John 16:1-4 Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
Jesu s and the disciples are walking toward the Kidron Valley at night, and Jesus is still trying to impart everything he needs to while he can. Jesus’ sense of urgency is growing stronger, and he can practically hear Judas as Judas conspires with the religious authorities. Were we in such a position, we would be on the verge of an anxiety attack. But Jesus has gone through his entire ministry with a fine sense of leisure, following the dictates of the Holy Spirit, and tonight will be no exception.
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” It’s so very easy for us to mess up! We hear rumors, we worry about things, we allow our imaginations to run riot, and suddenly we are ready to panic. Jesus is warning the disciples ahead of time so that they will not panic but remain firm under pressure.
“They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.” Jesus and the disciples have remained observant Jews through the years. Now Jesus is warning the disciples that they will be thrown out of the synagogues, a terrible fate for any believing Jew. To make things even worse, Jesus warns that the disciples are even likely to be slaughtered while the murderers feel smug about their despicable actions.
“And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
When we first fall in love with Jesus, we are frequently on a Holy Spirit high, intoxicated by the love, joy, and peace we have found. However, even from the beginning, Satan will try to do anything he can to confuse us and discourage us. In the beginning, Jesus called the disciples and then began teaching them. Now that the disciples have spent three years under Jesus’ tutelage, Jesus needs to convey as much as he can before he is arrested. Jesus is teaching things the disciples might not fully understand until later. Blessedly, this is a culture in which people are used to remembering everything someone says to them, for oral traditions are still very important.
John 16:5-15 The Work of the Holy Spirit
“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
Here Jesus is promising that when he is no longer physically present, the Holy Spirit will come to be with believers. The glorious fact is that the Holy Spirit has not merely come to be with those in the early church but with all believers in every time and every place, no matter where they are. If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit is with you right now, whether or not you realize it.
There have been huge volumes written about the work of the Holy Spirit, but the short version is that the Holy Spirit, helps, comforts, enlightens, and edifies. If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, He will guide us into all truth just as Jesus has promised. Why hasn’t Jesus taught the disciples everything he wants them to know already? Frankly, the disciples haven’t been ready; in fact, they will have to endure Jesus’ death and resurrection before much of what the Holy Spirit wants to teach will make sense. And even then, they will spend years living and learning. There are no shortcuts to knowledge, and most of us learn in the school of hard knocks, rather than in formal classes. Compare Simon Peter in his early days as a disciple with Peter the writer of the epistles of First and Second Peter. Peter grows into a wise and perspicacious leader offering holy counsel, always remembering that when he was tested, he failed. Humbly, Peter will advise fellow Christians.
1 Peter 1:6-9 tells us, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
This is not the rough tough fisherman, Simon Peter, who is now speaking, but the seasoned apostle who has endured trials himself and can now eloquently teach others. Only the Holy Spirit can move and instruct someone in this fashion.
Why is Peter’s example important to us? God doesn’t play favorites. What God has done for Simon Peter, he can do for any of us who will listen to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work in our life. How do we listen to the Holy Spirit? We pray and ask God to send the Holy Spirit, and then we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, rather than going off on tangents produced by overactive imaginations. Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us have never been aware that Your Holy Spirit is already working in our lives. Now we say, “Come, Holy Spirit. Teach me, lead me, guide me. Help me to be obedient to Your leading. Help me not to grieve You by hardening my heart.” We ask all this in the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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