I Am Not Alone (John 16:32-33)

“Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32–33, ESV)

The next words Jesus was to say were spoken directly to the Father in prayer. But before turning from them and to the Father Jesus told His disciples that this was it. It was time for the things He had been telling them about to finally happen. In the hours that followed He would be arrested and His disciples would be scattered. None of them would be with Him anymore. Whether this separation was volitional or not really is not the point that Jesus was making here. He went on to say that even when they left Him that He would not be alone because the Father was with Him.

What an amazing level of confidence the Son had in the Father that no matter what happened with the circumstances of His life or the presence of His friends that the Father was there with Him. Sure, we could say that He had this confidence because He was God, He came from God, and He knew that He was returning to God. As eternal God He knew the oneness that He had with the Father which left Him unshakably assured of His presence. But we also know that Jesus was fully man, and as fully man He placed His full confidence in the presence and the power of the Father. He willingly became man for us, and as man He fully could relate Himself to us and with us and us with Him.

As I think of these words I am encouraged in life to know that Jesus who said these words has promised that He also would always be with us, that we would abide in Him and His Spirit in us. We would never be alone even though we may not see and touch Him physically. In this there is a great peace that I can have and that we all can have knowing that God is with us all of the time. When sickness seems to have a tight hold on us, God is with us knowing every day of our lives before there was ever one of them. When persecution or life circumstances might seem to be dark and oppressive, God who is light is fully present with us and enclosing us before and behind. When our hearts are deeply troubled and we have no one else apparent to turn to, God has scrutinized our steps and our lying down and He knows every word on our tongue before even one of them is formed. And when we have no idea of our next steps we know that our ever present God has promised to direct them as we step forward in trust.

Jesus told His disciples that He told them the things He did so that in Him they might have peace. Though they might have even though they failed Him and fled in the face of His greatest need, He desired them to know that God was there. Though the plans they had dreamed of seemed to be crashing down in front of their very lives, God’s plan was going to be perfectly fulfilled in the midst of the world’s apparent triumph and rejoicing. When the world thinks that it has one in putting down the Christ, Jesus knew without any doubt that His death only led to His resurrection and the complete fulfillment of what He was sent to accomplish. Truly, truly in the face of the world’s persecution of the man named Jesus, the Christ would bring salvation to all who believe. Though the world thinks that it has the upper hand, Jesus would have overcome the world.

I know for me personally when I struggle with the unknown, with things that don’t seem to make sense or go the way I think they should, or when God might seem slow to answer from my side of things that my place or rest and peace is found in remembering who He is and that He has promised to never leave me. I also know when my faith waivers and I tremble and falter, that God is the strong tower in whom I can find shelter. I know without a doubt that God who began a good work in me is faithful to complete it.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10, ESV)

Because of the righteousness of Jesus being imputed (credited) to me I am made righteous, and because I have been made righteous in Christ I have the assurance that He truly is my strong tower.

“Do You Now Believe?” (John 16:25-31)

““I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?” (John 16:25–31, ESV)

More literally Jesus told His disciples that up to this point He had been speaking to them in more figurative language or that language used to describe something that they could not or were not truly ready to see or understand on its own. Jesus had been explaining things to them in terms they could understand so that when what was soon to happen happened that they would understand. Throughout John, Jesus had made many claims concerning Himself and His relationship with the Father. Some of them were made in the third person while others were made as matters of comparison or imagery such as was seen in many of His “truly, truly” statements.

But now it was time to tell it to them straight in terms they would get. Jesus told them that the hour was coming when there would be no need to be figurative because the actual would have happened. In that day they will have direct access to God the Father because of their love for the Son and their belief that He truly was from God and that He had returned. He told them that His going away meant that He was leaving this world and returning to the Father. It was a very simple and straightforward statement, and in response His disciples said that they understood clearly what He had to say. They did not have to read between the lines. They heard that He was leaving this world and He was going to the Father. Then they added that they believed that He truly did know all things and that He was beyond question truthful.

In the face of all of the accusations and challenges from the religious leaders, Jesus disciples acknowledged that Him being from the Father brought with Him the knowledge of the Father. He could indeed be trusted. As He had told His disciples earlier that He spoke in parables because of the unbelievers, not He was speaking to them plainly because of their belief. They said that they finally got it, and in getting it they knew that He knew without any doubt who He was. They said that they knew as well that Jesus indeed was from God.

Responding to their statement of affirmation, Jesus responded, “Do you now believe?”

This is the most important question we can ever answer. In being able to answer it “yes” we are moved from judgment to full and complete forgiveness. We are moved from being spiritually darkened to being made spiritually alive with the Spirit of God dwelling and working in us. We move from a future without hope to the great and sure hope of one day being in the presence of God forever. But this is not just a question that we answer once for salvation, it is also one that we answer daily as we walk with God. Do we believe Him to be faithful? Are we trusting Him with every aspect of our lives, the lives of our loved ones, our jobs, or anything else that may weight heavy on us.

The Bible tells us that we are saved by faith. It also tells us to walk daily in that same manner.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NASB95)

“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:6–9, NASB95)

Moved by Prayer (John 16:23-24)

“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23–24, ESV)

Here Jesus continues speaking directly to His disciples. They had been very close. All that they did in ministry was at His instruction and all that they knew of the Father’s will for them was given to them by Him. If they needed anything they could and did take it to Him. At the same time Jesus told them that His being sent was according to the will of the Father, and that He and the Father were so united in oneness that if they had seen Him they had seen the Father.

At that moment He was preparing them for His leaving and His return to the Father. They would no longer be able to approach Him physically as they had become so accustomed. But this did not mean that they would be cut off. Far from it, just as before when Jesus had been speaking to them from the Father, after He left they would approach the Father just as they would Him and the Father would hear their prayers and answer just as Jesus would have in their presence.

For Jesus’ disciples there was a dramatic change coming. Their requests would soon be made directly to the Father through their relationship with the Son. It would be as if Jesus were asking the Father on their behalf, and the Father would answer them just as Jesus did in their presence. By assuring them of this, Jesus affirmed again that they surely would not be left alone. And, in addition to the Father answering their requests, they also would have the Holy Spirit to guide them in all the truth. Between the direction of the Spirit and the response of the Father the disciples truly would know God’s continued presence, hand, and direction in their lives and the ministry which they were left to accomplish—those greater works that Jesus spoke of in John 14:12 and which were followed with, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14, ESV)

Rather than sensing loneliness and walking in a cloud of uncertainty, Jesus assured His disciples that they would continue to know God’s presence and faithfulness to them such that they would know the full joy that came from walking with Him and watching Him work.

As for who the promise of answered prayer applies, the words of Jesus to His disciples in these instances are not the entirety of what Scripture has to say. John himself wrote in 1 John 5:13-15, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:13–15, ESV) John took the instruction He had received from Christ, and through the direction of the Holy Spirit assured us that God indeed does answer prayer. He answers prayer for all who believe in the name of the Son of God having received eternal life. We can go to God with confidence knowing that He hears us, and more than that we can do so with the assurance of knowing that He will answer. John tells us that God grants prayer requests—those that are according to His will, His plan, His direction for our lives, and those that we pray for.

Looking back to Jesus’ personal interaction with His disciples we know that Jesus did not give them everything they asked for. There were some things that His disciples desired that did not line up with what God intended (e.g., who would be first in the kingdom or who might sit on His right or left). Looking at these promises of answered prayer there is inherent in them our being in accord with and submitted to the will of the Father. Just as Jesus told His disciples that it was really up to the Father to determine who might sit on His right or His left (Mark 10:40), so there may be things that we pray that really are not in line with God’s will and as such may not be granted. Even the apostle Paul asked several times that a thorn be removed from Him, but God did not do so. Paul wrote of this, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10, ESV)

When I bring things to God in prayer it really is not a matter of me changing God’s mind or prompting Him to move in a certain way, but really more of me speaking these things to Him and then submitting myself to align with His perfect will and what He desires to accomplish. God hears every single prayer. He knows every word on my tongue before even one of them is formed (Psalm 139:4), and the reality of things is that I don’t. As I spend time before Him I have the incredible opportunity to hear His voice, to allow His Spirit to conform my heart, to direct my mind, and then watch Him work. My joy is in knowing that God will work to accomplish His perfect will. When I go to prayer it is a valuable time for me to get to know Him better and to wait on Him to do what He knows best. There is great joy in knowing that I don’t have to figure it all out. I don’t have to have all of the answers or even ask it the right way. There is great freedom in knowing that I don’t have to get my own understanding right before pleading my case before Him. There is joy in knowing that I can come to Him with the assurance that He indeed will direct my steps.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6, NASB95)

Prayer is not about moving God, but knowing that in spending time with Him that He moves me.

Joy from Anguish (John 16:18-22)

“So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:18–22, ESV)

It is no wonder that my mind was drawn to more than one way that Jesus’ words in verses 16 and 17 would be true. As we read on today we see that His disciples were unclear concerning this as well, questioning and saying to themselves in verse 18, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” The difference is that they had not been there yet and did not grasp what was ahead. As for us we have seen in Scripture what Jesus was speaking about unfold and in that we can also see multiple facets to it.

Of course, Jesus was not going to miss the opportunity to answer their question. He had set the table for the question, and now that they were prepared to take their first bite He fed them the answer they truly need to have. Verse 19 records that He knew what they wanted to ask, and He specifically asked them if this indeed was what they wanted to ask. Then in verse 20 He began to tell them what they needed to hear in order to answer their questions. But as He frequently did He did not get straight to the answer, but started with a picture pointing to or preparing the way for the answer.

Beginning to respond He made the last of His “Truly, truly” statements recorded for us by John that side of His death, burial, and resurrection. He told them that their hearts were going to be truly broken, that they were going weep and lament. They were going to be buried in sorrow, and all of this while the world around them was rejoicing.

This is not quite how I would like to hear things. I don’t know of anyone who wants to be told that something was going to get worse before it gets better. I can’t fathom anyone rejoicing over being told that something was going to happen that was so troubling that they would weep and mourn over it. Imagine being told that while the world parties that you will be left in sorrow and experience great heartbreak. This is contrary to all that we hope for. But Jesus told them “Truly, truly” this was going to happen.

But He did not leave them there. He began to explain the light on the other side by bringing them to something they knew and understood. He compared what they were going to experience with child birth. We recently found out that our fifth grandchild is on his/her way. I even saw an ultrasound picture which we were told showed this precious little baby, who is just over an inch long, waving in the womb. What incredible joy there is in life. Yet anyone who has been through it or been there for it knows that with the birth of children comes a season of intense pain. It is this picture that Jesus uses in our passage for today to illustrate what was immediately ahead for His disciples. He spoke of the pain and He also spoke of the resultant joy.

In Genesis 3:16 God told Eve, “To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”” (Genesis 3:16, ESV) After Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree which was forbidden and sinned against God they faced God to face the consequence of their sin. When they ate everything changed, and as God pronounced the consequence of these actions He said that what was intended to bring about new life and great joy now had to be preceded by a season of great or multiplied pain. But even in the pain God did not remove the joy.

Life would still come, and in that there would be great joy as the mother holds her newborn child. The amazing thing about the joy is that if it weren’t there on the other side I imagine that man would have died off a long time ago. But because of man’s rebellion the pain must come before the joy. Similarly, Jesus told His disciples that the sorrow they were about to endure would indeed melt away in that same way. Knowing the horrific things that lie ahead and the great pain that they would endure, He let them know that He would see them again and that their hearts would rejoice in such a way that no one would be able to take that joy from them.

Life can be hard. Evil can even seem to prevail, and the world might have its season of great rejoicing in having its own way. Christians may (have been and are) be put down, stepped upon, legislated against, fired or not hired in the first place, and lose public favor. They would even be put in jail and even put to death as we see even today, while others are rejoicing in their “liberty” and demanding their acceptance and approval. But Jesus says this is not the end. He has already prevailed at the cross and through His resurrection. In this we are to have great hope and know His joy. 

We Will See Him (John 16:16-17)

June 5, 2015

""A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”” (John 16:16–17, ESV)

Now you see me, now you don't. Soon you won’t, but then you will. I can try to imagine the confusion that Jesus disciples must have felt as He told them that in a little while that they wouldn’t see Him, but in a little while longer they would. Jesus had been preparing them for His leaving, and on this last night with them He was focusing on its immediacy and preparing them for their response. He had told them that He had to die. He had told them that He would rise again. He had told them that after that He would then leave to return to the Father. And, He told them that when He left that the Father would send the Spirit to continue in them what had been begun. When the Spirit was to come they would even do greater things He said.

Before going on to the next verses and having what He meant clarified, I enjoyed a moment of being impressed that these words could have easily been focused on either His death, burial, and resurrection or His ascension and their eventual reunion in His presence. In the immediate context Jesus was going to be crucified on the next day. That very night He was to be arrested, leading to hasty trials, rejection, beatings, and the sentence of death which was quickly carried out. He was taken down from the cross and His dead body was again hastily placed in a tomb so as to not violate the Sabbath rules. At that time it would be apparent to all that Jesus was dead. He was no longer there with them. They could not see Him, and this part of His words was clearly fulfilled. Then the most amazing thing and the foundation proving Him to truly be who He said He is was that on the third day He took His life back up again. It was then that He again appeared to His disciples and spent time with them over the next forty days. According to the words of verses 16 and 17 this truly was a season of in a little while you won’t see me, and then in a little while you will.

But there is this other sense that leads to their more permanent reunion—their eternal reunion. In Acts chapter 1 we read of Jesus’ ascension as He returned to the Father. This marked His last time that He was visible to those who believed this side of the grave, and it is in the presence of the Father that the Son remains today. It is in His presence that all of His disciples have now entered with their passing from physical life into eternity. For them there was a time of enduring great hardship, persecution, and even death until that time came to pass, and I imagine for them that this time might have seemed extremely long at times. But in the midst of all of this they were privileged to see God work in and through them by the power of the Spirit to accomplish the beginning of Christ’s church through the salvation of men from all nations. What seemed long to them, changed at the moment of their passing into what the apostle Paul called momentary light affliction in the face of eternity. For the disciples it was truly a little while that they did not see Him, and then they did and STILL DO!

For all who have believed since and who have now passed through death, they have also seen their hope fulfilled as God’s gift of salvation has led them into His presence. And for those of us who believe today, having never met Jesus as the man, we live with the certain assurance that He did come. He was crucified and buried, and He did rise again on the third day just as the Scriptures had foretold. Because of this, we also live with that promise that in a little while we will—we will see Him.

More to Come (John 16:12-15)

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:12–15, ESV)

“I’ll explain it to you later, but right now we need to deal with something more urgent.” It is so easy in our conversations with others to get ahead of where we should be and lose sight of what it most important at the moment. Jesus knew that this was not the time to tell His disciples all that He had to say or all that was to happen to them or through them in the days and years to come. He knew that there would be a time for this to be shared and He knew who would share it accurately. If He told them then and there all that He had for them it would be way too much, so much that they could not bear it. As a result He metered out to them just what He needed to in order to assure them that the Father had not lost control, that Jesus had not failed, and that the Spirit would indeed come to them so that they might continue in what they were called to do.

This was not the time for all of the “what about” questions or panic. Jesus was intent on steeling them for His leaving and building hope in them for the coming of the Spirit. Having told them that He was not finished and that there was still things to say, Jesus assured His disciples that when the Spirit came the Spirit would come as truth just as Jesus had. Just as we read in John 1:14 and 17 that the Word (Jesus) became flesh and was full of grace and truth, so also will be the Spirit when He comes. There is no diminishing of truth with the Spirit, for the Spirit is fully God speaking with full and accurate authority. Jesus did not speak for Himself, but spoke what He had heard from the Father. Similarly the Spirit would (and does) not speak for Himself, but speaks what He has heard also.

Included in the things spoken was even to be words about the things that are to come. As Scripture has fully be given to us we see that the Word of God does indeed contain much that has already happened, but also that to for which we are still waiting to see completed. For us who are in Christ it includes our entrance into the presence of God. It also includes what Scripture declares concerning the last days. It speaks about how God works in and through believers, and as it was unfolded it even includes how God sent the gospel to the whole world (and not just the Jews). Peter said that there was no prophecy that was on man’s invention, but men who were moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:21), and this is what the Spirit did for Jesus’ disciples who were eyewitnesses to all that happened and who Jesus had just told them would hear more later.

The Father had given everything into the hands of the Son, and the Spirit took what was His and declared it to them who recorded it for us. Now we have that message to share in the power of the spirit who works to convict/convince them of its truth. Paul wrote of this process in Romans chapter 10. “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:13–17, ESV)

Convicted (John 16:8-11)

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:8–11, ESV)

The role of the Spirit in the world is immense, but then again our God is infinite and there is nothing too big or even too small for Him. In speaking about the coming of the Spirit, Jesus said He would convict the world. Convict can be viewed in at least a couple of ways. One of them is in the judicial sense as in a courtroom when someone is found guilty he is convicted of violating the law and subsequently judged. There is another sense that we see in many of the verses used in speaking about the work of the Spirit in man which points more to the aspect of convincing someone of their guilt. One points to a decision by another party and the other to a change in the perception of an individual concerning him- or herself.

We know from Scripture that though Jesus is the final judge with the Father. He also did not come into the world to judge the world but that man might be saved (John 12:47). We also know from Scripture that those who reject Jesus remain in the judgment to which they are already subject and will eventually be sentenced. The only thing that removes this judgment is the salvation which Jesus came to give which is received by faith in Him and not by any works that man might do. Scripture builds a firm foundation of salvation by faith in Jesus as the Son sent by the Father.

In line with this, the convicting of the Spirit in the life of man is appropriately that of convincing man of the truth and His need to respond. Jesus said the Spirit would come to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. He then said that the Spirit would do this in relation to sin because men do not believe in Him. Everyone has sinned. There is no one who has not done so. Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, ESV) The Spirit was sent in order to reveal this to man, showing him his sin and his need for a Savior. The Spirit makes truth visible such that man is convicted of his sin and responds. We read of the word of God being spoken in this way in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25, “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” (1 Corinthians 14:24–25, ESV)

Next Jesus said that the Spirit would convict people of righteousness because Jesus Himself would leave them and return to the Father. Having returned to the Father, His personal physical example of righteousness and instruction concerning it would no longer be visibly present. He would not be there to call people to righteous living, but the Spirit would. Jesus regularly confronted the religious leadership over their pretentious self-righteousness (hypocrisy), calling His hearers to a life of righteousness from the heart found in God and not themselves. This was something foreign to man, and it necessitated God revealing it to him. Paul wrote in Romans 3:10, “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10, ESV) The Holy Spirit in coming will show man what righteousness is and how the righteous man is to live by faith (Romans 1:17). Man does not become righteous in himself by believing, but by believing man has the righteousness of Christ credited to him and he grows in living that way as he walks by faith in Christ who made Him so. The Holy Spirit will reveal both man’s lack of righteousness and how the help him to live as a righteous man who walks by faith.

Jesus also said as the third work that the Holy Spirit would convict man concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. “IS” might seem like a small and insignificant word, but it is so far from the truth. The ruler of this world is already judged and awaiting final enactment of his sentence. The verdict has been issued and he is guilty. One day (which God already has settled in eternity) he will be forever tossed away into the lake of fire created expressly for him and all how remain his. This is an already settled truth. But today he lives as if it weren’t, and so does man. Man ignores any consequence of his evil, and he lives as if there were no price to pay. The Holy Spirit reveals to man how lost he is and how much he needs Christ. The Holy Spirit opens eyes and brings to light the truth of who Jesus is and how much He is needed. Having shown these things to man, man then sees his own sin and responds to his own false-righteousness by calling on the righteous One who forgives sin.

Apart from Christ and apart from the work of the Holy Spirit to reveal Him man remains hopelessly lost in his own sin, clothed in unrighteousness and judged with his father the devil. The Spirit was sent to reveal this to man and convince him of his need for change found by faith in Christ.