John 17:20-26
“On Being One—In the World But Not Of the World!” | The Seventh Sunday of Easter | 1 June 2025 | John 17:20-26 | David M. Wendel |
St. John 17:20-26 English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 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. 24 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. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 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.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There was a time when it was something of a compliment to say someone was “worldly”—as in, “he is a man of the world”. It meant they were cultured, it meant they were traveled and knowledgeable of the world beyond their own little corner of it. It also implied they were educated, and not just in book-learning—but in people, and in common sense, and in a broad range of experiences. Perhaps it’s still the case that to be a worldly man, or woman, is thought of as something to be valued, by some, in some circles, in some situations. But Jesus surely doesn’t see “worldliness” in a positive light.
Now, that’s not to say that Jesus is opposed to someone being cultured and educated and traveled and knowledgeable—it is to say that Jesus sees the world, and understands the term, “the world”, in a much different way.
In our gospel reading for today, which is part of Jesus’ so-called Farewell Discourses in John, and more specifically part of what we refer to as His “High Priestly Prayer,” the Lord is talking quite a bit about “the world”. And the best way to describe Jesus’ understanding of “the world”, is to see it as the opposite of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ way of thinking, the world is one community—a community dominated by what Scripture calls, “the ruler of this world”—Satan. This world is shrouded in darkness, greed, fear and self-centeredness. This world is not godly—but in fact, is decidedly opposed to God’s will and purposes.
On the other side, there is God’s realm—the Church—the Kingdom. These are those who have been called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified by God’s Word, incarnate in Jesus Christ. These, in the Kingdom of God, are those who have been given to Jesus Christ, by God the Father, from the world. These are also those for whom Jesus is praying at the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. Jesus prayed for those in the Kingdom of God, He prays for you and for me, saying, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me…And now,” Jesus prays, “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.”
So, in the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus is asking a number of things, for us. He prays, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world…Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” And then, the Lord prays again, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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.”
And here, it should be noted that Jesus is speaking about, praying for—not only those who were seated with Him at table at the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, but He mentions us, you and me specifically in His prayer, saying, “I am not praying for these—these seated here with me only, but for those who will come after, who will believe, because of the witness, the testimony, of these twelve. And that is us! He prays for us and all who would come after the twelve. And His prayer is that we might be one, as the Father and the Son are one, so that the world may believe. So, sure, the Lord wants us to be one, united, so that within the Church, we are at peace with one another and harmonious and joyful, as the Body of Christ. But His prayer is not just for us, it’s for the world, for those out there, that they may see the unity we have, in Christ, and believe! Which reflects the Lord’s thinking, that although we are not to be of the world, we are to be in the world. We are to be witnesses out in the world!
Now, from our way of thinking, being faithful Christians would be so much easier, if, in Baptism, we were taken out of the Kingdom of this world, washed, cleansed, renewed in Christ, and then plopped down, happy and content, in the Kingdom of God—a utopian paradise where everyone is loving and kind and forgiving—perhaps on an island in the South Pacific, with white sand and blue ocean waters and palm trees swaying in the breeze. That’s my image of utopian paradise, anyway. Unfortunately, the two kingdoms don’t work that way. They are not separated by a big wall or a great distance. There is no uncross-able chasm between us and them, in spite of the fact that monks and nuns and desert fathers tried to create such barriers that would keep them apart from the so-called, kingdom of the world. To remain clean, and pure, and righteous, and holy, would be so much easier, if there were two separate kingdoms. Surely there would be fewer temptations, fewer opportunities to sin, fewer idols and false gods to lure us away from the one True God. Those who would want to live in the kingdom of the world, dominated by sin, disobedience, lust, crime, violence and all the rest—could do so. But those who had been redeemed by Christ, for Godly living, could do so as well—in a kingdom that could be protected and isolated from the world. That would make the most sense to us. Trouble is, that’s not the way God wants it!
For God’s plan is for the two kingdoms, to be intermixed and intermingled, at least geographically and spatially. There is not one kingdom here and another there. They occupy the same space. Jesus makes it clear they are to be distinct from one another—that we are not to confuse the Kingdom of God, with the kingdom of the world, or vice versa—yet, they co-exist. The two kingdoms and its inhabitants are intended to co-exist—because the people of the Kingdom of God, are to be in the world, to give our lives, for the sake of the world, to give our lives, in service—in witness, that we might be the Body of Christ, present in the world, to bring the world to Christ! That’s why Jesus does not remove us from the world or build a wall around the Church! He wants us to be in the world, to be, light in the darkness, life in the midst of a culture of death, salt in a world desperately in need of “the spice of life”. And there is no way we could do that, and be that, from afar. We are not to be of the world, Jesus says in His prayer, but we have to be in the world! We have to interact with the un-godly, we have to speak with them, and work with them, and sometimes our kids go to school with them. And yes, at times, they rub off on us, more than we rub off on them. At times, they have a more negative effect on us, and our lives, than we have a positive, godly effect on them and their lives. At times, you can’t tell the difference between people of the kingdom of God and people of the kingdom of this world. But still, we are to remain in the world. Still, Jesus sends us out into the world, just as the Father sent Him, out into the world—to witness to the world, the oneness we have, in the community of the Triune God!
Which is why, as we are sent, Jesus prays for us. Just think how Jesus prays for you, in his prayer at the Lord’s Supper! “Father”, Jesus prays, “protect them in your name… make them one as we are one… make my joy complete in them… do not take them out of the world but protect them from the evil one…” And then finally He prays, “sanctify them in the truth… your word is truth.”
And that really is the clincher. Yes, we need to be protected and especially protected from the evil one. Yes, we are to be united, as God’s joy is made complete, in us. But above everything else, we need to be sanctified in God’s Word of truth! For this is what will unite us and keep us, in the world, but not of the world. This is what will protect us from the lure and the deceit of the devil. This is what will bring us true joy and joy that is full. God’s Word of Truth! As we leave this outpost of the Kingdom of God, to go out once again, into the kingdom of this world—we go with God’s Word of Truth—it surrounds us, it protects us, we have indeed, been fed with it so that it courses through our veins and gives us strength and nourishment. And we go out into the world, without it, to our peril. We dare not go out into the world without it—without the Word of Truth which is to be, on our lips, and in our hearts—sanctifying us, as we are sent, to go in peace, to serve in the world. That’s why God created us, that’s why Jesus has redeemed us, and that’s why we are sent—out, into the world, to love, to care for, and to minister to the world. We are sent to help those in need, offer assistance to the poor and needy, to lift up the downtrodden, to encourage those low in spirit, to be honest, and truthful and people of integrity, in a world that desperately needs, such people. We are to be, Christ’s Body—in the world, but not of the world, for the sake of the world!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
©David M. Wendel
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Westerville, Ohio USA