John 14:15-21 (NIVUK)
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.19 Before long, the world will not see me any more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.’
(P) Over the last couple of weeks we have been exploring John’s vision of the church as described in the post Easter readings from his gospel. We discovered that the church is a community who listens, hears and follows the voice of Jesus; “the sheep listen to his voice” (10:3).
(P) Last week we looked at John 14- the well known ‘in my Father’s house are many rooms…’ Passage where we find a theme of the church as a community who sees Jesus for who he truly is; ‘the way, truth and life’.
(P) Today’s passage provides a challenge to find the right adjective but I reckon the word embraced sums it up. The church is a community that is embraced and entwined in the trinitarian Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our passage begins with a small but very significant word; if. If signals a conditional clause:
If we get approval from the CPT we will commence building work.
If I can get a ticket I will go to the test match.
If my health allows I will take an overseas trip.
If you love me, keep my commands (14:15)
When Jesus calls us the basis of our relationship with him is love. Not fear; not obligation; not hope for a reward. But love. Everything we see Jesus do is motivated by love. Even the harsh things he says to his enemies is motivated by love for them, which he ultimately demonstrates by forgiving them from the cross.
When Jesus says if you love me keep my commands he is saying that our professed love for him should be evident by lives lived according to his way, truth and life. We cannot say we love him and at the same time harbour hatred for others. We cannot say we love him while at the same time dispising and ignoring the poor. We cannot say we love him and yet remain ignorant of his commands.
(P) This little word if is calling us to fulfill our vows of allegiance to Jesus. We live in a world that takes vows and promises very lightly. They are easily broken and discarded. I had a couple come to me once saying they would like to join our church and were looking forward to worshipping with us. And by the way could you please sign this admission form to the prestigious Christian school we want our children to attend? In good faith I signed the form acknowledging them as part of our church and expected to see them regularly at church. I don’t think they even came once! That’s quite minor compared to more serious vows which are routinely broken like marriage vows and business contracts.
But if the church is to be a community of people who are embraced by the love of God, it first needs to be faithful to the one she calls Lord.
How are we to be embraced in the love of God? The disciples may have wondered this as well as Jesus began speaking of his departure and their anxiety levels were steadily climbing. How would they get by without him? He had become their whole world and now he was leaving- what was to become of them?
This is a question that always comes to mind when we lose someone significant in our lives. I can be a bit morbid at times and in those times wonder how I would ever cope if I lost Catherine. She is such a rock to me that I fear I would drift aimlessly without her. In a different way I have come to rely on Rory and his experience and wisdom and I wonder how I would get on without him. Some are wondering how the All Blacks will get on without Wayne Smith!
The truth is even though we hurt terribly when we lose someone important to us, it is often not as dire as we think it will be. We will laugh again. We will love again. And life will go on and bring new surprises. As they say- one door closes, another door opens.
(P) And so it was for the disciples who were promised another advocate. The word here is parakletos and can also be translated as counsellor. It refers to one who comes alongside, also one who pleads a case for someone (as in a defense lawyer). The work and influence of this paraclete was to compensate for Jesus absence. This advocate is called the Spirit of truth or simply the Holy Spirit.
As great as Jesus was, he was bound by time and space. He could only be in one place at a time and was limited to how many people he could reach. But the Holy Spirit is not bound like that. The Spirit can be in 1 person or a million! The Spirit can be here and everywhere at once.
What the disciples couldn’t see at this point was the tremendous multiplication of Jesus ministry once the Spirit was loosed on them. Jesus said of the Spirit “But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (v17).
But I’m getting ahead of the story. What we need to focus on is how we are embraced into the life of God. Jesus lays out the plan:
- I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate (someone to take Jesus’ place) v16
- I will not leave you as orphans v 18. (orphans are vulnerable, have no relationship with their parents. This promise is about that relationship with our heavenly Father).
- Before long the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me v19 (his death, burial and resurrection. After his ascension he is no longer physically visible until he returns at the end of the age)
- On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you v20.
Time and again Jesus modelled a life of perfect obedience to his heavenly Father. He said things like “I and the Father are one”; “I only do what my Father asks me to do”; “If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father”. He would spend whole nights in prayer. Clearly he was in his Father.
Likewise the disciples- the 12 as well as the various women who were significant in his ministry- were close. He spent a huge amount of time with them. They didn’t just meet for an hour once a week! They travelled together, ate together, went fishing together so clearly they were in him.
But what does he mean by “I am in you”? This is the promise of the paraclete, the Holy Spirit who will help the believer remain faithful to live according to the commands Jesus gives. It is the Spirit who births the love for God in us (we don’t produce this naturally) and the Spirit brings us into the embrace of God.
(P) This is the famous 15th century Russian icon painted by Rublev depicting the angels visiting Abraham but it also symbolizes the Trinity. Notice they are sitting in a circle around a chalice on a table. Notice also that there is a gap, a space for someone else around that table. That space is for you, to come and drink of the cup Christ provides and be embraced into this fellowship of God.
Being embraced is the most wonderful healing thing. I spent 6 months on a Youth With A Mission base which was run by a large Samoan man named Frank Naea. I was there helping to run a Discipleship Training School and one feature of the course was called openness and brokenness week’. This was when students would openly confess shameful secrets and bring them into God’s light. It was always a powerful and intense time that lead to healing and freedom for those who participated willingly.
And Frank had a very special gift which really came into its own during O&B week; he gave the best hugs on earth! I saw many students openly sobbing who were caught up in Frank’s enormous embrace. This was a safe place, a comfortable place, a healing place.
In the same way the church is called to be a place that is both embraced and embracing. “If you love me keep my commands”. Surely the greatest command is to love one another. Imagine coming to church knowing you were loved- not just by God (which is awesome) but also by the people around you!
This embrace starts here, with Christ’s invitation to come to him by faith and share in his body and blood, the sacrifice he made to make way for us to join in his feast.
