I want to say 4 things from this passage.
1. Jesus anticipates persecution
Firstly, Jesus anticipates the persecution of his disciples and, in doing so, forewarns and helps them. When he says ‘if’ in v.18 he isn’t introducing an element of doubt into their minds; his words are equivalent to ‘when you are hated’. This is as certain as it gets - the church will face hatred from the world. That isn't to say that every individual believer will at all times be conscious of persecution but it is to say that this is the pattern for the church, this is the fundamental reality of life in this world.
To speak of being hated raises the stakes considerably because that is a very strong word and stands in very stark contrast to the love that Jesus has for his own (v.9). But Jesus goes even further: he says that some of his disciples will be put out of the synagogue and some will even be killed and those who kill them will think they’re doing God a favour. The stakes are about as high as they can get.
The stark warning of Jesus to his disciples is evidence, as one commentator says, that “Following Jesus is not a game”. This is a very serious business – for some, as Jesus warns here, it is a deadly business. Being a disciple is not about quiet therapy for troubled souls; it is a costly calling into the most bitter conflict. Jesus will not have his disciples believe otherwise, then or now.
By anticipating persecution, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the harsh reality that awaits them. That is a service of love on the part of the Saviour. It would be so easy for this hatred to knock us off course and to cause us to give up on our faith. Jesus says, "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray" (16:1). To be forewarned is to be forearmed. And we have been warned.
2. Jesus explains persecution
But why is it the case that followers of Jesus will be hated? Why such hostility? In these verses, Jesus not only anticipates persecution but explains it and, in doing so, provides solid encouragement to us as his people. Let’s notice 3 things here.
i) Because we do not belong to the world – We will find that the world hates us because of who we are – we will face opposition and difficulties because we no longer belong to the world but instead are joined by faith to Jesus and are his servants.
Jesus tells us that if we belonged to the world, it would love us as its own but we don’t belong to it any longer because he has chosen us out of the world (v.19). We are now united to Jesus and have our identity in him – and so, just as he was persecuted, so will we be (“No servant is greater than his master” v.20).
This explains why we suffer in this world but, as it explains it, it gives us cause for real encouragement. We suffer because we belong to Jesus; we are persecuted by the darkness because we belong to the light. Whilst none of us want to face hardship, knowing that it comes because we are loved by God is a real help.
Now, of course, Jesus is not saying here that all those who are badly treated by the world are his followers. Nor is he saying that we can safely assume that whenever we are treated badly it is because we belong to Jesus – the sad truth is that we can bring down trouble on our heads through our own foolishness and sin. Yet perhaps we can say that even then the situation will often be worse than it might have been because we bear Jesus’ name.
ii) Because the world does not know God – The world does not know God and, in its blind and wilful rebellion against the Lord, strikes out at those who do belong to him. Jesus speaks here of the ‘world’ meaning “the created moral order in active rebellion against God” (Carson).
The problem is not a few isolated individuals who can’t stand Christians – it is far more fundamental. Jesus is speaking about a clash of systems – between the Lord and his kingdom and the world as governed by the evil one and trapped in sin.
If individuals try to discourage and cause us difficulties because of our faith in Jesus, we need to see their opposition in this light. They are part of a world system that hates God and stirs up trouble for God’s people.
The issue is far bigger than a husband or wife or sibling who is a trial to us – it is the world in its violent opposition to God.
It is this explanation of the nature of persecution that leads one writer very helpfully to say that: “these verses demand decision, because the issues are of ultimate importance. Following Jesus costs something and may cost life itself. Yet not following Jesus means one is siding with a lost and hateful world.” (Carson)
If you’re not a Christian, it may not feel as though you’re siding with a hateful world but Jesus will not let the issue be fudged: anyone who is not for him is against him. The issues are stark and so, too, is the choice: to follow Jesus and live or to side with the world and be lost. What are you going to make of that choice?
iii) Because of the church’s mission to the world – Jesus adds a very significant dimension to his explanation of persecution in vv.26,27 when he speaks of the Spirit and the church testifying about him. The opposition of the world, in its hatred of God, is stirred when the church engages in mission.
In this whole section, from ch.13, Jesus has been emphasising that he is sending the disciples out to continue his mission. Jesus was persecuted and rejected as he fulfilled his Father’s calling and the same reality will face the church.
To expect to face opposition as we engage in mission is, of course, no reason to cease reaching out. To be faithful as a church to the commission of Jesus is to lay ourselves open to the hatred of the world – but the glory of God and the desperate need of the world demands that we grit our teeth and go on.
3. Jesus condemns persecution
The third thing to notice about this persecution is that Jesus says it is culpable – those who engage in it stand guilty in their sin.
In v.22 Jesus says that those who persecuted him had no excuse since he had come and had spoken to them. They deliberately fought against the light, choosing to reject the Lord of glory and looking to do away with him.
If he had not spoken to them, nor done miracles among them, they would not have been guilty – by which Jesus is not saying they would have been sinless but that their rejection of him would not have attracted the same condemnation. But they did hear, they did see and still they rejected him. That was deliberate and worthy of condemnation.
How does this sit with what we experience today? If someone treats us badly, not knowing we’re Christians, they’re guilty of sin but not of persecution as Jesus speaks of it here. But if someone hates us because of who and what we are in Christ, they are without excuse. They have no reason to react in that way – it is entirely unreasonable for the Lord’s people to be abused since, like Jesus, we are going to the world with a message of hope and mercy – to reject that is madness and invites judgement.
4. Jesus equips for persecution
The overall impact of Jesus’ teaching in these verses, as he anticipates, explains and condemns the persecution of his people is to equip them for it. We are not to be caught off-guard; the world will hate us because it hated him. It hates us because we belong to him; it is a product of the fundamental clash of systems – the world in its opposition to God. But such persecution will not have the last word; it stands condemned for what it is: implacable hatred of God, the opposition of evil to the goodness of the Creator.
We need to know that and so be equipped for the fight. But Jesus does something else – he speaks of the promised Holy Spirit, calling him the ‘paraclete’, the Comforter. He will testify of Jesus and will be the one who impels the church into its witness too.
The days may be hard; tears may, at times, flow freely because we are real people with a real capacity for grief and sorrow. But, in the midst of it all, the same Spirit who leads us into costly service remains with us as the Comforter, reminding us of our status with God and filling our hearts with the realisation of God’s great love for us. That is worth more than words can say – so don’t grow weary in well-doing but rather press on, for Jesus’ sake, knowing that our labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Monday, February 12, 2007
sermon on john 15:9-17
Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. We derive our whole life from him; we are who and what we are because we are in him. Without him we are nothing and can do nothing; remaining in him, we are called and enabled to bear fruit that will glorify God.
Such we read in vv.1-8. But that is not the end of Jesus’ discussion about our relationship to him and what must proceed from that. We’re going to pick up that discussion again this morning in vv.9-17.
1. Loved by the Son
The depiction of the relationship between Jesus and his disciples as a vine to its branches is very bracing – it is easily grasped and makes its point powerfully. But it does not, can not, tell the whole story; the image as it stands is rather impersonal. But Jesus straight away makes good on that in a statement of profound proportions: he tells his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
In this gospel, the relationship between Jesus and his Father has been seen to be of the deepest, most rewarding nature. The love they share has no comparisons. So when Jesus tells us that he loves his own just as the Father has loved him, we’re perhaps lost for words and taken aback: can that really be true?
Wonderfully, the answer is yes, it can be and it is! The love of Jesus for all his people is of the same nature as the love between the father and the Son. Being loved in this way, we are caught up into the very life and love of God in the most deeply personal way.
The imagery of vine and branches which on its own might have seemed mechanical and merely functional has now given way to a plain statement of glorious reality: we are loved by God with the love that exists within the relationships of the Trinity.
But whilst the fact of that love is secure and settled, our enjoyment of that love is not a static reality. Jesus calls us here to remain in his love, just as he remained in the Father’s love. And the way Jesus did that, and that we are also to do so, was through obedience. Just as he obeyed his Father, so we are to obey the commands of our Lord.
In no way is Jesus here describing a merit-theology in which we earn his love; that could never be and would utterly rob love of its meaning and vitality. What he is saying is that our enjoyment of his love for us will be conditioned by our obedience to his commands. As someone has said, “This obedience is not what makes them friends; it is what characterises his friends.” (Carson)
The upshot of our taking Jesus at his word and remaining in his love (by obeying his commands) is that his joy will be in us and our joy will then be complete (v.11). Although Jesus was known as a man of sorrows, he was also a man of joy, great joy, in his relationship with his Father. Doing the will of the Father meant so much to Jesus because of his relationship to the Father; it was for the joy set before him – the joy of completing his assigned task and so honouring his Father – that Jesus went through the terrible suffering of the cross.
If we remain in his love by obeying his commands, we will share in that joy, fully. To put Jesus first, to give your all for God, is not to suffer loss; it is great gain. Just as the man who discovered treasure in a field and sold all he had to obtain it didn’t lose out, so we don’t lose out when we seek first God and his kingdom. Rather, we are blessed by sharing in Jesus’ joy.
2. Jesus’ command: Love each other
We might want to ask our Lord at this point what his commands are that we are to obey to remain in his love for us. There are, of course, many commands in scripture and we are to take all the will of god seriously; it isn’t a pick’n’mix affair. But Jesus here summarises our response to his claims upon us in this way: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (v.12).
Essentially, Jesus here repeats the call he made back in 13:34 and the standard is still as high and as demanding: “as I have loved you”. Our love for each other must rise above mere sentiment; it is instead to be patterned on and reflect the self-giving sacrifice of our Lord for us. That is going to take some working on but we can’t dodge it if we want to be true disciples of Jesus.
But why does Jesus reduce his commands to this? Why this one and not the command to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength? Clearly, that command is presupposed and everything else builds on and flows from it. The reason for fixing on this command by way of summary would seem to be because “love is the fulfilment of the law” (Rom. 13:10) and love, as Paul tells us, binds every other virtue together in perfect unity (Col. 3:14).
The call for disciples to love each other is made on the basis of the example of Jesus, “as I have loved you”. But here also is the reality which gives not just the example but the energy for us to love each other, that Jesus laid down his life for his friends and we are his friends (by the grace of adoption).
We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; we have been rescued from our sin by a love which went all the way for us. Knowing that love and rejoicing in it gives a power and an impetus to our lives as believers, such that we are enabled to love each other as Jesus loved us.
But it must be worked out in practical detail in our lives. We need to pray as Paul did for the Philippians, that our love “may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Phil. 1:9).
3. Being friends and bearing fruit
We are loved by Jesus as his friends and are called to love each other as he has loved us. Our Lord has brought us into the most rewarding relationship imaginable. In vv.15,16 Jesus explains why he is now calling them ‘friends’ and what it means for their mission.
They are no longer called servants but friends on account of what has been revealed to them: “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Servants are not in that position of intimacy; they don’t know their Master’s business but Jesus has held nothing back from them – everything he has heard from the Father he has told them (although they haven’t grasped its full import).
It’s important to see what Jesus means by this new description of his relationship with the disciples. In calling them friends he isn’t leaving behind the vine and branches imagery; they are his friends but he is still their Master.
Yes, he is our friend – that is a precious truth – but not in the sense of the friendship of equals. They are no longer called servants because they have been brought into the truth that only friends know – but Jesus remains their Lord.
As someone has said, “Jesus’ absolute right to command is in no way diminished, but he takes pains to inform his friends of his motives, plans, purposes.” (Carson)
And it is as their Lord who has made known to them the will of the Father that he has both chosen and appointed them to go and bear fruit.
As we’ve seen, fruitfulness is a very comprehensive notion but in this specific context, with the emphasis on going and bearing fruit, it seems that Jesus is highlighting the evangelistic ministry of the church. His purpose is that they should bear fruit that will last – seeing the gospel make a lasting impact in the lives of many people.
With this in mind, Jesus reiterates that his disciples can petition the Father and he will give them whatever they ask in Jesus’ name. As we seek to do his will, as his friends, reaching out to others, we can ask for whatever we need and be assured of God’s help, according to his purposes.
And with this emphasis on the outreach of the church it is no accident that Jesus repeats in v.17 his command to his disciples that they love each other. The mission of the church is not a matter of words only; the world must see in the unity and love of the church something of the reconciling ministry of God.
May God grant that our life together would show that kind of fruitfulness, for his glory and praise. Amen.
Such we read in vv.1-8. But that is not the end of Jesus’ discussion about our relationship to him and what must proceed from that. We’re going to pick up that discussion again this morning in vv.9-17.
1. Loved by the Son
The depiction of the relationship between Jesus and his disciples as a vine to its branches is very bracing – it is easily grasped and makes its point powerfully. But it does not, can not, tell the whole story; the image as it stands is rather impersonal. But Jesus straight away makes good on that in a statement of profound proportions: he tells his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
In this gospel, the relationship between Jesus and his Father has been seen to be of the deepest, most rewarding nature. The love they share has no comparisons. So when Jesus tells us that he loves his own just as the Father has loved him, we’re perhaps lost for words and taken aback: can that really be true?
Wonderfully, the answer is yes, it can be and it is! The love of Jesus for all his people is of the same nature as the love between the father and the Son. Being loved in this way, we are caught up into the very life and love of God in the most deeply personal way.
The imagery of vine and branches which on its own might have seemed mechanical and merely functional has now given way to a plain statement of glorious reality: we are loved by God with the love that exists within the relationships of the Trinity.
But whilst the fact of that love is secure and settled, our enjoyment of that love is not a static reality. Jesus calls us here to remain in his love, just as he remained in the Father’s love. And the way Jesus did that, and that we are also to do so, was through obedience. Just as he obeyed his Father, so we are to obey the commands of our Lord.
In no way is Jesus here describing a merit-theology in which we earn his love; that could never be and would utterly rob love of its meaning and vitality. What he is saying is that our enjoyment of his love for us will be conditioned by our obedience to his commands. As someone has said, “This obedience is not what makes them friends; it is what characterises his friends.” (Carson)
The upshot of our taking Jesus at his word and remaining in his love (by obeying his commands) is that his joy will be in us and our joy will then be complete (v.11). Although Jesus was known as a man of sorrows, he was also a man of joy, great joy, in his relationship with his Father. Doing the will of the Father meant so much to Jesus because of his relationship to the Father; it was for the joy set before him – the joy of completing his assigned task and so honouring his Father – that Jesus went through the terrible suffering of the cross.
If we remain in his love by obeying his commands, we will share in that joy, fully. To put Jesus first, to give your all for God, is not to suffer loss; it is great gain. Just as the man who discovered treasure in a field and sold all he had to obtain it didn’t lose out, so we don’t lose out when we seek first God and his kingdom. Rather, we are blessed by sharing in Jesus’ joy.
2. Jesus’ command: Love each other
We might want to ask our Lord at this point what his commands are that we are to obey to remain in his love for us. There are, of course, many commands in scripture and we are to take all the will of god seriously; it isn’t a pick’n’mix affair. But Jesus here summarises our response to his claims upon us in this way: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (v.12).
Essentially, Jesus here repeats the call he made back in 13:34 and the standard is still as high and as demanding: “as I have loved you”. Our love for each other must rise above mere sentiment; it is instead to be patterned on and reflect the self-giving sacrifice of our Lord for us. That is going to take some working on but we can’t dodge it if we want to be true disciples of Jesus.
But why does Jesus reduce his commands to this? Why this one and not the command to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength? Clearly, that command is presupposed and everything else builds on and flows from it. The reason for fixing on this command by way of summary would seem to be because “love is the fulfilment of the law” (Rom. 13:10) and love, as Paul tells us, binds every other virtue together in perfect unity (Col. 3:14).
The call for disciples to love each other is made on the basis of the example of Jesus, “as I have loved you”. But here also is the reality which gives not just the example but the energy for us to love each other, that Jesus laid down his life for his friends and we are his friends (by the grace of adoption).
We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; we have been rescued from our sin by a love which went all the way for us. Knowing that love and rejoicing in it gives a power and an impetus to our lives as believers, such that we are enabled to love each other as Jesus loved us.
But it must be worked out in practical detail in our lives. We need to pray as Paul did for the Philippians, that our love “may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (Phil. 1:9).
3. Being friends and bearing fruit
We are loved by Jesus as his friends and are called to love each other as he has loved us. Our Lord has brought us into the most rewarding relationship imaginable. In vv.15,16 Jesus explains why he is now calling them ‘friends’ and what it means for their mission.
They are no longer called servants but friends on account of what has been revealed to them: “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Servants are not in that position of intimacy; they don’t know their Master’s business but Jesus has held nothing back from them – everything he has heard from the Father he has told them (although they haven’t grasped its full import).
It’s important to see what Jesus means by this new description of his relationship with the disciples. In calling them friends he isn’t leaving behind the vine and branches imagery; they are his friends but he is still their Master.
Yes, he is our friend – that is a precious truth – but not in the sense of the friendship of equals. They are no longer called servants because they have been brought into the truth that only friends know – but Jesus remains their Lord.
As someone has said, “Jesus’ absolute right to command is in no way diminished, but he takes pains to inform his friends of his motives, plans, purposes.” (Carson)
And it is as their Lord who has made known to them the will of the Father that he has both chosen and appointed them to go and bear fruit.
As we’ve seen, fruitfulness is a very comprehensive notion but in this specific context, with the emphasis on going and bearing fruit, it seems that Jesus is highlighting the evangelistic ministry of the church. His purpose is that they should bear fruit that will last – seeing the gospel make a lasting impact in the lives of many people.
With this in mind, Jesus reiterates that his disciples can petition the Father and he will give them whatever they ask in Jesus’ name. As we seek to do his will, as his friends, reaching out to others, we can ask for whatever we need and be assured of God’s help, according to his purposes.
And with this emphasis on the outreach of the church it is no accident that Jesus repeats in v.17 his command to his disciples that they love each other. The mission of the church is not a matter of words only; the world must see in the unity and love of the church something of the reconciling ministry of God.
May God grant that our life together would show that kind of fruitfulness, for his glory and praise. Amen.
sermon on john 15:1-8
1. Relationship: the Vine and the Branches
As he begins this next section of his discussion with the disciples, Jesus makes a statement that is quite staggering. He tells his disciples, “I am the true vine.” Jesus deliberately takes on OT picture of Israel and applies it to himself.
Israel is called the vine in a number of places, for example Isaiah 5, and Jesus here says that the reality of what Israel was meant to be is found in him: he is the true vine. This is not the only time that Jesus makes such a claim. The very act of calling 12 disciples signalled the same thing; being sent by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and being tempted by the devil mirrored the experiences of Israel.
The gospels are full of incidents and sayings that make this point very powerfully. And it is a point that the rest of the NT takes up also – remember how Paul can say that it is those who believe who are Abraham’s family, not those who are his physical descendents.
It makes for a fascinating study and once you’ve grasped that this is what’s happening, the gospels are seen in a new light and reveal so much more about Jesus.
But what is the significance of this claim for Jesus and for us? Jesus is saying that what God intended to be achieved through Israel actually comes to pass in and through him. They had been chosen and set apart for the sake of the world but had singularly failed to be a light to the nations; in Jesus, that calling is fulfilled in the most dramatic way. He will keep the law of God, he will offer himself for sin and he will form in himself one new, united people of God from all nations.
And what this does for us as the church is to clarify and draw into focus our relationship to Jesus. We are given our identity in him – he is the vine, we are the branches. We derive our whole life from him and are constituted in him. Jesus is then at the very centre of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a church. He is the vine; we are the branches.
A vine speaks of God’s gracious purposes for his garden, the world. To share in those purposes, you need to be related to Jesus. It isn’t a matter of pointing to ancestry as the Jews did or to law-keeping; all that counts is whether you are ‘in Christ’, joined to Jesus and considered a part of his family. That is the only way to share in God’s blessing on his creation.
2. Mission: Fruit for God’s Glory
But incorporation into Jesus is not simply for our own benefit. If Israel was called to be a light to the nations and that calling is truly fulfilled by Jesus, then those who are the branches in the vine are called to share in that reality (cf. Acts 13:47).
The way Jesus speaks of that mission here is as fruitfulness. Taking the picture of the vine, the whole purpose of the branches is to bear fruit and Jesus says that it is by doing that we will show ourselves to be his disciples – not that we will prove it to ourselves but simply that bearing fruit is what he calls disciples for.
But what does he mean by ‘fruit’? Does he mean that each of us needs to be able to point to various people that we have led to the Lord and that if there are none then our discipleship is false? I don’t think he is saying that for a moment.
Bearing fruit might helpfully be spoken of in these terms. It means personal holiness (cf. Gal 5:22f); it means corporate unity and love; it means the church’s winsome evangelism; and it means implementing God’s will in wider society as we have opportunity to.
We are to bear fruit in the whole of our lives – it isn’t restricted to our personal lives, as though we could privatise what Jesus says; nor is it restricted to the family life of the church – it is intended that the light of God’s grace should shine in all the nations.
Here is our mission, our commission from Jesus – he sends us out to bear fruit and that involves the whole of our lives.
And the great impetus behind this is that when we bear such fruit, our Father in heaven is glorified (v.8).
God is seen to be who he is – a God of grace and mercy, a God with power to save and transform, a God who makes good on his ancient promises to rescue his fallen and lost creation.
Fruitfulness is the original purpose of God for his creation and it is brought to pass only in and through Jesus and the work of his Spirit.
3. Call: Remaining in the Vine
But how will people as feeble as us manage to produce such fruit? The more widely we define fruit, the harder it seems to get! Well, the disciples were no different – they were often very slow on the uptake and their faithfulness to Jesus was hardly exemplary. How does Jesus expect them – or us – to produce fruit that will glorify God?
The answer lies implicitly in the imagery being used and is made explicit by Jesus in his teaching here. The branches are able to produce fruit inasmuch as they draw life and nourishment from the vine; it is the connection between the vine and the branches that is paramount. And so Jesus says here, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (v.4)
On our own, we would have no chance – “without me, you can do nothing.” Cut off from Jesus we would be like withered branches that are simply fuel for the fire and utterly lifeless. Yet connected to the vine, joined to Jesus and living in him, we can truly be fruitful.
But what does it mean to remain in the vine? For some, that might describe an emotional state of wellbeing, an inner sense of being at one with Jesus – but that is not what Jesus means. He clearly links remaining in him with his words to remaining in us (v.7). We remain in Jesus and abide in him as we go on believing the truth about him.
And that means grappling with the Bible, loving it and feeding on it, studying it and obeying it. The branches must draw their life from the vine and here is how we as branches draw nourishment from Jesus, through his Word, by his Spirit. We will not grow and be fruitful as a Christian if we don’t read the Bible and do what it says. The fruit of the Spirit is cultured through the Spirit-inspired Word of God.
For some in John’s gospel, faith in Jesus was transient – they believed for a time but no longer. They are like the branches Jesus speaks of here that are cut off because they bear no fruit. When he says that, it isn’t a threat to our security in him but rather it simply shows how that safety is experienced: we go on believing in Jesus, we go on living in him. That is what it means to abide.
We only bear fruit as we remain in Jesus. But Jesus also speaks here of the branches that bear fruit being caused to grow in their fruitfulness: “every branch that does bear fruit (the Father) prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (v.2).
Every gardener knows how important pruning is, none more so that God himself. But what is the pruning that Jesus speaks of? The word means ‘cleanses’ and is also found in v.3. Those who have truly believed in Jesus have been made clean by God’s Word, by his message of grace, and have been set apart for God to use. The way he makes us more fruitful then is through that same word.
Engaging with the Bible in this way can indeed by painful as it challenges our thinking and straightens it out, then shows us how to live right. That may seem rather unspectacular in our modern world yet it remains God’s way for fruitfulness.
Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. That gives great dignity to our sense of identity yet at the same time there could scarcely be a more challenging call than to bear fruit to the glory of God. But the means for that is plain and gracious: we are to remain in Jesus, drawing our life from him, believing his word, and allowing that word to go on forming us into his image and likeness.
As he begins this next section of his discussion with the disciples, Jesus makes a statement that is quite staggering. He tells his disciples, “I am the true vine.” Jesus deliberately takes on OT picture of Israel and applies it to himself.
Israel is called the vine in a number of places, for example Isaiah 5, and Jesus here says that the reality of what Israel was meant to be is found in him: he is the true vine. This is not the only time that Jesus makes such a claim. The very act of calling 12 disciples signalled the same thing; being sent by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and being tempted by the devil mirrored the experiences of Israel.
The gospels are full of incidents and sayings that make this point very powerfully. And it is a point that the rest of the NT takes up also – remember how Paul can say that it is those who believe who are Abraham’s family, not those who are his physical descendents.
It makes for a fascinating study and once you’ve grasped that this is what’s happening, the gospels are seen in a new light and reveal so much more about Jesus.
But what is the significance of this claim for Jesus and for us? Jesus is saying that what God intended to be achieved through Israel actually comes to pass in and through him. They had been chosen and set apart for the sake of the world but had singularly failed to be a light to the nations; in Jesus, that calling is fulfilled in the most dramatic way. He will keep the law of God, he will offer himself for sin and he will form in himself one new, united people of God from all nations.
And what this does for us as the church is to clarify and draw into focus our relationship to Jesus. We are given our identity in him – he is the vine, we are the branches. We derive our whole life from him and are constituted in him. Jesus is then at the very centre of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a church. He is the vine; we are the branches.
A vine speaks of God’s gracious purposes for his garden, the world. To share in those purposes, you need to be related to Jesus. It isn’t a matter of pointing to ancestry as the Jews did or to law-keeping; all that counts is whether you are ‘in Christ’, joined to Jesus and considered a part of his family. That is the only way to share in God’s blessing on his creation.
2. Mission: Fruit for God’s Glory
But incorporation into Jesus is not simply for our own benefit. If Israel was called to be a light to the nations and that calling is truly fulfilled by Jesus, then those who are the branches in the vine are called to share in that reality (cf. Acts 13:47).
The way Jesus speaks of that mission here is as fruitfulness. Taking the picture of the vine, the whole purpose of the branches is to bear fruit and Jesus says that it is by doing that we will show ourselves to be his disciples – not that we will prove it to ourselves but simply that bearing fruit is what he calls disciples for.
But what does he mean by ‘fruit’? Does he mean that each of us needs to be able to point to various people that we have led to the Lord and that if there are none then our discipleship is false? I don’t think he is saying that for a moment.
Bearing fruit might helpfully be spoken of in these terms. It means personal holiness (cf. Gal 5:22f); it means corporate unity and love; it means the church’s winsome evangelism; and it means implementing God’s will in wider society as we have opportunity to.
We are to bear fruit in the whole of our lives – it isn’t restricted to our personal lives, as though we could privatise what Jesus says; nor is it restricted to the family life of the church – it is intended that the light of God’s grace should shine in all the nations.
Here is our mission, our commission from Jesus – he sends us out to bear fruit and that involves the whole of our lives.
And the great impetus behind this is that when we bear such fruit, our Father in heaven is glorified (v.8).
God is seen to be who he is – a God of grace and mercy, a God with power to save and transform, a God who makes good on his ancient promises to rescue his fallen and lost creation.
Fruitfulness is the original purpose of God for his creation and it is brought to pass only in and through Jesus and the work of his Spirit.
3. Call: Remaining in the Vine
But how will people as feeble as us manage to produce such fruit? The more widely we define fruit, the harder it seems to get! Well, the disciples were no different – they were often very slow on the uptake and their faithfulness to Jesus was hardly exemplary. How does Jesus expect them – or us – to produce fruit that will glorify God?
The answer lies implicitly in the imagery being used and is made explicit by Jesus in his teaching here. The branches are able to produce fruit inasmuch as they draw life and nourishment from the vine; it is the connection between the vine and the branches that is paramount. And so Jesus says here, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (v.4)
On our own, we would have no chance – “without me, you can do nothing.” Cut off from Jesus we would be like withered branches that are simply fuel for the fire and utterly lifeless. Yet connected to the vine, joined to Jesus and living in him, we can truly be fruitful.
But what does it mean to remain in the vine? For some, that might describe an emotional state of wellbeing, an inner sense of being at one with Jesus – but that is not what Jesus means. He clearly links remaining in him with his words to remaining in us (v.7). We remain in Jesus and abide in him as we go on believing the truth about him.
And that means grappling with the Bible, loving it and feeding on it, studying it and obeying it. The branches must draw their life from the vine and here is how we as branches draw nourishment from Jesus, through his Word, by his Spirit. We will not grow and be fruitful as a Christian if we don’t read the Bible and do what it says. The fruit of the Spirit is cultured through the Spirit-inspired Word of God.
For some in John’s gospel, faith in Jesus was transient – they believed for a time but no longer. They are like the branches Jesus speaks of here that are cut off because they bear no fruit. When he says that, it isn’t a threat to our security in him but rather it simply shows how that safety is experienced: we go on believing in Jesus, we go on living in him. That is what it means to abide.
We only bear fruit as we remain in Jesus. But Jesus also speaks here of the branches that bear fruit being caused to grow in their fruitfulness: “every branch that does bear fruit (the Father) prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (v.2).
Every gardener knows how important pruning is, none more so that God himself. But what is the pruning that Jesus speaks of? The word means ‘cleanses’ and is also found in v.3. Those who have truly believed in Jesus have been made clean by God’s Word, by his message of grace, and have been set apart for God to use. The way he makes us more fruitful then is through that same word.
Engaging with the Bible in this way can indeed by painful as it challenges our thinking and straightens it out, then shows us how to live right. That may seem rather unspectacular in our modern world yet it remains God’s way for fruitfulness.
Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. That gives great dignity to our sense of identity yet at the same time there could scarcely be a more challenging call than to bear fruit to the glory of God. But the means for that is plain and gracious: we are to remain in Jesus, drawing our life from him, believing his word, and allowing that word to go on forming us into his image and likeness.
sermon on john 14:28-31
Once more, Jesus reminds his disciples that he is going away and then coming back to them. In this context, the coming back seems to be referring to his second coming and not his post-resurrection time with them. This is a recurring theme in the upper room and Jesus is relating it directly to the mission he is sending his disciples into. In that way, it relates directly to us today as his church.
1. If you loved me, you’d be glad
This repeated talk of Jesus’ departure has been deeply distressing to the disciples, as we’ve seen. In v.27 Jesus speaks his peace to the disciples and urges them not to be troubled or afraid any longer.
But he doesn’t leave it there. The challenge he gives – that they should not allow themselves to be fearful and troubled – is now advanced by Jesus as he addresses their self-pity by speaking of their love for him (or apparent lack of it). If they loved him (which they ought to do and no doubt would claim to do) then they would be glad about this departure.
We’ll come to the reason for that gladness in a moment but we do need to stop and pick up on what Jesus is saying here. The disciples are understandably distressed and Jesus has tried to comfort them with his words and has challenged them to apply what he has said to them. But that isn’t enough. It would be so easy for the disciples to get the impression that their feelings were what really mattered, that they were at the centre of everything – and that would be so wrong.
They need help in their distress but they need also to be pointed away from themselves and to the Lord; they need to see again his pre-eminence and their call to love and serve him. It’s so easy, when we feel troubled and afraid, to think that the Lord ought to comfort us and patch us up and so on, and at the same time fail to see that we have a duty and a calling to love him.
Our feelings and struggles are not at the centre of everything. Yes, we feel things keenly and desperately need the Lord’s help but a significant part of the help we need is to have our eyes lifted to the high and holy calling we have: to love the Lord.
In our sorrow and as we experience the trials of life as disciples of Jesus, we can become self-interested; Jesus will comfort us but he also calls us to a love for him that rises above our self-interest and self-pity and instead leads us on the path of joy and gladness. That is an extremely valuable lesson to learn.
2. Why they should be glad
But just why should the disciples be glad that Jesus is leaving them? For this reason: “the Father is greater than I”. But what does Jesus mean by that and why should that cause the disciples to be glad?
Jesus is not saying that he is a lesser being than the Father. That is simply impossible in the light of what he has elsewhere said about himself and the Father and what John has said about Jesus. Jesus and the Father are one; they are both God, both eternal, both fully divine. So Jesus is not speaking here of a difference in their essential being. As someone has said, “the Father is God sending and commanding; the Son is God sent and obedient”.
What Jesus is pointing to is that relationship of sender and sent – he is the obedient Son who does all his Father’s will. The Father is greater than the Son in terms of the mission Jesus came to perform – it is a greatness that relates to function and not to being.
But why should joy and gladness be the order of the day for the disciples as Jesus returns to the Father? Because that is where he belongs, at the right hand of the Father; because his return will mean his mission is completed, his suffering and deep humiliation over; because the Father will be glorified in the Son and the Son in him.
Could there be any greater reason for joy than this? If they loved Jesus, could they want anything less for him than to return to his Father? They would of course be deeply distressed but if their love was genuinely more than self-interest, how could they not rejoice?
We perhaps can relate to that in terms of loved ones who die and go to be with the Lord. We are understandably distressed and grieve deeply over the loss – but our loss is truly their gain since they are at home with the Lord and any approach to grief that doesn’t at least try to handle that runs the danger of sliding into harmful self-pity.
Relating this to our own relationship with the Lord, I think we can draw the lesson that John Piper has majored on in his ministry: that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him; that God’s love for us consists in calling us to share his own joy in himself. And so we need very much to learn this lesson: his disciples should rejoice that he is returning to the Father with his job done.
But it isn’t just about Jesus’ own joy in returning home. The Father is greater than he and the return of Jesus will herald the pouring out of the Spirit who, as we’ve seen, will enable the disciples to do those greater works Jesus spoke about. Jesus will personally be present with his disciples by the Spirit – indeed, both Father and Son will come to make their home with all believers.
So the sadness of the disciples is short-sighted in terms of their own situation and mission. It is for their good that Jesus goes away (16:7). That is a lesson for us to take to heart – we need to take the long view, the Christ-centred view.
Our immediate sorrow and grief in all sorts of trials needs to be set in the context of the work of God and the progress of his mission in the world. Where that mission is being forwarded and Jesus glorified, our own sorrows which might arise directly from being involved in that mission, are put into their true light. That’s why Paul and Silas were found singing praise to God at midnight in the jail in Philippi.
3. What the world must know
Jesus has told his disciples this so that when the time comes they will believe. And that time is now upon them: “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming.” (v.30)
Jesus is acutely aware of Satan and his evil schemes. He takes him seriously but there is a careful balance in what he says here: he neither plays him down nor talks him up. Yes, he is the prince of this world; he has power and seeks to govern the nations and keeps people in the darkness and blinds their eyes to the truth about God.
But – and this crucial – he has no hold on Jesus. That is something only God’s Son could ever say; no other man or woman could make such a claim.
Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, is not under Satan’s sway; there are no accusations that can be made against him that will stand. He faced Satan in the wilderness and won and now he is going to the cross to complete that victory.
And yet, to the eyes of most, including the disciples, the cross would seem to show that Satan has had the last word, the last laugh. But that simply isn’t so. Jesus goes as a willing victim in complete obedience to his Father’s will. The cross is, paradoxically, the scene of Jesus’ great triumph over the devil.
And this is something the world needs to know – it needs to see the one truly righteous man over whom the devil has no hold and it needs to see him because there is no other hope for the world.
Jesus goes to the cross to effect salvation and to witness to the world that the devil is not ultimate. Yes, he has power but Jesus has greater power, the power of godliness and loving self-sacrifice.
How utterly terrible it would be for the whole world if there was no-one worthy of bringing God’s plans to fulfilment (remember John’s weeping when no-one was found able to take the scroll and open its seals?). But that is not the reality; Jesus is worthy because he shed his blood and was obedient to death – and the world needs to know that.
It needs to know it in order to be saved; it needs to know it that Jesus would receive the praise he is due. But how will the world learn it? Not by accident; the world will only learn of Jesus and his majestic grace and matchless obedience if we bear witness to it – in our words and by our deeds.
1. If you loved me, you’d be glad
This repeated talk of Jesus’ departure has been deeply distressing to the disciples, as we’ve seen. In v.27 Jesus speaks his peace to the disciples and urges them not to be troubled or afraid any longer.
But he doesn’t leave it there. The challenge he gives – that they should not allow themselves to be fearful and troubled – is now advanced by Jesus as he addresses their self-pity by speaking of their love for him (or apparent lack of it). If they loved him (which they ought to do and no doubt would claim to do) then they would be glad about this departure.
We’ll come to the reason for that gladness in a moment but we do need to stop and pick up on what Jesus is saying here. The disciples are understandably distressed and Jesus has tried to comfort them with his words and has challenged them to apply what he has said to them. But that isn’t enough. It would be so easy for the disciples to get the impression that their feelings were what really mattered, that they were at the centre of everything – and that would be so wrong.
They need help in their distress but they need also to be pointed away from themselves and to the Lord; they need to see again his pre-eminence and their call to love and serve him. It’s so easy, when we feel troubled and afraid, to think that the Lord ought to comfort us and patch us up and so on, and at the same time fail to see that we have a duty and a calling to love him.
Our feelings and struggles are not at the centre of everything. Yes, we feel things keenly and desperately need the Lord’s help but a significant part of the help we need is to have our eyes lifted to the high and holy calling we have: to love the Lord.
In our sorrow and as we experience the trials of life as disciples of Jesus, we can become self-interested; Jesus will comfort us but he also calls us to a love for him that rises above our self-interest and self-pity and instead leads us on the path of joy and gladness. That is an extremely valuable lesson to learn.
2. Why they should be glad
But just why should the disciples be glad that Jesus is leaving them? For this reason: “the Father is greater than I”. But what does Jesus mean by that and why should that cause the disciples to be glad?
Jesus is not saying that he is a lesser being than the Father. That is simply impossible in the light of what he has elsewhere said about himself and the Father and what John has said about Jesus. Jesus and the Father are one; they are both God, both eternal, both fully divine. So Jesus is not speaking here of a difference in their essential being. As someone has said, “the Father is God sending and commanding; the Son is God sent and obedient”.
What Jesus is pointing to is that relationship of sender and sent – he is the obedient Son who does all his Father’s will. The Father is greater than the Son in terms of the mission Jesus came to perform – it is a greatness that relates to function and not to being.
But why should joy and gladness be the order of the day for the disciples as Jesus returns to the Father? Because that is where he belongs, at the right hand of the Father; because his return will mean his mission is completed, his suffering and deep humiliation over; because the Father will be glorified in the Son and the Son in him.
Could there be any greater reason for joy than this? If they loved Jesus, could they want anything less for him than to return to his Father? They would of course be deeply distressed but if their love was genuinely more than self-interest, how could they not rejoice?
We perhaps can relate to that in terms of loved ones who die and go to be with the Lord. We are understandably distressed and grieve deeply over the loss – but our loss is truly their gain since they are at home with the Lord and any approach to grief that doesn’t at least try to handle that runs the danger of sliding into harmful self-pity.
Relating this to our own relationship with the Lord, I think we can draw the lesson that John Piper has majored on in his ministry: that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him; that God’s love for us consists in calling us to share his own joy in himself. And so we need very much to learn this lesson: his disciples should rejoice that he is returning to the Father with his job done.
But it isn’t just about Jesus’ own joy in returning home. The Father is greater than he and the return of Jesus will herald the pouring out of the Spirit who, as we’ve seen, will enable the disciples to do those greater works Jesus spoke about. Jesus will personally be present with his disciples by the Spirit – indeed, both Father and Son will come to make their home with all believers.
So the sadness of the disciples is short-sighted in terms of their own situation and mission. It is for their good that Jesus goes away (16:7). That is a lesson for us to take to heart – we need to take the long view, the Christ-centred view.
Our immediate sorrow and grief in all sorts of trials needs to be set in the context of the work of God and the progress of his mission in the world. Where that mission is being forwarded and Jesus glorified, our own sorrows which might arise directly from being involved in that mission, are put into their true light. That’s why Paul and Silas were found singing praise to God at midnight in the jail in Philippi.
3. What the world must know
Jesus has told his disciples this so that when the time comes they will believe. And that time is now upon them: “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming.” (v.30)
Jesus is acutely aware of Satan and his evil schemes. He takes him seriously but there is a careful balance in what he says here: he neither plays him down nor talks him up. Yes, he is the prince of this world; he has power and seeks to govern the nations and keeps people in the darkness and blinds their eyes to the truth about God.
But – and this crucial – he has no hold on Jesus. That is something only God’s Son could ever say; no other man or woman could make such a claim.
Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, is not under Satan’s sway; there are no accusations that can be made against him that will stand. He faced Satan in the wilderness and won and now he is going to the cross to complete that victory.
And yet, to the eyes of most, including the disciples, the cross would seem to show that Satan has had the last word, the last laugh. But that simply isn’t so. Jesus goes as a willing victim in complete obedience to his Father’s will. The cross is, paradoxically, the scene of Jesus’ great triumph over the devil.
And this is something the world needs to know – it needs to see the one truly righteous man over whom the devil has no hold and it needs to see him because there is no other hope for the world.
Jesus goes to the cross to effect salvation and to witness to the world that the devil is not ultimate. Yes, he has power but Jesus has greater power, the power of godliness and loving self-sacrifice.
How utterly terrible it would be for the whole world if there was no-one worthy of bringing God’s plans to fulfilment (remember John’s weeping when no-one was found able to take the scroll and open its seals?). But that is not the reality; Jesus is worthy because he shed his blood and was obedient to death – and the world needs to know that.
It needs to know it in order to be saved; it needs to know it that Jesus would receive the praise he is due. But how will the world learn it? Not by accident; the world will only learn of Jesus and his majestic grace and matchless obedience if we bear witness to it – in our words and by our deeds.
sermon on john 14:25-27
This passage seems to be something of a bookend to 14:1 (Jesus repeats his exhortation not to be troubled). In the larger passage, Jesus has confirmed to his disciples that he is going away to prepare the way for them to come to God. He alone can do that but he is also sending them into the world to continue his mission. To enable them to do that, he is going to will confer on them the gift of the Spirit who will be with them for ever.
The verses before us this morning continue to deal with the situation facing the disciples after Jesus has left them and his provision for them in that situation.
1. The Paraclete from Jesus
Because Jesus is going away, he is instructing his disciples; “All this I have spoken to you while still with you” (v.25). But with the disciples’ hearts clouded by grief and their minds so slow to take in what Jesus has been saying, there is a real probability that their recollection of his words will be slender and their understanding of them very slight.
“But,” says Jesus, “the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (v.26) Their need is great but that need will be met by the Triune God: the Son will ask and the Father will send the Spirit of Truth to minister to the disciples.
Now, we should notice that this promise is quite specific to the disciples and relates to their role as the authoritative messengers of Jesus, those who will record and pass on the truth about Jesus. They need to be able to recall his words and deeds and they need to be able to correctly understand the significance of them. Jesus is here promising that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – will see that they get that help.
This is why we have the 4 gospels and why we have the epistles and, indeed, the whole of the NT. The Holy Spirit was at work in and through Jesus’ apostles, just as he here said he would be.
If the ministry of Jesus is to be continued in and through his disciples, this is invaluable and utterly essential ministry.
But even though we can’t responsibly say that this promise is directly for us today, there are 2 things that we can say with confidence:
i) Because the Holy Spirit led the disciples into all truth, we can trust what the scriptures tell us about Jesus, both in terms of the gospels themselves and the rest of the NT. The Spirit of Truth instructed them and helped them to reflect on the meaning of Jesus and his work and so we have solid ground on which to base our faith and live our lives as Christians.
ii) The same ministry of the Spirit’s illumination is both needed by us and given to us. As we’ve said, this context is directly concerned with the Spirit’s work in the disciples but we can have every confidence that, as we ask for his help in understanding the truth, he will be pleased to give it to us.
Both those points have a real part to play in strengthening us in our life as the Lord’s people. We need to gratefully receive their help and work it through in our engagement with God’s Word because it is through his Word that the Lord equips us for our calling in this world.
2. The Peace from Jesus
The disciples need the Paraclete to instruct them, to teach them. But they also stand in need of peace in a world that is disturbed and disturbing – and that is exactly what Jesus now goes on to promise them (and, this time, by extension all believers).
The disciples lived in the days when the empire promised its own version of peace, the Pax Romana. But that was a pale imitation of peace – it was peace obtained and maintained by the edge of the sword; it was peace that relied on fear and oppression for its ‘success’. It was peace as the world gives it, the only peace this world can give.
But Jesus deliberately says that the peace he is going to give to his people is not like the world’s peace. His is not a peace that is enforced through fear, nor is it won by brute force.
The peace that Jesus has (“My peace”) and which he bequeaths to all his own is the peace of the risen Messiah, the peace that is one of the central marks of God’s Kingdom (cf. Is. 52:7; 53:5; 54:10,13).
It is the peace that speaks of reconciliation with God, that flows from forgiveness and mercy. It is peace that speaks of a better world and an unshakable confidence and hope in the resurrection of the dead. It is the peace of God’s certain victory over all sin and evil and the dawning of a new heavens and earth, where righteousness dwells.
It is peace that comes to us directly from Jesus himself – it is peace he himself has won. And his victory was not through superior military force or cunning but by his laying down his own life for our sins upon the cross. The peace the world gives is often costly for those it is imposed upon; this peace is a free gift from God but at the greatest cost to the one who gives it.
Peace in this world is very fragile and will not last. But the peace that Jesus gives as the Messiah is solid and permanent; it isn’t like the world’s peace. It cannot be taken away – our sin may disrupt our enjoyment of this peace but it cannot erase it; suffering may threaten to overwhelm it yet ultimately it cannot and will not because this peace was forged in the furnace of Messiah’s afflictions.
And Jesus has given this peace to every Christian. No exceptions. Every Christian has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; every believer experiences the peace of God that passes all understanding. You can’t adequately explain it; you can’t quantify or bottle it but all who have put their trust in Jesus know it and have it.
This is a peace that is given by Jesus as a gift and yet at the same time we are encouraged in scripture to live in such a way as to allow this peace to truly be our experience. As someone has said, “It is a peace born from a living personal relationship with Jesus, and deepened through a growing surrender of life to his gracious rule. This the Holy Spirit makes available to the troubled hearts of the disciples, and to ours.” (Milne p.217)
3. Neither troubled nor afraid
Both the Holy Spirit and this matchless peace are gifts of Jesus but in both cases we need to make sure we do what we can to receive the blessings of those gifts. In particular, Jesus here exhorts his disciples, in the light of his promise of peace, not to let their hearts to be troubled and not to be afraid.
Both trouble and fear are unwelcome guests in our hearts and minds; we would far rather be without them and Jesus is saying here that, under normal circumstances, that is possible – if it wasn’t, he would hardly be urging his disciples in these terms.
But much of the onus rests on us – we need to believe the promise and rest in the peace that Jesus alone gives us. Like the disciples, we face a hostile and unbelieving world, a world that will bamboozle us with its philosophies and shock us with its blatant disregard for the Lord and his ways. But Jesus has given us his peace, which means that much of our distress in the Christian life is needless; instead of fretting, we need to take Jesus at his word.
Yes, the work is hard and the world is a difficult place in which to hold out the word of life but in the midst of the conflict we have been given the peace of the risen Saviour. Do you believe that? Do you believe him? He doesn’t lie, does he? Then if he can be believed, we have been given peace and are to live in the beautiful rest this peace – his peace – breathes into our souls.
And that peace, along with the ministry of the Spirit of Truth, is to further equip us for our lives in his service. The calling is high and holy; its demands are costly but the provision of Jesus is full and complete. That’s the best of all foundations to work from.
The verses before us this morning continue to deal with the situation facing the disciples after Jesus has left them and his provision for them in that situation.
1. The Paraclete from Jesus
Because Jesus is going away, he is instructing his disciples; “All this I have spoken to you while still with you” (v.25). But with the disciples’ hearts clouded by grief and their minds so slow to take in what Jesus has been saying, there is a real probability that their recollection of his words will be slender and their understanding of them very slight.
“But,” says Jesus, “the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (v.26) Their need is great but that need will be met by the Triune God: the Son will ask and the Father will send the Spirit of Truth to minister to the disciples.
Now, we should notice that this promise is quite specific to the disciples and relates to their role as the authoritative messengers of Jesus, those who will record and pass on the truth about Jesus. They need to be able to recall his words and deeds and they need to be able to correctly understand the significance of them. Jesus is here promising that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – will see that they get that help.
This is why we have the 4 gospels and why we have the epistles and, indeed, the whole of the NT. The Holy Spirit was at work in and through Jesus’ apostles, just as he here said he would be.
If the ministry of Jesus is to be continued in and through his disciples, this is invaluable and utterly essential ministry.
But even though we can’t responsibly say that this promise is directly for us today, there are 2 things that we can say with confidence:
i) Because the Holy Spirit led the disciples into all truth, we can trust what the scriptures tell us about Jesus, both in terms of the gospels themselves and the rest of the NT. The Spirit of Truth instructed them and helped them to reflect on the meaning of Jesus and his work and so we have solid ground on which to base our faith and live our lives as Christians.
ii) The same ministry of the Spirit’s illumination is both needed by us and given to us. As we’ve said, this context is directly concerned with the Spirit’s work in the disciples but we can have every confidence that, as we ask for his help in understanding the truth, he will be pleased to give it to us.
Both those points have a real part to play in strengthening us in our life as the Lord’s people. We need to gratefully receive their help and work it through in our engagement with God’s Word because it is through his Word that the Lord equips us for our calling in this world.
2. The Peace from Jesus
The disciples need the Paraclete to instruct them, to teach them. But they also stand in need of peace in a world that is disturbed and disturbing – and that is exactly what Jesus now goes on to promise them (and, this time, by extension all believers).
The disciples lived in the days when the empire promised its own version of peace, the Pax Romana. But that was a pale imitation of peace – it was peace obtained and maintained by the edge of the sword; it was peace that relied on fear and oppression for its ‘success’. It was peace as the world gives it, the only peace this world can give.
But Jesus deliberately says that the peace he is going to give to his people is not like the world’s peace. His is not a peace that is enforced through fear, nor is it won by brute force.
The peace that Jesus has (“My peace”) and which he bequeaths to all his own is the peace of the risen Messiah, the peace that is one of the central marks of God’s Kingdom (cf. Is. 52:7; 53:5; 54:10,13).
It is the peace that speaks of reconciliation with God, that flows from forgiveness and mercy. It is peace that speaks of a better world and an unshakable confidence and hope in the resurrection of the dead. It is the peace of God’s certain victory over all sin and evil and the dawning of a new heavens and earth, where righteousness dwells.
It is peace that comes to us directly from Jesus himself – it is peace he himself has won. And his victory was not through superior military force or cunning but by his laying down his own life for our sins upon the cross. The peace the world gives is often costly for those it is imposed upon; this peace is a free gift from God but at the greatest cost to the one who gives it.
Peace in this world is very fragile and will not last. But the peace that Jesus gives as the Messiah is solid and permanent; it isn’t like the world’s peace. It cannot be taken away – our sin may disrupt our enjoyment of this peace but it cannot erase it; suffering may threaten to overwhelm it yet ultimately it cannot and will not because this peace was forged in the furnace of Messiah’s afflictions.
And Jesus has given this peace to every Christian. No exceptions. Every Christian has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; every believer experiences the peace of God that passes all understanding. You can’t adequately explain it; you can’t quantify or bottle it but all who have put their trust in Jesus know it and have it.
This is a peace that is given by Jesus as a gift and yet at the same time we are encouraged in scripture to live in such a way as to allow this peace to truly be our experience. As someone has said, “It is a peace born from a living personal relationship with Jesus, and deepened through a growing surrender of life to his gracious rule. This the Holy Spirit makes available to the troubled hearts of the disciples, and to ours.” (Milne p.217)
3. Neither troubled nor afraid
Both the Holy Spirit and this matchless peace are gifts of Jesus but in both cases we need to make sure we do what we can to receive the blessings of those gifts. In particular, Jesus here exhorts his disciples, in the light of his promise of peace, not to let their hearts to be troubled and not to be afraid.
Both trouble and fear are unwelcome guests in our hearts and minds; we would far rather be without them and Jesus is saying here that, under normal circumstances, that is possible – if it wasn’t, he would hardly be urging his disciples in these terms.
But much of the onus rests on us – we need to believe the promise and rest in the peace that Jesus alone gives us. Like the disciples, we face a hostile and unbelieving world, a world that will bamboozle us with its philosophies and shock us with its blatant disregard for the Lord and his ways. But Jesus has given us his peace, which means that much of our distress in the Christian life is needless; instead of fretting, we need to take Jesus at his word.
Yes, the work is hard and the world is a difficult place in which to hold out the word of life but in the midst of the conflict we have been given the peace of the risen Saviour. Do you believe that? Do you believe him? He doesn’t lie, does he? Then if he can be believed, we have been given peace and are to live in the beautiful rest this peace – his peace – breathes into our souls.
And that peace, along with the ministry of the Spirit of Truth, is to further equip us for our lives in his service. The calling is high and holy; its demands are costly but the provision of Jesus is full and complete. That’s the best of all foundations to work from.
sermon on john 14:15-24
In vv.12-14 that we looked at last week, Jesus promised his disciples that they would do what he had done; indeed that they would do even greater things and that they could ask for anything in his name and he would do it.
We noticed that his promises were conditional: the doing of greater things would be based on his return to the Father and the disciples’ faith in Jesus; the answering of prayers would be for the glory of God and in accord with the character and will of the Son (his name).
The verses we’re looking at today continue that theme and advance it in significant ways.
1. Comings & Goings: Fellowship with God
Jesus has revealed himself as the exclusive way to God; in these verses, he reveals that he is also the giver of the Spirit. But what he says here about the coming of the Spirit and his Father’s coming to the disciples needs to worked through. When will Jesus come to his disciples (v.18) and in what way will both he and the Father come to the disciples and make their home with them?
I think that v.18 has the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus partly in view but the full picture can only really be understood to refer to the ministry of the Spirit.
The Spirit will be given by the Father in answer to the request of Jesus but we should note that scripture can also speak of the Son giving the Spirit; he proceeds from both the Father and the Son. And when he comes, his work will be to reveal the Father and the Son to his people. It is in that way pre-eminently that the Father and the Son will come to their own (v.21 is not restricted to the disciples as such but extends to ‘whoever’, that is to all believers in all ages).
Having noted that, we need to pay close attention to how Jesus described the Spirit and what he envisages him doing. He refers to the Spirit as “another Counsellor” (‘helper’; ‘paraclete’).
Jesus has been just that to his disciples. And he will continue to do those things is his exalted reign (as 1 Jn. 2:1 makes clear). But there was a great need for another helper who would be able to do what Jesus could not.
Jesus could not be with his people for ever; for his work to be completed he had to return to the Father. That prospect was filling his disciples with grief but their grief would be turned to joy for they would see Jesus again. That occurred after his resurrection but his promise is not to leave them as orphans and the outworking of that promise is in the giving of the Spirit.
• He is the one called alongside to help us; he will speak up for us; he will comfort us;
• He is the Spirit of truth: he reveals the truth about Jesus to us; he is the true one, the genuine article who alone can bring us to know God and Jesus his Son;
• He will witness to our spirits that we are the children of God (and so we will not be left as orphans);
• He will be the means by which we will experience the Father and the Son making their home with us, making us a spiritual temple in the Lord.
The ministry of the Spirit is absolutely necessary and wonderfully real. These are not empty words but a reality to know and to live.
2. Love and obedience
But we have skipped over v.15 which opens up this paragraph and the connection of that verse to the coming of the Spirit is very important. At first sight, it might seem that Jesus is saying that if we prove our love for him through our obedience then – and only then – will he ask the Father to send the Spirit to us.
But that is not the case. Jesus has plainly shown that the coming of the Spirit is conditioned only by his dying, rising and being exalted to the Father. It was never to be conditional upon the disciples’ faith – but, having said that, there is a distinct connection between the two made by Jesus here and we need to pay attention to it. First, though, we need to work through the relationship of love to obedience that Jesus speaks of here.
At the very start of this section in 13:1, John told us that having loved his own who were in the world, Jesus loved them to the finish. In his teaching, praying and self-giving, Jesus was demonstrating divine love for his own.
In v.15, Jesus turns to the issue of the disciples’ love for him. God’s love for us calls forth our love for him (as John elsewhere says, “We love him because he first loved us”). But that isn’t Jesus’ emphasis here; he doesn’t exhort his disciples to love God but simply asserts that if we love him we will obey his commands.
This is a point that Jesus emphasises here - it recurs in vv.21,23,24. But what is the connection between love and obedience? Quite simply, Jesus is saying that our love for him will be demonstrated by our obedience to his word. That love will of course involve emotions but that is not to be the measure of whether we love God or not; rather, it is our obedience to the word of Jesus – to follow him as Lord and to love his people as he has loved us (see 13:34).
In his first letter, John tells us the marks of genuine Christians: what we believe about Jesus, how we live our lives and whether we love God’s people in deed and in truth. If we love him (as a response to his love for us) we will obey the word of Jesus.
Genuine love for God is not a matter primarily of the emotions but of doing his word. Do you love God?
Now to the connection between loving Jesus and his giving of the Spirit: it is as we show our love for him that we will discover more of the Spirit’s ministry and be conscious of the warm fellowship of Father and Son as they make their dwelling among us and in us (“I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you” v.20). That, surely, is something we would desire personally and corporately – to know the Father and his Son through fellowship with the Spirit.
But it will be ours only if we do the words of Jesus, taking seriously the call to faith and the life that proceeds from it – right belief, right conduct and genuine love for each other. Where those things are present, as concrete signs of our love for God, we can be sure that our enjoyment of fellowship with God will be heightened.
3. Jesus & the world
But isn’t this all rather insular? Isn’t it encouraging an inward looking Christianity – the Spirit will be in us and we will know the Father and his Son. What about the world? That, at least in part, seems to have been in the mind of the other Judas who asks Jesus, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
He seems to have a point, doesn’t he? If Jesus has come from God and is the way, the truth and the life, the exclusive way to God, why wrap that up and hide it away? Why stop with a few disciples? Why not reveal himself to the world? Two things need to be said.
Firstly, Jesus tells Judas that the way is not closed, that anyone and everyone can know him and the Father and can have the Spirit dwelling within them: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Anyone who hears Jesus’ call to repent and believe and responds to it, who shows the obedience of faith, will be welcomed into the family of God. The way is not barred but it is a narrow way – it is the way of faith in Jesus, the one who is the way, the truth and the life.
Secondly, remember the whole context of the Upper Room teaching. Jesus is going away and is equipping his disciples to take up his mission – to even do greater things than he has done. Heightened fellowship with God is not for purely personal enjoyment but it is essential equipping for going into the world with the gospel of grace.
Jesus will show himself to the world – in and through his disciples. If we love him, we will obey his word – and he will make his home in us. When that happens, it cannot be hidden – just look back at Jesus’ words in 13:35.
All of which leaves us with the most winsome invitation and the most exacting commission: invited to know ever deeper fellowship with God and commissioned to show the reality of that life to a world that is lost and in terrible darkness.
If we love him, we will obey what he commands.
We noticed that his promises were conditional: the doing of greater things would be based on his return to the Father and the disciples’ faith in Jesus; the answering of prayers would be for the glory of God and in accord with the character and will of the Son (his name).
The verses we’re looking at today continue that theme and advance it in significant ways.
1. Comings & Goings: Fellowship with God
Jesus has revealed himself as the exclusive way to God; in these verses, he reveals that he is also the giver of the Spirit. But what he says here about the coming of the Spirit and his Father’s coming to the disciples needs to worked through. When will Jesus come to his disciples (v.18) and in what way will both he and the Father come to the disciples and make their home with them?
I think that v.18 has the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus partly in view but the full picture can only really be understood to refer to the ministry of the Spirit.
The Spirit will be given by the Father in answer to the request of Jesus but we should note that scripture can also speak of the Son giving the Spirit; he proceeds from both the Father and the Son. And when he comes, his work will be to reveal the Father and the Son to his people. It is in that way pre-eminently that the Father and the Son will come to their own (v.21 is not restricted to the disciples as such but extends to ‘whoever’, that is to all believers in all ages).
Having noted that, we need to pay close attention to how Jesus described the Spirit and what he envisages him doing. He refers to the Spirit as “another Counsellor” (‘helper’; ‘paraclete’).
Jesus has been just that to his disciples. And he will continue to do those things is his exalted reign (as 1 Jn. 2:1 makes clear). But there was a great need for another helper who would be able to do what Jesus could not.
Jesus could not be with his people for ever; for his work to be completed he had to return to the Father. That prospect was filling his disciples with grief but their grief would be turned to joy for they would see Jesus again. That occurred after his resurrection but his promise is not to leave them as orphans and the outworking of that promise is in the giving of the Spirit.
• He is the one called alongside to help us; he will speak up for us; he will comfort us;
• He is the Spirit of truth: he reveals the truth about Jesus to us; he is the true one, the genuine article who alone can bring us to know God and Jesus his Son;
• He will witness to our spirits that we are the children of God (and so we will not be left as orphans);
• He will be the means by which we will experience the Father and the Son making their home with us, making us a spiritual temple in the Lord.
The ministry of the Spirit is absolutely necessary and wonderfully real. These are not empty words but a reality to know and to live.
2. Love and obedience
But we have skipped over v.15 which opens up this paragraph and the connection of that verse to the coming of the Spirit is very important. At first sight, it might seem that Jesus is saying that if we prove our love for him through our obedience then – and only then – will he ask the Father to send the Spirit to us.
But that is not the case. Jesus has plainly shown that the coming of the Spirit is conditioned only by his dying, rising and being exalted to the Father. It was never to be conditional upon the disciples’ faith – but, having said that, there is a distinct connection between the two made by Jesus here and we need to pay attention to it. First, though, we need to work through the relationship of love to obedience that Jesus speaks of here.
At the very start of this section in 13:1, John told us that having loved his own who were in the world, Jesus loved them to the finish. In his teaching, praying and self-giving, Jesus was demonstrating divine love for his own.
In v.15, Jesus turns to the issue of the disciples’ love for him. God’s love for us calls forth our love for him (as John elsewhere says, “We love him because he first loved us”). But that isn’t Jesus’ emphasis here; he doesn’t exhort his disciples to love God but simply asserts that if we love him we will obey his commands.
This is a point that Jesus emphasises here - it recurs in vv.21,23,24. But what is the connection between love and obedience? Quite simply, Jesus is saying that our love for him will be demonstrated by our obedience to his word. That love will of course involve emotions but that is not to be the measure of whether we love God or not; rather, it is our obedience to the word of Jesus – to follow him as Lord and to love his people as he has loved us (see 13:34).
In his first letter, John tells us the marks of genuine Christians: what we believe about Jesus, how we live our lives and whether we love God’s people in deed and in truth. If we love him (as a response to his love for us) we will obey the word of Jesus.
Genuine love for God is not a matter primarily of the emotions but of doing his word. Do you love God?
Now to the connection between loving Jesus and his giving of the Spirit: it is as we show our love for him that we will discover more of the Spirit’s ministry and be conscious of the warm fellowship of Father and Son as they make their dwelling among us and in us (“I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you” v.20). That, surely, is something we would desire personally and corporately – to know the Father and his Son through fellowship with the Spirit.
But it will be ours only if we do the words of Jesus, taking seriously the call to faith and the life that proceeds from it – right belief, right conduct and genuine love for each other. Where those things are present, as concrete signs of our love for God, we can be sure that our enjoyment of fellowship with God will be heightened.
3. Jesus & the world
But isn’t this all rather insular? Isn’t it encouraging an inward looking Christianity – the Spirit will be in us and we will know the Father and his Son. What about the world? That, at least in part, seems to have been in the mind of the other Judas who asks Jesus, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
He seems to have a point, doesn’t he? If Jesus has come from God and is the way, the truth and the life, the exclusive way to God, why wrap that up and hide it away? Why stop with a few disciples? Why not reveal himself to the world? Two things need to be said.
Firstly, Jesus tells Judas that the way is not closed, that anyone and everyone can know him and the Father and can have the Spirit dwelling within them: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Anyone who hears Jesus’ call to repent and believe and responds to it, who shows the obedience of faith, will be welcomed into the family of God. The way is not barred but it is a narrow way – it is the way of faith in Jesus, the one who is the way, the truth and the life.
Secondly, remember the whole context of the Upper Room teaching. Jesus is going away and is equipping his disciples to take up his mission – to even do greater things than he has done. Heightened fellowship with God is not for purely personal enjoyment but it is essential equipping for going into the world with the gospel of grace.
Jesus will show himself to the world – in and through his disciples. If we love him, we will obey his word – and he will make his home in us. When that happens, it cannot be hidden – just look back at Jesus’ words in 13:35.
All of which leaves us with the most winsome invitation and the most exacting commission: invited to know ever deeper fellowship with God and commissioned to show the reality of that life to a world that is lost and in terrible darkness.
If we love him, we will obey what he commands.
sermon on john 14:12-14
Some products make large promises for themselves – or at least those advertising them do. But all too often, the reality is a great let-down – far from being and doing what they claim, they disappoint and annoy.
And this passage can also be taken that way – it makes the most amazing claims and promises but is that really how it is? Taking it as it stands, people might say, ‘Well, I asked for healing and never got it’; ‘I wanted a life-partner and never found one’; ‘I prayed for an opening to serve God but only found closed doors’.
Then, in the light of these words, some answer that the problem lies not in the promises or the one who makes them but in the one doing the asking – if only they had sufficient faith then God would have answered their prayers and how.
And so we’re left asking whether Jesus’ words are the empty claims of a spiritual salesman or, if not, whether the fault lies in our small and ineffective faith? Neither option is attractive. But there is a third option: maybe we need to pay more careful attention to what Jesus is actually saying here. How should we understand his words? What is he really promising to his disciples, then and now?
1. Greater Works & the faith that produces them
One of the most tantalising aspects of Jesus’ words here is the promise that his disciples will not simply do as he has done but will do greater works than even Jesus has done. What does that mean – the dead regularly raised, every sickness healed, all storms stilled?
Clearly, if that was Jesus’ meaning then the church has never lived out his words, not even in the book of Acts. A much more likely explanation is that the church will see many more conversions than Jesus did in his ministry – a point which is certainly true. But we still haven’t got the heart of what Jesus is saying.
i) The ‘why’ of greater works What these greater works are is intimately tied by Jesus to the reason why they will do them: “because I am going to the Father” (v.12).
Jesus is going to be glorified and that will inaugurate a whole new age in which his Spirit will be poured out upon his people. In 1:50 and 5:20 Jesus speaks of greater things which are connected with his glorification – when he ascends, a new day is born which is justifiably called ‘greater’.
This is very similar to what Jesus says about John the Baptist and the one who is least in the kingdom being greater than John. Why is that the case? Because John is the last of the old covenant prophets; a whole new age is being brought to birth in and through Jesus – and that age is born when Jesus ascends and pours out his Spirit (see Mt. 11:11ff).
So the greater works are so-called because they are works that proceed from the reality that Jesus has been exalted. What was begun in the earthly ministry of Jesus reaches its fullness when he is exalted and his church sent out in mission to the world – we have a full message to proclaim of a Saviour who lived, died, rose and ascended – it is a glorious message which yields greater works.
ii The need for faith But the promise of Jesus in v.12 (and it is a solemn promise; “I tell you the truth”) is a conditional one. Jesus says “anyone who has faith in me will do…” – and that is a very important qualification.
But what precisely is he saying? Is he intending to make a point about the quantity of faith a person has, so that his words really mean ‘anyone who has sufficient faith in me…’? That’s how some explain his words but elsewhere Jesus tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains (Lk. 17:6).
The point is not so much about quantity but the nature of faith and who it is focussed upon. Jesus is speaking about trust in him as the risen and ascended Lord of glory, a faith that is focussed upon him and his Kingdom (with all its concerns).
It isn’t a matter of having a strong enough trust in Jesus that will then yield what we’re hoping for; Jesus is calling us to a trust that honours him as Lord, that seeks first his kingdom and righteousness.
And, very importantly, there is a link between faith and obedience in the wider context – it is those who obey what Jesus commands who will be conscious of fellowship with the Father and the Son and who will know most of the work of his Spirit in and through them (v.15ff).
2. Praying for anything & receiving it
Having promised that his disciples will do greater things, Jesus follows it in vv.13,14 with a promise that they can ask for anything in his name and he will do it. This falls into similar territory, with the same possibilities for misunderstanding and misuse; we need to pay close attention to what Jesus actually says here.
i) The purpose of prayer Again, Jesus speaks here of why he will answer his disciples’ prayer: “so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (or, more accurately, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”).
This is entirely in keeping with what Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer, that we focus on God and his glory, longing for his name to be hallowed and his will to be done. Jesus will answer the prayers of his people in order that his Father may be glorified – and that is no surprise, it was the heartbeat of his whole mission.
ii) Praying in Jesus’ name And this helps us to grasp what Jesus means by the condition he sets upon the prayers he will answer, that they are asked ‘in his name’. To ask in Jesus’ name is not to simply attach his name to the end of our prayers but to ask in line with the character of the Son and in line with the character of his mission.
So there is no way that Jesus is giving his people carte blanche here to just ask for what they want and they can have it; this is a call to pray in line with God’s will and for God’s glory. This is prayer with God and his kingdom at the very centre.
And notice that the contrast in these verse is not between what Jesus did and what his disciples will do; it is between what Jesus did and what he will continue to do through his people – “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (v.13).
3. Living it out
So Jesus makes some amazing promises – how should we respond to what he has said?
i) By recognising the age we live in and responding with faith in Jesus, a faith that is not just a formal belief but personal trust and commitment. We live in the age of ‘greater works’; the age of the Spirit.
That holds amazing promise for our life in this world, but the challenge is to live out our lives with faith in Jesus, with him at the centre, with his concerns firmly upon our heart, with an obedience to his word that yields a sweetness of fellowship with Father and Son and that issues in a greater awareness and experience of the power of his Spirit.
ii) By praying in Jesus name and so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. There is the closest connection in these verses between having faith in Jesus and praying in Jesus’ name – the two belong together; if we are believers, we are to be pray-ers too.
Praying in Jesus’ name means we must endeavour to pray in line with his will and for his glory, which means we need to soak our minds in the scriptures so that our prayers reflect their concern for God’s glory. The burden of our prayers is not to be our comfort and ease, nor the security of loved ones but rather the glory of God in the Son.
As we do that, Jesus has encouraged us to expect that our prayers will be heard and answered; after all, he has gone to the Father and has poured out his Spirit, making this the day of greater things. Shouldn’t that give a real impetus to our living and our praying, both personal and corporate?
And this passage can also be taken that way – it makes the most amazing claims and promises but is that really how it is? Taking it as it stands, people might say, ‘Well, I asked for healing and never got it’; ‘I wanted a life-partner and never found one’; ‘I prayed for an opening to serve God but only found closed doors’.
Then, in the light of these words, some answer that the problem lies not in the promises or the one who makes them but in the one doing the asking – if only they had sufficient faith then God would have answered their prayers and how.
And so we’re left asking whether Jesus’ words are the empty claims of a spiritual salesman or, if not, whether the fault lies in our small and ineffective faith? Neither option is attractive. But there is a third option: maybe we need to pay more careful attention to what Jesus is actually saying here. How should we understand his words? What is he really promising to his disciples, then and now?
1. Greater Works & the faith that produces them
One of the most tantalising aspects of Jesus’ words here is the promise that his disciples will not simply do as he has done but will do greater works than even Jesus has done. What does that mean – the dead regularly raised, every sickness healed, all storms stilled?
Clearly, if that was Jesus’ meaning then the church has never lived out his words, not even in the book of Acts. A much more likely explanation is that the church will see many more conversions than Jesus did in his ministry – a point which is certainly true. But we still haven’t got the heart of what Jesus is saying.
i) The ‘why’ of greater works What these greater works are is intimately tied by Jesus to the reason why they will do them: “because I am going to the Father” (v.12).
Jesus is going to be glorified and that will inaugurate a whole new age in which his Spirit will be poured out upon his people. In 1:50 and 5:20 Jesus speaks of greater things which are connected with his glorification – when he ascends, a new day is born which is justifiably called ‘greater’.
This is very similar to what Jesus says about John the Baptist and the one who is least in the kingdom being greater than John. Why is that the case? Because John is the last of the old covenant prophets; a whole new age is being brought to birth in and through Jesus – and that age is born when Jesus ascends and pours out his Spirit (see Mt. 11:11ff).
So the greater works are so-called because they are works that proceed from the reality that Jesus has been exalted. What was begun in the earthly ministry of Jesus reaches its fullness when he is exalted and his church sent out in mission to the world – we have a full message to proclaim of a Saviour who lived, died, rose and ascended – it is a glorious message which yields greater works.
ii The need for faith But the promise of Jesus in v.12 (and it is a solemn promise; “I tell you the truth”) is a conditional one. Jesus says “anyone who has faith in me will do…” – and that is a very important qualification.
But what precisely is he saying? Is he intending to make a point about the quantity of faith a person has, so that his words really mean ‘anyone who has sufficient faith in me…’? That’s how some explain his words but elsewhere Jesus tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains (Lk. 17:6).
The point is not so much about quantity but the nature of faith and who it is focussed upon. Jesus is speaking about trust in him as the risen and ascended Lord of glory, a faith that is focussed upon him and his Kingdom (with all its concerns).
It isn’t a matter of having a strong enough trust in Jesus that will then yield what we’re hoping for; Jesus is calling us to a trust that honours him as Lord, that seeks first his kingdom and righteousness.
And, very importantly, there is a link between faith and obedience in the wider context – it is those who obey what Jesus commands who will be conscious of fellowship with the Father and the Son and who will know most of the work of his Spirit in and through them (v.15ff).
2. Praying for anything & receiving it
Having promised that his disciples will do greater things, Jesus follows it in vv.13,14 with a promise that they can ask for anything in his name and he will do it. This falls into similar territory, with the same possibilities for misunderstanding and misuse; we need to pay close attention to what Jesus actually says here.
i) The purpose of prayer Again, Jesus speaks here of why he will answer his disciples’ prayer: “so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (or, more accurately, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”).
This is entirely in keeping with what Jesus teaches in the Lord’s Prayer, that we focus on God and his glory, longing for his name to be hallowed and his will to be done. Jesus will answer the prayers of his people in order that his Father may be glorified – and that is no surprise, it was the heartbeat of his whole mission.
ii) Praying in Jesus’ name And this helps us to grasp what Jesus means by the condition he sets upon the prayers he will answer, that they are asked ‘in his name’. To ask in Jesus’ name is not to simply attach his name to the end of our prayers but to ask in line with the character of the Son and in line with the character of his mission.
So there is no way that Jesus is giving his people carte blanche here to just ask for what they want and they can have it; this is a call to pray in line with God’s will and for God’s glory. This is prayer with God and his kingdom at the very centre.
And notice that the contrast in these verse is not between what Jesus did and what his disciples will do; it is between what Jesus did and what he will continue to do through his people – “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (v.13).
3. Living it out
So Jesus makes some amazing promises – how should we respond to what he has said?
i) By recognising the age we live in and responding with faith in Jesus, a faith that is not just a formal belief but personal trust and commitment. We live in the age of ‘greater works’; the age of the Spirit.
That holds amazing promise for our life in this world, but the challenge is to live out our lives with faith in Jesus, with him at the centre, with his concerns firmly upon our heart, with an obedience to his word that yields a sweetness of fellowship with Father and Son and that issues in a greater awareness and experience of the power of his Spirit.
ii) By praying in Jesus name and so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. There is the closest connection in these verses between having faith in Jesus and praying in Jesus’ name – the two belong together; if we are believers, we are to be pray-ers too.
Praying in Jesus’ name means we must endeavour to pray in line with his will and for his glory, which means we need to soak our minds in the scriptures so that our prayers reflect their concern for God’s glory. The burden of our prayers is not to be our comfort and ease, nor the security of loved ones but rather the glory of God in the Son.
As we do that, Jesus has encouraged us to expect that our prayers will be heard and answered; after all, he has gone to the Father and has poured out his Spirit, making this the day of greater things. Shouldn’t that give a real impetus to our living and our praying, both personal and corporate?
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