Episode 115 - Sanctify them in your truth - John 17:12-19

12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Does anything sound familiar in the first few words here? “I have kept them . . .I have guarded them.” Earlier in this chapter, Jesus says, “They have kept your word.” The word “kept” is from the Greek word “tereo” which means to keep or guard. A secondary meaning is “to cause a state, condition, or activity to continue, keep, hold, reserve, preserve someone or someth” (BDAG). I suggested that it showed the importance of keeping or guarding Jesus. If this secondary meaning is more the intended nuance, then it’s speaking of the importance of continuing to follow Jesus. In verse 12, the same word is used to speak of Jesus continuing to keep them in “your name” (speaking of the Father). 

But, then Jesus adds in verse 12, “I have guarded them.” Isn’t this the same thing? What is Jesus saying? The word in Greek translated “guarded” is “phulasso” meaning, “to protect by taking careful measures, guard, protect.” (BDAG) This is different, isn’t it? The disciples have continued to follow Jesus and keep him and the message he has given them. Jesus has also continued with the disciples. He did not give up on them when they had a lapse in their faith. Neither will he give them up when, in a short amount of time, they will abandon him during his darkest hour. But, the word “phulasso” seems to indicate that Jesus’ guarding was providing protection over his disciples. My suspicion is they have no clue as to the measure that Jesus is guarding them; not just physically, but spiritually. 

Jesus then adds that he has not lost any of these disciples the Father has given him except “the son of destruction.” Who is this? Does this indicate that Jesus’ failed to guard this one? First, it would seem that the most obvious candidate is Judas Iscariot. Back in John 6:70, Jesus told the disciples that he had chosen them and yet one of them was a devil. Time revealed that Judas was looking out for himself. He was not keeping Jesus’ words. It’s also that same verse that helps us understand that Jesus knew one of them would betray him. He even knew who it was because he revealed the identity of that one to John prior to Judas going out to betray Jesus. Jesus did not fail with Judas. Jesus said of this one who was lost, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (v. 12) In other words, Jesus is saying there was prophecy, probably Psalm 109, in which David speaks of a treachery against him and cries out to the Lord. As a Messianic figure, David’s words are considered prophetic. After Jesus’ ascension, the apostles decided to replace the position Judas had held as an apostle and interpreted Psalm 109:8 as prophecy that they should fill this position held by the treacherous Judas Iscariot. In summarizing, God knew Judas would betray Jesus and it was foretold and then fulfilled. 

Jesus makes a few requests on behalf of his disciples. First, he wants their joy to be fulfilled. Second, he wants the Father to keep them from the evil one while they remain in the world. Finally, he requests that they are “sanctified” (set apart for a purpose) in God’s truth. 

One of the great questions of life is “Why am I here?” Another way of expressing this is “Is there a purpose for my life?” If Jesus’ prayer for his disciples applies to us as it did them, which I believe it does, we need to understand that our identity is in Christ and not of this world. Yet, Christ has sent us into the world, set apart in God’s truth for the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to the world. We can trust that while the world will hate us for this, we are ultimately under the Father’s sovereign will and care. Nothing can happen to us apart from God’s will. In following this mission will our joy be fulfilled. 

A GREEK - ENGLISH LEXICON of the NEW TESTAMENT and other EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

— THIRD EDITION —

(BDAG)

revised and edited by

Frederick William Danker

based on

WALTER BAUER’S

Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS | CHICAGO AND LONDON

Episode 111 - Joy and Peace in Jesus - John 16:22-33

22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

25   “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

29   His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In the last episode, we covered verse 22, in which Jesus speaks of his disciples’ sorrow turned to joy which no one could take from them. I suggested that this experience begins at the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus’ words in verse 23 make so much sense in light of the joy they would experience after the depths of sorrow they would experience at his death. Jesus said, “In that day, you will ask nothing of me.” Why? Because their whole sense of belonging and purpose they had following Jesus is about to be crushed, then astonishingly restored beyond their imagination. Think about it. If you had a sense of joy that was so great and fulfilling that you could not think straight because it was overwhelming, what else could you possibly want? I believe this is what Jesus is telling them will happen.

Jesus also understands the ministry to which he will send them, and he understands that they will have needs. He assures them that whatever they ask in his name, the Father will give it to them. I don’t know about you. But, this promise is difficult for me to believe. I think to myself, “If I ask for a Tesla or some other luxury item, surely I won’t receive that.” I’m doubtful that saying “In Jesus’ name” is some kind of magic that gets me whatever I want. What is Jesus promising his disciples?

I believe that Jesus’ promise is true. However, Jesus’ words to his disciples reveal that he knows exactly what is going to happen to them. He knows what they will need and how the Holy Spirit will minister to them and lead them in faith and obedience to the mission Jesus is giving them. When they ask for something “in Jesus’ name,” their requests will be with the understanding of Jesus’ identity and the mission to which he has assigned them. Their requests will neither be arbitrary nor selfish. 

If that weren’t enough, notice that in verses 25-28, Jesus explains to them that the Father is not going to give it to them because Jesus asks the Father on their behalf. Jesus explains to them that the Father himself loves them, and the Father understands that they have followed and believed in Jesus. 

Despite the faith these disciples have had in Jesus, Jesus confronts their self-confidence by explaining that an hour is coming when they will all scatter and leave Jesus alone (v. 32). Does the Father not know this? Of course, He does. Yet, He still loves Jesus’ disciples despite their failures. Jesus explains they will have tribulation in this world, but they can have peace in the midst of that because Jesus has overcome the world. He has overcome the “darkness” and death. Jesus’ disciples can have peace knowing that ultimately we will no longer have to experience the darkness of this world and death. 

What does it mean to you that Jesus conquered death and his assurance that the Father loves you? Does it give you joy?

Episode 110 - "No one will be able to take your joy from you" - John 16:16-22

John 16:16   “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

I don’t know about you. But, this is one of those passages in Scripture that make me laugh. Jesus’ statement that in a little while they won’t see him and again in a little while they will see him evokes the response, “What is he talking about?” The funny thing is that I know the rest of the story, but the disciples did not understand. I can relate to that response. I still have a bit of that response, even though I know what he is talking about. 

In verse 19, we start to get the picture that Jesus knew what they were thinking and what they wanted to know. He wanted them to want to know what was going to happen. They didn’t just need to understand what Jesus was talking about, and they needed a compelling desire to understand what Jesus was saying. Jesus evoked that in them with these sayings.

That’s true for us as well, isn’t it? We learn best when there is a pressing need or question we desperately want to be answered. For Jesus to set them up like this with these words is preparing them for what the Spirit will teach them and cause them to remember what Jesus taught them. It will change their lives. I believe the Lord does that with us today. Notice that Jesus tells them what is about to happen. 

First, they will be filled with sorrow, and the world will be filled with joy. Second, their sorrow will be turned into joy. That is a dramatic shift. What is it that would cause these things to happen? Jesus’ will be crucified and be put to death on the cross. Understandably, his friends and disciples would be filled with sorrow at this tragic loss. But, the world which has remained in the darkness of their sin and rejection of Jesus will rejoice thinking that they have overcome the true Light that came into the world. 

Imagine being in the position of Jesus’ disciples during and after this has happened. They had invested the last three years of their lives following this man and coming to believe that he was God’s Messiah. They had seen the miracles with their own eyes. They were amazed at his teaching as well as his patience and grace to them. Now it was all over . . . or so they thought.

If you can imagine the depth of grief they must have experienced, imagine what was going on in their minds when he appeared to them alive a few days after he had died and been buried. Their extreme sorrow would be turned to extreme joy and no one would be able to  take their joy from them. (v.22)  That is the third thing he told them would happen.

The effect of these events unfolding precisely as Jesus foretold would create in them a whole new level of understanding and confidence in Jesus.  Who would imagine that the one who had raised someone else from the dead could raise himself from the dead? If Jesus proved that he had power over his own death, how much more does he have the power to raise us from the dead and give eternal life to our own bodies?

By Jesus’ leading them to have these questions and needs, he could teach them more as the events unfolded and it would form a foundation for their confidence in his promises. In turn, it would drive their passion for proclaiming the Good News to the world. 

May the Lord instill in us such rich confidence and trust in him that we would be driven to share it with others and faithfully serve him as we look forward to his return.

Episode 104 - "Love one another" - John 15:12-17

John 15:12   “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant, does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

In the preceding text covered in the last episode, Jesus spoke of himself as the “True Vine.” He is contrasting himself with the nation of Israel that, as God’s vine, repeatedly failed to produce the fruit it was intended to bear. God the Father is the “vinedresser;” the person who looks after the vine to prune it and do whatever is necessary to make it healthy and produce the most and best fruit possible. Jesus’ disciples then are the branches that are to abide in the vine and bear much fruit as God tends to us for that purpose. 

The way we are to abide or stay connected to Jesus is by being ever-dependent upon him; keeping his words and teaching in our minds and hearts and allowing them to guide our thoughts, values, and actions. Obeying his commands is not burdensome. It’s not about keeping a checklist of good works. It’s about accepting and receiving his love for us and sharing that with others. In doing so, we receive the full experience of joy.  

In John 13:34 Jesus told his disciples, “I give you a new commandment - to love one another.” Jesus repeats this command in John 15:12. At the beginning of this study almost two years ago, I spoke about repetition and how it shows that something is being emphasized when it is repeated. Jesus repeats things often as shown in the book and the author repeats things to emphasize his perspective on Jesus’ life and ministry. Clearly, Jesus’ priority for his disciples is for them to love one another. 

Jesus explains that this kind of love of which he is speaking is not a romantic kind of love that we think about in our day and culture. This is a love that is a self-sacrificing kind of love. Jesus is about to demonstrate that kind of love for his disciples and for us. 

Jesus tells his disciples that his relationship with them is transitioning from one of a teacher-to-disciple type of relationship, which was very similar to master/servant, to him now calling them friends. He explains that in the former kind of relationship, the servant is given a job to do without any explanations of why. But, Jesus has shown them and taught them what he was given by the Father. They are to continue on the work he has begun. But, this work given to Jesus’ disciples is not simply tasks done out of obligation, fear, and complete ignorance of its purpose, but out of a close, personal relationship and performed out of love and joy that he gives us. 

Jesus then reminds them that he chose them for this privilege of “bearing fruit that remains.” (v. 16) Has it occurred to you that the Son of God, Jesus has chosen you for an assignment in which he has equipped and empowered us, given us the Holy Spirit, and made us his friends and that whatever we need in this mission we can ask in His name and the Father will give it to us?  It makes sense that getting on board with this should bring us such joy. 

Now, in case you missed it earlier, we must love one another. (v. 17)