Sanctify Them by the Truth

Observe. Jesus says he is coming to the Father and speaks these things while still in the world so that the disciples may have the full measure of his joy. He has given them the Father's word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as he is not. He does not pray that the Father take them out of the world but that he protect them from the evil one. He asks the Father to sanctify them by the truth, adding that the Father's word is truth. As the Father sent him into the world, he sends them, and for their sake he sanctifies himself so that they too may be truly sanctified.

Interpret. Sanctify means to set apart for God's use. Jesus asks not for the disciples' removal from a hostile world but for their protection in it and their consecration for a mission within it. The instrument of that consecration is the Father's word, which is truth. Jesus sanctifying himself refers to his setting himself apart for the cross, the act by which the disciples' own setting apart becomes possible. Mission and holiness go together. They are sent as he was sent, and they are made holy as he is holy.

Apply. Christians often want the prayer Jesus did not pray, the one that takes them out of the world. He prayed for something harder and better. Where are you asking God for an exit when he may be offering protection and purpose? How is the word of God actually functioning in your life as the means of being set apart, rather than as information? And if you are sent as Jesus was sent, what is the place you have been sent to this week?