19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
19 And for [on behalf of] their sakes I sanctify Myself,
Jesus did not need personal sanctification. The idea of His sanctifying Himself was for service. He was set apart for a mission. He committed Himself to the will of God. His mission was to be the Savior of the world by His death on the cross. He consecrated Himself to the Father’s mission so that He would be a model for the apostles to set themselves to the task of presenting the gospel in His absence.
that they also may be sanctified
The purpose of the death of Jesus was to set apart the apostles by truth.
by the truth.
The apostles were sanctified “by the truth.” Truth was the means of their sanctification. The “truth” here was that Jesus modeled Himself as One who conveyed the Father’s message for man. Jesus’ followers would follow His example of communicating truth. They would also know what it means to hold in tension being an alien in the world and having a mission to the world.
PRINCIPLE:
Truth governs our mission to the world.
APPLICATION:
Jesus was both an alien in the world and a missionary to it. He was an alien because His belief system came from the Father and not from man.
We as His followers are to carry out His mission of communicating divine truth to the world. We are aliens in terms of what we believe. We believe divine viewpoint rather than human viewpoint.
If followers of Christ are going to minister in their world, they must offer themselves willingly.
