Calvary Road Baptist Church

“The Lord Jesus Christ Praying For His Remaining Apostles” Part 14

John 17.6-19 

As a devotional exercise, let me recommend that you arrange for some solitary time and space where you will not be distracted by anyone nor disturbed by random noises that may even for a moment grab your attention. I urge this upon you so that you can focus your attention on the passage we are about to read. Oh, yes. Revisit the passage even after I have preached on it.

Sit in a comfortable place and open God’s Word to John 17.1, and first read the beginning five verses as if you are a first-century Jewish person who is recently removed from a Passover meal with the Savior, followed by the Son of God introducing to you a remembrance known as the Lord’s Supper, properly observed by a small congregation of Church members.

As you are reading John 17.1-5, let me suggest that you intentionally remind yourself that you are overhearing the Son of God praying to God the Father. You have heard such praying by Him before. But on this occasion His praying seems especially fervent and focused to you, especially coming as it does a few minutes after He washed your feet, announced that His betrayer was present, and informed you that He was leaving and that you could not follow Him.

You have experienced a series of astonishments recently so that overhearing Him pray impresses you beyond your ability to describe. Only one of your number will ever be able to rehearse this prayer in writing to others, and then only sixty or so years later. But you have thought about this prayer every day of your life since first hearing your Lord offer it up to the Father on high.

Concluding His plea on His behalf to His Father, you then find yourself listening in as your Master alters the focus of His plea to God for you. He is praying for you, specifically for you. This portion of the Savior’s prayer we will read together. You will want to reread the passage, alone, as I have described, at another time.

Let us begin by reading from John 17.6: 

6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

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

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

“The men which thou gavest me,” “they, “them,” “they, “they,” “them,” they,” “they,” “them,” “them,” “they,” “them,” “these,” “those,” “they,” “them,” “them,” “those that thou gavest me,” “them,” “they,” “themselves,” “them,” “them,” “they,” “them,” “them,” “They,” “them,” “them,” “their,” “they.” So many times, the Savior referred to His beloved men as He prayed for them in these fourteen verses. Thirty-one times!

Would you imagine they took note of the many times He directly referred to them while speaking to His heavenly Father? How could they not take note? One almost always notices the conversations of others when mention is made of them. Especially so here, I would imagine.

The passage closes out the portion of our Lord’s prayer to His Father exclusively on behalf of the eleven men who were with Him that night, who were so obviously on His mind and heart as He prayed. The only way He could more effectively show them His love for them would be to die for Him, something He would do in a few hours.

From verse 20 to the end of this chapter, the Savior’s prayer was for those of us who come after in the faith. I would suggest you read verses 20 through 26 at another time. But for now, we will concentrate on the final verse of that portion of our Lord’s high priestly intercessory prayer He offered up on behalf of His remaining eleven apostles: 

“And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” 

Consider the two phrases of what the Lord Jesus Christ prayed to His Father in verse 19 separately: 

First, the Lord said, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself.” 

Reflect with me on the import of the opening words, 

“And for their sakes.” 

First, allow me to speculate on the impact on His men upon hearing these words. They hear the Savior asserting a monumental step He was about to take “for their sakes.” Excuse me, but that is the language of love describing an act of love. Blessed is the woman whose husband shows love for his wife, not by what he says, but by what he does for her sake. A father does not communicate love toward his children only by what he says, but by what they see him do “for their sakes.” Here the Lord speaks love, but in a few hours, He will back up these significant words with even more significant actions.

Next, allow me to explore the meaning of these words spoken by the Lord to His Father. Our English phrase “And for their sakes” translates but three Greek words, “kaὶ ὑpá½²r aὐtῶn.” Kaá½· is the Greek conjunction that usually means “and,” so here. Aὐtῶn is the Greek pronoun that means “them” or “their.” The genuinely significant word of the three is ὑpá½³r, a preposition having to do with representation or substitution.[1] The word is used eleven times in John’s Gospel, and you can see for yourself this understanding of the word when the Lord uses the term, as well as when the Lord’s enemies use the term.[2]

Thus, the Savior speaks here to something He will do on behalf of His oft-mentioned men. And He will do what He is about to do for a variety of reasons, with them likely being most impressed as they hear Him uttering these words with His love for them. 

“And for their sakes I sanctify myself.” 

Looking, now, at the words “I sanctify myself,” can we imagine, for one moment, that our Lord’s comment about sanctifying Himself has anything to do with sin? No. No. This is not immediately about sin, but about dedication, about the Savior’s designation of Himself to the work and office of Mediator. He is praying with an eye for what will take place the next morning, when He is to be crucified according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. It is then that He fulfills His calling as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”[3]

This portion of His prayer is the expression of His commitment, dedication, intention, and determination. He is devoted to what is about to occur, every aspect of it, the offering of Himself as the Lamb of God. In His offering of Himself, He performs the office of our Great High Priest. Additionally, the Lamb of God, our Great High Priest, is also the altar. Is it as much discouragement to you as it is to me to hear so many references to “an old fashioned altar,” or to urge people to come forward to “the altar,” when Hebrews 13.10 declares, “We have an altar,” and that altar is Jesus Christ?

As the priest and the altar, the Lord Jesus sanctified Himself as the sacrifice. When He said, “Father, glorify thy name,” in John 12.28, when He said, “Thy will be done,” in Matthew 26.41, and when He said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” in Luke 23.46, He was attesting what He also prayed in this verse, that He was committed to fulfilling the task He left heaven’s glory to accomplish. Each time He was sanctifying Himself, in actuality and not just in effect setting His humanity aside as devoted wholly to God.

He prays these words to His Father. Recognize that His intercession on our behalf will be made possible by what He will do on the cross of Calvary. And does He not directly speak to that with His opening words in this verse, “And for their sakes”? Yes, He most certainly does speak to that with these words. What a remarkable tie-in to His offering as our Substitute for sin, “the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God,” First Peter 3.18.

Having done that, having offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, upon rising from the dead, He would then by His blood enter into the holy place, Hebrews 9.12, to obtain eternal redemption for us: 

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” 

You see, my friend, someone has to deal with your sins so you will not have to suffer the eternal torment of the damned as punishment for your wickedness. And since you can do yourself no good at all, you must trust a Redeemer to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. That Redeemer, the only Redeemer, is this One who prayed to His Father, my Lord Jesus Christ. 

Then, the Lord said, “that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” 

If you are familiar with this portion of the Lord’s prayer, or if you were with us when my messages had John 17.17 for texts, you will remember the Lord’s second request for His eleven men, “Sanctify them through thy truth.” Where have we heard that before? I refer to the words “sanctified through the truth.” how wonderful it is for the Lord Jesus Christ to sanctify Himself so that the eleven also might be sanctified through the truth. The Savior set Himself aside so that His apostles might be set aside. Of course, we understand this sanctification takes place by means of immersion in the truth, the truth being God’s Word, John 17.17.

Here is a thought. Although there is an obvious application of this truth to all Christians down through the ages, I am wondering if we have lost sight of these eleven men being Christ’s “little flock,” His embryonic Church as distinct from the family of God consisting of all believers.[4] One is adopted into the family of God when one is born again, John 1.12-13: 

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

And Galatians 3.26: 

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” 

But one becomes the member of a Church when, as a believer in Jesus Christ and already a member of the family of God, you are authorized by the congregation to be immersed in water to publicly declare your allegiance and commitment to Christ and become a Church member as part of that congregational body of Christ. Only minutes before the Lord had concluded a session that began in the Upper Room with twelve men and concluded with these eleven.

Why was His mother not invited to that gathering?

Why were none of His siblings invited to attend?

Why were Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, who lived nearby, not invited to join in?

They were not invited because they were not members of His “little flock,” His embryonic Church as distinct from the family of God consisting of all believers. They would become members in short order. But they were not yet members of Christ’s Church, His “little flock,”

Is not membership in a Church of Jesus Christ a separation for service from those who profess Christ as their Savior, but who are not, or who are not yet, incorporated by believer baptism (which is a public profession of faith in Christ and an identification with His death and resurrection)? And is it not the Church of Jesus Christ that has been given the authorization of the Great Commission, rather than Christianity at large, Christianity at large and the Church of Jesus Christ not being the same things?

Recognize that I am not suggesting those who are not in the Church are not, therefore, not Christians. Anyone who has trusted Christ, everyone who is born again, is a member of the family of God and is as heaven-bound as any believer. That said, the confusion that reigns in Christendom about the Church, the body of Christ, leads to tremendous confusion for so many people. And it would be good for any believer in Jesus Christ to be separated for service to the Savior by means of believer baptism and membership in a duly constituted congregation committed to the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ’s sanctification was for “their” sanctification, Christ’s sacrifice was for “their” sacrifice, with the word “their” referring to those eleven men. Is there application of this truth to the others who were believers in Christ that evening, be they in Jerusalem or Galilee? Yes! But remember that this prayer was offered up to the Father by the Savior for those eleven men who were with Him that evening. Paul would write several decades later, in Philippians 2.17, 

“Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.” 

And also, in Second Timothy 4.6: 

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.” 

So, we see that the setting apart of others for service to Christ that was a reality for those eleven men that night became a reality for others soon after that, just as it is a reality in our day. My insistence is on the recognition that the best example of personal consecration and sanctification in the Church era occurs when a believer follows the Lord in believer baptism and lives for and serves the Lord as a maturing and learning participant in a Church congregation as a member.

Another thought. Whatever there is in the death of the saints that is precious in the sight of the Lord, Psalm 116.15, it is owing to the death of the Lord Jesus. We understand that in Old Testament times the Aaronic priests under the Law of Moses were consecrated for service with the blood of bulls and goats. These eleven men, however, would be consecrated with the blood of Jesus Christ. Getting back to what I mentioned a moment ago, regarding those men as Christ’s “little flock.” Our Lord sanctified Himself so those men might be sanctified. But Ephesians 5.25-26 reads, 

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. 

Notice the terminology used by the Apostle Paul. The Savior prayed for the eleven to be sanctified through the truth, the Word, in John 17.17 and 19, and Ephesians 5.26. He that designed the end designed also the means, that His own might be sanctified by the truth, the truth which Christ came into the world to bear witness to and died to confirm. The Word of truth receives its sanctifying virtue and power from Christ’s sacrifice. 

Do you think the Savior’s prayers for His men were answered by the Father? Without doubt.

Those men were set aside for His ministry, to preach His name, and with all but one of them, to die a martyr’s death for Him. Throughout their lives, they fulfilled their responsibility. They discharged their duty to immerse themselves in the truth, which is God’s holy Word.

Immersion in the truth was the means used in their lives, and it is the means used in our lives. We must be men and women of the Book, by the Book, and in the Book. We must familiarize ourselves with God’s Word by reading it, by memorizing it, by meditating on it (thereby hiding God’s Word in our hearts), by studying it, and by ministering it to others in a manner that reflects your unique spiritual identity and capabilities.

This, I think, is reflected in the Apostle Paul’s comments from imprisonment, when he wrote to Timothy, 

11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.[5] 

A. T. Robertson writes, “These in particular would likely be copies of Old Testament books, parchment being more expensive than papyrus, possibly even copies of Christ’s sayings.”[6] Thus, even the Apostle Paul, the most scholarly of the apostles of Jesus Christ, recognized the need to have and to immerse himself in God’s Word by reading and by study, as well as devotionally. I commend that practice to you, as well.

Take that, along with First Corinthians 12.4-6, which reads, 

4  Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 

Everyone needs to take in the Word by various means, even the Apostle Paul. And everyone needs to, in turn, give out the Word of God, depending on the spiritual package God has given you. Each believer has his or her own spiritual gift. Each member occupies a unique place in the congregation, referred to as administrations, place of service. Each member has a diversity of operations, which is how you go about doing what you do in ministry.

Not suggesting everyone is a Bible teacher. But the net result of you ingesting Bible truth through reading, memorizing, listening to sermons, etc., is that you are thereby prepared to give out in some way, depending on your spiritual gift, your place of ministry, and your Scripture-guided way of doing ministry.

Someone in the nursery will be able to speak a word of encouragement to a young mother. Someone in the parking lot can express love and wisdom to those coming and going. Ministry to children, wise words spoken to those passing by. What the Savior expressed in His prayer for those eleven men was greatly expanded on by those men and by the Apostle Paul in the rest of the New Testament.

But it all began with the Savior, did it not? And He prayed for those eleven men. After His resurrection He would add to their number, so that there were 120 at the beginning of the Day of Pentecost, and more than 3,000 by the end of the day.

Here we are, more than two thousand years later, vitally connected by faith and truth to our glorified and enthroned Savior, seeking to understand and apply what He did, what He is continuing to do, and what He will do in the future ... with you and through you until He returns in power and great glory.

This brings to a conclusion that portion of our Lord’s high priestly intercessory prayer for His remaining apostles. From verses 20-26, He prays for the likes of you and me.

__________

[1] Lidija Novakovic, John 11-21: A Handbook On The Greek Text - BHGNT, (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2020), page 206.

[2] See John 6.51; 10.11, 15; 11.50, 51, 52; 13.37, 38; 15.13; 18.19; 18.14

[3] John 1.29.

[4] Luke 12.32; 6.13-16; 1 Corinthians 12.28

[5] 2 Timothy 4.11-12.

[6] A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol IV, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1931), page 632.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church