When Jesus leaves His disciples, He leaves them in a world that is more fully alive because of His gift of the Holy Spirit.
Deep conversations... we have all had them. These are the conversations which draw you closer to another person. It could be about something that happened in their childhood, a broken relationship with their kids, or where they thought they would be by the time they were forty. The normal way a casual conversation moves from one trivial thing to another stops, and you settle in for the deep dive. You enter more deeply into one topic and discover you have grown close, very close to another human being.
Something like that is happening in our Gospel reading from John. Jesus is having a deep conversation with His disciples. Only, instead of finding themselves brought closer to Jesus, they are brought closer to the Holy Spirit and to the fullness of God’s work through Jesus in the world.
Jesus is telling His disciples that He is about to depart from them. Saying “good-bye” is difficult. Think of the moment when you left your kid at college, your mom at the skilled care center, or your best friend after her job relocation. You cannot help but compare what life was like before to what life is going to be like now. You are overwhelmed, not by the presence of the other person, but by their absence.
What would the world be like without Jesus? The disciples would no longer be able to look at Him. They would not be able to see the look on His face as He looks out on the world. They would no longer be able to carry the sick close enough for Jesus to lay His hands on them. They would not hear the quiet compassion in His voice as He responds to their questions or the strength in His tone as He corrects their misunderstandings. Jesus is going away, and they are left behind in a world where they would rather not live without Him.
But Jesus is not just going away. He is going to be killed. And His death will begin a larger persecution. His followers will come under attack. They, themselves, may be killed. Jesus is going to leave them in a world which is less safe and farther from beautiful than they can bear.
But in this text, Jesus tells His disciples that His departure is a good thing. It is for their advantage. “Nevertheless, 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” (verse 7).
Jesus knows He is not just going to die. He is also going to rise from the dead. His death on the cross will be His victory over sin, death, and the Devil. The sin which plagues His people, the sin that caused God to flood the Earth, to rain down fire and brimstone from Heaven, to cut off food and water to His people, to send them into exile to live among a strange people with even stranger speech, that sin will finally be set right. All of God’s anger and all of God’s judgment will be laid on Him and He will carry it away. Jesus will then rise from the dead and bring all of God’s grace and all of God’s promises to bear upon His people.
When Jesus goes away, He goes to His Father. He will ascend into Heaven and be seated on the right hand of the throne of God. He will rule over all things. There is nothing that can defeat Him and He will bring about a new creation where goodness and righteousness reign. The Kingdom of God will be established, and nothing will be able to overcome it.
There is nothing that can defeat Him and He will bring about a new creation where goodness and righteousness reign.
As part of that restoration, Jesus promises to send His Holy Spirit. As He says to His disciples, this is the good news of His going away. No, they will not be physically present with Jesus as they were before, but He will be with them in an even deeper and richer way. Jesus will send His Holy Spirit to help them and guide them.
Today, the Church celebrates Jesus sending the Holy Spirit. Jesus fulfilled His promise. He sent His Holy Spirit into the world, opening the mouths of the disciples, the hearts of the people, and the gates of the Kingdom to the gracious working of God.
Saying good-bye is indeed difficult. It can leave you in a world which seems less alive because of the absence of your loved one. But when Jesus leaves His disciples, He leaves them in a world that is more fully alive because of His gift of the Holy Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are drawn closer to Jesus. Think about the wideness of God’s mercy at work in the Spirit. The apostle Paul celebrates the gifts of the Spirit. Service and teaching, leading and encouraging, giving and showing mercy (Romans 12:6-8). Wisdom and knowledge and faith and healing and miracles (1 Corinthians 12:8-11) are His. When the Church is conflicted in Galatia, Paul reminds them of the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). When suffering takes our words away, the Spirit continues to speak for us (Romans 8:26). When we feel lost in the world, the Spirit lives in our hearts reminding us that we are the children of God (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit speaks to us through the Scriptures, brings life through the water and the Word, and gathers us together around the table of Jesus where we remember Him and receive Him in His body and blood.
Yes, Jesus is leaving His disciples. But He has this deep conversation with them so that, when He leaves, they grow closer not only to Him but to the Holy Spirit and to the gracious work of God in the world.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on John 15:26-27, 16:4-15.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 15:26-27, 16:4-15.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 15:26-27, 16:4-15.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. James Busher of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through John 15:26-27, 16:4-15.
