John 17:12–19
“Sanctified in the Truth”
Today is a sort of an in-between Sunday as we finalize the
Easter Season. We have observed, this
past Thursday, Christ’s Ascension, 40 days after Easter. And next Sunday, Pentecost, will be 50 days
from Easter. So it’s a transitional
time. Christ has ascended, reigns as our
heavenly king, and soon we will celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit on the
church, and the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
So what does the lectionary do with this sort of odd
Sunday? It focuses us on Christ’s great
“High Priestly Prayer”. Really all of
John 17 records this prayer for us that Jesus would have prayed on Maundy
Thursday. It’s 26 verses in all, but
today’s 8 verses are the heart of this prayer.
Now, of course, Jesus was genuinely praying to his Father
with these words, but he was also praying them so the disciples, and now we,
the church, could hear them and learn from them. And so this prayer teaches us about Christ’s
will and his work for us. In a way, he
answers his own prayer by his messianic activity. And he also sets us an example of prayer, so
that we too may come to the Father asking for the good gifts we need in Jesus’
name.
Now, what does Jesus ask for when he prays?
Well, he prays for his disciples – the 12 – and also after
this, for all of us who would follow in the faith they would preach. He prays that they would have joy, that they
would be guarded from the evil one and the hateful world. And then he prays that they would be
“sanctified in the truth”. He repeats
that request, too, so it must be an important petition. Let’s focus on it especially today: What does it mean to be sanctified in the truth?
Sanctification is one of those theological terms that we
don’t hear much outside of the walls of the church. To sanctify means, simply, to “make
holy”. The Holy Spirit’s chief work is
sanctification. He makes us holy. And so it makes sense to hear this prayer of
Jesus the Sunday before we move on to remember his pouring out of the Spirit on
Pentecost.
We also speak of sanctification in two senses. In the wider sense, it means the Spirit’s
work of calling people to faith in Jesus.
In other words, conversion. We
are all sanctified, that is, made holy, by the Spirit, in the water of Baptism,
and by the faith that he creates in our hearts.
The other, the narrower sense of sanctification, has to do
with the Spirit’s ongoing work in the believer’s life. As he continues to call us to repentance and
faith, we are ever sanctified by God’s grace.
The Christian grows in love for God and his neighbor. He grows ever more hateful of his own sin,
and ever more thankful of God’s grace in Christ. No, we never master sin, we will have the Old
Adam clinging to us until death. But we
do, in a very weak sense, cooperate with the Spirit, to bring forth the good
works that are the fruits of faith in our life.
This week with our 7th and 8th grade
MLCA students I watched a video of a famous TV preacher. We’ve been looking at various Christian
denominations and how they developed, and what they believe. And I wanted them to see an example of this
well-known celebrity pastor preaching to a stadium full of people – so that
they can learn to critically evaluate good and bad preaching.
Well, this was some bad preaching. I’m not really even sure I would call it
Christian preaching, for Christ was missing and sin was not mentioned. Instead, it amounted to a continual string of
“do this, don’t do that. Don’t be
bitter, be happy. Don’t give in to your
flesh, but take control of your life…” And on and on he went. As if we could sanctify ourselves, make
ourselves holy all on our own by force of will.
The Lutheran knows better.
We confess in the meaning of the 3rd Article of the
Creed: “I believe that I cannot by my
own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the
Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the truth faith.”
Sanctification, in both the narrow and the wide sense, is
the work of God the Holy Spirit, who brings us to faith in Christ, and keeps us
in the true faith. We are powerless
apart from him and his work. We are
blind and dead in our sins. We can’t
sanctify ourselves. We need our God,
Father, Son and Spirit, to sanctify us.
So how does this happen?
Jesus says it simply. “Sanctify
them in the truth.” And where do we find
the truth, but his word? “Your word is
truth” he also prays.
The Christian simply must hear and know and live and breathe
the word of God. Apart from Christ
himself, who is the Living Word, the Word of God is our highest treasure, our
great heritage. It is the chief and only
means by which we are and must be saved.
For even the sacraments themselves depend on the power of the word. Baptism is not just water, but it is water
combined with God’s word and promise.
The Lord’s Supper is not just bread and wine, but it is, by Christ’s
command and at his word, also a gift of his precious body and blood. Everything, for the Christian, depends on the
word.
It is the word of truth that sanctifies us. And not just any truth, but particularly the
truth of the Gospel. That Christ was
crucified for sinners, of whom I am the foremost. That he who believes and is baptized will be
saved. That all who believe in his name
he gives the power to become the children of God. That he is faithful and just, and will
forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Of course, we also need the truth of the law, to show us our
sins and need for our savior. But the
law only is only part of the story, it’s just half-the-truth. The Gospel finishes out the plan of God for
our salvation, our redemption, our sanctification. We are made holy – not by keeping the law,
because we can’t and we don’t. We are
made holy, only by the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior. And the good news of this word is the way he
delivers that sanctification to us, through the working of his Spirit.
What a treasure we have in God’s word! We hear it read and preached here. Our whole liturgy every Sunday is almost
entirely the words of Scripture. We sing
back to God in songs and hymns and spiritual songs the truth of his word. And
we, like Jesus, pray. We pray in accord
with his word, asking our dear Father as dear children, through the name of our
brother, our savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, dear Christian,
that you may be continually sanctified in the truth, and that Jesus’ prayer may
be answered. Come to his house
regularly. Read and study his word as
you have opportunity. Teach your
children and pray with them. Live and
breathe the word of God in all that you do.
You have been, and you are – sanctified in the truth – made
holy, set apart as God’s people.
Different from the world.
Faithful. Sins forgiven. People with a future, guarded and kept by God
for that day when he calls you home and your sanctification is complete, and
Jesus’ prayer for you is finally and fully answered. In his holy name, Amen.
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