John 14:15-31
Jesus Promises a Counselor from God
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
John 15:18-27
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:5-16
5 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
John 16:25-33
The Disciples Believe at Last, But Their Faith Will Drift
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, 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 entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “You believe at last!” Jesus answered. 32 “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:26-28
The Holy Spirit Helps Us in Times of Weakness and Trials
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 1:7-9
You Will Be My Witnesses
7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
John 14:27
Jesus Gives a Peace, But Not as This World Give
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
When we are with people that we like, we grow closer to them...When we are with those people or friends for a period of years they seem to become a part of us, and a part of our lives...Take for instance in school, we meet friends and teachers we will like and remember and have great thoughts and memories about them for the rest of our lives...Some people have more than one special teacher they remember...Others have that one special teacher, who has become like a mentor to them...Good teachers prepare you for the future...And they will always be in your heart....
Jesus poured out His heart to His disciples the night of His arrest...He knew tomorrow He would be crucified on the cross...His disciples, who had been with Him for three years, would be alone (or at least without Him)...Their Teacher, whom they had drawn so close to them after three years would be leaving...They would never, ever forget Him...He is The Special Teacher not only to His disciples, but to us as well...Because He was such a Unique Teacher, the disciples would be lost for a period of time when He leaves...He knew they would struggle with fears and doubts without Him there....Jesus knew that they would need help, when He left them...So He tells them "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26 NKJV)...Jesus would send them a Helper, a Counselor, the Holy Spirit to help them, so they would not be alone...God would send them a Helper, a Counselor, who would help them after their Great Teacher would leave...This Helper would help and counsel them, and be God-sent and in the name of Jesus...Jesus would also call this Helper, a Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, and the Holy Spirit that is in us...This Spirit guides us toward the Truths in life, and draws us closer to the Light...It helps us in times of trials, our weaknesses, our troubles, and loneliness...The Holy Spirit would also would be a Helper for the Disciples after His death, and dealing with the loss of His Physical Presence, when He would ascend into heaven...
Jesus had been sent from God...Being the Son of God, His knowledge is complete...But not so for His disciples...They would have questions and have doubts...He was preparing His disciples for the future, of what would be happening and what they would be needing...They would need a Helper, the Holy Spirit to help them each day after He was gone...So the disciples would soon be without Jesus...
Jesus was on earth forty days after His resurrection...Jesus would soon give them this Great Commission...The disciples were to spread the word to all nations...The disciples were to make all the people of the world knowledgeable of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...The disciples were to be the their Teacher's eyewitness not only in the nearby towns of Jerusalem and Samaria and all of Judea, but also to the ends of the entire earth....They would certainly need help and counseling for this kind of future assignment...
So Jesus prepares them, knowing they would need help from the Counselor...He knew in His absence it would create this great void for them...They would at first be lost, and then they must bounce back and reflect on their faith and what He was currently saying...Their Teacher was giving them their final exam...Their test would be about faith...Their faith in Him...Did He get through to them?...They had told Him they believed and even Jesus says “You believe at last!”...“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” ...Jesus then tells them “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”...He is preparing them for the troubles they will face in the future...
This disciples are ready...And as Jesus said they would scatter and they would leave Him all alone, He would not be alone, because His Father is always with Him...They too must realize when He leaves that both Jesus and His Father would not leave them, they would not be alone...He would even have His Father send them the Helper, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit to be with them and to assist them...They would not be left as orphans, Jesus would always be with them in Spirit, the Holy Spirit...
Even though the disciples did abandon Him after His arrest, Jesus was not alone...God was with Him in Spirit...When are alone, and feel abandoned and alone, these are comforting verses...Jesus and His Father do not leave us alone as orphans...They are always near us in Spirit, the Holy Spirit...
When Jesus is arrested and then dies on the cross the disciples are confused, and their faith starts to drift... It takes the disciples a few days for their faith to come back (so to speak) and for them to regroup and realize all that has happened...These closest members and eyewitnesses of Jesus would have questions, be confused, and their own faith in Him would drift...This is comforting to know for me when I face tough circumstances...When are lives, minds, and hearts are completely focused on God, the disciples learn they can take whatever the Roman Empire, the traditional religious believers, the chief priests, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, and even what the whole world would throw at them...The disciples would soon learn and more importantly finally understand the peace and kind of peace Jesus was talking about...They could and would have this peace no matter what their circumstances, or what came at them from the world...
The Holy Spirit is there for us in times of our weakness, our trials, and our troubles...And through the Holy Spirit of the disciples, God's will got and is still getting done...Twelve fisherman, tax collectors, and common folk changed the Roman Empire to Christianity...And through these Twelve men, with God and His Son, have His name -now two thousand years later known to most of mankind, if not all nations, and to the ends of the earth...