You asked

how does this call to unity compare with jesus' prayer for his followers in john 17?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Colossians 3:11

“where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.”

This verse is part of Paul's letter to the Colossians, written from prison in the mid-first century CE. He's instructing believers in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor, on how to live out their new identity in Christ, emphasizing spiritual transformation over external distinctions.

What old distinctions in our lives today might be obscuring our shared humanity and purpose?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote this letter around 60-62 CE from prison, likely in Rome, to the community of believers in Colossae, a city in Phrygia (modern-day Turkey). The audience was a mix of Jewish and Gentile converts, and they were grappling with various philosophical and religious ideas that threatened to distract them from the simple truth of Christ. Paul's emphasis on unity transcending social boundaries like 'Greek and Jew' or 'bondservant and freeman' directly addressed the pervasive social hierarchies and ethnic/religious tensions of the Roman world, where such distinctions often determined one's status, rights, and even humanity. The 'Scythian' was often seen as the epitome of the uncivilized barbarian, making their inclusion particularly striking.

Across the Testaments

This passage is in the New Testament. In Colossians, unity is presented as a consequence of believers' new identity 'in Christ' and their participation in his new creation. The Old Testament, while establishing a distinct people for God (Israel) with specific laws and covenants, also contains glimpses of a universal call for all nations to know God (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4). Jesus' prayer in John 17, also from the New Testament, is a profound articulation of this unity, not merely as a social reality but as a spiritual oneness reflecting the unity of the Father and the Son, intended to be a witness to the world. While Colossians focuses on the *breaking down of barriers* by Christ's work, John 17 highlights the *active spiritual unity* among believers as a reflection of the divine.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
This verse echoes Colossians 3:11, stating that in Christ 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bondservant nor freedman, there is neither male nor female.'
Ephesians 2:14-16
Paul speaks of Christ breaking down the 'dividing wall of hostility' between Jew and Gentile, creating one new humanity.
John 17:20-23
Jesus prays for his followers to be one, 'even as we are one,' so that the world may believe.

Ask your own follow-up