What does the Lord mean by His words to His disciples

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Some may ask: What does the Lord mean by His words to His disciples: “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself.” (John 17:19). He means that He devotes Himself to them and the church for He came to redeem her.

Sacraments are the Lord's appropriations, they belong to the Lord alone and to no one else, They are consecrated to the Lord in the same way as the firstborn were. As the Lord says through the Prophet Ezekiel: “There I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things.” (Ezek 20:40). About the first fruits of every fruitful tree, He says: “But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord.” (Lev 19:24). Their fruit was for the Lord and was given to the Lord's priests. (Ezek 44:30).