Years ago, shortly after coming into the kingdom of God, I read a book by David du Plessis. In it, he wrote something that has stuck with me. Dramatically, he retells the disciple’s experience in the upper room on Pentecost as they await Jesus’ promise (Luke 24:49). It was his version of how they came to unity and harmony.

What I found so deep was his vision of how their unity came about through a deep humility borne of forgiveness. At one point, the author writes, Mary stood up and said: “I need to confess and seek your forgiveness because there were many times I did not believe what my son Jesus was saying.” And then, without hesitation, Peter stood up and said: “I too must confess; after all, I denied him three times.” Then Thomas joined in and said: “I doubted him,” and James said: “I was with him in the garden of Gethsemane, and I fled and forsook him.”

In that moment of brokenness, of emptiness, the fullness of unity came among the disciples.

My friends, humility comes with the awareness that we need forgiveness. Unity comes when we forgive one another from the heart.

You see, in our nothingness, He becomes everything. In our unity, His anointing comes to sanctify and empower for service.

Jesus’ prayer on the night he was betrayed reflects his preoccupation with his Father’s priorities. He asks on behalf of those who believe in him 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 (John 17:21). Jesus expressed his earnest desire that his followers be unified, even as he is united with his Father. He prays for this oneness.

The word unity translates the Hebrew word yachad, which comes from the same source as the word echad in Deut 6:4: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (echad). Jesus prays for the oneness of his followers but also warns us about the reverse or negative side of this issue. Without unity, there will be no blessings; without forgiveness, there will not be forgiveness.

We all know how easily these words slip off our tongues: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Mtt 6:12). To Jesus, this is so crucial, he repeats it with more detail: For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (14-15).

He had just taught: If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (5:24). If you don’t, your sacrifice is ineffectual.

Jewish wisdom tradition reflects the same idea. The sages said that sacrifice without repentance was as ineffective as going into the ritual immersion pool while holding a defiling reptile. You are simply going through the motions.

You must make it right horizontally before you can make it right vertically. Why? Because if you offend your neighbor, you have offended God.

Unity is so essential that most of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount teachings (just like His Father at Mount Sinai) are not vertically related. They are not so much about our relationship with God but our relationship with one another.

One of the most beautiful studies you can do is to look up the phrase “one to another” in your concordance. You’ll find awe-inspiring contexts in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters (epistles). It is delightful to see how the early church expressed unity: how they loved one another, encouraged one another, lifted one another, and prayed for one another. These are expressions of love, pictures of the people of God dwelling together in unity.

No wonder the apostles declare with one unified voice:

• We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren (1 John 3:14).
• For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5:14).
• If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well (James 2:8).
• Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Pet 1:22).

And I would be remiss if I didn’t say it again: We will never experience God’s power and presence like the early church did until we come together in unity as they did.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

– Psalm 133:1, 3

What is the essence of all the blessings of God? It is LIFE. Blessing in every form speaks of life. Curse in every form speaks of death.

From the beginning to the end of the biblical text, from Genesis to Revelation, from Sinai to Zion, from the OT to the NT, God has always been the same. He says, “Keep my commandments, and you shall have life.” The Son says what His Father said, “Abide in my teaching, and you shall have life—even abundant life.” Life is the essence of blessing in the present and forever. The good news that Jesus brought is that you and I can have life in its fullness!

I have many Jewish friends, and most of them think of Christianity as a religion of death. It does seem like we preachers spend most of the time talking about death. Our favorite Christian symbol is a cross, a symbol of death. And yet, the Bible is all about life. Life is what God is all about; He is the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Restorer of life.

If you look at the Book of Acts with new eyes—with a Hebraic orientation—you’ll see how those first Jewish disciples of Yeshua emphasized the resurrection, not the cross, in their preaching and teaching. I am not saying the cross isn’t important. Heaven forbid. What I am saying is that the Good News is all about life… Jesus is alive and has overcome death!

Resurrection was God’s definitive vindication of his Son Jesus. He restored him to life, a life that death itself could not quench. And that is what the gospel is all about. You will be hard-pressed to find a reference in these writings to the cross without a corresponding reference to the resurrection. Thousands of Jews were crucified, but only one rose from a grave in the power of life. God’s blessing always takes the form of life.

Psalm 133 reminds us at this stage of our pilgrimage that if we are to achieve the ultimate blessings of life from God, they will come in unity, not in isolation. Pilgrimage is not a journey for a lone ranger; biblical faith is not some Rambo-like figure going out and conquering the devil on his own. Nor is it a matter of some guru sitting on a mountaintop meditating, waiting for his consciousness as a drop of being to somehow merge back into the ocean of God’s consciousness, dissolving into nothingness.

The biblical witness models life as a people on a holy pilgrimage. These Psalms of Ascent were sung by pilgrims, making their way from all over the known world up to Jerusalem for the three sacred festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Always remember, you are not on an isolated journey. We are on a pilgrimage together, in unity, going up to worship the Living God, our great Creator and faithful Covenant Father.