Category: Christian

John 16:16-24 – Sadness and joy

Questions and enigmas make us think harder, and discuss the possibilities amongst ourselves, while the observing teacher gets a clear sense of whether the students are understanding the important principles.

Greek commentary on John’s gospel dated 1190-1200 (Bodleian Library)

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Not seeing, then seeing
A fragment of John’s gospel
(Wikimedia)

What Jesus says next is a complete riddle for his followers. ‘Soon you won’t see me, but soon after that you will see me.’ They discussed this amongst themselves, over and over it seems; but they didn’t ask the Master to explain what he meant. Perhaps they were embarrassed because they couldn’t work it out. In verse 10, Jesus had mentioned he would be ‘going to the Father’ and they were puzzled about that as well. And what did ‘soon’ imply?

Jesus understood perfectly what was going on in their minds and that they’d like to ask him about it, but were not going to. And this is typical of him in his dealings with all his followers, not just then, but now as well. He asks questions and he makes enigmatic remarks. The reactions of his followers inform him more than a straightforward conversation would and, more to the point, they help his followers learn.

How we learn

Any teacher knows how to use this method whether the subject is art, maths, science, history – whatever. Questions and enigmas make us think harder, and discuss the possibilities amongst ourselves, while the observing teacher gets a clear sense of whether the students are understanding the important principles. It’s likely this was a method used by any Jewish rabbi. Ask a tricky question, then let the learners wrestle with it and observe their level of understanding.

So remember, when Jesus gives you a question or a problem to resolve, it’s most likely just a way of helping you go deeper or further. And if necessary, don’t be afraid to ask him! He knows your difficulties but he wants you to make the effort and, if necessary, he will help you out. Even if he needs to explain, the fact that you wrestled with it first will help his explanation stick.

So what did he mean?

First he lets them know that he understands their struggles and need to ask, and then he adds a little more information – that they will cry in deep sadness while the world rejoices. And here comes another standard teaching idea, use an illustration, something quite different, something familiar, but something with important similarities. Jesus tells them it will be like a woman giving birth – lots of pain and anguish but with relief and great joy when accomplished.

And now they understand the principle, he adds more detail for them. Their time of grief is now, but he’ll see them again and they’ll rejoice. Nobody will be able to steal that joy from them and they won’t need to ask him any more questions. In fact, they’ll be able to ask his Father (in Jesus’ name) for anything. So far they have not done this – ask, receive, and rejoice!

And what about us?

Can we expect the same? Should we, too, expect to ask in Jesus’ name, receive, and rejoice? Yes! Indeed we should! Does Jesus say to us, ‘So far you have not done this’? Perhaps he does for some of his people and for some of the time. Often we think in terms of faith – ‘Do I have too little faith?’. Frankly, it’s a bad question.

Faith is important, of course. Faith is one of the three things that Paul tells us will remain. The other two are hope and love. And Paul is very, very clear about it, the greatest of the three is not faith, but love! (1 Corinthians 13:1-2) Do you love Jesus? Does he love you? Do you have the Father’s love?

Let me remind you, that yes you do! And this love is greater than faith. Faith is required, but it’s not the measure of the answer. Father’s love is always the measure of the answer.

When you ask for something in Jesus’ name, you may or may not see the answer you expect. Anyone moved a mountain recently? Faith expects that you will trust the answer to Father’s wisdom and love. We don’t always see what we expect. We don’t always immediately receive what we ask. We need to be wise, recognise his love, remain patient and not give up.

And another thing to remember, sometimes we ask in hope, not faith. That’s OK too. There’s nothing wrong with the prayer of hope; there’s no shame in it. Sometimes there is a gift of faith, received in the moment, and we feel certain that what we ask will be done. If so, go ahead and use it! If not, pray anyway, Father listens, he does not turn away. He loves you! We all know what that’s like, we have all been children and some of us have been parents.

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John 16:12-15 – The Spirit

This is fully mature fruit seen at its most complete in the heart of the One who will send the Spirit. This is the source of the spiritual fruit talking.

Greek commentary on John’s gospel dated 1190-1200 (Bodleian Library)

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Getting the whole story
A fragment of John’s gospel
(Wikimedia)

Just four verses this time. Why so few? It’s because these verses are so heavily loaded with deep truth. There’s a lot here that we need to consider and absorb.

Jesus simply can’t tell them everything he wants them to know; he’s well aware they wouldn’t be able to deal with so much at once. It would, he says, ‘be more they they could bear’. It says a very great deal about his nature that he holds back for their sakes, so they won’t be overwhelmed. This is caring, this is gentleness, this is concern for the other, this is understanding.

Cast your mind forward to Paul writing to the Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit – love, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control (Galatians 5:22-23). Here in John we’re seeing the fully mature fruit at its most complete in the heart of the One who will send the Spirit. This is the source of the spiritual fruit talking. Interrupting his precious narrative because he respects his followers’ weakness. It would destroy them so he holds back. We can learn so much from him about spiritual fruit.

Jesus is also the author and source of faith, he knows he can leave essential things unsaid because he knows in all certainty that the Spirit he will later send will explain these things to them, when they are able to cope with the hard, difficult truth. He doesn’t worry, or think, ‘What if they just don’t get it later?’ He knows it’s safe to wait. He doesn’t just have faith, he is faith incarnate! We can learn so much from him about faith.

A trustworthy Spirit

In verse 13, Jesus explains how they will know later what he cannot share with them right now. He needs to explain that the Spirit (who they have not yet experienced) will ‘guide them into all the truth’.

The Spirit will not speak ‘on his own’ – He will, in fact, speak with the Father and with the Son, so his words will be of them and from them, and will carry their full authority.

He will speak only ‘what he hears’. – The Spirit is privy to what the Father and the Son say to one another.

He will ‘tell you what is yet to come’. – In other words the Spirit is prophetic, he will share with them whatever they need to know, even if it’s about things that have not yet happened.

The disciples would not have missed the connection with the Jesus they already know and love. He has claimed to be one with the Father and to say only what he hears the Father say. And isn’t Jesus, here in this conversation, telling them about ‘things that are to come’? That is to say, the Holy Spirit.

And then finally, in verses 14 and 15, Jesus repeats what he’s already told them. He wants to be absolutely sure they understand! The links in the chain are as clear as they could possibly be; what belongs to the Father (Yahweh, the one who just IS) has been given to Jesus. Next, these things are given by Jesus to the Spirit, and then, finally, the Spirit will pass it all on to his followers.

Simple, straightworward, but oh how awesome!

And if you are following Jesus, then it is all your inheritance too. You don’t need to do a thing to inherit something, you just need a family member who has decided to pass it on. Jesus is handing all the richness of heaven and of the Father to you on a plate! The least you can do is receive it and be grateful!

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John 16:1-11 – Warnings and leaving

If his apprentices had been given a vote, they would all have called for Jesus to stay with them. Of course from our perspective it’s clear that the sending of the Holy Spirit was the necessary next step in the life of the church. But that’s very much the benefit of hindsight!

Greek commentary on John’s gospel dated 1190-1200 (Bodleian Library)

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Dangers ahead
A fragment of John’s gospel
(Wikimedia)

From what Jesus tells them next, the future sounds pretty dreadful; but there’s purpose in the telling. What he has already told them was to prevent them from giving up. There’s nothing like hard times to discourage us, and Jesus is well aware of that. But now, knowing time is short, he explains how bad it will get and the great hope that remains.

Jesus explains that people who know neither him nor his Father will reject his followers and even murder them, thinking they are serving Yahweh in doing so. Now that Jesus is leaving the disciples he’s telling them things he’d shielded them from previously.

Where next?

Jesus has told them several times before that he is leaving them, he’s well aware that they haven’t asked where he plans to go and are already feeling sad and downcast (even abandoned) at losing him. It’s easy to imagine them thinking they’ve failed in some way, that he’s going to look for better followers somewhere else. So he explains that his departure will be good for them because if he stays the ‘Advocate’ won’t come. They won’t understand what this means until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit will fill them and a lot of mysteries will begin to be answered in their minds and hearts. For some reason he says that unless he leaves them, he won’t be able to send this ‘Advocate’.

If his apprentices had been given a vote, they would all have called for Jesus to stay with them. Of course from our perspective it’s clear that the sending of the Holy Spirit was the necessary next step in the life of the church. But that’s very much the benefit of hindsight!

Sin, righteousness, and judgement

The world (and especially the Jewish world in which the disciples lived) knew that sin, righteousness and judgement were important things. The Law and the Prophets were full of these three ideas – from Genesis right through to Malachi. Mankind is sinful because of disobedience, sinful people cannot claim any sort of righteousness, and without sacrifice for sin all are judged and found wanting.

Jesus now tells them that the world has all three of these important things wrong – completely wrong!

In the case of sin, people are wrong because they don’t believe in Jesus, He came to deal with sin once and for all, but many of the learned people saw Jesus himself as sinful, a blasphemer, misinformed, deserving of arrest and punishment – even a death sentence!

In the case of righteousness, people were wrong because Jesus was now returning to the Father where he could no longer be seen. Jesus himself is our righteousness and he represents us in the Father’s presence.

And in the case of judgement, people were wrong because they’d backed the wrong horse. They’d chosen ‘The Prince of this World’ who was now condemned. And who might that be? Not Jesus, clearly, but the Evil One, the opposer of everything good, who tried to condemn Yahweh but is now himself condemned.

Get sin, righteousness and judgement wrong and you have no hope! Get these right, follow Jesus, and it will all become clear. What a revelation!

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John 15:22-27 – Guilt and testimony

They understood that some things are good and others are evil, but their thinking was confused. So, very often, is ours. The creator can see into the hearts of the created.

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What is good? What is evil?
A fragment of John’s gospel
(Wikimedia)

Jesus begins here by saying something extraordinary, he tells his followers that people are only guilty of sin because he has spoken to them. This is just how it was at the beginning; in Eden there was no possibility of guilt until the man and woman had eaten the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. We need to dig deep here to understand more clearly.

They were created naked, they walked in the garden with Yahweh naked, and he said that everything he had made was good (Genesis 1:26-31, specifically v 31). So we cannot claim it is bad, or wrong, or evil to be naked in the presence of others. That idea, which is very commonly held, perhaps especially by those who call themselves Christians, is simply wrong. There is no evidence to support it!

But when they gained the knowledge of good and evil, they were ashamed in his presence and hid themselves when he came to walk and talk with them. Yahweh didn’t come to look at their bodies, he came to look at their hearts! They understood that some things are good and others are evil, but their thinking was confused. So, very often, is ours. The creator can see into the hearts of the created. They wanted to hide their disobedient hearts from him, but that is impossible; instead the best they could manage was to hide their bodies and ignore their disobedience. It’s a form of ‘making an excuse’, hiding what Yahweh pronounced good, because of their feelings of shame. Let’s hide whatever we can in the hope that the things we can’t hide will be overlooked – sorry, it won’t work, it’s never worked.

If I’m not able to see the reality of good and evil in my heart, that does not permit me to pretend to fix it by cloaking the reality with a more comfortable and palatable alternative. The guiltiness of a sinful heart runs deep and cannot just be covered over. Because Jesus did things that no mere, guilty human being could do (healing a Jewish leper for example, or casting out a dumb demon, or healing a person born blind*), they turned against both Jesus and his Father. Even this fulfilled the law! And notice that Jesus says, ‘Their law’, he does not say ‘My law’ or ‘My Father’s Law’ (v 25). That too is significant!

A reminder

Jesus reminds them that a master is greater than his servants. We’ll be treated as he was if we are his followers. He’s reminded them of this before – more than once. John just mentioned it. But Jesus’ preference is to call us, not servants, but his friends (John 15:15).

The coming Spirit

The chapter ends with Jesus announcing that the Spirit will come. Jesus calls his Spirit ‘the Advocate’, someone who will argue the case for us, someone who will remind us of everything we need to know and remember and do and be. And we must do what the Spirit does – testify about Jesus. Remember what he says elsewhere, ‘Without me you can do … nothing.’ But if we have the Spirit of Christ living in us, we can do anything he calls us to!

See also:

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John 15:18-21 – Hatred

A master issues instructions, a servant follows instructions. Jesus teaches, his chosen apprentices learn; and it follows that if Jesus is persecuted they will be too.

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Meaning of the word
A fragment of John’s gospel
(Wikimedia)

The subject of hatred can be difficult, hating someone is not just a matter of disliking them, maybe we need to look at a dictionary definition.

The Greek word used here (μισέω – miseo) literally means to ‘detest’ (See the Bible Hub definition for details). In the Graeco-Roman world of the time it implied a strong emotional response of enmity and hostility. In Hebrew thought it was a little different, hatred was seen as being the opposite of love, but also as a righteous attitude to sin and idols. This can lead to misunderstanding in English translations when we read, for example, that we should ‘hate’ our father and mother. A better translation might be that we should love our father and mother less than we love Jesus.

We are Christ’s

In the previous section Jesus was talking about love; in verse 17 we read, ‘This is my command: love each other.’ And immediately afterwards he says, ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first’. In other words, the world sees Jesus as sinful and idolatrous, and sees us in the same way because we follow him. We see this most clearly when we consider the approach of the Priests, the Pharisees, and the Saducees. They really did see Jesus and his followers as teaching dangerous and abhorrent errors.

He tells his apprentices (disciples) that the world would love them if they were themselves worldly. But we, too, are his disciples so let’s make this more direct and personal – the world would love you and me if we were worldly. Are we worldly? I hope not! And why are we not worldly? Because Jesus has chosen us out of the world. If you’re popular in the world you should be alarmed! Jesus is the head, not us. We are merely the body of Christ. Or more encouragingly, we are amazingly the body of Christ. So when the vicar offers you a wafer and tells you, ‘This is the body of Christ, broken for you’; you might retort, ‘No it’s not, I am part of the body of Christ, as are you’. But I’m not sure how well that would go down!

Master and servant

Jesus reminds them of something he told them previously, namely that masters are greater than their servants. A master issues instructions, a servant follows instructions. Jesus teaches, his chosen apprentices learn; and it follows that if Jesus is persecuted they will be too. And those who follow Jesus’ teaching will also follow theirs. They are going to share in more than his life, for elsewhere he clearly states that they have become his friends (no longer servants), so they (and we) become teachers like him and will be persecuted by some, followed by others.

The abuse will come because of his name, because they don’t know the Father. Jesus came as a servant, a messenger, in his Father’s name. We go as servants, as messengers, in Jesus’ name. And we go to those who don’t know his name, his mission or his character. Jesus came to reveal the truth to an ignorant world, to bring life to a dying world. So should we – but if we do not, can we really claim to be his followers at all?

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