In the Beginning: The Book of John (John 17:13-19[HCSB])

13 Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them.

14 I have given them Your word.

The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.

15 I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.

16 They are not of the world, as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19 I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus prays for His Disciples Part II

We know from the first part of the prayer that we are on God’s heart … and now we know why. Jesus did not intend to take us out of the world, but equipped us with Himself so that we could withstand the assault of the world.

The creation is not evil, but there is evil residing in the hearts of men and women who do not acknowledge God as Father and Jesus as Savior. There is simply no gray area here. As much as we would like to meet the world half way, we as the sanctified, cannot be of it even though we are in it “up to our eyeballs,” so to speak.

This prayer sounds very familiar and it should. I am convinced that the similarities to The Lord’s Prayer are intentional (see Matthew’s Gospel chapter 6:9etc.)

What does it mean to be sanctified? The Holman Dictionary states simply: Sanctification is the process of being made holy resulting in a changed lifestyle for the believer.

Other words we also use are consecrate, purify, save and anoint. All refer to being set aside for a particular purpose.

We are made holy and set aside by the very truth of Jesus’ identity:

John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one come to the Father except through Me”

Jesus is our best example. If anyone wants to know what to do they should observe the life of Jesus and attempt to follow Him by picking up their own crosses.

This is hard to do.

In the Beginning: The Book of John

(John 17:20-26[HCSB])

20 I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. 21 May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.

22 I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one.

23 I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24 Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.

25 Righteous Father!

The world has not known You. However, I have known You, and these have known that You sent Me.

26 I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.

Jesus prays for All Believers

Jesus concludes with a prayer not only for the disciples, and the Apostles, but also for those who believe by their word. This is why we consider ourselves the faithful and the believer, blessed by Jesus Himself. Jesus knew that if those who were with Him needed support and the reassurance of prayer, then we who have come along at the end of the church age will need His prayer even more.

In these ending days the only witness is our faith; and as frail and as flawed as it is, it is what keeps up together and safe. Our faith is what saves our souls and honors Jesus every day. It is not our perfection that saves us, it is His perfection that saved us while we were still sinners (See Romans 5).

And while we are abiding in the world Jesus prays that we will be one in community as He and the Father are one with the Spirit. I do believe that He is referring to the church as we understand it, being one, reflecting His glory, bearing witness to His teaching, and being a sanctuary and refuge for all true believers.

As I consider our witness, it is clear that the world knows the name of Jesus. So it is our commission to be witnesses to the world, not to save it! The world knows the name of the Savior and has rejected it in favor of a watered down version of the truth.

Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” The world says, “I can have it my way; the truth is relative: anyone who believes in God regardless of form is going to heaven; and, life is meaningless.” Beware the false gospel of this age. Only the truth of Jesus will set you free.