The rendering ' consecrated ' better .suits the context of Jn lO'* 'Say ye of him, whom tin- Father consecrated and sent into the world, Tlmu blasphemest; because I said, I am Son of God Jer 1" supplies a suggestive OT analogy, for the
word of the Lord reminds the young prophet that, in the Divine counsel, he was set apart for holy uses before his birth. The thought would be more appropriately presented by ' consecrated ' than by R V ' sanctified ' (LXX riylaKa). Similarly, as our Lord declares in His argument with the Jew-s (Jn 10=«), the Father consecrated His Son to His redemptive mission before sending Him forth to His work. More is implied in this statement than that the Father 'chose' or 'set apart' His Son. All things were given into His hand (Jn 3^), and amongst the all things were 'life in himself' (Jn 5-'^), fulness of grace and truth (l'-*), and the Spirit ' without measure ' (3**). ' The fact belongs to the eternal order. The term expresses the Divine des- tination of the Lord for His ^^■ork. This destination carries Avith it the further thought of the perfect endowment of the Incarnate Son' (Westcott, Com. in Ivc. ). It is only in this sense of complete equip- ment that the Divine Son was made fit for His
sacred mission ; the Holy One had no need of sanctification 'in a way of qualification,' as the Puritan divines used the word, when they meant inward cleansing from sin and the Holy Spirit's bestowal of purity of heart.
Our Lord's words, ' I consecrate myself ' ( Jn 17"), are best understood in the light of His earlier saying that ' the Father consecrated ' Him ( Jn 10^). The two statements are complementary. His con- secration of Himself was the proof of His perfect acquiescence in the Father's purpose concerning Himself, His disciples, and the w-orld. The secret of His inner life was continually revealed 'in loveliness of perfect deeds ' which constrained men to acknowledge the truth of His words, 'I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me ' ( Jn 5**) ; the law that ruled His every word and work He was soon to fulfil to the uttermost ; His readiness to drink the cup which the Father was about to put into His hands was involved in His calm word, ' I consecrate myself ' ; its utter- ance in this solemn hour affords a glimpse of the spirit of absolute devotion to His Father's will in which Jesus is finishing His work and consum- mating in death the self-sacrifice of His life. And as for the sake of His disciples Jesus consecrates Himself, He prays for them, knowing that the future of His kingdom depends on their having the same spirit ot complete consecration to the Divine will.
regarding ij-i«C» as (cf. Euth. Zig. nil lonnoting the idea of expiat<
Commentators who follow Chrysostom practically equivalent to vptv^ipat nt Bwrtav (cf. Eutl ixa'jirii^ Buria^M itMu/76r), and as connoting the idea ot expiatory sacrifice, support their interpretation by references to OT passages in which iyii^i* ( = sr'^pn) is a sacred word for sacrifices, as. e.g.. Ex 132, Dt lo'Sf-, 2 S 8" (cf. Meyer, in toe.). They are obligea to give the word ayiti^uv two different mean- in the same sentence, as does the RVm: 'And for their myself, that they themselves also
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aerate myseii, tnat iney tnemseives also may De sanctified in truth.' But it is not from the word iyiiK'i'' that the nature of Christ's death is to be learnt ; that which differentiates the consecration of Christ from the consecration of His disciples is brought out rather by the other words in this pregnant saying. The consecration of Jesus is His own act, but He does not pray that apart from Him the disciples may follow His example and consecrate themselves; His consecra- tion is the pattern of theirs, therefore the same word is used of the Master and of His disciples ; but without His consecration 'for their sakes' (uTtp ayraiy), their consecration would be impossible, therefore it is said of the Master alone that He Himself on behalf of others.
If dvidfciK be uniformly rendered ' consecrate ' in our Lord's intercessory prayer, it will be seen that He twice expresses His yearning desire for the consecration of the men whom His Father had given Him out of the world: (I) Jn IT" 'Con- secrate them in the truth ' ; as Jesus sends forth His disciples on the same mission which brought Hill, into the world at His Father's bidding. He a-k- lliat they :ilsi. may be sot apart for holy -erviir, and iiiay 1..' ■livinclv equipped for theiV ta<k, iviii a^ lie was, liy tlie indwelling of the
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Father's love (v.^''). They possess the knowledge and the faitli that the w'orld lacks, for they have come to know and to believe that the Father sent the Son (vv.*- ^s, cf. vv.='- ^}. It is because Jesus desires intensely that the world may know and believe, that He so fervently prays for the con- secration of the men whose faith and knowledge qualify them to speak in the world the word which He has given them. (2) V.'" ' And for their sakes I consecrate myself, that they also may be con- secrated in truth.' Reasons for departing from the rendering of the RV anil the RVni have been given above. No doubt it is important to re- member that men 'having infirmity' need by inward sanctifying to be made lit for the holy service to which they have been consecrated ; but the emphatic words, ' they also ' (rai airol), suggest not a contrast, but a resemblance, — a consecration common to the Master and His disciples. It is a resemblance not in the letter, but in the spirit. Between their work as witnesses and His as Redeemer there was a contrast ; but their lives might be ruled by tlie 'inward thought' (1 P 4' RVm) which constrained Him to sulfer for their sakes. For the disciples of Jesus real consecration consists in having the mind which was in Him, who 'humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the deatli of tlie cross' (Pli '2*'). It should also be noted that the consecration spoken of in Jn 17"* is, alike in the case of Jesus and of His disciples, ' not a process but an act completed at once, — in His case, when gathering together in one view all His labours and sufterings. He presented them a living sacrifice to His Father ; in theirs, when they are in like manner enabled to present themselves as living sacrifices in His one perfect sacrifice' (W. F. Moulton, Com. in loc). See, further, art. Sanctification.