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