Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35 • Acts 1:6–14 • 1 Peter 4:12–14, 5:6–11 • John 17:1–11

The theme for this Sunday is Jesus and the Father are one. The psalmist in Psalm 68 celebrates the glory of the God who is a father to the fatherless and a judge for the widows. He is the one who makes a home for the lonely, and who leads prisoners out of poverty. In Luke’s account in Acts , the disciples seek to find out the exact time and date Jesus would establish his kingdom. Instead, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ promises them the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit would empower them to be his witnesses. Jesus bids them to wait in Jerusalem for this gift and blesses them as he ascends into heaven. The apostle Peter reminds his readers that we share in Christ’s suffering. Even so, we are blessed, because “the Spirit of glory and of God” rests on us. God calls us to share in Jesus’ eternal glory. And he will bring us into his kingdom complete, strong, and established. In Jesus’ high-priestly prayer, he asks his heavenly Father to restore him to the glory he had before time began. This is a glory in which he would include all people. Knowing he would soon die on the cross for our sins, Jesus asked his Father to keep his followers in his name. Jesus wanted them to live in the same unity as the divine Father, Son, and Spirit, thereby glorifying God.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

Jesus and the Father Are One

John 17:1–11 ESV

Today the Church around the world celebrates Ascension Sunday. It reminds us that Jesus did not simply rise from the dead and disappear into history. The risen Jesus ascended or was lifted up to the Father. The Son who walked among us has returned to the Father who sent him — because Jesus and the Father are one.

Ascension reminds us that Jesus ascended to the Father not to leave us, but to draw us into the life he shares with God. And one of the primary ways we enter that relationship is through prayer.

Prayer comes in many forms and styles. There is the public prayer spoken aloud before significant events. There is the silent listening prayer where we seek to hear from God. We can say a breath prayer or practice contemplation. We can pray together at a prayer meeting or in a group. We can meditate on Scripture or recite prayers written by others.

And, of course, there is always the fervent plea of someone waiting for the lottery numbers to be announced. [Perhaps share an amusing personal story here.]

All joking aside, prayer is simply talking to God. It’s not about using special words or sounding impressive. It’s about honesty. We can talk to God the same way we would speak to someone who knows us well. We can tell him what we’re worried about, what we’re thankful for, what we hope for, and even what confuses us. Prayer is simply opening our lives to God and inviting him into the conversation.

Prayer is an important part of our relationship with God. Our prayers can express a whole spectrum of emotions. We can share our joy, fear, anger, helplessness, sorrow, grief, and thankfulness. In prayer we speak with God and we hear from him, and our relationship with him grows.

This matters because God himself is relational.

God is Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three Persons, one God. Christians believe that the one true God has always existed in a perfect relationship of love. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Holy Spirit shares and carries that love. God did not suddenly become loving when he created the world. Love has always existed within God himself.

Because God is relational, he created us for relationship. And this matters. Understanding the Trinity helps us understand ourselves. We were created to be in relationship with him and with one another.

And through prayer, something remarkable happens. We are drawn into the very relationship that exists within God himself. Through the Spirit, we share in Jesus’ relationship with his heavenly Father.

This is the heart of our passage today: Jesus and the Father are one.

And in John 17, we are invited to overhear their conversation.

The Setting: The Night Before the Cross

Before we read the prayer, we need a little background.

This prayer takes place the night before the cross. The cross is where Jesus would be executed by the Roman authorities. From a human perspective, it looked like defeat. But from God’s perspective, it was the moment when Jesus took upon himself the brokenness and sin of the world. In his death, Jesus carried everything that separates humanity from God and opened the way for forgiveness and restoration.

Everything in Jesus’ life had been leading to this moment.

This began with what Christians call the Incarnation. The Incarnation means that God the Son became human. Jesus did not simply appear human — he truly became one of us. He was born, grew up, experienced joy and sorrow, and lived a real human life. In Jesus, God stepped into our world and into our humanity so that he could heal it from the inside.

But the cross was not the end of the story. The cross is vital. But Jesus’ death isn’t enough. Jesus’ mission is incomplete without the resurrection and ascension.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection showed that sin and death do not have the final word. Jesus defeated them and began the new creation.

Forty days later came the Ascension, which is what many churches celebrate today.

On Ascension Sunday, we remember that the risen Jesus returned to the Father. But he did not leave as a defeated victim. He returned as the victorious Lord. And he did not abandon humanity — he carried our humanity with him into the presence of God.

This is why this prayer matters for Ascension Sunday.

Jesus says he has completed the Father’s work and that he is returning or ascending to the Father’s presence.

And throughout this prayer we see again and again that Jesus and the Father are one.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. John 17:1–11 ESV

The Unity of the Father and the Son

Throughout this prayer we see how deeply united Jesus and the Father are.

They share the same mission.
They speak the same words.
They work toward the same purpose.

The Father glorifies the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. Jesus says he completed the work the Father gave him. The words he spoke were the Father’s words. The people who follow him belong to the Father.

Jesus does not act independently. Everything he does flows out of the life he shares with the Father.

And he even says that he is returning to the glory he shared with the Father before the world existed. Long before creation, the Father and the Son already lived in perfect unity and love.

This is the truth we see over and over in this passage:

Jesus and the Father are one.

Glory

Another important word in this passage is glory.

In the Bible, glory refers to the visible expression of who God truly is — his goodness, his beauty, his power, and his love.

In this sense, to glorify someone means to reveal who they really are.

Jesus glorified the Father by showing the world what the Father is like — full of grace, truth, and compassion. Jesus came to show us who the Father is. We can look at Jesus and know what the Father is like.

And the Father glorifies the Son by raising him from the dead and exalting him as Lord. The resurrection and ascension were supernatural events that revealed that Jesus was indeed God.

Again, we see their unity.

Jesus and the Father are one.

The Generosity of God

Another word that appears again and again in this prayer is some form of the word give.

The Father gives authority to the Son.
The Father gives people to the Son.
The Son gives eternal life.
The Father gives the work or mission that Jesus accomplished.
The Father gives the Son his words or message.
The Son gives the Father’s words to his followers.

This repetition reveals something about God’s character. God is a giver.

The life of the Trinity is a life of generous giving. The Father gives to the Son. The Son gives to us. The Spirit gives life and power to the church. There is no competition, only other-centered, selfless love in the Trinity.

The Ascension could look like Jesus abandoning his followers on earth and Jesus taking away his presence. But even that is an act of extravagant giving.

Jesus does not remove his presence from the world. Instead, he gives the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit, the presence of Christ is now with believers everywhere.

Eternal Life

Jesus also defines something very important: eternal life.

Many people think eternal life simply means living forever after we die. But Jesus describes it differently. Eternal life is knowing God.

“This is eternal life,” Jesus says, “that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 ESV

This kind of knowing is not just knowing facts about someone. It means knowing them personally, deeply, and relationally.

Eternal life begins now. It is the life that flows from being in relationship with God, in union with God.

Union with Christ

Jesus became human so that humanity could be brought back into relationship with God. In Jesus, God and humanity are joined together.

Because he shares our humanity, and we share in his life, we are brought into relationship with God. His relationship with the Father becomes the relationship we are welcomed into.

We are not absorbed into God. We do not become divine. But we are invited into a living relationship with him — sharing in his life and love.

And this is possible because Jesus and the Father are one.

Prayer Within the Life of God

What Jesus shows us in this prayer is that prayer begins within the life of and conversation of God himself. Prayer, then, is not initiated by us.

True prayer begins in the loving conversation between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And we are invited into that conversation.

Jesus lived his entire life by the Spirit. Though he was fully God, he also lived fully as a human, utterly relying on and trusting the Father completely. Moment by moment, he listened to and followed the Father. And he did this, by the Holy Spirit.

Through the Spirit, we are drawn into that same relationship.

Our prayer becomes a participation in Jesus’ own life with his Father.

Jesus Prays for Us

The good news is that we do not pray alone. Jesus prays in our place.

Throughout his life Jesus lived the perfect human life we were meant to live. He trusted the Father perfectly. He obeyed completely. He loved without fail.

Because of this, Jesus represents us before the Father. Even when our prayers feel weak or confused, Jesus carries them to the Father, praying on our behalf. Our imperfect prayers are gathered into his perfect relationship with the Father.

And the Spirit also intercedes for us.

There are moments when we do not know what to say. We feel overwhelmed or exhausted. In those moments, the Spirit prays for us. The Spirit knows our hearts even when we cannot express them. He carries the longings of our hearts to the Father even when we cannot find the words.

We are never alone in prayer.

Unity and Witness

Near the end of this passage Jesus prays that his followers would be one.

Just as Jesus and the Father are one, Jesus desires unity among his people.

When believers live in love, forgiveness, and humility toward one another, we reflect something of God’s own life. And the unity we have comes from God.

Our unity becomes a living witness to the world.

When people see a community where love crosses divisions, where forgiveness replaces bitterness, and where people serve one another, they see a glimpse of the heart of the triune God. In this way, we “glorify” or make known God’s beauty.

The unity of the church reflects the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

How Prayer Leads to Mission

One of the greatest blessings of prayer is experiencing closeness with God.

Another blessing is discovering that God invites us to participate in what he is doing in the world. As we spend time with God in prayer, our hearts begin to change. We begin to see others the way Jesus sees them.

Sometimes we realize that God is inviting us to become part of the answer to someone else’s prayer. The Spirit moves us to pray for others. He opens doors for spiritual conversations. He shows us ways to serve and care for people around us.

Our quiet moments with God prepare us for quiet acts of grace with others.

Through prayer, God draws us into his mission.

Conclusion

Today, on Ascension Sunday, we remember that Jesus is not absent from our lives. Jesus has returned to the Father in victory. He has completed the work the Father gave him to do. He reigns with the Father in glory.

On Ascension Sunday we remember that the risen and ascended Lord reigns with the Father who sends the Spirit through the Son to be present with us.

The Son who came from the Father has returned to the Father. The Son who shared our humanity now carries that humanity into the presence of God. God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6 ESV).

Eternal life, Jesus says, is to know the Father and the Son — to enter their ongoing conversation of love. This invitation is open to all.

And the Father has sent the Spirit through the Son  so that we may share in the life he has always known.

This is the good news of Ascension Sunday:

Jesus and the Father are one.

And through Jesus, we are welcomed into their life forever.

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Small Group Discussion Questions