In the world but not of it
May 27, 2021
17:1-26 What Jesus wants for us
Read John 17:14-19
The disciples will certainly need God’s protection, for both the world (14) and the devil (15) will be their enemies. The word world (kosmos) occurs seventeen times in this prayer, including seven times in this short section. Jesus had earlier told them, “If the world hates you, bear in mind that it hated me first” (15:18). Those who believe in his word are “chosen out of the world” and so they will inevitably incur the same hatred and opposition as their Master, because, like him, they “are not of the world” (14,16; 15:19; 1 John 3:13).
So Jesus prayed for them. But his prayer was that they would be protected in the world, not removed from it (15). Heaven is a safer place, both for Jesus and for his followers, but that is not where we are yet meant to be. God loves the world and wants to save it which is why Jesus came (3:16-17). That same mission of Jesus is continued through his followers. Just as Jesus was sent into the world by the Father, his followers are sent into the world by Jesus (18; 20:21). We must be in the world, but nevertheless different from it.
In what way was Jesus sent into the world? Not by being set apart from people but by being set apart for God. Like him, we are to be sanctified – living holy lives according to the truth of God’s word (17). That should not lead to keeping a safe distance from the world but to loving service in it, just as it did for Jesus. So Jesus prayed that for his disciples, and again dedicated (sanctified) himself to being obedient to death, in order that his followers might be a holy people, able to shine God’s light in a dark world (19; Matt.5:14-16; Phil.2:9,15-16).