17:18 As you sent me . . . so I have sent them. Compare 20:21. Jesus is the supreme pattern for Christian missions. Any true Christian is a “missionary,” sent into the world to bear witness to Christ, to reach out to the lost where they may be found in order to lead them to the Savior.

into the world. Note the prepositions: not “of” the world (vv. 14, 16), nor “out of” the world (v. 15), but “into” the world and “in” the world (16:33).