“That they may become perfectly one”

From today’s reading of John 14-17

“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. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” – John 17:20-26 (ESV)

So ends Jesus’ high priestly prayer.

How on earth to even make commentary on this? Jesus is here praying for not just his disciples, but for everyone throughout history called by his name. He’s praying for me here, and anyone else living today who is in Christ, along with all those who have gone before us.

It is astonishing when one considers the content of Jesus’ prayer. He is praying for our unity, our oneness. And the unity he prays for is not the unity of a club, or a group of like-minded friends, or even of a family:

“. . . that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us . . .”

The unity that Jesus prays for his church is the same unity he shares with the Father. It is an intimacy as close as the Father to the Son, “in” one another.

It is a sharing of everything, a bestowing of the same glory God has given Jesus onto us (!!), oneness. It is a bestowing of the same love the Father has for the Son onto us. And, trust me, we can’t even begin to imagine a love that big.

This prayer is a fulfillment of our deepest desires: to be fully known and fully loved, to partake in the glory and love of the Father to the Son and then to us. To be in deep, deep family, not just with the Lord but also with his people, our brothers and sisters throughout the world and throughout history. To be fully brought in the house, fully adopted, given a place at the table. To be seated at the heavenly feast of grace, love and glory!