Bible Passage: John 17:17-19
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: May 16, 2021

Bulletin May 16, 2021

John 17:17–19

¹⁷“Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹I sanctify myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

Sanctified by the Truth

1. The truth sets us apart.
2. The truth is the Word. 

Dear fellow redeemed in Jesus Christ, our Lord,

Our text this morning is a portion of a prayer that Jesus spoke to his Father on the night he was betrayed. This prayer is often called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer,” and in this prayer, he prays for himself and for his apostles and for his whole Christian Church on earth. It is a precious prayer to us, and we are blessed that the Holy Spirit saw fit to have this prayer recorded in the Scriptures, because in this prayer we hear what our Lord desires for his Church. He desires that we be sanctified by the truth.

The word “sanctify” is a Scriptural word that means to make something holy or to set something apart. If you live in DeForest, and you hosted a garage sale this weekend, perhaps you spent the last week setting some of your possessions apart. You marked them with a price tag, and you arranged them on your driveway. You set apart some of your belongings so that others might buy them.

When God sanctified us, he did not intend that others would buy us from him. Instead, God set us apart, he sanctified us, to be what he calls us in 1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” God set us apart from the rest of the world, not so that he could sell us, but so that we would be his own, his holy people. And God set us apart from the rest of the world not with a price tag or a “For Sale” sign. Instead, as our Savior asks in his prayer, God set us apart by the truth.

Of all the people in the world, the Christians are the ones who hold the truth. While the world dwells in darkness and confusion, we’ve been called out of that darkness to dwell in God’s marvelous light. We have the truth. We know the truth about ourselves, that we are fallen sinners deserving God’s wrath. We know the truth about our God, that he is a just and merciful God who will punish the wicked and forgive all who trust in him. We know the truth about what God has done for us, that he has given his Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification. With the truth God has set us apart from the world.

And with the truth God has set us apart for the world. In our text, Jesus says to his Father, “As you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world,” [18]. It is the desire of our merciful God that many more people would hear the truth and would be brought to saving faith in Jesus and would be rescued from the destruction that is to come. As we declare the praises of him who called us from darkness to light, others, too, are being called from darkness to light. They are made members of Christ’s Church, just as we are members of Christ’s Church. They are set apart by the truth, just as we are set apart by the truth.

In our text, we hear from Jesus where this sanctifying truth is found. He says in his prayer to his heavenly Father, “Your word is truth,” [17]. The truth is God’s Word. Now, notice that Jesus does not say that the Word just contains elements of truth. Notice that Jesus does not say that the Word merely has a truthful character. Instead, Jesus identifies the Word as truth. So only those who hear the voice of God have access to the truth. Or as Jesus will say in the next chapter of John, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” [37].

God’s Word is truth. As truth, it is the only completely trustworthy guide that we have. It is not like rival news networks that call each other into question every chance that they get. It is not like popular scientific theories that are modified or changed completely from one generation to the next. God’s Word does not change and it does not mislead. Jesus says, “Scripture cannot be broken,” [John 10:35], so we can take our stand on the Word. Psalm 119 says, “Your words are a lamp to my feet and a light for my path,” so we can follow the Word as our trustworthy guide.

We know that it is God’s Word that gives us truth, and we know that this truth is what sets us apart. But the sinful nature really puts up a battle when it comes to hearing the Word, doesn’t it? The sinful nature doesn’t want to be set apart from the world. Instead, it feels quite at home in the world. The sinful nature doesn’t care to listen to the voice of truth. It would rather listen to many other voices.

It is no wonder that the sinful nature would hate God’s Word. The Word has power to overcome the sinful nature. It is through his Word that God crucifies the sinful nature and brings us to newness of life in his Son. Jesus says in our text, “I sanctify myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth,” [19]. Just think of that, Jesus sanctified himself for you. He set himself apart as both the priest and the victim, to give his life as the sacrifice that paid for all your sins, and to arise and ascend as your victorious redeemer. Now, having won the victory, he shares the spoils through the Word. Through the Word he delivers forgiveness. Through the Word he gives you new life. Through the Word he sends the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you and keeps you firmly in the truth.

Martin Luther, in his Large Catechism, writes about the sanctifying power of the Word, saying,

But God’s Word is the treasure that sanctifies everything [1 Timothy 4:5]. By the Word even all the saints themselves were sanctified [1 Corinthians 6:11]. Whenever God’s Word is taught, preached, heard, read, or meditated upon, then the person, day, and work are sanctified. This is not because of the outward work, but because of the Word, which makes saints of us all. (LC I:91,92)

To God be the glory for sanctifying us by the truth.

Amen.

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