By Adrienne Crist
As we come to the close of John’s account of the Last Supper we probably all have noticed a pattern. Jesus is cycling through a series of teachings, prophecies and encouragements during his last evening with them. If you have ever walked a loved one from this life to the next, while you are fully aware that their death is impending, you are not quite prepared for it. If anyone could prepare the disciples for what was about to occur, it was Jesus. But based upon the accounts of the disciples, because they were only human, they could not 100% grasp what would occur. This is why Jesus’s parting message was so vital.
In chapter 16 Jesus gets to the final essentials in preparing them for what their lives will be like without Him. Jesus is like a team captain before a championship football game, only He knows the outcome. And because he’s the captain, He’s also the quarterback. He has a mission, but unlike in football, only He is able to accomplish it alone. But when He leaves, they will be without Him as the captain on the field, but not without their Captain. They will be receiving information about game play in a whole new way. He has three goals in this final pep talk;
1. Instruct them as to why he must go, so that the Spirit can come.
2. Explain to them that they will have a new relationship standing with God the Father because of their position in Himself, the Christ.
3. Encourage them that because he will overcome the world, they will too.
As the days grow darker, we too need to be focused on the field we are on, focused on listening to our Captain and relying upon the Holy Spirit to finish strong.
John Chapter 16
16“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Verses 1-4 are a continuation of last week's study and a bridge to the teachings about the one thing that will sustain us when we face persecution and trials for professing Jesus Christ as our Lord and King, the Holy Spirit. In v1-3 Jesus has very specific warnings for the Disciples. He is very plainly sharing with them the methods and the motivation with which their enemies will persecute them. Just as in Jesus’s time as today, religious fanatics of false beliefs will martyr themselves attempting to kill God’s people. Although the nation of Israel and the Jews are blind and ignorant to their Messiah, (full disclosure to those who do not know: I am Jewish so I am not being anti-Semitic, I am speaking truth about my people) God still loves them.
In the text Jesus is prophesying to them; These Rabbis and Pharisees and Scribes are going to reject you too. And when they argue with you, you need to know, without question, they do NOT KNOW ME. Don’t be afraid of their fancy pedigrees or the years of study that they have. Don’t be intimidated to speak the truth, even if they kill you for it. I wonder if Stephen, the first Christian Martyr was taught this by John?
He finished in v 3 that when these things happen remember this moment, remember the things I am teaching you tonight and what I am about to further enlighten you about. I have not shared these truths with you yet because I was with you, I handled the situations. But as much as they could not comprehend the events that would enfold over the next few days, Jesus had to make clear to them their need for the Holy Spirit. So too do we need the Holy Spirit to empower us to withstand the upcoming persecution.
5“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
George’s message from Ephesians fits in perfectly with today’s message. I love how the Lord weaves the messages together so beautifully! The following passage is the explanation of how this occurred.
Ephesians 4:7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Jesus was not only the quarterback, but the receiver, He took that ball to the finish line. Only the blood of the Passover Lamb could accomplish this. He endured the cross, He despised the shame, His priceless blood was poured out on the altar in Heaven. Only Jesus could descend and set the captives free, only He is worthy to sit on the throne at the right hand of God. While discussing the promise of the Holy Spirit in John writes in chapter 7, verse 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
These things HAD to occur in order for the gifts of the Spirit to be unleashed. I am leaving a few copies in the back of probably one of my most favorite studies I ever gave on Hebrews Chapter 9. Hebrews chapters 8, 9 and 10 detail Christ’s qualifications and work in the Holy Tabernacle. Studying Hebrews is intense and complex but the following passage may help to distill the principle:
Hebrews 9:11But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Jesus had to leave, He had to complete His mission and fulfill His calling so that the Holy Spirit could build the church.
The Holy Spirit is multi-faceted and has many names:
Author of Scripture, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Convictor of Sin, Deposit, Guide, Indweller, Intercessor, Revealer/Spirit of Truth, Spirit of God, Spirit of Life, Teacher, Witness. Ultimately He is our Helper and he is busy!
John 16:8And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
The Spirit is the one who can speak into the hearts of men. Turning them to Christ. He shows men that they are sinful, they make mistakes, they are heading the wrong way. He shows them what righteousness looks like, who Jesus is, that He was the perfect man. And He communicates to the world that there is a time of judgment to come, that evil men and forces of this world will be judged and condemned, therefore they need to turn to Jesus, acknowledge Him and have their sins covered in order to escape eternal condemnation.
John 3:17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
The Holy Spirit will continually point men to Jesus as the answer to their fallen state.
Jesus goes on:
John 16:12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit communicates to us the will of Jesus. How were the disciples to know what to do next when Jesus was gone? The same way that we discover the will of God. The Spirit will never contradict scripture or the commandments of God and will never lead us down a path of unrighteousness.
How does the Spirit do this?
1. Through His Word - 2Peter 1:21for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2Timothey 3:16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
The Holy Spirit worked through 66 different people, He inspired them to author the scriptures.
2. He Teaches Us - 1Corinthians 2:10But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The only way we can possibly understand, interpret and apply the Word and the principles of the Lord is by the Holy Spirit. Do any of you have memories of reading the bible before you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? I do, it was confusing, but when I read Isaiah 53, it was crystal clear. Because the Holy Spirit was there, convicting me of my own sin of disbelief.
3. He Reminds Us - John 14:26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. When you are communicating the Gospel, when you are afraid and need comfort, when you are confused and need wisdom, the Holy Spirit will bring God's word into your mind. He will remind you of His truth. But we have to do our part: in order to recall the Word we need to be in the Word.
Jesus would not be by their side anymore to answer all of their questions or to perform miracles. They would soon have the Spirit who could be present with them 24/7. The Spirit would be their teacher, as He is our teacher. Do we understand everything that we read in scripture? No, not always at first, but we can always rely upon the Spirit to help us. What would you do if this church was not here? If no church or Pastor or Bible teacher could be found?
You would rely upon the Holy Spirit, and that is what he’s telling them.
In the room are Jesus’s disciples. Three of whom, Matthew, John and Peter, went on to write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, portions of the New Testament. None of these men were Rabbi’s or Jewish Scholars. Jesus was not physically by their side. Did they have questions? Probably. But in verse 25 Jesus says that He will tell them plainly about the Father. When? Maybe some of the plain teaching occurred when Jesus was with them in his resurrected body? And maybe it occurred through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus repeats twice in this chapter in referring to the Holy Spirit, “He will take what is Mine and declare it to you”.
Lets return to the text:
16“A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.”
17Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “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 go to the Father’?” 18They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.”
19Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? 20Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
Jesus is clearly revealing His deity. The disciples were talking among themselves, outside the hearing of Jesus. But He knew their hearts and their questions. We can either take great comfort or great fear from this trait of Jesus. It is better we take comfort, since our Lord knows us so well, he knows what we will ask before we do! Jesus knows that He will go to the cross the next day, that He will be buried, set the captives free, He will defeat sin and death. He will be resurrected and return to them. He will then ascend to the Father and offer His blood upon the altar for our sins and then sit down at the right hand of God until he makes footstools of His enemies.
21A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
He is offering them hope to hold onto because they will be devastated by the events that will occur over the next several days, but they are to remember His words. So too, when we are in the midst of trials we are to remember His words. Isaiah 43:2 states:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
I have experienced many trials in my life that brought me much anguish and sorrow, but over time, if I reflect on how the Spirit sustained me through the trial, and focus on finding the positive outcomes of the trial. I can choose to see the joy. God has trained me to see His blessing in each and every challenge. How can we produce the fruit of the Spirit unless we have need for it? Challenges in life force us to rely upon the Spirit for Peace and Love, Joy and Patience.
The next passages, full disclosure, were the most challenging for me. Hopefully through taking our time, and with the Spirit’s help we can understand them.
23“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Jesus will use this phrase twice, here and in v. 26. What day is he referring to? Well he could be referring to Sunday, resurrection day, only a few days away.
In John Chapter 20 Jesus met with the disciples after His resurrection 21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. At that moment the disciples were saved. There will be a fundamental shift in how they will practice their faith. God was no longer unapproachable because the proper sacrifices had been made. The priests and the sacrificial offerings were not needed. They and we now have full access to the Father through the atoning work of Christ.
V 23 continued; Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
This is the third reference that Jesus is making to their joy. First their sorrow will be turned to joy, then He tells them that their joy cannot be taken away and lastly their joy will be full. When Jesus returns to them their sorrow will be gone, just like the mother who forgets the labor pains. And because Jesus finished the work of their salvation, and filled them with the Holy Spirit that joy of the Lord will be lasting. The day of Atonement for their sin became obsolete. And finally their joy is made full, because any request they make of God will not need to be made through the priest, but it will be made through Jesus based upon His atoning work on the cross. Direct access to our Heavenly Father turned religion into relationship.
25“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. They will understand clearly because they will have just witnessed the events firsthand, and before Jesus ascended to the Father he spent 40 days teaching his Spirit filled disciples.
26In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; We typically do not start our prayers to Jesus but directly to our Heavenly Father. Jesus is letting them know they have permission to address the Father directly. However we end them asking in His name, with v24 as our instruction : 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
27for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 28I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” 29His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
The disciples think that they understand but really they don’t. They don’t yet have the Spirit so it is impossible for them to comprehend 100%.
31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?32Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. Jesus is warning them that He knows exactly what will happen… Peter would deny him, none of the Apostles except for John were at the cross with Jesus.
33These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
The disciples were about to endure a nightmare followed by joy and then the rollercoaster ride that we studied in the book of Acts. But Jesus did not leave them nor forsake them. They would have His presence and power in the form of the Holy Spirit.
Corrie ten Boom was a Christian and a Dutch watchmaker. During WW2 when the Netherlands was invaded by the Nazi, she and her family helped hide the Jews. For this she, her sister and her elderly father were arrested. Her father died 10 days after his arrest. Both Corrie and her sister Betsy were sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. They were starved, forced to labor and abused. Her sister died in the camp, but miraculously Corrie was released. She spent her days traveling the world sharing her testimony. I highly recommend reading the book “The Hiding Place” if you want to know the details of her story.
When she spoke she carried a cloth with a jumble of dark and light threads that looked haphazard and jumbled up. She would hold up the cloth and explain how the cloth represented what we see when we look at our life. Our lives can look chaotic and the dark seasons we endure, like the dark threads, that make no sense. And I’m sure the disciples felt that way at times too.
She would then turn the cloth over revealing an intricately embroidered crown. She explains that God sees our lives, the cloth, like that. And one day he will reveal that beautiful side to us too. The disciples have now had the privilege of seeing their crowns and throwing them at the feet of Jesus.
She also shares the following poem:
Life is But a Weaving (The Tapestry Poem)
By Grant Tuller
My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.