John 17:6-19 “Sanctified and Sent”

1:03Nearly 20 years ago, Kendra and I got engaged, and we did that. We registered for China. Eight place settings and serving dishes and whatnot. And people were generous and bought most of it or all of it for us. And while I might argue that investing in tools for me would have been a better use of money in the long run, I would like to sleep in my bed tonight. Now, when your tummy is rumbly at 9.30 p.m., you do not get out a china bowl and pour your lucky charms into it. The multicolored marshmallow residue would stain the china permanently and burn itself into the bowl. That is an improper use of China. And that's because China is sanctified. It is set apart for special use.

2:02The china comes out at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and when mom comes to town for special events, that's when the china comes out. And after the meal, the china has to be hand-washed and carefully stored until the next time that it's used. It's a pain, but that's what China is for. It is set apart to be used for a special purpose. It's not set apart to sit in a cabinet and never be used. It's used for those special occasions when chinette paper plates would leave a little something to be desired.

2:39Well, today in John 17, we're going to study the second part of what is known as the high priestly prayer. Before Christmas, we covered John 17, 1 through 5, where Jesus prays for himself. And next week, we're going to look at verses 20 through 26, where Jesus prays for us, the future disciples that are going to believe in his name. Today, we're going to... To look at Jesus' prayer for his disciples. And what we're going to see is that the disciples were sanctified. They were set apart for special use by God.

3:10And the reason they were sanctified is because they were given a mission. So we're going to learn today that we have been sanctified and sent with the good news of Jesus. As Jesus prays for his disciples, we learn in this passage that they've been sanctified by God. But we don't actually see that word in this passage until we come to it in verse 17. But that idea is present all throughout the prayer. And the Greek word that's translated sanctified is hagiazo.

3:44It means something like to make holy, to consecrate, or to set apart for special use. In verse 6, Jesus notes that he manifested or revealed in detail the Father's name, that is his character and will, to the people whom you gave me out of the world. And then he goes on to say, yours they were, and you gave them to me. So we see here in verse 6 right away that out of all the sinful, rebellious, idolatrous people in the world, the Father, in his grace, chose to reveal himself to many and then gave them to the Son. But how would we know whether Or not we have been given to the Son by the Father.

4:34We'll look again at the end of verse 6. Jesus says, and they have kept your word. Our response to the word of God reveals whether we belong to him or not. I want you to look on the screen at John chapter 14, what Jesus said just a few chapters ago. Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

5:09Look at 1 John chapter 2, also written by the Apostle John. Verses 4 through 6 say, Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, in him truly, the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Our response to God's word tells the truth about whether we belong to him. Those who hear the word and keep it belong to the Father and the Son, but those who only hear the word without keeping it do not belong to the Father or the Son.

5:58That's exactly what Jesus says next. Let's take a look at verse 8. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they received them, and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. Receive, know, believe. There is a progression that is evident here in verse 8. You have to receive the truth before you can know it, and you have to know the truth before you can believe it in your heart. Receive, know, believe.

6:39In Jesus' day, much like today, there are many thousands of people that heard his words. Some rejected his words, including members of his own family. They concluded that he was crazy or a blasphemer or whatever else. Others received his words, but that's all. They concluded that he was a good rabbi, a wise teacher. They thought maybe he was a godly man. But a smaller number came not just to receive them, but to know in truth that Jesus came from God.

7:17So if you think all the way back to John chapter 3, Jesus has this interaction with Nicodemus, who is a great Pharisee and one of the most respected teachers of the law in Israel. This man received Jesus. Jesus's words and seemingly came to know that he came from God. That's what he said. Take a look at John chapter 3. He says to Jesus, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

7:50Nicodemus received Jesus' words and came to know that Jesus came from the Father. But friends, you can receive Jesus' words and know in your head that he came from the Father and never take that final step referred to here in the passage, and that is belief. There is a difference between knowing in your head and knowing in your heart. There is a difference between intellectual knowledge that Jesus is who he claimed to be and true heart belief that is trust in the person and work of Jesus. Knowing in your head and knowing in your heart are not the same thing. And friends, many people in our country, perhaps some of you listening to this sermon today, need to make that transition. You need to go from just knowing in your head the facts about Jesus, and you need to cross the line into faith.

8:50You need to place your trust in his life and death and resurrection on your behalf, not merely believing that he is who he claimed to be, the Son of God and the Son of God. The one and only Savior of the world. That is true, but you need to trust in him with your heart. Those who belong to the Father and the Son are those who have kept his word. They've received it and come to know that Jesus came from God, and they've come to believe that that is true.

9:20They are the ones who are sanctified or set apart for special use. And what we find here in the passage is that those are the people that Jesus is praying for. Take a look at verse 9. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. Now, we're going to get into the contents of Jesus' prayer a little bit later, but for now, what's important is that Jesus is praying for who?

10:00For his people who have kept his word. Jesus is praying for them, not for the world. And I think that's really important for us to notice and understand. Now, I don't mean to suggest that we should not pray for non-Christians. Paul commanded us to pray for kings and all those who were in authority in 1 Timothy chapter 2, and we have to assume that many of them, if not most of them, were not Christians. So, I don't mean to suggest that we should never pray for non-Christians, but look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 9.

10:37When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. When Jesus saw all of those lost people who were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, he didn't say to his disciples, Do you see all these lost people? Pray for them.

11:16No, what did he say to them? Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Pray for the Christians to go out into the harvest. Church, I don't want to go too far, but our lost friends and family members, our co-workers and classmates, our neighbors, their greatest need is not our prayers. Their greatest need is our witness. They need us to go to them with the good news of Jesus, with the hope that there is forgiveness and eternal life offered in him.

12:00The good news that we can be reconciled to God through faith in his life, death, and resurrection, that's what they need. Because let's be honest, it's a lot easier to pray for the lost than to go to them and risk being rejected, ridiculed, persecuted for what we believe. It's much easier to pray than to go. And so we should pray for our lost friends and family members, I'm sure, at some level. But even more than that, we should be going to them with the good news of the gospel.

12:36As we're going to see in the rest of the passage, that's why the disciples were sanctified. Because they were sent out into the world with the good news of Jesus. And as sent people, we're called to live lives that are holy and distinct from the world. That's what Jesus is communicating to his disciples. And that's what he's communicated all along through his ministry. Remember what he said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5? Take a look.

13:03You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that. They may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

13:37Pastor Mark referred to this passage last week in his sermon on Daniel chapter 1, where we were reminded and encouraged that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Our job is to preserve this dying world from decay through our witness. And our world is to bring light into the darkness through our witness as well. The purpose, as Jesus says at the end of that passage in Matthew 5:16, is that they would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. But for them to see our good works, church, we have to be among them. We have to be willing to befriend them. We have to be willing to meet them where they are. We have to become the friend of sinners, just as Jesus was. It's only in that way that they will see that our lives are so obviously set apart for God that they will come to ask questions about why we believe what we believe and why we live the way that we live.

14:38But that brings about a very good question, and that is: how will we be sanctified? How will we become holy and distinct? Well, it's by the same means that set us apart to begin with. Let's look at verse 17. Sanctify. Them in your truth. Your word is truth. Now, in this verse, Jesus prays that God the Father would sanctify us, would set us apart for his special purposes in the truth. And then he makes this statement: your word is truth.

15:25That's fascinating. Jesus does not say, Your word is true. The Greek word alethia here is not an adjective, it's a noun. Your word is truth. So his word is not being described as true. Jesus is saying that God's word is truth itself. And what that means is that there's not some external standard that exists by which the word of God is judged as either true or false. No, God's word is the standard of truth. And because God's word is truth, God's word is also the means of our sanctification. Because remember, that word sanctify means something like to make holy, to consecrate, to set apart for special use. And up to this point, we've been talking about the meaning of that word and how it's being used as. Being set apart for special use. But now Jesus is using this word in a different way. It's the same word, but it's a slightly different nuance. He's using it in the sense of to make holy.

16:43So if we go back to my example of the china, when you get a set of china, you set it apart for special use. It goes in a cabinet, and maybe it even goes in special storage containers to make sure that it doesn't get scratched or broken while it's being put away. But when you use it, the china gets dirty. It's got to be cleaned, washed, and in the case of silver, it's got to be polished. You've got to rub all the oil off of the silver so that it doesn't rust.

17:19In other words, as you use the china, it has to continually be made holy so that it can continue to be used for that special purpose. And friends, in the same way, that's true for us. When God chose us and gave us to His Son, He set us apart for this special use. But we still need to be made holy in an ongoing way so that our lives stand out from the rest of the world. And the way that happens, Jesus says, is through the Word, because God's Word is truth.

17:57As we read the Word and Study it and meditate on it and pray it, we become holier and holier people. The more that we come to know and trust and obey Jesus, who lives within us through the Holy Spirit, the holier we become. And that's exactly what verse 19 suggests, the last verse in our passage for this morning. Take a look at verse 19. And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

18:35Jesus is consecrated, he is perfectly sanctified and holy and set apart. And through faith, he lives in us. So he's saying that he consecrates himself so that we can be made holy through him living in us through faith. That's a remarkable truth. All throughout this passage, we see that we have been sanctified by God, set apart for his special purposes, and then made holy through the word. And we have been set apart and made holy. Why?

19:15To be sent into the world with the good news of Jesus. Let's go back here to verse 11. Jesus says, And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. So, again, Jesus is reiterating that his time on earth is coming to a close. But for the disciples, it was not. They are going to remain in the world after he's gone. Now, look at the first part of verse 15.

19:56I do not ask that you take them out of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world. So, Jesus is going away, he's leaving the world, but he's not taking the disciples with him. And he's not asking the Father to take them out of the world either. Many Christians ask the question: why doesn't God immediately take his people to heaven when they believe? That's a fair question, isn't it? What's the point of remaining here on this earth if we have been saved through faith and are going to heaven eventually anyway? Why does God leave his people here on the earth? Why does he just take us right now? Well, verse 18 gives us the answer. Look down at verse 18.

20:44He says, As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. Church, that's why Jesus doesn't immediately take us to heaven when we believe. It's because he is. Sent us on a mission. That's why he leaves us in the world and doesn't ask God to take us out of the world. It's because we've been sent on a mission just as the Father sent Jesus the Son on a mission. Take a look at Luke 19:10.

21:16Jesus said, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. In order to seek and to save the lost, God didn't merely speak from heaven, although he had done that many times before. No, he sent Jesus to be Immanuel, God with us. He sent Jesus to be God incarnate, God in the flesh. That is how Jesus came, to be with us in the flesh, to seek and to save the lost. And now that mission is our mission. We've been sent by Jesus just as Jesus was sent by the Father in the flesh to seek and to save the lost. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his disciples the great commission, which applies to every believer. He says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

22:27In the Great Commission, we are commanded. To go, to go to seek and to save the lost. We are not supposed to wait for the lost to come to us. Our calling, rather, is to go to them, to share the good news of Jesus, to baptize them, and then to teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded. That is our mission. We've been sent by Jesus just as God the Father sent him. And because we've been sent on this enormous mission that is fraught with all kinds of difficulties, Jesus prays for his disciples. He prays three things: for our unity, for our joy, and for our protection. First, Jesus prays for unity. I want you to look at the second half of verse 11.

23:26Jesus prays this: Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Jesus' prayer is that the disciples would be one just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one. Now, if you think about that for two seconds, that's an enormous ask. He is praying for perfect unity for his disciples. For the men, Who, not that long ago, were having an argument about which one of them was the greatest.

24:07He prays for the men, among whom was a Roman tax collector and an Israeli terrorist. He prays for the men, two of whom, sent their mom to go ask Jesus for the places of honor in his kingdom at his right hand and his left. So let's just say unity was not going to come naturally. But that's just the point. Christian unity isn't natural, it is supernatural. It's a gift from God. See, in the world, people unite around things like ethnicity or social status or financial position or shared hobbies and interests.

24:57But in the church, it's not like that, or at least it's not supposed to be like that. Because our unity isn't based on any of those superficial external things. The only thing that we may have in common with one another in the church is our faith in Jesus Christ. But that's a powerful witness. That kind of unity is going to make non-Christians take notice. That's why Jesus prays for it, because they conclude that it has to be. Supernatural. Why else would these people come together and be unified? Look at John chapter 13. Remember what Jesus said, one of the first things he said after he washed their feet in the upper room. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

25:50You see, when we set aside our differences and we lay down our preferences and we unite not around our commonalities with other people who look like us and dress like us and sound like us and enjoy the same thing that we do, when we lay all of that stuff down and we unite around the gospel, people take notice. They conclude that something supernatural must be going on because that kind of unity isn't natural. That's why Jesus prayed for it. And so, church, we must pray for unity as well. But remember what we covenant together in our church covenant here at New Life, we not only pray for unity, we agree to work for unity. And that comes out of Ephesians chapter 4. Take a look on the screen. Paul writes, I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with One another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

27:09I want to leave those verses up for just a minute as we reflect on them. The COVID season was one of the most divisive times in our country and in many churches as well. And so, here at New Life, we decided that we would try to put into practice what we say in our church covenant: that we agree to work and to pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And so, we spent all of last year reading scripture together and memorizing it together. We started a new initiative called Coffee and Conversation, where we could sit knee to knee with each other, look each other in the eye, get to know each other better, and pray for each other.

27:53We took time over the last year to come together in community dinners in homes. We started eating together and praying together before every member's meeting of the year. And so, going into this year, into 2023, our church has never been more unified in our nearly 14-year history. God has answered our prayers about unity, but I want you to see that He worked through means. It didn't just happen magically, we worked and we did all of those things together to maintain the unity of the Spirit. In the bond of peace, as Ephesians 4, verse 3 says. So, friends, every one of us here has a role to play in maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. All of us.

28:45What is your role to play in maintaining unity? Do you need to reach out to someone who seems kind of on the margins of our church? Maybe they're not really connected to a life group or to other believers here at New Life? Have you been putting off a conversation that you need to have with somebody because you've experienced some friction in your relationship? Are you harboring any bitterness or offense that needs to be reconciled? You see, living in unity is difficult in this world because all of us are fallen, but living in unity in the church can be even more difficult because the primary thing and maybe the only thing we have in common is our faith in Jesus. And so we've got to pray for it and work for it. So that's the first thing Jesus prays for is unity. And as we're sent out into the world, unity is a powerful witness that our testimony about Jesus is true.

29:52Second, Jesus prays for joy. Take a look at verse 13. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. Jesus was going to the Father, and this was about to be the most difficult time of the disciples' lives. Their teacher, their rabbi, their friend, their Messiah, he was going away. And yet, what does Jesus pray for? He prays that his disciples would have his joy.

30:33His joy. This man who knows he's about to be forsaken by all of his disciples and betrayed by one of them, this man who knows he's going to be scourged and beaten and nailed to a cross, Jesus prays that they would have his joy. How could one have joy in the face of all of that? Hebrews chapter 12 tells us. Look on the screen. We're told that we are to be looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

31:25What kind of joy do you have to have to endure crucifixion? And crucifixion after you have been betrayed not just by your best friends on earth, but forsaken by your God, your Father. What kind of joy do you have to have? That's the kind of joy that Jesus prays that we would have as his disciples. But I think, friends, a good question to ask this morning is: are we actually a joyful people? Are we actually a joyful people? Look at 1 Peter 3:15.

32:08But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. Now, look at that verse. Peter says that we should always be prepared to give an answer to anybody who asks for the reason of the hope that is within us. But if nobody ever asks, maybe the problem is our demeanor, our complaining, our addictions.

32:54Maybe any or all of those things lead people to conclude that there's not much hope that we have. That's worth asking about. And so, church, Jesus prayed that the disciples would have his joy fulfilled in themselves. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. And when you believe in Jesus Christ, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit and filled with him. You receive joy when you receive Jesus. So, no Christian, no matter your personality, no matter which of the 52 Enneagram numbers you are, no Christian can say, that's just not my personality.

33:38That doesn't mean you have to go skipping around all the time and look like the happiest person on earth if that's not you, but there has to be a joy that is in you that other people can see because you've received that joy when you received Christ. And so, if nobody's asking about the joy that we have, then maybe we're not exhibiting it for this lost and dying world to see. So, Jesus prays for our unity, and then he prays for our joy. Because when God's people are obviously filled with joy, a joyless world takes notice.

34:14Third and finally, Jesus prays for protection. Go back to verse 12. Jesus prays this: While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me, I have guarded them. And not one of them has been lost except the Son of Destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. So, Jesus notes that while He was with the disciples, He kept and guarded them. Judas was the only one that He didn't, and that's because the Scriptures had to be fulfilled. Jesus, according to Scripture, had to be betrayed by a close friend who shared His bread because all of that is a picture of how every one of us have betrayed the God who created us and loves us and provides for us.

35:08As for the rest of the disciples, Jesus kept them and guarded them, and not one of them was lost. But again, He's leaving the world, and the disciples are remaining in it. Look at verse 14: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Skip down to verse 16. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

35:46The world hates Christians because we do not share their perspective or their values in most cases. We are at odds with the world because of our faith in the way that we. Live our lives serving a heavenly king and a heavenly kingdom. So, again, we might assume that what would be best for us and that what Jesus wants for us is to take us out of the world. But we've already seen that he does not pray that. Go back to verse 15.

36:18He says here in verse 15, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. Church, we have an adversary fighting against us at all times. That's why Peter writes this in 1 Peter chapter 5. Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

37:00We have an adversary, friends, and I think many of us in the West, the Western church, especially the modern Western church, we deny that reality, that we actually have a supernatural enemy, Satan. I'm reminded of when an American pastor, someone told this story in a book I read once, an American pastor traveled to Africa and they got into a conversation about Satan and his work in the lives of people that were trying to be reached with the gospel by members of that church. And he challenged the African pastor. Pastor, and he said, Do you think there's a demon behind every bush? And the African pastor said, No, there's way more than that.

37:41I think that we've been lulled to sleep by the idea that Satan is not real. That's maybe his greatest deception: convincing Christians that he's not actually here, making war on us. No, what the Bible tells us, friends, is that he is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, seeking to attack and destroy Christians. That's why in the next verse, Peter says that we must resist him firm in our faith. That's why Jesus teaches us to pray and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil or from the evil one.

38:18And that's why Jesus prays for us, because we are in the middle of a spiritual war. Church, it is no coincidence that you have never felt sleepier than when your alarm goes off in the morning to pray. It is no coincidence that a coworker has something come up at the last minute when you plan to take them to lunch and share the gospel with them. It's no coincidence that your roommate's professor assigned homework at the last minute when you are going to sit down with them and study the Bible together. It is no coincidence that you happen to see something scary. On the news about something happening in our community the night before you were going to go out and serve the outcast.

39:07And it's no coincidence that no member of your household can find their Bible, their offering, or their pants at 8:57 a.m. on Sunday. It is no coincidence. We are in a spiritual war and we are fighting against an evil general with thousands of years of experience in battle who takes no prisoners. That's the truth. That's why Jesus prays for us, because he knows what's at stake. Unity, joy, protection. These are Jesus' prayers for us as we go out into the world with the good news of the gospel.

39:50This morning, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle John, has given us the opportunity to know what Jesus prayed for his disciples. As Jesus said in verse 9, he's not praying for the world, he's praying for his disciples. And so perhaps this morning you've come to realize that you are not one of the people that Jesus is praying for because you don't belong to him. And you don't belong to him because you've come to realize that you've not kept his word. You've not received what he has said. You haven't come to know that Jesus came from God. And you haven't. Come to believe that reconciliation and forgiveness and eternal life only come through faith in Christ.

40:39But, friends, you need to understand that if that's true for you, God has brought you here today for that very purpose, that you might hear the good news to call you out of the world into His family through faith in His Son. God has erected no barrier between you and Him. You have a barrier between you and Him, it is your sin, but God has not erected a barrier. In fact, He has made a way, the way, Jesus Christ, through His sinless life, His death, and resurrection. And so, this morning, if you have not done that, if you've realized that maybe you've thought good thoughts about Jesus or you've come to know the facts, but you've never believed in Him, may today be the day that you place your faith in Him, that you turn from your sin and receive Jesus by faith.

41:35And friends, if you're already following Christ, then understand you have been set apart for a special mission. And what that means is we are called to pursue holiness and work for unity and exhibit joy as we take the good news of the gospel into the world. The world needs what only Jesus can do for it. And in God's mercy, we've been sanctified and set apart. Apart to take that good news out into the world. Let's pray.

42:25Father, we thank you for choosing us, setting us apart, and making us holy for your glory and for your purposes. We ask for your forgiveness for the ways that we have neglected our mission, where we've turned our eyes inward to ourselves or to just our families or even just other members of our church. We want to be those who obey the great commission, not out of duty, but out of delight, because we have good news. It is good news to us, and we believe it will be good news to others. And so we ask that you would help us to engage or to re-engage our mission out of that joy.

43:22God, we pray that you would help us to be a unified church, that we would pray. And work for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That from our unity and joy, people would be drawn to ask questions about our lives and the hope that we have and what's so different about us. We're sorry that our lives have not stood out the way that they need to. So we pray that you would help us to be not just hearers of the word today, but doers, and that our community would be changed and our world would be changed as a result. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

44:05Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.