(#1571) Day 17. Jesus ‘Sanctified Himself’ For Us (13/10/26)
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our 9-week series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17.
This week, we finish our three-week focus on John 17:6-19, the second section of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, where we see that genuine Christian fellowship ('One Anothering') is essential to God's vision for our lives and the local church.
To watch this devotional, go to:
Please read John 17:6-19
Jesus' vision for His church is that we are sanctified - that we become increasingly holy and more like Him. Today, we see that this transformation is only possible because Jesus 'sanctified Himself'. The cross is the source of our salvation and the power of our transformation.
Jesus prays:
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:17–19)
Having prayed that we would be sanctified by the truth of God's Word, Jesus adds, "For them I sanctify myself."
What does He mean? Jesus was already perfectly holy and without sin, so He cannot be speaking of becoming more holy. Rather, He is referring to consecrating Himself to the Father's will by going to the cross. Jesus willingly offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin so that we could be made holy. Hebrews puts it like this:
‘Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.’ (Hebrews 7:26-27)
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews 9:14)
Just as the high priest in the Old Testament entered the Most Holy Place to sprinkle the blood of atonement before God, so Jesus, as our high priest, offered Himself as the perfect, sinless, sacrifice. He is the fulfilment of everything to which the Old Testament priesthood and sacrifices pointed.
Hebrews tells us that Jesus' blood cleanses ‘our consciences from acts that lead to death.’ Every sin leads to death, and if we honestly examine our consciences, we know that we deserve God's righteous judgement. As Paul writes:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Our wages are death because we have broken God's law. Yet this verse also proclaims our great hope. Eternal life is God's free gift, given to us because Jesus sanctified Himself as our atoning sacrifice. He took our wages - our sin and death - so that we might receive His righteousness and His life.
Jesus' consecration to the Father's will is seen so powerfully in another of His great prayers, in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will... My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done... So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing." (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44)
Here we see what Jesus meant when He prayed, "For them I sanctify myself." He willingly consecrated Himself to the Father's saving plan, offering Himself on the cross so that we might be made holy.
As we reflect on the ‘One Another’ aspect of our vision, we see that Jesus wants us to be a community that celebrates and rests in Jesus’ work on our behalf.
Moment To Reflect
Jesus sanctified Himself - He willingly went to the cross - for our salvation.
Is your worship filled with thankfulness for the cross? Is this true of us when we gather as a church?
When you think about your standing before God, are you more focussed on what Jesus has done for you, or on what you think you have to do?
How do you encourage others to rest in the work of Christ?
Download the booklet
Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:
Community Group Study
This week, due to our 50-hours of prayer, we will not be meeting in our groups.
Please see our Church News, or contact the church office (office@communitychurchputney) for information.
Comments