17 Sanctify them in Saint Hubertu the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.19 For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Not too long ago (a few weeks, maybe) I learned Saint Hubertus Medal what sanctification is and the importance of the sanctification process. I had Saint Hubertu heard the word before, understood partially its implication, and now understand its importance; I still wasn’t clear on its biblical source, however. Here it is! We not only read here about our own sanctification, but Christ’s sanctification and Saint Hubertu what it means for us. First, let’s look at some definitions. The original word translated into “sanctify” here is “hagiazo” which in Greek stands for being hallowed or made Holy. The religious definition refers to being purified (from sin) Saint Hubertu for God. An English definition alludes to consecration, purification, moral sanctity, etc. You know, all those big “churchy” words that we smile and nod and think to ourselves that it means something about Jesus but we don’t really know what it means because it is above our pay scale on the holy hierarchy (I’ll address the reason for my sarcasm shortly). “Word” Saint Hubertu here is still “logos,” the same term used to describe who Jesus is in the first verse of John’s book, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Now that we have the terms clarified, what does this part of Jesus’ prayer mean?
Jesus is the truth.
Jesus indicates that God’s Word Saint Hubertu (logos, also Jesus Himself) is the Truth. Remember He said this earlier in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” God is “I am.” This is the inception of existence. In God it is the purity of all things, untainted. It is the Truth, God is the Truth, Jesus is the Truth, the Holy Spirit is the Truth.
Jesus sanctified Himself.
This is where we get “Jesus did what man could not.” It is what He came here for, to undo the grip sin had on mankind (Read Genesis 3 to see the full consequences Saint Hubertu of sin). Maybe that seemed a little too colloquial for you. Let’s look at it this way. The fall of man brought sin into the world. Since then, man has been trying to reconcile himself (this is why we all have an inward nature of understanding there is a difference between right and wrong). God then set up “The Law”: a list of rules that need to be met entirely, completely, and Saint Hubertu infinitely. It outlined what man must do to reconcile himself. God even set apart an entire nation, cleansed Saint Hubertu them from all defilement, gave them the skinny on how to live holy and without blemish, and they could not accomplish it. This is why Jesus came. This is why God came. (depending on your current theology, you may or may not agree that I just repeated the same sentence) How did Jesus sanctify Himself? He fulfilled The Law. He followed all the rules that mere man could not. I think it is important here not to mix the elements. Sin existed before The Law. All the Law did was merely outline what sin is and what holiness is. It is easy for us to look at the story in the Old Testament and think God is cruel for setting up a system that man could not fulfill. If there was no proof that we could not obtain holiness on our own, then the coming of Jesus would have been pointless. We would think that we could do it on our own. Sadly, many of us still think we can or have been taught other ways counter to this. We remain trapped and “slaves” as the Apostle Paul would say.