became. They needed to remain because they would be the vehicle through which others could hear the good news and receive salvation (15:26; 17:18, 20). Jesus did ask, however, that they be kept from the evil one—that is, the devil. He works through worldly people to intensify persecution and suffering in an effort to silence godly witnesses (John 15:20; 16:1–4; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 2:9–10; etc.). This divine protection did indeed come, but not in the form of stopping the sources of pain. Rather,