John 17:19

Again, our Lord gives a reason why the disciples are worthy your of obtaining such favor our from the Father: I have given them your word; and the world has hated them; i.e. They are had in hatred for your sake, and on account of your word.

They had not yet experienced these sufferings which they afterwards met with; but, after His custom, He puts the future into the past tense. Then He gives the reason why the world hated them; viz. Because they are not of the world. This was conferred upon them by regeneration; for by nature they were of the world. It was given to them that they should not be of the world, even as He was not of the world; as it follows; Even as I am not of the world. He never was of the world; for even His birth of the form of a servant He received from the Holy Ghost, from Whom they were born again. But though they were no longer of the world, it was still necessary that they should be in the world: I pray not that you should take them out of the world.

As if to say, The time is now at hand, when I shall be taken out of the world; and therefore it is necessary that they should be still left in the world, in order to preach Me and You to the world. But that you should keep them from the evil; every evil, but especially the evil of schism.

He repeats the same thing again; They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Above, when He said, Then whom you gave Me out of the world, He meant their nature; here He means their actions. They are not of the world; because they have nothing, in common with earth they are made citizens of heaven. Wherein He shows His love for them, thus praising them to the Father. The word as when used with respect to Him and the Father expresses likeness of nature; but between us and Christ there is immense distance Keep them from the evil, i.e. not from dangers only, but from falling away from the faith.

Sanctify them through your truth: for thus were they to be kept from the evil. But it may be asked, how it was that they were not of the world, when they were not yet sanctified in the truth? Because the sanctified have still to grow in sanctity, and this by the help of God’s grace. The heirs of the New Testament are sanctified in that truth, the shadows of which were the sanctification of the Old Testament; they are sanctified in Christ, Who said above, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It follows, your discourse is truth. The Greek is i.e. word. The Father then sanctified them in the truth, i.e. in His Word the Only-Begotten, them, i.e. the heirs of God, and joint-heirs With Christ.

Or thus: Sanctify them in your truth; i.e. Make them holy, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and sound doctrines: for sound doctrines give knowledge of God, and sanctify the soul. And as He is speaking of doctrines, He adds, your word is truth, i.e. there is in it no lie, nor anything typical, or bodily. Again, Sanctify them in your truth, may mean, Separate them for the ministry of the word, and preaching.

As you have sent Me into the world, even so have 1 also sent them into the world. For what Christ was sent into the world, for the same end were they as said Paul, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself; and has given to us the word of reconciliation. As does not express perfect likeness between our Lord and His Apostles, but only as much as was possible in men. Have sent them, He says, according to His custom of putting the past for the future.

It is manifest by this, that He is still speaking of the Apostles; for the very word Apostle means in the Greek, sent. But since they are His members, in that He is the Head of the Church, He says, And for their sakes I sanctity Myself; i.e. I in Myself sanctify them, since they are Myself. And to make it more clear that this was His meaning, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth, i.e. in Me; inasmuch as the Word is truth, in which the Son of man was sanctified from the time that the Word was as made flesh. For then He sanctified Himself in Himself, i.e. Himself as man, in Himself as the Word: the Word and man being one Christ. But of His members it is that He said, And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. them in Me, since in Me both they and I are. That they also might be sanctified in truth: they also, i.e. even as Myself; and in the truth, i.e. Myself.

Or thus: for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. I offer Myself as a sacrifice to You; for all sacrifices, and things that are offered to God, see called holy. And whereas this sanctification was of old in figure, (a sheep being the sacrifice,) but now in truth, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth: i.e. For I make them too an oblation to You, either meaning that He who was offered up was their head, or that they would be offered up too: as the Apostle says, Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy.

9. Perhaps some one may wish to drive us to say, that the Son is sent also by Himself, because the conception and childbirth of Mary is the working of the Trinity, by whose act of creating all things are created. And how, he will go on to say, has the Father sent Him, if He sent Himself? To whom I answer first, by asking him to tell me, if he can, in what manner the Father hath sanctified Him, if He hath sanctified Himself? For the same Lord says both; “Say ye of Him,” He says, “whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God;” while in another place He says, “And for their sake I sanctify myself.” I ask, also, in what manner the Father delivered Him, if He delivered Himself? For the Apostle Paul says both: “Who,” he says, “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all;” while elsewhere he says of the Saviour Himsel …

Neither was he content with this, but added, “according to the Scriptures:” hereby both again making his argument credible, and intimating what kind of death he was speaking of: since it is the death of the body which the Scriptures everywhere proclaim. For, “they pierced My hands and My feet,” ( Ps. xxi. 18 .) saith He, and, “they shall look on Him Whom they pierced.” ( John xix. 37, Zech. xii. 10 .) And many other instances, too not to name all one by one, partly in words and partly in types, one may see in them stored up, setting forth His slaughter in the flesh and that He was slain for our sins. For, “for the sins of my people,” saith one, “is He come to death:” and, “the Lord delivered Him up for our sins:” and, “He was wounded for our transgressions.” ( Is. …

Ver. 19 . “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified in the truth.”

And what is [the meaning of] “He bare the sins”? Just as in the Oblation we bear up our sins and say, “Whether we have sinned voluntarily or involuntarily, do Thou forgive,” that is, we make mention of them first, and then ask for their forgiveness. So also was it done here. Where has Christ done this? Hear Himself saying, “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself.” ( John xvii. 19 .) Lo! He bore the sins. He took them from men, and bore them to the Father; not that He might determine anything against them [mankind], but that He might forgive them.