Questions, Anyone?

As we read through John 15-16, I want you to try to empty your mind of what you know about God, Christ, divinity, and everything else we believe as Christians. As much as possible, try to adopt a tabula rasa posture and read these chapters with a totally unknowing mind. Let me try this another way--imagine you are completely new to Christianity, don't know word one about God or anything, and the person introducing you to Christianity point to these chapters as  the first place to start. Do you think you'd understand what was being written?

That's what the disciples were--not exactly blank slates, but still somewhat unaware of Jesus' true mission. As Jesus spoke these words, I can imagine a question or two might have cropped up amongst the disciples:

1. Who is the "One who sent me"? (John 15:21)

2. Who is the "Counselor"? (15:26)

3. What is the "Spirit of truth"? (15:26)

4. What does "anyone who kills you" mean? (16:2)

5. "I am going away" Where? When? Why? (16:6)

6. "Unless I go away the Counselor will not come" Why not? (16:7)

7. How long is "a little while"? (16:16--they did actually ask this question in 16:17-18)

8. How will our "grief...turn to joy"? (16:20)

9. "A time is coming when I will...tell you plainly about my Father" Why not NOW? (16:25)

Jesus made it abundantly clear that all these questions would be answered when the Holy Spirit entered the disciples and worked through their hearts and minds to allow them to understand, and near the end of Chapter 16, it becomes clear that the first glimmer of acknowledgment was beginning to enter the disciples, because Jesus says one of the most profound verses ever in 16:31:

“You believe at last!”

The emphasis placed on the verse suggests the joy that Jesus felt, similar to when we're discussing something with people and it's clear they're not on the same page as we are, but we eventually get our point across. But he followed up that verse with one of my go-to verses, which is John 16:33:

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 If you recall, in the second year that we did our Sojourners Lenten series (and this would have been Spring 2006), that series consisted of devotions written by our members, and I wrote one based on this verse. My point was a very simple one--when Christ described the problems we'll have in life, he didn't use the word "might," "could" or "probably"--he said "WILL." Nothing in Christianity makes us immune to the vicissitudes of life, and any expectation to the contrary is sets ourselves up for failure and disappointment. We WILL have trouble in this life, but we take heart not because Jesus will pave the way for us in this world, but instead in the next. Problems on this Earth will only last as long as we live--problems AFTER that will be eternal. In these chapters, vitally important in their establishment of the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the disciples were being prepared to continue the ministry that Jesus began. Make no mistake, however--Jesus wasn't just talking to the disciples of that day, but to every person that bears the name of Christ to this day.

Scott