When Jesus was about to be arrested the gospels record that He went to the Mount of Olives and prayed. Many may recall that He asked His Father to “let this cup pass” 3 times. It must have been important for Him to mention it 3 times. But, did you know that there was something else that He prayed for that night that He mentioned not 3, but 4 times? Something so important to Him that even with His impending death only hours away He prayed about this thing more than the crucifixion itself. Was He asking God to be sure to raise him up again? No. Was He praying for some other need that He had? No. He was praying for His followers. In fact, He was praying for everyone who has ever been a believer. He prayed that all the believers might be one, and He prayed it at least 4 times (John 17:11-23). How sad Christ must be as He looks down on the hundreds of divisions among the people who claim to follow Him.

This is certainly nothing new, it has been going on since the first century (1 Corinthians 1:10-13), but that is no excuse for us to allow it to continue in our lives. He was not pleased with division then and He is not pleased with it now. In one county there are at least 20 different kinds of churches with 20 different doctrines about how to become a Christian, how to worship God, and/or how to get to Heaven. There are over 40 churches listed in the phone book and oddly enough some with the same teachings have divided for various other reasons. This county is certainly not unusual in this regard. Churches split almost daily for one reason or another, and new denominations spring up nearly as often. I have a book almost 2 inches thick full of information on different denominations in the United States. 

Is this what Jesus was praying for when he prayed that “they all might be one”? I can’t believe it is. Many people say “one church is as good as another”, or “choose the church of your choice”, or “we are all serving the same God”, or “we are all Christians just taking different paths to get to the same place”, or something similar. That sounds nice and most people like to hear that. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “Is that true?”. Can we choose any way we want to get to Heaven or does God specify? Can someone become a Christian 20 different ways? Who gets to decide what is acceptable worship and what is not? In other words, what standard of authority, if any, are we following.

Interestingly enough, the answer is in Jesus’ own prayer in John 17. He asks God to sanctify(literally, ‘make holy’) His followers by God’s truth (John 17:17). Then He gave the source of God’s truth, “thy word is truth” (John 17:17). So, Jesus asks God to make His followers holy by using his true word. If we believe that the Bible is God’s word then when we have disagreements we can look to the Bible to give us the answers that are right with God and that will make us holy.

Jesus promised to build only one church in Matthew 16:18. He prayed for unity no less than 4 times the night he was betrayed(John 17). He said we must not only call Him, Lord, but also do the will of His Father to enter the kingdom (Matthew 7:21). Ephesians 4:4 tells us there is only one body, and Colossians 1:18 teaches that the body is the church and Christ is the head of that body. Any other arrangement causes deformity. Christ is not one head with multiple bodies, nor can the church have any head other than Christ. One more thing along this line, in Matthew 7:14 Jesus makes it clear that there is only one gate that leads to life and one way to that one gate. He also said we must find it. We can’t make our own path to get to heaven because no man has ever been there. We must follow the path that Jesus laid out for us.

Just remember God is not the source of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Here is something for you to ponder as you go through the week. If Jesus only built one church, as he promised, and there are over twenty in your area; assuming one of them is the church Christ built, who is responsible for building all the others? We should all want to be a part of the church Christ built of which He is the head and savior. Study God’s Word and see if you can find the church that you are a member of mentioned and described there.

As we start this new year this is a question that we need to answer. Where we will spend eternity is dependent upon the answer and the follow through of that very question. So, the question comes to you, “What will you do with Jesus?” Even if you don’t consciously answer this question you are answering it each and every day by the way you live your life. 

In Matthew chapter 27 Pilate is facing the most difficult and most significant decision of his career. He has Jesus, falsely accused of treason and other crimes, before him. Pilate can find no wrongdoing in Christ. Under those circumstances Jesus should have been cleared and freed. Pilate made a mistake that is almost unimaginable. Picture a courtroom with a judge and a defendant and a plaintiff, a common picture. Now, after the questioning is over and no evidence against the accused has been found, imagine if you can, the judge turning to the accusers and saying, “What should I do?” What do you think the accusers will say? As shocking as it seems that is what Pilate did. You see Pilate was asking the right question, he just went to the wrong source for the answer.

Pilate’s wife had sent a message to him to have nothing to do with Jesus. She warned him that Jesus was a just man. Of course, he is much more than that, and her advice to have nothing to do with him was not wise.  Pilate, regardless of her advice, could not avoid this decision. Even though he tried to pass it off to Herod (Luke 23), Herod sent Jesus back. We are in the same difficult position as Pilate. We can’t pass the decision off to someone else, we must each answer for himself.

There are several responses that can be made to this question: 


1) You may choose to ignore it and do nothing. This is the same as rejecting Jesus.


2) You may choose to wait until later and do nothing now. This is the same as rejecting Jesus.


3) You may choose to reject Jesus and his claim on you.


4) You may claim to serve him in word, but do your own will. This is also the same as rejecting Him.


5) You may pretend to serve him with your actions, but not with your heart. This is rejecting Him.


6) You may ask others, even Jesus’ enemies, what they think you should do? This can be dangerous.


7) You may try to serve Jesus and someone or something else. This rejects His absolute sovereignty.


8) You may choose to serve Him and worship Him according to his commands with your whole heart.

You may be able to think of other responses or scenarios, but the fact is that anything other than total submission to Jesus and his commandments is a rejection of Him as Lord and Christ. 

What are you going to do with Jesus? You had better make sure you choose wisely and follow through because one day all who have ever lived will stand before Him in judgment and wait to see what He will do with them. I will be there, and you will be there, too. It will be too late then. We must answer now.