John 17:13-19 – Protection from the world and the evil one

Jesus, we have discovered, was praying for the remaining eleven to be kept and preserved from the enemy. Two elements that would keep them were the words that Jesus had shared with them and the inner joy they would receive. Jesus had told them the truth and as they believed what He had spoken to them, they began to experience an inner joy. As that happened, they were kept and preserved. But what would they be kept from? In verse 14 and 16, Jesus prayed that they would be kept from the hatred of the world and the enmity of the devil.

Here, the Lord saw the horrifying dangers that His apostles would be exposed to. He knew that the world would hate, challenge and undermine them in each and every possible way. They would experience this for no other reason other than the mere fact that they had the Father's word that the Lord had given to them. The primary object of the enemy’s hatred is the Scripture, the very Word of God. The enemy would seek to destroy it if possible. If he could not destroy it he would seek to distort it and nullify its impact. These apostles of Christ would be hated because they would be proclaiming the truth. One other reason the Lord said they would be hated would be that they do not belong to the world.

Notice that the Lord did not ask that His apostles be removed from the world. He asked that they be kept while serving His cause in the world. Taking a cue from here, we conclude that we, believers, are not to isolate ourselves from the world. We are to be in the world to demonstrate the life of Christ and how true life ought to be lived. Be conscious that the world is a dangerous place with all its lurking dangers, but take heart because the Lord had promised to walk us through. Yes, even if it is through the valley of the shadow of death. We must know that behind the world’s hatred for believers is the devil himself. So Jesus prayed that His apostles be kept from the evil one, and his constant plot to destroy the people of God.

In verses 17-19, Jesus then prayed for the apostles to be sanctified. The word sanctified simply means to be set apart or to be separated. The reason the Lord prayed for them to be sanctified was so that they could be set aside for His intended purpose. It is an expression of His desire for His apostles, as well as us, to stay committed to the task that had been set apart for them and us to fulfill. Jesus yearns for us to personally and willingly be committed to the assignments of God. And the model Jesus had given was Himself. Even as God had sent Him into the world, He now sent His apostles and us into the world. As He had set Himself apart for the assignments God had sent Him to do, He prayed that we, as well as His apostles, would emulate Him and also personally set ourselves apart to serve God. As we are called and sent to the same task, let us be aware that He did not send us to the task without any resource. In fact He had given us the same resource He gave to the apostles and us the Holy Spirit. So let us faithfully and diligently go about the work He has granted us the privilege to do so.