Christ's Consolations

Well, go ahead and take your Bible this morning. Turn with me to John chapter 16. You should have that place, that chapter in your Bible, well-worn by now, John chapter 16. This morning, we will finish up the chapter covering verses 25 to 33. John chapter 16 starting in verse 25, going on down to verse 33. Now, we're still in our journey together through the Gospel of John. Now, it might surprise some of you, but we have been in the Gospel of John a little over three years. We started in 2015 on March the 1st, and it has taken us a long time to cover these chapters, chapters 1 to 16.

Now, if you know your Gospel, you know that there are five more chapters to go. So we're in for a little more time in this journey, and I look forward to this. I love the Word of God. I love studying and teaching the Word of God, and I also love discovering and allowing the Word to teach me as I go. Now, I hope and pray that that is your heart. I hope and pray that you have enjoyed being under the Word, and if you have not enjoyed this teaching, I'm afraid to say you need to ask yourself some questions, serious questions. Why? Now, in our verses this morning, we're going to find ourselves in a transition.

We're finishing up all this teaching since the Last Supper, and we're facing in chapter 17 what scholars call the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. If we look at all that Jesus has taught since the Last Supper, primarily we have seen Jesus teach on His departure to the cross and the future and the giving of the Holy Spirit to them. Of course, there was other teaching in the mix. Jesus taught of this abiding in Him back in chapter 15, and then He also taught multiple times on the great love that they were to have for one another. Now a question, what is this transition?

Since the Last Supper, Jesus' teaching has mostly brought about confusion and despair in the lives of the disciples. Honestly, we have seen a lot of gloom and doom, have we not? Now we will see a bright ray of sunshine in these verses. We will see a change in the disciples, and for some of us, we might say it's about time that these guys get some of this. Well, in application, I turn that around, and I wonder how many times the Lord looks at us and says it's about time some of them get some of the things I've been teaching them. I think we're a lot more like the disciples than we know. So we see a transition.

They move from despair to a level of confidence, and this is right before we get into the high priestly prayer, like I said earlier. And this is the last of His teaching before His arrest. Now I'll give you the title of the message and how we will break down these verses. This is what I call Christ's Consolations. Christ's Consolations. We'll see comforting promises given to the disciples in verse 25 and there to the first part of verse 27. We see a concrete faith expressed by the disciples. That's from verse 27 to verse 30. We see Christ challenge them. Verse 31 and 32, and then one more verse at the end, Christ's comfort out of verse 33.

Now let's read our verses together. I pray that you're taking notes. You have an adequate amount of time as we progress through the message to take notes. We want to go back and be good students and study what we are learning. We need to do this in our personal life and in our families as well. Let's look at verse 25 on down to verse 33. These things I have spoken to you in figurative or proverbial language. An hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in this figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.

In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will request the Father on your behalf, for the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and it believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world, and I am leaving the world again and going back or going to the Father. Verse 29, His disciples said, "Now you are speaking plainly and are not using proverbial or a figure of speech. Now we know that you know all things and have no need for anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.

Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe, behold an hour is coming and has already come for you to be scattered, each to his own home and to leave me alone? And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.'" And then this last verse of comfort, verse 33, "These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage. I have overcome the world." Here we will see Jesus teach in such a way where the disciples finally express their faith confidently. Of course Jesus meets them right where they are and gives them right where they need, which is what He has done all along.

So let's look at our first major truth in our outline. Truth number one, comforting promises. Jesus gives comforting promises starting in verse 25. Now within these verses we see that Jesus makes three promises. Two promises pertain to their future. They are not realities in their lives as of yet. One is a current reality that they do enjoy. I say they are comforting because we see that this teaching seems to bring a level of confidence or comfort to the disciples, a confidence that we have not seen in them in quite a while. Now I want to examine these three promises. These would be considered sub-points in our outline.

So let's look at these three promises. First, a coming understanding. A coming understanding. Verse 25, "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language. An hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father." Now notice two times this figurative language is used. The English standard uses figures of speech. The King James uses the word proverbs or proverbial speech. This speaks of obscure or enigmatic language. This speaks of a meaning which is below the surface. This meaning must be searched for or it must be revealed. Now notice there's a reference to the past.

Go back to the beginning of verse 25. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language. Here Jesus is saying that he had taught the kingdom truths in a proverbial manner. The meaning had been below the surface. It had been difficult for them to understand. The meaning had to be searched for or it had to be revealed. Have we not seen that in them? They could not understand these truths. But now notice there's a reference to the future. Go back to the verse again.

"An hour is coming when I will speak to you no more in figurative language, but I will speak plainly of the Father." Here Jesus is saying that an hour is coming when he will no longer speak in this obscure, enigmatic manner. He says he will plainly speak of them of the Father. Now we need to notice when this will occur because this is futuristic. This happens after the giving of the Holy Spirit. There is a distinguishable difference in the disciples after the Holy Spirit comes, after they're filled with the Spirit. Then they will have understanding because he the Spirit will remind them of the things that Jesus had taught them.

So this is a coming understanding. Then the second promise, a position in prayer. Verse 26, "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will request a Father on your behalf." Here just as in verses 23 to 24 we see Jesus refer to their future prayer life. He says, "In that day," but notice that Jesus does not say that he will intercede for them in that day. You might not have noticed that, so let's go back to the verse. "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will request a Father on your behalf." Notice that Jesus does not say that he will intercede for them.

This is a notable difference from what he has said previously in other teaching. In John chapter 14 verse 16, Jesus said that he will intercede for them. But here in chapter 16, Jesus clearly states that he would not be interceding for them at this future time. Now why is there such a difference? This could be confusing to us. This prayer in chapter 14 pertains to the prayers of Jesus during his earthly ministry. This prayer spoken of in chapter 16 refers to a new era for his disciples.

After Jesus' work on earth is complete and he is back at the right hand of the Father, then his redemptive work is complete, after which Christ is the perfect and perpetual intercession for his people. In that day when the disciples do come to God in prayer, they can come straight to the Father based on Christ's perfect priestly work. This is what the first portion of verse 26 means. They come straight to the Father in his name because of his perpetual and perfect intercession. So this is an entirely new position in prayer for them. And then the third promise, which is the current one, they're living out, the Father's love.

Look at the beginning of verse 27. "For the Father himself loves you." Here we see the reason why Christ will not intercede for them. The Father loves them because of their relationship with the Son. Christ has made the way possible for a loving relationship with the Father and that is what they would enjoy. This is the Father's love that they enjoy. So in summary, what have we seen in these verses? What have we learned? The disciples, they received three wonderful promises. In that day, they will have understanding of all of these things. The cloudy confusion will give way to clear understanding.

Also they will be able to come straight to the Father because of the finished work of Christ. And this was all possible because of the complete and perfect work of Christ in redemption and specifically in redeeming these men. Now an application, I want to work in reverse. I want to start at verse 27 and work my way back up to verse 25. We need to see that we live in the Father's love. That is if we're born again, if there's been a place and time in our life when Christ has come and He has revealed Himself to us and He has enabled us to trust and faith and repent of our sin and we become a new creation in Christ.

I'm not talking about a cultural Christian. I mean if we are in Christ, we're in the Father's love. We are living in that verse, "For the Father Himself loves you." That is the position that we have before God the Father. God loves us. We are in right relationship with the Father because we are in right relationship with the Son. And we are experiencing that perfect perpetual intercession. And so we have an open highway straight to the Father. That's what we see here. The disciples, they would enjoy that and we enjoy that. We need to see that.

I'm afraid many of us feel like we have to weasel our way before the Father or bargain our way before the Father or confess our way before the Father or work our way before the Father. Anything that we do that we think we have to do to get before the Father outside of Christ is flesh and works. So we need to see when we're born again, we're in the Father's love and we can come straight to God. Working back up, we need to see that we can come straight to the Father because Christ is our perfect perpetual intercession. We have a position like no people on the face of the earth. We can come to the Father in Jesus' name.

That's what this phrase means. I'm afraid that the Charismatics and the Pentecostals have abused what that means. It doesn't mean that we can come and in Jesus' name claim this and claim that and get this and get that. No. Because we are blood-bought and we are identified with Christ, we come in Jesus' name. And that is the only way we can come openly to the throne of God. And then we need to see that there is a future understanding for us in Christ. There is an understanding that we have now, but as we walk with God, we gain understanding about circumstances in life, understanding about His Word, how it applies to us, why trials come.

We gain more and more understanding. We grow in that understanding and that produces maturity. That produces maturity in the Word and in our knowledge of God and in our Christian faith. And we have more and more understanding. That's what we see in these disciples. This progressive sanctification. I was sharing with Brother Keith this morning. What we see here is we see crisis, trial, growth, and understanding. That's what happens in them. And if we follow them, this comes up even more in their lives. You track faster into the Gospel, or excuse me, the Book of Acts, the Acts of the Apostles. What do we see?

The Gentiles start coming into the Church. So they have crisis. They have trial. And in Acts 15, they have a great Jerusalem council and they look into the Word and then God gives them understanding. They grow in maturity and they move on. And that's what goes on in our life. Crisis and trial. And then when we embrace that, understanding and growth. And that's what we have. They came to a new place of understanding. Let's move on in our second major truth. In our outline, a concrete faith.

We see right here a concrete faith starting in verse 27, "For the Father Himself loves you." And it changes right here with this word because, "Because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth from the Father." I came forth from the Father and have come into the world and I am leaving the world again and going to the Father. Now notice in verse 29, they respond. They respond. His disciples said, "Now you are speaking plainly and are not using this proverbial speech or figures of speech. Now we know that you know all things and you have no need for anyone to question you.

By this we believe that you came from God." Now here we see a fresh, I mean a fresh view of the disciples. For so long we have seen them in confusion. We've seen them lack understanding. There seems to have only been a few times when we have seen their faith expressed. Nonetheless, we do know that their faith was a true faith. There are three observations that I want to make here. Again these are sub-points under the second major point, that concrete faith. First notice the disciples' genuine faith. The disciples' genuine faith.

Verse 27, "For the Father Himself loves you because..." Look, "because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth from the Father." Here just in this small portion of verse 27, we see a great expression of this genuine faith. Now, this text uses two verbs that communicate this genuine faith. The verb "loved" and "believed." Go back, "because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father." The construction of these verbs is key to understanding this. Both of these verbs are in the perfect tense, meaning that there is continuance. This is an ongoing work in their life.

Simply this means that these things happen yesterday, they are happening now, and they will continue in the future. Now in introducing these verses, I said that we have only seen this genuine faith expressed a few times. One of the greatest examples is in John chapter 6, that great two-day event. When Jesus feeds the 5,000, they are at the end of that two-day event. In verse 69, "All of the crowds that left Jesus, and He asks His disciples if they were going to leave as well." And what did they say? We have believed and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

Both of these verbs, believed and come to know, are in the perfect tense as well. But notice one more layer, if I can say it this way. Notice the source. They believe that He is from the Father. This indicates at the center of their faith that they believe and that they know that Christ is from God. This indicates a genuine faith in the disciples. Our second observation, notice Christ's work. Look at verse 28. "I came forth from the Father, and I have come into the world. I am leaving the world again and going to the Father, or back to the Father." Here we have what one Bible commentator called a great movement of salvation.

Christ came from heaven to the earth and back to the Father again. Here in this one statement, we have the reality of Christ's work. We also see essential truths just in this verse, this one verse. First, He came down. Isn't that what we see in the text? This speaks of the incarnation of Christ. We've learned about the incarnation all through the Gospel of John. He was the God-Man. While on earth, He was fully God and fully man. As a matter of fact, if you remember the title of the series, what is it? Christ the Son of God. So this speaks of the incarnation. He came down. Then second, He was in the world.

He was in the world for one purpose, and that was for the redemption of man. He journeyed to the cross to suffer the wrath of God in man's place. He was that substitutionary death, that propitiation out of 1 John 2, 2. And then third, He went back to heaven. He went back to heaven. This is the Father's approval of the Son, and this is the Father's approval of His redemptive work. It was finished. Redemption was secured for man. So right here in verse 28, we see Christ's redemptive work. And then third, this third observation, the disciples' confident faith. Look at verse 29.

They're responding to this, and the disciples said, "Now you are speaking plainly, and are not using proverbial speech, figures of speech. Now we know that you know all things, and have no need for anyone to question you. And by this we believe that you came from God." Here in verse 29, it finally seems that the disciples were beginning to understand this teaching. He is obviously speaking more plainly to them. Then in verse 30, we see them make a confident profession. And it is important to see what profession they make. They profess that Jesus knew all things, and He had come from God.

This is not a profession of understanding in all of these matters. They were far from understanding all that was about to happen, but we do see a true and confident faith expressed from the disciples. So in summary, what do we see here? We've seen a fresh view of the disciples. They are expressing a genuine, a concrete faith. Although they have no way of understanding all that is going to take place, they truly do love Christ. They truly do believe in Christ. And I think this was a boost for them. I do. I think that the way Jesus dealt with them, it boosted them.

They were able to finally see through that fog make of confusion, although there was so much more for them to learn. Now, what must we apply out of these verses, this concrete faith? I think that we need to look at the language specifically. We need to learn from this language. What did we learn? They were in a position of loving Christ, of believing in Christ, and knowing Christ, if I use the language from John 6 as well. This is continual. What that means is, they were saying, "We loved you yesterday. We love you today, and we will love you tomorrow. We believed in you yesterday. We believe in you today, and we will believe in you tomorrow.

We knew you yesterday. We know you now, and we will continue to know you tomorrow." Is that the kind of salvation that you have? So many people have made professions of faith. I'm not trying to be critical. I'm not trying to be ugly. So many people have decided to follow Christ. You can't decide to follow Christ? No. You must be born again. How did Jesus deal with Nicodemus? He was the most religious man probably on the face of the earth. And He said, "You must be born again. You must have what can only come down from heaven." And that's what these men had. They had come to a place of knowing God. Does that happen to you? Do you know God?

Are you in a perpetual state of belief in loving God? I'm not talking about perfection. See, this is not a profession. This is a possession, but it's more than a possession. They were in Christ. Isn't that what we learned there in John 15? Abiding in Christ? So many people have professed Christ, but yet they're not abiding in Christ. They identify with Christ maybe like they identify with a particular presidential candidate. They identify with Christ about like they identify with different convictions in their life. See, it's just adding Christ, but that's not what we have here. And I ask you again, is this happened for you?

Is this the reality that you live in? Let's continue on. Let's look at our third major truth out of verses 31 and 32. Christ's challenge. Christ's challenge to His disciples. Answer them. Do you now believe behold an hour is coming and has already come for you to be scattered each to his own home and to leave me alone? And yet not I am not alone because the father is with me. Here we have Jesus give his men something they probably did not get. He gave them a reality check. He gave them a good sobering up right here. If they had understood it all, it must have felt like a sucker punch in the gut because they just said the right words.

Christ knowing all things gave them this challenge, a dose of reality. Now I want to break this down. Three observations are sub points I want to see here. First I want you to see the disciples in the tour of faith. Look at verse 31. Jesus answered them and said, do you now believe? Here we see Jesus question the disciples faith. One commentator I came across stated that this was more of an explanation than a question. Now he was not questioning the validity of their faith. It was genuine. It was concrete. Through this question, he was showing them the inadequacy of their faith. He was showing them their immaturity.

Jesus was not deceived by their confident yet untested profession. He knew them and he knew what was about to take place. And he challenged them in their faith. And it was an immature faith. The second observation, Jesus disciples abandonment. Verse 32, behold an hour is coming and has already come for you to be scattered each to his own home and to leave me alone. Here Jesus makes what had to be a sobering statement. This had to be a sucker punch. Earlier I said that it felt like it had to feel like a sucker punch. They had just professed a true and accurate faith and now Jesus is telling them that they will be scattered.

They will be quitters. He is telling them that they will leave him all alone. Whether or not they understood it, Jesus is telling them that they will not pass the test. They will abandon him, thus revealing their immaturity in the faith. And then the third observation, Christ's union with the Father. Notice where the Lord gets His comfort. And yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. Here we see that Jesus places His confidence in the one who would never abandon Him. That is the Father. Here He states that when it appears that all have forsaken Him, the Father is with Him. So what do we see here?

What do we learn out of these two verses? Christ challenges their faith and He reveals the inadequacy of their faith. It was genuine. It was true. It was concrete. But it was inadequate for the test that was about to envelop them before they must have exuded with confidence. Now it seems that Jesus is giving them the bitter medicine of humility. Of course we know that this is part of their growth. This is good for them. Now it's very important for us to see here an application. As a born again Christian, we must see that Christ challenges our faith. He allows circumstances, a whole myriad of circumstances to come our way.

And they are to challenge our faith and to reveal to us our faith. We might use this language of testing. God tests us. One of the greatest tests in scripture is the test of Abraham. God tested Abraham. And God called Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. That was a test. Now a question, did God know what Abraham was going to do? Yes. Oh, but the test is this. Abraham did not know what Abraham was going to do. And that's the same with us. When he allows circumstances to challenge us, it is to prove to us who we are and therefore to do a work in us. Therefore for us to be grown through that challenge. I ask you a question.

How have you reacted to challenges to your faith in the past? Now think back with me with all that we've learned with the backdrop of what we've seen. How have you reacted to challenges? Challenges come from people. Challenges sometimes come from people that we know and love and trust. Challenges sometimes come through family. Challenges come through work environments. Challenges come through sickness. Oh, there's a whole myriad of challenges that come our way. And about the time we feel like we've got the challenges figured out, God allows another one to come that we've never seen. How have you reacted to challenges to your faith?

If Christ showed us how we would react to certain challenges, I believe we would probably be disappointed. I believe we would have to humbly say, "Lord, I'm not as strong and mature. I'm not as spirit filled as I thought I was." I think if the Lord will reveal to us how we would react in the future, we would have to hang our head low in humility because we're probably not as mature as we think we are. And in time, we should mature. When challenges come, trials and tests come, listen, they blast us, they envelop us, but listen, if we embrace them in Christ, we grow and become stronger and stronger.

And Christ challenges us, and we need these challenges. Now our fourth, our last major truth in our outline, we see Christ's comfort, this last verse, Christ's comfort. These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world. Here we see Jesus in this teaching with the flavor of peace and victory. This is a peace and victory that He wants to communicate to the disciples. Now I like how the Bible commentator Leon Morris deals with this. He points out three contrasts, and I'm going to use those contrasts and build off those contrasts.

Let's observe these contrasts, then I'll make another observation after. The first contrast, notice in me, is set over and against in the world. Look at that back in the verse. These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. So what is He saying? Jesus is making a contrast in Him as opposed to in the world. The second contrast, you may have is over and against you have. Go back to the verse. These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have. In the world you have. What do we see? He is showing what they may have over and above what they do have in the world. That contrast.

The third contrast is peace over and against tribulation. Go back. These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. Look at the contrast. He is telling them that they have peace in Him while in the world it's nothing but tribulation. You see those contrasts? But notice one more or last observation or statement. At the end of the verse, Jesus boldly declares that He has overcome the world. Go back. But take courage. I have overcome the world. This is the climactic statement of peace and victory. He is Lord so He has overcome the world in all that they would face in the world.

That's where their peace comes from. So in this one verse what have we seen? We've seen peace. We've seen victory. We've seen consolation from Christ to these weak but genuine disciples. And for us in application we need to see that the in me life is where we have peace and victory. Go back to the verse. These things I have spoken to you that in me. See that's not a profession of faith people. That's not just this cultural identification with Christ. It doesn't matter if you profess Christ. What matters is if you're in Christ. And what do we see? The in me life is where we have peace. The in me life is where we have victory.

That is where our consolation in trial comes from. That is where our victory comes from. It's being in Him. That tells us that we can walk through the deepest and the darkest and the broadest storm in life and still have victory and peace. Why? Because we're in Him. It doesn't matter who we are. If we're in Him no matter what comes our way to challenge our faith we can have victory and peace. Now in conclusion I want to remind you of where we have just come from. Like I said earlier we're finishing up chapter 16. So many of the previous verses that we've looked at have showed us the disciples despair.

In verse 6 Jesus said that their hearts were full of sorrow. This is run all through these verses. It is fair to say that their hearts were full of two things. First their lack of understanding. All through these verses they never understood. They were more confused about Jesus teaching than understanding of Jesus teaching. And then second this great sorrow. He was leaving them so they were in despair. This had dashed all of their plans. In this quick review all that has gone on in the hearts of this disciples from the Last Supper shows us a lack of understanding and great sorrow. Now let's look ahead.

We see at the beginning of chapter 17 we see this great high priestly prayer. All of these verses are a prayer. And then immediately after Jesus is arrested by the Roman soldiers, the Roman authorities. So what do we see? Tucked in between this teaching on despair and the arrest of Jesus we have great consolation. This brings out a genuine expression of a true concrete faith. Although it was inadequate, although it was immature, it was genuine. And I wonder how many of us have an inadequate, immature faith. We are not usable to the church. These men were not usable right here. It took a greater work in them.

And how many of us are not usable to the church? We are not usable to other brothers and sisters as we should be. We are not usable to build the church as we should be. And we need the church to build us. We're far more like the disciples in John 16 than we know. So my challenge for you and for me and for us as we close and move on from chapter 16 is to examine our lives and to pray and to ask the Lord to reveal to us, are we more like a John 16 disciples? But yet we think we're more like Acts 2 disciples. Maybe we have a genuine faith. Maybe we're true born-again Christians. But we're not as usable as we think we are.

We need someone to teach us when we should be teaching others. We need someone to help us along when we should be helping others. But like I said all along, praise the Lord for the Lord's patience here because that's what we see demonstrated in these disciples. May the Lord meet us in our immaturity and inadequacy and move us to maturity, victory and great usefulness. Let's pray.