down the centuries.

v20 I pray for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one…

Now when Jesus prayed that we might be one, he did not expect us all to be the same.

Take for example my family. We are part of the same family even though we are all very different.

• Jennie love rap music, …and I can’t stand it.

• Jan supports Bolton Wanderers, …while Chris and I support Newcastle.

• Emily likes being creative with textiles and fabrics, …and Jennie doesn’t.

We have a lot of differences, but we all see ourselves as members of the same family.

But sadly, sometimes things go wrong in families. And the difference between two members can be so great that one says to the other, “I no longer want to be part of this family”, …or else they say “I no longer consider you to be part of my family.” Sometimes the division is between husbands and wives, …parents and children, …or brothers and sisters. And the family begins to break up.

When Jesus prayed that we might be one, he did not expect us all to be the same.

• He expected us to have different likes and dislikes. Its good that some of us prefer traditional hymns, and others prefer contemporary music.

• He expected us to have different views about things. The Bible doesn’t tell us everything we should believe in great detail. It actually says very little about some of the hot issues today. But rather it gives us the general principles that we should use to sort out our own views, …and sometimes we are going to disagree.

• He didn’t expect us to like everyone, …but he did tell us to love everyone, (including our enemies).

But despite our different preferences, and our different views, he prayed that we might be one.

Which means that one Christian should not treat another Christian as if they are not part of the same family. And one church should not treat another church as if they were not part of the same family.

We pay special attention to people’s final words, …and I’m sure that Jesus thought very carefully about this final prayer with his disciples.

And his prayer for us, Christian believes in the 21 century, is that we might accept his gift of unity with God, …and accept his invitation to be united with all Christians, (including those who are very different to us).

Amen