John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
In our text today, Jesus continues his prayer to his father, just prior to his arrest and execution. What is interesting is that he will leave this upper room and immedietly go to the Garden of Gethsemene where he will pray again. So what is the difference? In the Garden, he is by himself and he is praying for his own strength for his appending death. Here in the upper room, he is there with the apostles and so the prayer is largely for their benefit.
In this portion of his prayer, Jesus makes two basic statements. First he says for their sakes .... he sanctified himself. What does it mean to be sanctified? Simply it means to be SEPARATED for GOD’s SAKE. This separation is not so much a physical separation as much as it is a spiritual or mental separation. So how was Jesus separated? His death on the cross. Jesus voluntarily allowed himself to be separated from society and treated like a common criminal so that the apostles and ourselves might be saved.
But Jesus makes the statement about his sanctification to set the premise for the next statement.
John 17:19 .... that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Yesterday, we looked at verse 18 where Jesus was sending us out into the world and today Jesus wants us to be sanctified as he is sanctified. We must be in the world to let our light so shine, but we must not think like, act like or have the lifestyles of the world! Instead we should be like Christ! We should think like, act like and have the life of Christ.
But Jesus goes on the specify HOW we are to be sanctified ... Through the Truth! Through the word of God we should pattern our lives. Once we do that, we will be different from the world. And that difference will indeed sanctify us.
Are you separated from the world? If not, open God’s word to learn how to be more Christ-like!
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