I
pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
John 17:15-19
John 17 [10.] All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
John 17 [15.] I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
John 17 [20.] Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Meaning:
Jesus had asked the Holy Father to keep his disciples, noting that the world hated them because they were not of the world (John 17:11-14). These verses continue his prayer. He asks not for their removal from the world but for their protection, their holiness and their mission in it.
- “I pray not that you would take them from the world”
It might seem kindest to take the disciples out of a hostile world. But Jesus did not pray for escape. The world was where they were needed. They were to be like “the light of the world” in a dark place (Matthew 5:14). Christian faith is not a withdrawal from society but a life lived within it for God’s purposes.
- “But that you would keep them from the evil one”
The real danger was not the world’s hostility but the devil’s power to deceive, accuse and destroy. John later wrote, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13), and here he prays it for them.
- “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world”
Jesus repeats this to show the ground of his request. The disciples share his heavenly origin by new birth. Their values and loyalties now come from God, not from the world.
- “Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth”
To “sanctify” means to set apart for God and make holy. The means of this is God’s truth, revealed in his word. Jesus’ words echo Psalm 119: “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth” (Psalm 119:142). God’s word does not merely inform the mind; it reshapes the whole person. Through hearing, believing and obeying it, believers are made more like Christ.
- “As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them”
Holiness and mission belong together. The disciples were set apart not to hide but to be sent. Jesus’ own mission becomes the pattern for theirs. After his resurrection he would say, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (John 20:21).
- “For their sakes I sanctify myself”
Jesus was already holy. Here he means that he was dedicating himself to the Father’s will, especially to his sacrificial death. The language recalls a priest consecrating himself or a sacrifice set apart for God. His self-offering is what makes his people holy. Hebrews explains, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10-14).
The Significance of John 17:15-19
- In the world but not of it
Believers live fully in the world, at work, at home and in their communities, while belonging to God. They resist the world’s values without withdrawing from its people.
- Shaped by God’s word
Holiness grows as believers take in God’s word and live by it. Regular reading and obedience to Scripture are central to Christian growth.
- Sent with a purpose
Every believer is sent, as Jesus was sent. Holiness is not an end in itself, but prepares God’s people to serve and witness.
Cross-References:
Psalm 119:142: "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth." God's word is truth.
1 John 5:19: "the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." The danger the disciples face.
John 20:21: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." Sent as Jesus was sent.
Hebrews 10:10-14: "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." Jesus' self-offering sanctifies his people.
Conclusion: Jesus prayed that the Father would not take his disciples out of the world but keep them from the evil one. He asked that they be made holy through God’s word, which is truth, and sent into the world as he had been sent. His own self-dedication to the cross is what makes his people holy.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible