Take Courage
Jesus' Final Words: Encouragement in the Face of Anxiety
The Gospel of John and 1 John are not books that proclaim a defeatist attitude. They are realistic in that they take suffering, persecution, and martyrdom very seriously, just as the Book of Revelation takes them seriously. They are books of encouragement in the face of anxiety and genuine concern.
—Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 184.
This is the final post in my ‘Jesus’ Final Words’ series, and I will be focusing on John 16:25-33.
Final Teachings
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I 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 shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
— John 16:25-28 NKJV
John 1:1-18 famously introduces Jesus as the Word, clarifying that He was both with God and was God and became flesh and dwelt among us. Now Jesus is telling His disciples that He is leaving the world and returning to the Father. When Jesus says that He will tell His disciples plainly about the Father, many interpret this to mean His conversations with His disciples after His resurrection, including the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13-15; see my post, "Understanding the Role of the Holy Spirit"). The Holy Spirit continues to unpack the meaning of the revelation bound up with Jesus the Messiah.
There were many things that Jesus did and said during His earthly ministry that only became clear after His death and resurrection. However, one thing that Jesus emphasizes is that He does not have to ask the Father for things on behalf of the disciples; rather, the Father loves them. We gain access to the Father through Jesus (John 14:6), but we should not interpret that to mean that the Father does not love us.
God’s loving openness to our prayers is in fact the outworking of God’s prior love to us in “giving” Jesus (cf. 3:16).
—Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 178.
The way I understand it, Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied the penalty of the law that causes separation between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). Therefore, God both hears and connects with us without breaking His own law, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. That’s how I see it. Does it make sense to you? This verse does not downplay Jesus’ role as our mediator (see also Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1), instead it highlights the love of the Father for us.
After all, Jesus is abundantly clear in John 3:16 that it was the love of the Father that initiated Jesus' mission.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 NIV
Jesus plays a role in our gaining access to the Father in the plan of salvation. I understand this in light of the conflict between God and Satan (Why So Much Suffering (audio), Spiritual Warfare) Satan might accuse God of intervening in the lives of those who belong him. Still, God can, in fact, do so not only because He is all-powerful, but also because Jesus’ death on our behalf allows God to do so without breaking His law that holds all of reality together. (I see God’s law as not only a moral code, but what orders everything in the universe) This might be getting too complex. Suffice it to say that the separation that sin causes is not to be understood as the Father lacking love towards us. For an in-depth understanding of the theme of the Cosmic Conflict and God's love, I highly recommend books by John C. Peckham (especially Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil and The Love of God: A Canonical Model).
[John 16:28] draws the incarnational picture into a unified whole and summarizes in a brief span the mission of Jesus. Thus (1) it encapsulates his coming as the incarnate representative of the Father (1:1, 9, 14) and (2) his entering the world to serve as the unique agent of God in communicating God’s message to humans (5:19–30). In addition, (3) it highlights the traumatic departure of Jesus in the arrival of that fateful but purposeful hour of the crucifixion/death of Jesus (12:23–24, 27; 19:30), and (4) it culminates in his victorious going back to the Father and preparing a place for his followers (14:2).
—Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 179.
Speaking Plainly
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
— John 16:29-30 NKJV
Thanks, I guess? I wonder how Jesus felt when His disciples spoke these words to Him. I would have replied:
“Now you know? Now you are sure? It’s been over three years, and now you have no need for anyone to question me? This is what it took for you to believe that I came from God!?”
The disciples’ proclamation of faith in this instance, much like other proclamations of faith in the Bible after a miracle, will prove shallow and insufficient. How often do we think that if we had witnessed the miracles described in the Bible, our faith would never waver? Yet the faith of the Bible characters frequently wavered. How many times has God done something in your life that was clearly a miracle, only to have you doubt God all over again the next time you faced a trial?
You cannot microwave faith. Faith will not pop up fully mature after witnessing a miracle or hearing a compelling theological insight. Faith develops, matures, and grows slowly over the course of a lifetime, shaped by the trials and tribulations that life presents. You can’t boot camp your faith fitness; you can't get it overnight. You have to embark on the journey, daily strengthening and growing patiently.
Faith is a relationship, and just like love, it does not mature and become strong in the blink of an eye; neither does faith. Be patient with yourself and with others in their faith journey. If you don’t walk away, your faith will grow. Your faith will grow even faster and healthier if you take time daily to nurture it by carving out time from your busy schedule to connect with God in a meaningful way.
Do you believe?
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
— John 16:31-32 NKJV
The most dangerous misunderstanding is the one you think no longer exists. Jesus knows that the disciples still have much to learn and their faith has a long way to go. The disciples will grow in their faith and eventually be willing to die for it, but at this time, their faith was not as strong as they claimed. Jesus knew that the coming test would reveal their faith to be weak. Jesus had already warned Peter of his impending failure (John 13:38), and now all disciples hear a similar prediction that embraces all of them. (See also Zechariah 13:7; Mark 14:27, 50)
Being abandoned, left "alone," was normally viewed as a great hardship; 177 to be abandoned by one's disciples was a mark of great shame, (Each returning "to his own home" may recall biblical language for defeated soldiers fleeing the battle after losing their leader—1 Kgs 22:17.)
—Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John : A Commentary. Peabody, Hendrickson, , Cop, 2010. p.1048
Jesus' comments may seem harsh, but I believe his prophetic utterance helped the disciples recover from their lack of faith in the future. Perhaps as they reflected on their poor decisions, especially abandoning Jesus, they would remember that Jesus knew they would forsake Him, but He still chose them. It is essential for us to recognize that God accomplished great things through Jesus’ disciples, but this does not mean they did not struggle and make mistakes. Likewise, when we struggle and make mistakes, it does not disqualify us from being used by God in a mighty way.
Jesus also knows by faith that the Father was with Him, even if it didn’t always feel like it. We can learn from Jesus’ experience to trust that the Father is with us even when we feel abandoned. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:31-39) I believe we are free to reject God’s love for us, but God does not stop loving us when we sin, and He desires to save us.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
— Romans 5:8 NKJV
When you seek God, you know that He wants to be found by you. (Jeremiah 29:13) The question is always, “Do we truly want to find and follow God?” And never “Does God really love me?”
However grave the temporary defection of his disciples may be, Jesus looks beyond their collapse to their restoration, and ends the discourse with encouragement.
— Carson, D. A. The Gospel according to John. Grand Rapids, MI, Inter-Varsity Press, 1991. p549
Jesus is Victorious
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:33 NKJV
The fundamental ground for our perseverance is the triumph of Jesus. By His death and resurrection, Jesus makes the world’s opposition pointless. The world may continue its attacks and persecution, but the decisive battle has been fought and won; those who are in Christ share the victory He has won. Regardless of what may happen in the world, we know who triumphs in the end. Knowing this, by faith, we begin to share Jesus’ peace, and this is the good news we share with others.
The promise of peace, or Shalom (eirēnē), which is foundational to the Semitic understanding of wholeness and satisfying life, is here clearly dependent on the little phrase “in me.” This idea that peace and wholeness of life or salvation were to be found fully “in Jesus” or “in Christ” became one of the most significant aspects of Pauline theology.
—Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21, vol. 25B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 184.
Even though Jesus’ death looked like defeat to the world, and even to many of His followers, it was through the death of Jesus that God brought victory in the resurrection of Jesus. Suffering persecution or even death for Jesus’ sake does not mean defeat. We obey, trust, and persevere because of what Jesus has done for us and for what He does in us through the Holy Spirit.
Yet Jacob’s history is an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. It was by self-surrender and confiding faith that Jacob gained what he had failed to gain by conflict in his own strength. God thus taught His servant that divine power and grace alone could give him the blessing he craved. Thus it will be with those who live in the last days. As dangers surround them, and despair seizes upon the soul, they must depend solely upon the merits of the atonement. We can do nothing of ourselves. In all our helpless unworthiness we must trust in the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour. None will ever perish while they do this. The long, black catalogue of our delinquencies is before the eye of the Infinite. The register is complete; none of our offenses are forgotten. But He who listened to the cries of His servants of old, will hear the prayer of faith and pardon our transgressions. He has promised, and He will fulfill His word.
— Patriarchs and Prophets p202
Practical Application
Turn to Jesus.
It is that simple. When you’re feeling weak, guilty, alone, abandoned, like a failure, turn to Jesus. Jesus is victorious and He offers you the assurance of ultimate victory and peace. The victory may be experienced and fully realized in the future, but the peace is available now.
Whatever you may be going through, turn to Jesus. He wants to save you and spend eternity with you.
Jesus says
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
— Revelation 3:20 NKJV
