John 14: 26,27 (Amplified Bible)
ver.26 "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
ver.27 "Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]"
Peace. Often talked about, highly sought after, and the term itself is languidly expressed as a form of greeting. With all the attention that this simple five letter word receives, it is often grossly misunderstood, and is considered by many to be elusive. Please join me, and let's develop a more intimate understanding of what the word of God says about peace.
Our text for this multi-part article is comprised of only two verses, yet the revelation truth contained in these two verses is infinitely deep and immensely vast. Jesus spoke these words of comfort, recorded in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, to His close, personal friends. He and His disciples had finished breaking bread and sharing a communal cup of wine. Jesus had excused himself from the supper table, disrobed down to his undergarments, tied a towel around His waist, and washed the feet of each one of His disciples. Jesus became troubled in His spirit. Judas suddenly left the fellowship group and went out into the night . . .
After His humbling example of servitude, Jesus returned to the supper table, where His disciples were reclined. He spoke of things yet to come, so that when the horrific events came to pass, they would believe that He, Jesus, was indeed the Messiah. Jesus was telling His friends that He wouldn't be with them much longer. He gave them a new personal commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." "By this, all people will know that you are my disciples."
John the Apostle is picturesquely describing this tender scenario. Eleven comrades - brothers, men of common call and purpose - are sharing a somber, sobering time of close, intimate fellowship with their beloved teacher. The reader is invited to peer into the scene where a sense of foreboding uncertainty, is quickly realized.
The disciples had just spent three and a half years living with Jesus, and learning of Him. They had grown to respect, admire, revere and love Him deeply. Over the course of their internship with Jesus, they had observed untold numbers of miracles and healings at the hands of Jesus. They had witnessed numerous incidents of demon-possessed persons being liberated from torment. They saw the dead brought back to life on multiple occasions. They had personally handed out miraculously multiplied food to many thousands of men, women and children. They themselves had been delegated and commissioned, under His authority, to act on His behalf in terms of miraculous ministry (Luke 9:1, Luke 10:1-9). The disciples had grown to trust Jesus with their very lives. They felt as though they knew Him intimately.
As Jesus shares His last supper meal with these eleven men of fellowship, and gently discloses the immediacy of His near departure, His friends feel the early pangs of sorrow. How could it be, that now when they were finally beginning to understand some of the principles that He taught, that they would be left alone to grieve His unjust demise? Whom else could teach them in "The Way"? None other had ever healed and delivered the sick and infirmed. The sense of forlorn and anguish eerily pierces the human heart. Yet woven throughout His seemingly morose dialogue, Jesus spoke deliberate words of assurance and comfort. He was promising them that the Helper would abide with them forever!
Jesus' words of comfort were centered on the theme that He would not be leaving His friends alone. The Master assured them that they would not be left to grieve His death and carry on His ministry by themselves - in their own limited capacity. In verse 16, Jesus said:
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;"
In verse 17, we read a brief description of who the Helper is:
"the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."
Let's pause here for a moment and meditate upon Jesus' words.
Firstly, Jesus promised His friends that He would personally ask His Heavenly Father to send another 'Helper'. The Helper who would be with them forever. Jesus told His friends that the Helper would be a spirit - not a physical entity - but a spirit. Jesus referred to the Helper as the Spirit of truth. The capitalized spelling of Spirit here denotes deity - The Spirit of God! The disciples knew full well that from the 2nd verse of the Genesis account, that creation was set in motion by the Spirit of God! The disciples knew from the psalmist David's writings that the Holy Spirit was often 'with' men (Psalm 51:11). It staggers the imagination, but was Jesus promising that God's very person, the Holy Spirit, would actually abide (dwell, live) with them "forever" and take up residence "in" them!?
Yes. That's exactly what Jesus was saying.
The name, 'Helper' as recorded in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, is translated from the greek word, paraklētos. Paraklētos is fully defined as follows:
In his first letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul informs his readers that the natural mind of man cannot perceive nor understand the Holy Spirit and spiritual matters (1st Corinthians 2:14). Bearing this in mind, we can empathize with the disciples' inability to comprehend what Jesus was telling them. The disciples could fathom only this: their teacher would shortly no longer be with them.
They were real men living in a real world. They could relate to Jesus, the man, in that he was a human being who breathed, ate, slept, wearied, and was acquainted with human emotions; just like them. They heard him, saw him, touched him, laughed with him, swam with him, walked and climbed with him. They had relationship and interaction with a tangible, physical person. Now, however, Jesus was telling His friends that He wouldn't be remaining with them on earth. The invisible Holy Spirit (Helper) would instead abide with them.
What? A man (albeit a spectacular man) to be replaced by a 'spirit'!? To the disciples' natural human minds, Jesus' promise of an 'invisible' comforter sounded bizarre and surreal. He had never lied to them though; surely He would explain further. However, He seemed intensely focused on imparting comfort and preparing them . . . for something.
Jesus abruptly utters a plaintive request: "Arise, let us go hence." The atmosphere seems fairly charged with a portentous uncertainty. There is an urgency about Him; quite unlike His usual self.
[In progress - To be Continued]
After His humbling example of servitude, Jesus returned to the supper table, where His disciples were reclined. He spoke of things yet to come, so that when the horrific events came to pass, they would believe that He, Jesus, was indeed the Messiah. Jesus was telling His friends that He wouldn't be with them much longer. He gave them a new personal commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you." "By this, all people will know that you are my disciples."
John the Apostle is picturesquely describing this tender scenario. Eleven comrades - brothers, men of common call and purpose - are sharing a somber, sobering time of close, intimate fellowship with their beloved teacher. The reader is invited to peer into the scene where a sense of foreboding uncertainty, is quickly realized.
The disciples had just spent three and a half years living with Jesus, and learning of Him. They had grown to respect, admire, revere and love Him deeply. Over the course of their internship with Jesus, they had observed untold numbers of miracles and healings at the hands of Jesus. They had witnessed numerous incidents of demon-possessed persons being liberated from torment. They saw the dead brought back to life on multiple occasions. They had personally handed out miraculously multiplied food to many thousands of men, women and children. They themselves had been delegated and commissioned, under His authority, to act on His behalf in terms of miraculous ministry (Luke 9:1, Luke 10:1-9). The disciples had grown to trust Jesus with their very lives. They felt as though they knew Him intimately.
As Jesus shares His last supper meal with these eleven men of fellowship, and gently discloses the immediacy of His near departure, His friends feel the early pangs of sorrow. How could it be, that now when they were finally beginning to understand some of the principles that He taught, that they would be left alone to grieve His unjust demise? Whom else could teach them in "The Way"? None other had ever healed and delivered the sick and infirmed. The sense of forlorn and anguish eerily pierces the human heart. Yet woven throughout His seemingly morose dialogue, Jesus spoke deliberate words of assurance and comfort. He was promising them that the Helper would abide with them forever!
Jesus' words of comfort were centered on the theme that He would not be leaving His friends alone. The Master assured them that they would not be left to grieve His death and carry on His ministry by themselves - in their own limited capacity. In verse 16, Jesus said:
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;"
In verse 17, we read a brief description of who the Helper is:
"the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."
Let's pause here for a moment and meditate upon Jesus' words.
Firstly, Jesus promised His friends that He would personally ask His Heavenly Father to send another 'Helper'. The Helper who would be with them forever. Jesus told His friends that the Helper would be a spirit - not a physical entity - but a spirit. Jesus referred to the Helper as the Spirit of truth. The capitalized spelling of Spirit here denotes deity - The Spirit of God! The disciples knew full well that from the 2nd verse of the Genesis account, that creation was set in motion by the Spirit of God! The disciples knew from the psalmist David's writings that the Holy Spirit was often 'with' men (Psalm 51:11). It staggers the imagination, but was Jesus promising that God's very person, the Holy Spirit, would actually abide (dwell, live) with them "forever" and take up residence "in" them!?
Yes. That's exactly what Jesus was saying.
The name, 'Helper' as recorded in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, is translated from the greek word, paraklētos. Paraklētos is fully defined as follows:
One called alongside to help; or Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor
Summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid
a) one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate
b) one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor
c) in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant
Summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid
a) one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate
b) one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor
c) in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant
In his first letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul informs his readers that the natural mind of man cannot perceive nor understand the Holy Spirit and spiritual matters (1st Corinthians 2:14). Bearing this in mind, we can empathize with the disciples' inability to comprehend what Jesus was telling them. The disciples could fathom only this: their teacher would shortly no longer be with them.
They were real men living in a real world. They could relate to Jesus, the man, in that he was a human being who breathed, ate, slept, wearied, and was acquainted with human emotions; just like them. They heard him, saw him, touched him, laughed with him, swam with him, walked and climbed with him. They had relationship and interaction with a tangible, physical person. Now, however, Jesus was telling His friends that He wouldn't be remaining with them on earth. The invisible Holy Spirit (Helper) would instead abide with them.
What? A man (albeit a spectacular man) to be replaced by a 'spirit'!? To the disciples' natural human minds, Jesus' promise of an 'invisible' comforter sounded bizarre and surreal. He had never lied to them though; surely He would explain further. However, He seemed intensely focused on imparting comfort and preparing them . . . for something.
Jesus abruptly utters a plaintive request: "Arise, let us go hence." The atmosphere seems fairly charged with a portentous uncertainty. There is an urgency about Him; quite unlike His usual self.
[In progress - To be Continued]
