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Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd.   P.O. Box #3762   Gillette, WY  82717   (307) 686-1516

 

- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 -

 

 

 

GOSPEL OF JOHN

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

B.    Upper Room Discourse 13:31–16:33 [21 - (Jn 16:1-33)] Cont.

 

1.     Jesus Continues to Forewarn His Disciples About Persecution (1‑4jn 14 19jn 16 18)

 

a)    Jesus tells His disciples that He is revealing their future persecution so that they will know ahead of time and will not stumble (1). “Stumble” is the Greek word skandalìzō, which means to place a snare in the way so as to catch or trip unsuspecting prey.

b)    Like Jesus, His disciples would be rejected by the Jews and even martyred. Their martyrdom would come about by those who thought they were doing God a service (2). But in reality, the persecutors did not know the Father or the Son (3).

c)     The reason that Jesus did not tell them from the beginning was that He Himself was with them (4).

 

2.     Jesus Reveals More on the Comforter’s Ministry (5‑15)

 

a)    Jesus again told His disciples that He was going to the Father. However, unlike last time (14:5), no one asked where He was going because they were so distraught (5). Sorrow had filled their hearts because of the news that Jesus was about to leave (6).

b)    Besides Christ’s redemption on the cross, it was to their advantage that Christ go away. For the Helper (Holy Spirit) would not come to believers (7). However, if Jesus, who was the disciple’s divine Paraklete (cf. Jn 14:16, allos ‑ another of the same kind), did go, He would send the Spirit to comfort them.

c)     Jesus had more to teach them, but they were not able to “bear” (bastazō ‑ carry a burden or tolerate) the burden of these spiritual realities without more understanding from the Holy Spirit (12).

d)    Jesus also explained some of the ministries of the Holy Spirit (8‑15).

(1)   He will “convict” (elégchō ‑ expose, reprove, reveal sin for the purpose of repentance) the world (2Ti 4:2).

(a)   Of sin (hamartía ‑ miss the mark) so that the sinner will realize that He has fallen short of God’s righteousness (Ro 3:23) and needs saving faith in Christ’s atonement.

(b)   Of righteousness (dikaiosúnê ‑ God’s moral standard), so that the sinner may stop trusting in his own hypocritical self‑righteousness and avail himself of Christ’s imputed righteousness by faith (Ph 3:9).

(c)   Of judgment (krísis ‑ action of a judge to decide) that Satan, who rules the world, was defeated on the cross and condemned with all those who reject Christ (Mt 25:41).

(2)   He will guide the disciples into all the truth, especially in the ministry of inspiration (vs. 13a; 2Pe 1:20‑21, cp. Jn 14:26).

(3)   He will disclose future events to the disciples after they receive the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (vs. 13c; Re 1:10, 19).

(4)   He will glorify Christ, not Himself, in the sense of exalting Him by illuminating the minds of the disciples (14a).

(5)   He will reveal the truths of the divine Son and Father, which are centered in Christ (vs. 14b‑15, cp. 12; He 1:1‑2; Jn 20:31).

 

3.     Jesus Reiterates that He was Going to the Father (16‑22)

 

a)    Jesus speaks of His death and resurrection in that He is going away from the disciples when He dies on the cross and they will see Him again at His resurrection (16).

b)    His disciples did not understand which has been a common theme throughout the Gospel of John. Even though they had asked for an explanation, Jesus had already given them one. They did not have the Holy Spirit and therefore, did not understand (17‑18).

c)     Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him on His last statement either by their gestures or His divine knowledge (19). What does it mean that in a little while they will not see Him and then in a little while they will see Him? Some suggest that Jesus was referring to His death and resurrection (Kent, BKC), while others suggest that He was referring to His ascension (MacArthur) and coming of the Holy Spirit (MacArthur, Baker).

(1)   The phrase, “A little while, and you will not see Me” appears to fit best contextually and logically with the crucifixion of Christ, since Christ has been telling them about His crucifixion which will take place in Ch. 19. While the Ascension view could apply, it seems too awkward of an interpretation since John did not include the Ascension in his Gospel.

(2)   The phrase, “and again a little while, and you will see Me” fits most naturally with Christ’s resurrection. However, the immediate context surrounds the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit. While the latter interpretation is theologically correct, the first interpretation is compatible with Christ resurrection viewed in Jn 14:19 and the analogy of the woman giving birth (21). The author goes with the first interpretation because the disciples will rejoice when they see Christ (20, 22); nevertheless, they will be able to rejoice more fully after the Holy Spirit has come.

 

4.     Jesus Informs His Disciples They will be able Pray in His Name (23‑28)

 

a)    The disciples will not have to question Jesus about anything after the resurrection because they will be able to pray in Jesus’ name (23). In which case, the Father will grant their request.

b)    They had not prayed in Christ’s name before because He had not finished redemption. However, after the death and resurrection of Christ, they would be able to ask in Jesus name, receive their request, and have fullness of joy (24). Because of the new spiritual relationship with the Father on Christ’s behalf (“in Jesus name), they would be able to ask the Father directly (26). For the Father Himself loves the believer because the believer has believed on Christ (27). After Christ’s death and resurrection, Jesus would go back to the Father for His Post‑Ascension ministry (Ro 8:34; He 4:14‑15; etc).

 

5.     Jesus Prophecies that the Disciples will be Scattered (29‑33)

 

a)    The disciples were beginning to understand Jesus’ truths but they still have not fully grasped them.

b)    There was a day coming when they could ask in prayer while possessing the Holy Spirit. All things will be made plain to them through the plain teaching (not figurative language) ministry of the Holy Spirit (29, cp. 25).

c)     Jesus knowing all things, asked the disciples if they really believed (31)? He lets them know that they will be scattered at the initial threat of persecution after He was apprehended and crucified (32).

d)    However, He comforts them again by telling His disciples that they will possess His peace through the Spirit even though they will have tribulation in the world (33). The disciples were to literally “keep on taking courage” (present imperative) because Jesus “had overcome and continues to overcome the world” (perfect indicative).

 

6.     Applications:

 

a)    The Holy Spirit is the Believer’s Paraklete (Comforter and Encourager).

b)    The church and the Holy Spirit’s ministry are inseparable (1Co 12:13)

c)     He convicts, guides, discloses, reveals, gives joy, gives peace, and glorifies the Son.

d)    Christ had an “hour” (13:1), but so did the disciples. They had an hour of persecution (16:2, 4, cp. 32) and an hour of plain teaching by the Spirit (25). All believers will have both.