That We All May Be One

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered on Maundy Thursday, the 14th of April, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Today's service also included our observance of Holy Communion with our Lord.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

In his Gospel account, the Apostle John doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about what we now refer to as “the Last Supper”, but he does go into great detail concerning the events after that meal.  More specifically, John tells us things that Jesus did and said that the others may have missed.  Without this record, we would have missed out on a lot very meaningful information.

John summed up that last meal in chapter 13 of his account by starting out, “And supper being ended”, and then proceeding to tell us of how Jesus, the ever faithful and loving Servant, washed the feet of His disciples, His followers.  Then John recounts some of the things the other Gospel writers tell of, such as identifying His betrayer, giving us our new commandment, and predicting how Peter will soon deny Him.

But then we get a much dearer, more personal view of Jesus, as John records His own words as He reveals the Father to us, promises to send the Holy Spirit to us, prays for us and gives us His peace.  There follows much more inside information from John, more of Jesus just talking to us, warning us of things to come, loving us.  And then we are allowed to listen in on what I think is the most intimate moment in Jesus’ mortal life: the time He spent talking to His Father God.

Please listen and follow along to all of chapter 17 from the Gospel account of the beloved Apostle John, reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He shall give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together alongside Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

--John 17 (NKJV)

Let us pray… Father God, this afternoon we step back in time to a night so long ago that may have lost its meaning for many.  So much happened that night, and it was all for our benefit, we poor sinners.  Speak to us, Father, speak into our hearts, that we might relive that night and understand its true meaning and full impact on our very lives.  Speak to us that we might know the truth of our ways.  Convict us of our sin and forgive us of our disobedience.  This we pray in the name of Your Son Jesus.  Amen

Tonight is Maundy Thursday.  The word, “Maundy”, comes from the Latin word meaning command or commandment.  On the night of His last supper with His disciples, Jesus gave us a commandment to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.  He also gave us a new commandment: to love each other, just as much as He loves us.

In just a few minutes we will share the elements of our Lord’s body and blood, just as He shared the bread and the wine with His disciples that night.  We will renew the covenant God made with us, sealed by the precious blood of Jesus.  But first, let’s look a little more closely at the words Jesus spoke with God.

Now it’s important to remember that Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen.  He knew that in just a few minutes, one of His own followers would betray Him, leading to His arrest.  He knew that He would have to stand trial first before the Jewish high priests and then before the Roman governor.  He knew that the very people He came to this earth to save, who sang praises to Him just days before, would now turn on Him and demand His death.  He knew that He would be beaten, His flesh ripped and torn, and then nailed to a cruel cross to die.

Did He try to run and hide?  No.  Did He appeal to God for an army of angels to come down and rescue Him?  No.  But He did appeal to God.

He stopped and prayed to God, even as the world was falling in on Him, now, during this darkest hour.  Yes, He prayed a little for Himself, knowing what He was about to endure.  But mostly He prayed for us, for His disciples of that day and for all who would follow their words and believe in Him as Lord.  He prayed for us.  He suffered for us.  He died for us, the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb, so that we might be washed clean of our sin by His own precious blood.  He loved us to the very end, and loves us still.

In our scripture reading, Jesus started out by briefly praying for Himself.  He didn’t pray for relief or rescue.  He didn’t pray that God would relent and not require Him to go through the next phase of His plan.  He only prayed that now that His job was almost finished, that He be allowed back into heaven, back alongside His Father, and back to the glory He had before He came to this earth.

Everything He had done here had been to glorify God.  He had taught His disciples - given to Him by God - the truth of God and His heaven, and they believed That Jesus was indeed the Christ, so He had granted them eternal life.

Then Jesus prayed for His disciples, knowing that they would still be stuck in this world when He returned to heaven.  He prayed that the Father would keep hold of them, and not let them slip back into the world and worldly ways, not let them become lost to sin and Satan.  Jesus noted that only one of those who God had given Him had been lost, and that was Judas, and then only in fulfillment of prophetic Scripture.  Now they were to go out into the world, advancing God’s kingdom, so Jesus asked God to protect them from the world that hates them.  And He also asks that these men may be one as Jesus and God are one – that they may be one in spirit, one in mind, one in purpose, one in faith.

Then Jesus takes it one step further.  He knows what is to come, not only in the next few days but also throughout the rest of this age.  He knows that His church will grow, starting with the efforts of these very disciples as they go about sharing the Gospel.  They will speak the truth given to them by Jesus, and others will believe and become disciples themselves.

So Jesus prayed for all of these, all who would come to believe in Him as Lord because of what they have been told.  He prayed for us, who two thousand years later would gather into a family called Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Jesus prayed that we all may be one.  Just as God the Father is in Jesus the Son, and Jesus is in God, He prayed that we too may be in the Father and in the Son, that we may be made perfect in one.  For in this way, the world may come to know and believe that Jesus was sent from God as the Christ, sent to save the world from everlasting punishment.

Jesus prayed that we all may be one: one with Him, one with God, and one with each other.  One church, one family, one body of Christ left on earth to carry on His work and the mission He assigned us.  But we sure don’t always act like it!

From almost the very beginning, the church splintered into groups based on slightly different interpretations of scripture and what those early evangelists said and wrote.  This gave birth to denominations and off-shoots and sects and all manner of independent churches, all of whom seem to agree on only one thing: that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Some denominations merged because of shared beliefs and convictions, others split apart over divisions from within.  Even within a given church, differences in belief and opinion can drive a wedge between families, tearing the body of Christ to pieces.

Jesus prayed that we all may be one, but I’m afraid we – collectively, His church universal - have let Him down.  Family, it’s time we put petty differences aside.  It’s time to swallow all pride and learn to give and take, to compromise, to see the other person’s side.  It’s time we came together as one family, with one belief that Jesus is Lord, and with one mission: that salvation is available to everyone if they would only believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord.  There is only one way to the Father, and that is through the Son.  Help the world believe, so that we all may be one.

In just a few moments we will come to the table of our Lord to share His last meal with Him.  The Apostle Paul warns that we must be right with God before doing so.  Otherwise, we share the guilt of His execution, of His death, with those who committed the act.  Now is the time to get right with God.

If you are feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit, if you are weighed down by the guilt of your disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness.  Get right with God.  Remember that Jesus want us all to be one – one with Him, one with God, one with each other.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, this afternoon we reflect back on a time when mankind saddened You yet again.  For on that night long ago we betrayed Your Son, Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation.  Instead of receiving Him, we rejected Him.  And even today, we are often too timid and shy to testify for Him, too fearful of what others may think or say.  Forgive us, Father, for our fear and hesitation to do what we know is right.

Father, we pray that You show us not only the error of our ways, but also how to do what is right in Your eyes.  You gave us the faith to believe in Your Son Jesus, and then You gave us to Him, to be one with Him.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much!  Please help us understand how everything we do, while being the name of Jesus, reflects back on Your Son.  Please let others know Your love through our words and deeds.

Lord Jesus, You gave so much of Yourself on our behalf.  You took our punishment, You bore our stripes, You died so we could avoid the final and permanent death just by believing in You and accepting You as Lord.  You accepted us as if a gift from God, and You loved us to the very end.  

Forgive us, Lord, our times of doubt and confusion.  Forgive those who refuse to believe, who reject Your authority.  Forgive us when we could stand up for You against the doubters and disbelievers, but we are just too timid, too afraid, to do so.  Forgive us when we can’t let go of the world, refusing to put all our faith and trust in You and our Father God.  Help us, please Jesus, to not be so concerned with what others may think about us, or with anything this world might offer.  Give us the strength of our convictions, the fullness of our faith, so that we can serve You by serving others.  Help us be good and faithful servants.

This we pray in Your sweet name, Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.