Jesus’ Plea for Unity

Imagine the moonlit olive tree orchard on the hillside of Jerusalem the night Jesus was betrayed. His closest friends had experienced an emotional Passover feast, which included having their feet washed by the one they believed to be the Messiah. Now, as He pulls them in closer so they can hear, what they’d later understand to be His final instructions to them, the Master revealed His plans to leave them.

Their hearts sank as they considered all that they had left to follow Him. They had hoped He really was the Messiah. Who else could do what He had done? Who else spoke with such authority? Yet He spoke of His death as if it were about to happen.

Jesus said in John 16:20, “I’m telling you, you’re going to weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will be sad for a time, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy…”

The crickets and frogs serenaded their savior as He spoke confusing words of tragedy and hope at the same time. Before He asked them to pray, He said, “In a little while you’ll be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32-33)

Then He turned and walked away from them. He was in their sights as they watched Him kneel down, His face to the ground. Then a little while later His hands lifted to heaven, then back to kneeling. They sat down slowly thinking about what He’d asked them to do--pray. How could they pray at time like this? What could be said? As they leaned against a few large stones near the orchard, they followed His actions, heads low, faces to the ground. But their plea for understanding gave way to their fatigue and they fell asleep while their savior continued on.

Meanwhile Jesus said in a whisper as sweat and blood dripped from His forehead, “…Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you…”

A while later, Jesus got up from the ground and returned to find them sleeping. “You men couldn’t keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41) Ashamed the weary friends glanced at each other and bowed in prayer once again, only to find that His words were true, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

Once again Jesus spoke to His father, “…Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one…”

As He continued the sounds of broken branches, clanking armor, and muffled chatter could be heard in the distance. Judas. His time of trouble was here, and He knew that He would have only the father to comfort Him…for a while. Soon enough, as He would suffer on the cross, He would even lose that comfort: “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”

He stood by His sleepy companions as they got to their feet, these men He loved so much, knowing their hearts, and knowing what they would eventually do to fulfill His final plea that He’d asked of God: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

Unity has the power to sustain us through even the darkest hours of life. At the heart of Jesus’ prayer, the goal of unity was boldly proclaimed. Now, many years later the gift of unity is still made possible to those who powerfully embrace Jesus's plea for the father to be glorified by the love of His followers. Unity is a powerful ingredient to experiencing the joy and peace that Jesus would be available because of His painful death on the cross.

Paul continues Jesus’ plea for unity in the letter to the Philippians that they would watch out for the things that cause division among them. And that they’d make the effort to seek Him and live in the joy of the Lord. What efforts can you make today to better fulfill the prayer of Jesus that we be unified?

The Community of Christ

Someone shared with me their excitement about being part of a “come as you are” church recently, and describing their church that way caught my attention. Of all the things that could have been said, “We read the Bible,” “We honor God,” or “We love one another,” it was the idea that you can come as you are which they were most drawn to.

What is it about the idea that you can “come as you are” that causes us to put our defenses down and go on in? It seems that at the heart of that statement is the absence of judgment. When people feel welcomed in spite of their faults, bonds can be built not on the basis of performance but of commonality – Jesus.

Since the beginning of the church this has been an appealing and dividing concept. One of the apostle’s biggest conflicts to resolve was the issue of circumcision before you could truly be a child of God. This required the Gentiles to become like the Jews before they would be accepted. However, the apostles were adamant that this wasn’t part of God’s plan for His family.

God invited the Israelites through Isaiah in Isaiah 1:18, “though your sins are as scarlet, and He will make them white as snow.” And the same kind of message is heard at the end of the Bible in Rev 22:17 where he gives an invitation to “Come! Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” The Bible is filled with verses revealing God’s mercy and grace that is extended to sinful people. But how far reaching is that statement? Since the Bible is also filled with instructions about dying to your old self and following the pattern He laid out for us to follow.

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, it was because He had mercy on them, not because they did anything to obligate Him to action. However, once they were safely apart from their old way of life, God gave them directions to follow on Mt. Sinai. From that point on the people understood there were things that were not “come as you are” but rather “humble yourself under the mighty hand of God…” Things like not working on the Sabbath, or not to eat certain meats; and there could be serious consequences for not conforming.

Even after the establishment of the new covenant with God’s chosen people, there was a call to abandon the old life and begin living according to a new set of standards. One place in scriptures that spells this out so clearly is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

We USED to do those things, but something changed us. God performed a spiritual circumcision by removing the old person and giving His Spirit to us. God’s laws and commands, then, help to change our thinking to be in alignment with His, which keeps Satan from sneaking in the back door. Therefore, all of us can come to Christ exactly how we are, but we don’t want to stay in that state for long. Paul said in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” There is a reason Christ’s call is appealing to the people willing to listen and believe – He has Good News about who we can be.

The invitation to be part of a community that focuses on who God is shaping all of us into, absent from a cookie cutter human standard is comforting. We are naturally drawn to a community of people that will let us be ourselves; but who we are is being replaced with a God-centered common goal, vision, and purpose. This is the power of what community offers us, a place we can call home and discover together what God wants to do in us. It’s a place that we aren’t constantly being evaluated and compared to one another, and this is seems to be the essence of that statement “come as you are.” We want to be welcomed, loved, encouraged, forgiven, and appreciated.

As we look back over the landscape of the scriptures and God’s history with His people, we can quickly see how much God wants us to long for Him, to seek Him. He is holy, He wants us to seek Him and be like Him. We seek Him because He is our father and loves us unconditionally. The Sabbath, and all the other commands from God, were to help us see the benefit of holiness. Once we realize how wonderful it is to be in the presence of a holy God, we shouldn’t want to “stay as we are.” God’s very presence inspires us to be more than what we came as. Jesus is the author of life, the living water, the great I Am, the beginning and the end, the vine that gives life. People want that, God wants them, we should want God and all that He is – holy. Therefore, the community of Christ is a place that should inspire us to rejoice in the peace that only God offers.

Joyful

The Ark of the Covenant was also known as the Mercy Seat of God. A covenant is an agreement with a binding contract, or a promissory note. Therefore the Ark, or the holy box, of the promise was the reminder to the Israelites that God would demonstrate His mercy based on the promise in the box. When the Ark showed up, people got excited, and often in scripture, the word used to describe the Israelites' attitude when the Ark was brought in was “joyful.”

As the age of the judges was drawing to a close and before Samuel anointed Saul to be king, the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines. But once the Philistines sent it back to stop the plagues in their towns, the Israelites “rejoiced” to see it again. Later, when David wanted to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem the city danced with “joy” to see it back home. When Solomon built a special house, or a temple, just for the Ark, the people “sang songs of praise” because the Ark would finally be honored the way it should be. Then many generations later, after the release from captivity and the return to Jerusalem, the people rejoiced when the temple where the Ark once stood was rebuilt.

David wrote many songs and psalms about the joy that having God’s promises brought to his life. Today, under the authority of Jesus Christ, we still have the promise. Although the holy box isn’t necessary in order to be joyful of God’s promises. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Remember the words of Peter to the anxious crowd on the Day of Pentecost. He told them the solution to their quandary was to “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:38-39) We are the temple where God’s promises are stored today.

For that reason, Paul can write to Christians everywhere giving them hope and just as much reason for “joyful celebration” about their relationship with God as the Israelites had when the Ark showed up. The Ark was a treasure worth having, and those same promises are also worth having today, regardless if they’re kept in a golden box. Peter describes that the cost may be big at times but always worth it.

He said in 1 Peter 1:3-9, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great MERCY has caused us to be born again to A LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, TO OBTAIN AN INHERITANCE which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. IN THIS YOU GREATLY REJOICE, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that THE PROOF OF YOUR FAITH, BEING MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, YOU GREATLY REJOICE WITH JOY INEXPRESSIBLE AND FULL OF GLORY, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

There is a connection between the promises God gives us today and the joy it should bring our life, and the joy the Israelites experienced when God’s promises contained in a golden box showed up to their home. There’s a cost that comes by neglecting to honor those promises, and there’s a cost associated with preparing a place in our hearts for those promises. But as Peter reminds us, the temporary distress is nothing compared to the everlasting joy that comes through trusting in Jesus Christ and his promises.