Episode 99 - "He will give you another Helper" - John 14:15-17

John 14:15   “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

In the previous episode, Jesus made two promises that are rather amazing. The first was that Jesus’ disciples would do the works Jesus was doing and even greater works. The second was that they could ask him anything in his name and he would do it. The big question in light of both of these promises is, How is this possible? The answer lies in the text of these verses.

Back in chapter seven, John gives an account of Jesus teaching at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles,  “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39, ESV) Back then Jesus was promising to give the Holy Spirit to those who believed in him. But, it would only occur after Jesus had been glorified.

Now Jesus is making this promise again to his disciples because that time was drawing very near. Here Jesus is giving them more information about the Holy Spirit for the purpose of encouraging them that he was not abandoning them. Jesus’ statement in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” is not disconnected with everything else he has told them. Jesus had been teaching them and showing them how he expected them to serve each other. The idea of them being able to work the works Jesus did and for him to hear their requests and answer those requests is connected with their love for him and their love for him is demonstrated by keeping the commandments he gave them. 

Jesus then told them that the Father would answer his request and send “another Helper” who would “be with them forever.” (v. 16) This Helper is the “Spirit of truth.” I can’t help but stop and ponder this. In our present age and culture, people at large don’t believe in truth. In some ways I cannot blame them. During this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, information is continually disseminated from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and other experts that contradict the information from the others or even are contradictory to their earlier statements. People are weary of not knowing who or what to believe. But, concerning what God wants us to know, the Spirit will truthfully lead us when our love for Christ is manifest and we are dependent and focused upon his will and on of our own self-centered ways. 

We should not be surprised when people do not understand or believe the same things we do about Jesus and God. Why? Jesus explains that the “world” cannot receive the Spirit of truth because the world neither sees or knows him. 

How can we know the Spirit and his leading? Jesus explains to the disciples that “he dwells with you and will be with you.” (v. 17) Here again is the idea that God wants to dwell and be with His people. John had said of “the Word” (Jesus) who was with God and was God “became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.” (John 1:14) 

Just as God had dwelt with the Israelites in the tabernacle and the temple and God dwelled with people through the Incarnation of His Son Jesus, now God would dwell forever with His people through the third person of the Trinity. He is our Helper. He is the living water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14)

Trust in Jesus. God will never abandon you. 

Episode 98 - "Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it." - John 14:12-14

John 14:12   “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus seems to have a way of saying things that cause us to stop and say, “Really?” In these short three verses, he makes at least two of these “Really” statements. The first is his promise the disciples will do the works that Jesus himself has done and will do even greater works.  The second is “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” 

I don’t know about you, but my thoughts in response to these promises are more like Sarah laughing when the divine visitors told Abraham that Sarah would have a child in her old age. To be quite frank, my faith is tested when reading these promises. I have difficulty fully accepting that these are true for me. 

Some folks have suggested that these promises were to the apostles and do not extend to believers beyond the apostles. But, I find myself convicted when tempted to rationalize that they don’t really apply to me or other believers around me. I get this voice in my head that says, “No. Take it for what it says.” So, as I examine it, I notice that if we read it and take it for what it all says, there is a great encouragement to be found in these verses.

First, Jesus begins by saying, “Truly, truly.” It’s his way of getting their attention so that what follows is emphasized to them and they cannot reason it away even if they don’t understand it. They know he means what he says. 

Secondly, it’s important to see that this promise is to “whoever believes in” Jesus. That’s us as well as the apostles. But, what does it really mean to “believe in” Jesus? Think about when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and John recorded that many believed in him. But some returned to the Pharisees. The implication is that the latter group did NOT believe in Jesus. Wait a minute! People who knew that Lazarus had really died and that heard Jesus call him by name and watched Lazarus walk out of the tomb alive didn’t believe that really happened? No, I don’t think so. I think they understood all of that. But, they weren’t responding by placing their faith in Jesus. There’s a difference between understanding with our brain and responding by valuing the reality of those facts and realigning your whole way of thinking in light of this revelation. 

So, if this promise is only true for true believers in Jesus Christ, then our hearts, our values are going to be informed by following Jesus and seeking to do what God wants us to do. That’s what Jesus did, right? He only did what he saw the Father doing. Likewise, Jesus was about to return to the Father, and he wants his followers to continue the works that he did. 

How is it possible that we could do works greater than what Jesus did? Stop for a moment and consider what that could possibly be. Can we do something that would be greater than restoring life to a dead person? I cannot think of what that might be. So, how could our works be greater? I suspect that they are greater in the sense that none of us are perfect. None of us are God-incarnate. Furthermore, we are broken through our sin. Therein lies the answer. I think that Jesus is saying that our works are greater relatively speaking because we are simply creatures who “believe in” Jesus. He says the believer will work greater works “because I am going to the Father.” (v. 12) In other words, he would no longer be physically present for everyone to look to when they wanted a miracle. His antagonists would initially think that they got rid of their problem. But, now his followers would be performing miracles and it would make a profound impact on the world. How would they do this? As the Gospel of John reveals when Jesus would soon return to the Father, he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and be the power that would work the miracles. This sending of the Holy Spirit would occur on the Day of Pentecost as we read in the first chapter of Acts. In the New Testament Scriptures there are numerous accounts of miracles performed by Jesus’ followers through the power of Jesus’ name and the Holy Spirit. Perhaps there is no greater miracle however than a person receiving eternal life when believing in the good news of Jesus. They have moved from a state of death even though their physical heart may be beating to receiving eternal life when they believe the gospel. We do not have the power within ourselves to make people believe it. But, we have the responsibility and privilege to share the gospel and pray that people will believe it and receive eternal life. That is a great miracle when it happens.

Moving onto the next promise Jesus gave his followers, Jesus twice promised in verses 13-14, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do.” Between the repeated promise he explains the reason why he will do what we ask in his name: “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” This is important because the priority is not about us getting what we want. The priority is that the Father is glorified in the Son. Do you think “anything” includes that which does not glorify the Father? I don’t think so. There is a strong connection between asking something in Jesus’ name and what honors the Father. What is important is that truly having faith in Jesus will keep our minds focused upon doing what the Father wants as Jesus did. Furthermore, we can have confidence that as God leads us, we can make requests in keeping with that, desiring that the Father and the Son are glorified in answering that prayer. This means that we have divine power available to us. We are not alone. God is with us and hears us and desires to answer our requests that will lead to His glory. 

What about when we feel God is not answering our prayers? Perhaps we are not truly asking in Jesus’ name. Perhaps we’re just using the words hoping to get what we want or think is right. Perhaps what we are asking for would not bring glory to God. Perhaps God has answered the prayer, but not exactly as you might expect or maybe we are just not aware that the prayer has been answered.

The primary thing is to accept these promises at face value and trust Jesus that he can and will hear us and answer our prayers for the glory of the Father.