I believe, with Clirysostom, the meaning- must be, " I consecrate myself, and ofter myself up as a sacrifice and a priest, for one special reason, to say nothing of others : in order that these my disciples may be sanctified by the truth, and made a holy peo- ple."— Is it not as good as saying, " The sanctification no less than the justification of my people is the end of my sacrifice ? I want to have a people who are sanctified as well as justified. So much importance do I attach to this that this is one princi- pal reason why I now ofier myself to die as a sacrifice." — The same idea seems to lie in the text ; " He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people." And again : " Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it." (Titus ii. 14 ; Eph. v. 26 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24.)
Melancthon remarks, " The word * I sanctify myself,' in this place, without doubt, is taken from priests and victims."
20. — \Neither pray 1 for these alone, etc.] In this and the three following verses our Lord proceeds to name another thing that He prays for His people. He asks that they may be " one." He had already named this on behalf of the eleven Apostles. But He takes occasion now to enlarge the prayer, and to include others beside the eleven, — the whole company of future be- lievers. " I now pray also for all who shall believe on Me through the preaching of my disciples in all future time, and not for my eleven apostles only." All believers needed preser- vation and sanctification in every age ; but none so much as the eleven, because they were the first to attack the world and bear the brunt of the battle. In some respects it was more easy to be " one " at the first beginnings of the Church, and harder to be kept and " sanctified." As the Church grew, it would be more difiicalt to keep unity.
Let us mark how wide was the scope of our Lord's interces-. sory prayer. He prayed not only for present, but for future be- lievers. So should it be with our prayers. We may look for- ward and pray for believers yet to be born, though we may not look back and pray for believers who are dead.
George Newton observes what an encouragement it should be to us in praying for others, for a child or a friend, to remember that perhaps Christ is asking him or her of God too. He here prays for those who did not yet believe, but were to believe one day.
Let us mark how the " word " preached is mentioned as the means of making men believe. Faith cometh by hearing. The Church which places Sacraments above the preaching of the Word, will have no blessing of God, because it rejects God's order.
Hengstenberg thinks that the " word " here must include the writings of the Apostles as well as their sermons.
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