ABSENT BUT PRESENT

Photo by Pat Bartlett

Jesus raises a perplexing question in the minds of the disciples. Why is it better for Jesus to leave them than to stay with them? Up until now, He has walked and talked with them; taught them and showed them how to live; and encouraged and strengthened them with His presence. How could it possibly be better for their friend and teacher to leave them now? Yet Jesus said it. It must be true.

"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 go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). Grammatically, the clause "that I go away" (ινα εγω απελθω) is the subject of the verb "it is to your advantage" (συμφερει). The verb carries commercial overtones of profitability (Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary, p. 598). Jesus says it is profitable, or expedient, for them that He go away.

John only uses the term two other times in his gospel (John 11:50; 18:14), and both times it comes from the lips of Caiaphas, the High Priest. The words of Caiaphas give us the first clue to a partial answer.  "It is expedient (συμφερει) for you that one man die for the people" (John 11:50). It is better - more profitable - that Jesus go away because He goes away to die so they might live.

The self-absorbed disciples did not grasp the greater purposes behind Jesus' departure. Jesus had come to die. The cross was God's purpose for Him from before time began. He was also  leaving them so the Holy Spirit, the Helper, could come. The Spirit's purpose in coming was to glorify Christ, but the Spirit must have a glorified Christ to glorify  (John 7:39). The ascension of Jesus following His cross work glorified Him. He left to be glorified, and the Holy Spirit continues to magnify Him as the risen Lord.  The glorification of Jesus leads to the empowering of the disciples through the Holy Spirit.

The personal presence of Jesus would eventually hinder the personal growth of the disciples and the expansion of His kingdom on earth.  As long as Jesus remained in bodily form, His presence was limited to His physical location on earth. Omnipresent indwelling was only possible if Jesus left them and ascended into heaven as the glorified Christ. It was better for Jesus to depart so that that He could always be with them as they scattered around the globe (Mt. 28:20) through the presence of His Helper wherever they might be.

The Holy Spirit does not merely replace the absence of Jesus on earth. He completes His presence in our lives (Bernard, John, 2:504). We can experience the depths of spiritual intimacy with Jesus in our lives because Jesus departed and the Holy Spirit arrived. The Holy Spirit fills our daily lives with the presence of Jesus in ways that would be impossible if Jesus still walked this earth. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your empowering presence.

USING JESUS VS. FOLLOWING JESUS

Sea of Galilee

Jesus has more users than followers in the American church today.  We use Jesus to sanctify our success and stimulate our worship experiences. Blinded by our self-interests, we often seek a Jesus who serves our needs and promises our prosperity. Our hearts grow restless and bored unless the sermon shows us quickly how Jesus can meet our specific needs now - today - in this moment! We care more about our earthly Jesus than our heavenly Lord.

Jesus saw these tendencies in His first disciples as well. He wistfully said, Now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' (John 16:5). Yet Peter had just asked Jesus that very question only a few hours earlier (John 13:36). How do we harmonize the two verses? What is the question Jesus longs to hear from us?

Some have suggested that the answer is in the present tense of the verb "ask" (ερωτα) as if Jesus was saying that no one (ουδεις) was asking Him the question at that precise moment.  He was not thinking of what Peter said hours earlier that evening.  However, such a solution seems a bit disingenuous, as if Jesus cared more about the timing of the question than the heart of the questioner.

Jesus knew Peter had asked the question that Peter cared about instead of asking the question Jesus wanted Peter to care about.  The words are the same, but the intent is so very different. Peter didn't care about the destination of Jesus only that he felt abandoned by Jesus, and it led to a false bravado in his infamous pledge. The disciples were devastated that Jesus was leaving them (John 16:6). They were not interested in the plans of Jesus only the loss they feared for themselves.  They only cared about the problems for them not the purposes of the Lord (Morris, John, pp. 695-696).

We, too, seek selfish answers for life on earth not serious inquiries to understand the glories of our Lord in heaven. Like a child whose father is leaving us to go to work, we often ask "Where are you going?" The father will not be present to play with us! Our intent in asking is selfish. How different the question of a lover who wants to know all the details about where and what because of love for the one leaving not merely the loss of personal presence.

Jesus cares more about the heart of the questioner than the form of the question. A follower of Jesus wants to know everything there is to know about Him and His eternal purposes even if the knowledge is not immediately applicable to his earthly situation. A user of Jesus only cares to know what will meet his problems in that specific moment and cares little to know what is not an immediate life app!

What drives our questions shows the shallowness - or depth - of our relationship with Jesus.

AVOIDING THE BAIT STICK

Why did Jesus warn us about suffering and persecution in this world? He wanted us to expect hardship so that we might "be kept from stumbling" (John 16:1). It is a purpose clause introduced by 

ινα, and the verb is the passive form of a word (σκανδαλισθητε) from which we get our English word "scandal." Jesus warns us so that we will not be scandalized by the sufferings we experience in life.

The noun originally referred to a stick of wood that kept open a dead fall trap for small animals (Colin Brown, Dictionary, 2:707). The bait stick held up a rock or a log which would crush the prey when the bait stick was dislodged. The word later came to mean a stone or other obstacle over which a person tripped and fell down.

The verb meant "cause to sin" (to fall) and in the passive meant being led into sin through unbelief or apostasy (BAGD, p. 752). The connection to apostasy is important in the passive. The verb mean to fall away from what was once believed or to be misled from the truth (Colin Brown, Dictionary, 2:708). A professing Christian is scandalized when pressure entices him to fall away from the truth he once clung to by faith.

In the parable of the soils, the seed that fell on the rocky soil sprouted quickly (Mt. 13:20-21). The person received the gospel with joy "yet he has no root in himself, but is temporary, and, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away" (σκανδαλιζεται). Pressure (θλιψεως) causes the person to strike the bait stick in his agitation and be crushed by the enemy's trap.

Jesus predicted that there will come times of persecution (θλιψιν) when Christians will be hated. "At that time, many will fall away (σκανδαλισθησονται) and will betray one another and hate one another" (Mt. 24:9-10). The lie that God promises us prosperity and popularity is the bait stick of Satan leading many to fall away from Christ.

Avoid the bait stick! How? We must remember Jesus' warning that suffering, pressure, and persecution will come to us (John 16:4) so we will be prepared to face the hardships with faith. As the saying goes, "forewarned is forearmed." The best defense against the scandal of suffering is to expect the suffering. If we are not prepared for hardship, we will fall away and cause others to stumble with us.

After Jesus told the disciples that He would suffer and be killed, Peter vehemently objected.  Peter told Jesus not to think this way (Mt. 16:21-22). Bad things wouldn't happen to Jesus because God wouldn't let them happen. I recognize my own false trust in this same bait stick many times. Peter was the epitome of positive thinking. Jesus called him, "Satan," and said that Peter was a bait stick in Satan's trap because he was not setting his "mind on God's interests but on man's" (Mt. 16:23).

Lord, help me to avoid the bait stick by expecting pressure in this world and by keeping my mind on your interests instead of mine!

OUR SPECIAL FRIEND

Jesus promised us a special friend who is called alongside us to help in our time of need (John 15:26). The word "paraclete" (παρακλητος) is hard to fully translate but is best understood as a legal friend not a spiritual comforter (Morris, John, pp. 662-666). What does Jesus tell us about our special friend?

1. He is our personal friend not an impersonal force. The word "spirit" (πνευμα) is neuter in gender leading some to imply that the Spirit of God is an influence or force.  However, the pronoun used (εκεινος) is masculine and the closest antecedent is πνευμα not παρακλητος. The pronoun indicates personality. Jesus consistently uses a personal masculine personal pronoun when speaking about the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:8,13,14) proving that He is a person not merely a force.

2. Jesus sends Him to us from the Father. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is the one "whom I, myself, will send to you from the Father." The pronoun is emphatic (εγω πεμψω). Jesus had said earlier that He would ask the Father to give us a special friend (John 14:16). What the Father gives, the Son sends. Our friend is the answer to Jesus' prayers for us; the gift of our heavenly Father; and the commissioned representative of the Son.

3. He is the Spirit who speaks the truth.  Jesus calls Him "the Spirit of Truth" (το πνευμα της αληθειας). The genitive - "of the truth" - is best understood as an objective genitive. He is the Spirit who communicates the truth. We need a legal friend to speak the truth at all times even when the truth might be unpleasant or inconvenient for us.

4. Our friend proceeds from the Father. Twice Jesus uses the prepositional phrase "from the Father" (παρα του πατρος) in this verse. The preposition is used often for Jesus coming from God (John 7:29; 16:27) so the Spirit and the Son both come from the Father. The verb "proceed" (εκπορευεται) should not be understood in terms of eternal procession in this verse but rather in the sense of proceeding from the Father for a specific work. The use of the preposition παρα instead of εκ supports this understanding. The Spirit, as our friend, continues the work of Jesus, as our friend, and both come to us from the Father. All three persons of the trinity are intimately involved with our lives.

5. He points people to Jesus. Jesus says that "He will testify" (μαρτυρησει) about Me." The verb means to bear witness to, to speak well of, someone (BAGD, p. 493). The most important role our special friend has in our lives is to point us constantly to Jesus. The Spirit of God is the shy member of the trinity. He does not call attention to Himself but prefers to work backstage - behind the scenes - to magnify Jesus (John 16:14). Any work on earth that is truly Spirit directed, Spirit energized and Spirit stimulated will emphasize Jesus Christ over the Holy Spirit.

PRESUMPTUOUS SIN

Presumptuous sin is scary! Presumptuous sin incurs a greater guilt - a deeper culpability - than ordinary sin.  A person sins presumptuously when he knowingly and constantly rejects truth in order to confidently and willfully commit sin.

Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22). He is not saying that a person would have been sinless if Jesus had not come. All of us are sinners. Jesus is speaking about the specific sin of conscious unbelief. Jesus came. Jesus spoke the truth. People saw Him.  People heard the truth, and people rejected Him and His message. Those people "have sin." The verb "have" (ειχοσαν) means to hold it, grip it or own it! It is conscious sin. They own it without excuse.

Jesus goes on to say, "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well" (John 15:24). People not only willfully rejected Jesus' message, but they confidently rejected Jesus' works. They "have seen" (εωρακασιν) and "hated" (μεμισηκασιν). The verbs are perfect tense verbs indicating a "seeing" and "hating" that are ongoing into the present moment. Presumptuous sin not only owns the sin but carries the rejection forward without remorse leading to the judgment of God.

The Old Testament Law distinguished between ordinary sin and defiant sin (Numbers 15:30), defining defiant sin as blasphemy! Presumptuous sin is a special category of sin leading to greater culpability for sin.  Jesus told the Pharisees that he came to help those who were blind to see and cause those who see to become blind. The Pharisees claimed they were not blind so Jesus retorted, "If you were blind you would have no sin (you wouldn't own it); but since you say, 'we see,' your sin remains" (John 9:41).

When we present the message and the works of Jesus to people, they become culpable for their choice. We become, as Paul says, "the smell of death" or "the smell of life" to them (2 Cor. 2:16). A person who knows all about Jesus and still rejects Jesus has greater guilt than one who never hears or knows.  On a broader scale, when I know the truth and willfully choose to reject the truth, I am guilty of presumptuous sin. The Psalmist David wrote: "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; ... Let the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord" (Psalm 19:13-14).

Beware of presumptuous sin.  Lord, keep from it!

A FAULT LINE WITH THE WORLD

The result of abiding in Jesus is that we are not abiding in the world. The contrast is sharply black and white - no gray allowed.  The result of not abiding in the world is that the world hates us.  Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before you" (John 15:18). The word "know" could be a command instead of a statement (Bernard, 2:491). Facing the hatred of the world, Jesus commands us to know they hated Him first (πρωτον), either first in time or first in importance. Our union with Jesus establishes a fault line with the world leading us to expect persecution from the world.

Jesus states two reasons why the world hates us.  The first reason is because Jesus chose us for Himself (εξελεξαμην - middle voice). "I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you" (John 15:19). Three times Jesus uses the same prepositional clause "out of the world" (εκ του κοσμου) in this one verse. "If you were out of the world the world would love its own; but because you are not out of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

The preposition "out of" (εκ) can indicate either origin or separation (BAGD, p. 234). The first clause expresses origin - often used in the sense of family origin. If our birth family is the world, the world would love us.  We are part of the world so why would they not love us? However, we are not out of the world in terms of our birth family any longer. We originate from Jesus. We have a new birth family (point of origin) as those who abide in Jesus.  Our birth family rests in His choice - electing love.  He chose us "out of the world." The final clause indicates separation. The world is the place from which Jesus separates us by His choice to become part of His birth family. The world hates us because Jesus chose us for Himself.

The second reason the world hates us is because they do not know God the Father. "But all these things they will do to you for My names sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me" (John 15:21). Ignorance of God the Father leads to persecution of the Son and His followers.  Ignorance of the nature of God leads to failure in recognizing Jesus. When people don't know who God is they cannot know who Jesus is. Jesus has said that to know God the Father you must know Jesus (John 14:6, 9). Now Jesus reverses the truth - to know Jesus you must know God the Father.

Intimacy with Jesus precludes intimacy with the world. If I am intimate with the world I cannot be intimate with Jesus. If I am intimate with Jesus I cannot be intimate with the world. The world will notice the difference and hate me for it.  The question is: If I am not hated by the world is it because they do not see any difference in me?!

THE OBEDIENCE OF FRIENDS

We don't commonly associate obedience with friendship. We associate affection with friendship and obedience with slavery.  A friend is not ordered to obey like a servant.  There is no duty among friends, we think.  The essence of friendship is voluntary action. Friends can choose how to act while still being accepted as friends.  Yet Jesus says, "You are My friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14).

The condition (εαν ποιητε) expresses a degree of "reduced probability" (Louw Nida, 89.62). It is not certain that we will obey so it is not certain that we will experience friendship with Jesus. Jesus invites us to be His friends, but the friendship is conditioned on doing what He commands. Doesn't this condition turn us into servants not friends?

Jesus goes on to explain that He calls us friends and not servants because a servant doesn't know the mind of the Master, but Jesus discloses to us "all things" (παντα) that He has heard from His Father (John 15:15). The obedience of affection rises out of the self-disclosure of friendship. A friend shares the heart behind the command. Our knowledge changes the nature of our obedience. There is an obedience out of love that is an act of voluntary affection. Such obedience is a choice which explains the conditionality of our friendship with Jesus. In His love, He risks making known (εγνωρισα) His deepest desires to us, and in our love, we choose to obey His commands. When we choose to obey out of love we enjoy the affection of friendship that comes from His self-disclosure (See D.A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God).

Friendship is commonly mutual. Friends usually choose each other but not so with Jesus. Jesus says, "You did not choose (εξελεξασθε) Me but I chose (εξελεξαμην) you" (John 15:16). The verbs are both in the middle voice indicating that the choice is a matter of personal interest. We did not choose Him for ourselves, but He chose us for Himself. Jesus chooses us to be His friends. Jesus chooses to disclose Himself to us as His friends.  He risks possible rejection to call us His friends.  He invites us into his friendship if we will choose to obey Him out of love. This is not an election (choosing) to eternal life but an election to friendship. Therefore, a person can be a follower of Christ without being a friend of Jesus thus turning orders into duties and relationship into religion. When we obey out of love we enjoy the mutual affection of our friendship with Jesus.

How do we know that we love Jesus? We know we love Jesus when we love one another. The teaching on friendship is bracketed by the command to love one another (John 15:12, 17).

If I won't love Jesus' friends, I can't be Jesus' friend!