Holiness and Truth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”
John 17:13-19 NLT

Jesus prayed, “Make them holy by Your truth”, and He mentioned this again at the end of verse 19. What did He mean by this? How can truth make us holy? To answer that we have to consider the two words involved. God’s holiness is His absolute and complete perfection. In God there is not even a hint of unrighteousness. Everything about God is perfect. Perfect love. Perfect grace. Perfect everything. And this applies to truth as well. His truth is the only and perfect truth. God’s truth is absolute. So, in God, the one doesn’t make the other. He is perfect holiness and perfect truth. So, from that bedrock, that foundation, we then turn to what the Bible says.

Peter wrote to believers in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy””. Over the page we read, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). So, believers must aspire to be holy just as God is. But becoming holy is a lifetime’s work. Sin is always knocking at the doors of our hearts and we must stay close to Jesus and His cross for our redemption and forgiveness. The process of becoming holy we call sanctification and it is a major part of our pilgrimage to Heaven.

But how can truth make us holy? Jesus helped in His prayer when he said, “teach them Your Word, which is truth”. The Bible, God’s Word, is a gold mine of truths, all of which will make us holy, if we apply them to our lives. For example, we read the Ten Commandments and find truths for holiness. We read the Beatitudes and find more. But something we soon find is that holiness cannot be achieved through our own efforts. The Pharisees tried it, and, full of pride, thought that they had achieved it. Matthew 23, though, records what Jesus thought about the Pharisees, and His closing words include, “Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). 

We pilgrims are a sanctified people, a people who are set apart from the worldliness around us. In bygone days, some excluded themselves from society, dedicating their lives to being monks or nuns, people who dedicated their lives to prayer. They declared their sanctified status by dressing and living in a certain way, and the custom even continues today, with the ministers of certain denominations wearing what are called “dog collars”. But true sanctification is what is happening in a person’s heart. The outward signs of holiness must start inside. Jesus said in Matthew 23:25-26, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too“. 

Step by step we pilgrims march on, and in the process we pursue a life of holiness. We allow the Holy Spirit to reveal within us the parts that are making us unholy, and we slowly do what He suggests, always bearing in mind Hebrews 12:14, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord“. “Working” at becoming holy is not an easy process but thankfully God is patient.

Dear God. Only you are holy. Only You have the Words to help us and the grace to make it happen. We worship You today. Amen.

Spirit of Truth

Posted on by korgrocker

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
John 16:12-15 NLT

Earlier in John 14 we read, “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. …” Jesus is now re-affirming the work of the Holy Spirit, by saying, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth”. Jesus, of course, always told the truth. In fact, He sometimes preceded what He had to say with a confirmation that it was true. For example, John 8:58 reads, “Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”” The King James Version of this verse starts with “Verily, verily”, a double assurance that the truth, the absolute truth, is behind Jesus’ words. But as Pilate famously said to Jesus, on trial before Him, “What is truth?”, a question influenced by a confused and rudderless society, where finding truth is elusive. This is because our world is in the hands of the devil, who Jesus warned us about when He said to the Pharisees, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). So we find endless definitions of the “truth” coming from the lips of our fellow members of society, truths that will dissolve before God’s gaze like snow before a hot sun. Truth is something that has to be absolute reality, and as such it as engaged philosophers for generations without a secular conclusion. Only God’s truth can bring an answer.

A well known saying from Jesus can be found in John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. Jesus is the truth. So the records of His teachings in the Bible are truth, and when He left this world He sent Holy Spirit to continue His mission of telling the truth. And through Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, we are also a source of truth. But the truth Jesus brought, and the truth the Holy Spirit guides us in, is anathema to the world around us. They only what to hear the lies that affirm their sins and evil ways. But we pilgrims are privileged in that we have access to the Truth, Jesus Himself.

Dear Father God. All truth emanates from You. Please help us to share it with those around, as You lead and guide us in Your ways. Amen.

Conviction of Judgement

Posted on by korgrocker

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.”
John 16:7-11 NLT

The Holy Spirit, or the Advocate, as Jesus referred to Him, has a ministry to both believers and unbelievers. Jesus said, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment“. Jesus didn’t come into this world two thousand years ago to judge it. His mission was to save it, as we read in John 3:17, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus went on to say, “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (John 3:18-19).

So, inevitably, the sin of unbelief, and all that follows it, will one day have to be judged. And the Apostle John, in his Revelation on the Island of Patmos, wrote down what will happen. “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:11-12). It is often a great comfort to me, and others as well, that one day the scales of justice will be balanced. The people who have committed crimes against God and their fellow members of society will be called to give an account. Every careless thought, every misdemeanour, every sinful act, will all be written down in Heavenly books, and one by one they will be read out for everyone to hear, followed by the pronouncement from the Throne – guilty. We read in Revelation 20:15, “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” A terrifying occasion don’t we think? But thankfully, those who believe in Jesus will find that their names are written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

When will all this happen? We don’t know, although the previous chapters of Revelation provide some sort of timeline of events that will happen before Jesus returns. In a sense though, judgement has already started, as we read from John 3:18. The influence of the Holy Spirit in an unsaved person’s life will lead that person to the realisation that he is guilty, that God is just, and that all sinners are deserving of judgment. And we’re so thankful that God has it all in hand.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Holy Spirit, without whom we would be disempowered people. Amen.


Conviction of Righteousness

Posted on by korgrocker

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.”
John 16:7-11 NLT

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will come after Jesus has left this world. We know what Jesus promised to believers – Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth ….” (John 14:16-17a). But Holy Spirit also has a mission to unbelievers. Previously we considered the ministry of conviction of sin, and now come to the second part of His ministry, the conviction of righteousness. God’s righteousness is absolute. His standards are far above those of human beings, and human efforts can never attain to them without God’s help.

In human terms, righteousness relies on a set of rules, regulations and morals, which, if kept, lead to a claim of self-righteousness. But if we bring our rules, regulations and morals to God and allow Him to show His spotlight of truth upon them we soon find that, in fact, they do not come anywhere near the standards that God requires. Isaiah wrote, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6). We may feel that what we do, or how we behave, falls into the category of righteousness, but Titus 3:4-5 says differently, “But— When God our Saviour revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

The Pharisees believed that if they completely kept to the Law of Moses then they would become righteous in God’s sight. But Paul wrote otherwise, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are” (Romans 3:20). In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” I’m sure those religious leaders were quite upset by Jesus’ words.

The Holy Spirit convicts people of their lack of righteousness by pointing them to Jesus. He was, and is, the only Man who has ever been totally righteous. He is God’s only standard of righteousness. He is the only source of truth, and is the only way to Father God.

Dear Lord Jesus. We worship You, the only Source of sinless righteousness. Only You are the way, the truth and the life. Amen.


Conviction of Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.”
John 16:7-11 NLT

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, was hovering in the wings, waiting for the time when Jesus left this world. He told His disciples that it was best for them if He went away, but I can just imagine them wondering about what all this means. You see, we pilgrims today have the benefit of hindsight, but the disciples were heading into, what was to them, unknown territory. They heard what Jesus said, but His words took them well outside their knowledge and comfort zones. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would do something about sin, righteousness and judgement. He would  “convict the world” on all three counts. In a court of law, a convicted person is then sentenced to some form of punishment. But the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit is the exposure of the truth, showing unbelieving people that they are wrong and God is right.

This world is a sinful place, steeped in evil and wickedness. Sin first entered this world in the Garden of Eden and things have only worsened since. But I have met people who are convinced that they are not sinners because they claim to be “good people”. They say they don’t engage in what they perceive as sinful practices, like drinking excessively or taking drugs or going to places or doing things, they shouldn’t. In fact, they say, they do a lot of good work, befriending people, donating to the poor and charities, working in food banks, and so on. But none of this will mitigate their sin. Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. Imagine that God’s pass mark, His “glorious standard”, was 100%. We then take a test that assess our sinlessness. And it may be that someone gets 50%. Another might even achieve 60%. Or another person, a bit of a rogue, might only get to 20%. But the results are the same – these three people are all defined as sinners because they didn’t reach the pass mark – 100%. And God has no time for a person’s excuse that he is better than another person – Paul said “everyone has sinned”.

We pilgrims know that we can preach the Gospel with passion and authority, but a sinful person will laugh at us, well, that is, until the Holy Spirit takes over, bringing conviction of sin. The gateway to repentance comes because the Holy Spirit will show a person that his or her lack of belief in God is sin. It is not the responsibility of us pilgrims to get people saved. The Holy Spirit will do that in a much more effective way. We deliver the message. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin. It may be that we have to persevere with our message, grasping every opportunity to present it, but the listeners have a choice, in the same way that we did before we became believers.

Father God. You have a plan for the salvation of mankind and we are Your willing messengers, sharing the Good News with the unbelieving people around us. Please lead us to the right people. In Jesus name. Amen.

Jesus Knows Best

Posted on by korgrocker

““But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”
John 16:5-7 NLT

How often is it that a parent tells a child, or even a young adult, that they know what is best for them? The foul-tasting medicine. The rules governing bedtimes. The boring homework. Warnings about the company they are keeping. Sometimes the list seems endless, according to the complaints of some children. However, most knuckle down and do as they are told, but others rebel and eventually go their own way, to a life of under achieving or drugs and crime.

But Jesus was in a much more positive place with His disciples. He had assured them, “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you” (John 14:8). And earlier, “Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going” (John 13:33). By such references comparing them with children, Jesus was saying that He knew what was best for them. The disciples didn’t know who this “Advocate” was. But Jesus was asking the disciples to trust Him. Eleven of them did, but we all know about the one who didn’t. Jesus knew best, and He explained that if He didn’t leave them then they would be unable to experience something that was better. We can just imagine the Father and the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, looking on as the events unfurled before them.

We pilgrims are in a place where the Holy Spirit is doing His work. When we were birthed as new Christians, we believed in Jesus, deciding to follow Him all our days and repenting of our sins. We were baptised in water and we received the Holy Spirit. The scene was set two thousand or so years ago, when the Holy Spirit dramatically entered the lives of ordinary men and women, assembled in that upper room. And He hasn’t left this world ever since. Jesus sent Him to His disciples and he sent Him to us as well. Jesus knows best.

Dear Lord Jesus. Like a good parent, You knew what was best for Your followers, and we are so grateful for Your presence in our lives through the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Faith Abandoned

Posted on by korgrocker

“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.”
John 16:1 NLT

We must start by reviewing the “things” that Jesus spoke about. In the previous chapter in John’s Gospel, Jesus taught His disciples about love and obedience, but He also warned them that the world would hate them, the “world” referring to all those people who had rejected Him and who hated Him because they misunderstood or denied who He was, why He had come to Planet Earth, and the message that he had brought. And because they hated Jesus, then they would hate His disciples as well.  There is a saying that being forewarned is being forearmed, and that certainly was Jesus’ expectation for His disciples. His concern for His friends would have been realised but for one significant factor – the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t leaving them on their own, as orphans – John 14:18, “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you“. In those sobering days, Jesus encouraged His disciples with the assurance that He was not leaving them at all really. John 14:26, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you”. And the following verse records something applicable to all disciples everywhere and ever since, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).

So, Jesus’ message to His disciples was there was trouble ahead, but because He had talked through with them what was likely to happen, then, with the Holy Spirit within them, they would not abandon their faith. But we know from Acts 2 that rather than abandon their faith, the disciples, now Apostles, found that their faith was supercharged and was turned into action of such proportions that the world of their time was turned upside down. Such is the power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of ordinary men and women.

Today, we disciples of Jesus also know the consequences of believing in Jesus. And we too have the Holy Spirit within us. But is our faith supercharged? One verse that challenges me is Acts 4:31, “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness”. When was the last time that we had a prayer meeting so powerful that the building used to hold it was shaken? Or if we use Zoom for such events do our screens start wobbling with the power of the Holy Spirit? But sadly today, the prayer meetings tend to be the least well attended of all the church meetings, and limited to a shopping list of requests, any sign of power being absent. Much as Paul wrote to Timothy, ” ... having a form of godliness but lacking power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Acts 4:31 also tells us that those present were all filled with the Holy Spirit. But had they not already been filled just two chapters earlier? The problem is that we need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit”. The phrase “be filled” is the Greek continuous present tense and would be better translated, “be being filled”. We need to be constantly refilled with the Holy Spirit in our lives and all we have to do is ask. Matthew 7:11b, “ … how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Heavenly Father. We thank You for the many good gifts You have provided for us. Today we pray for a fresh infilling of Your Spirit, to enable us to face the day ahead with power and the assurance that You are there with us. Amen.

Much Fruit

Posted on by korgrocker

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
John 15:5, 8 NLT

It sounds so simple. We only have to stay wired into Jesus, remaining in Him, and He will remain in us. The problem is that we are human, and behave in ways that are not always Jesus-friendly. Paul wrote about this dilemma in Romans 7:21-23, where he wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me”. He then went on to write in the following verse, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” But then we have the climax in Romans 7:25-8:2, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death“.

It is because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we are able to remain in Jesus, and have the potential to “produce much fruit”. But what is the fruit referred to by Jesus? We must turn to Galatians 5:22-23 to find out, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”‭‭ We notice that Paul referred to fruit, not fruits. We have one fruit with nine flavours, and the Holy Spirit grows each within us, in every passing day. 

Jesus also taught about fruit in His Sermon on the Mount, as we can read what He said in Matthew 7:15-20. He finished by saying, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions“. Many years ago I attended a church business meeting, where the pastor’s remuneration was discussed. As a new Christian, I looked up to the people I had become acquainted with through the Sunday services, with their lofty prayers and knowledge of the Bible, their friendliness and gracious platitudes, but at the business meeting several of them behaved in ways I did not expect. They were angry, abusive, disagreeable and disrespectful. I was left disillusioned and it was only through a gracious and wise pastor that I continued my journey in the faith. Bad fruit? There’s a danger in behaving in that way, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:19, “So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire”.

But we all stumble and fall at times. Thankfully, God is gracious and kind and forgives all repentant sinners. He picks us up, dusts us down, and puts us back on the road to Glory. And the fruit continues to grow. 

Dear Patient and Loving Father. Through Jesus You know all our human frailties and help us in our times of need. Thank You. Amen.

The Aide-Memoir

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 14:25-26 NLT

One thing that gets worse with age is our memories. Memory loss is gradual and it affects some people more than others. As we get older we forget people’s names, for example, but then remember them  after a few minutes or later in the day. We can also forget appointments so we mitigate the effects by putting in place a system of reminders. Other people put their faith in “to do” lists, with phone or tablet apps or a paper and pencil providing the means. As many a preacher will know, asking a congregation about what he or she preached on the previous week can be demoralising, although many skilled orators will limit the amount of information and will use repetition to help audience retention. Buzz words and techniques such as catchy and related titles and sub-titles will also assist a congregation’s recall capacity. 

Jesus told His disciples that when He returns to His Heavenly home, He will send His representative, the Holy Spirit, who will have two main functions, teaching and reminding. I wonder what those early disciples were expecting? A physical presence sitting on their shoulders and whispering in their ears? Today we could perhaps imagine an “Alexa” or a “Siri” performing in the same way; after all smart phones seem to be ubiquitous. But the Holy Spirit was and is nothing like any man-made aid. Instead He is a gift from God, given to us through His grace and mercy and to fulfil the John 14:26 promise made by Jesus.

Another feature of the Holy Spirit is that non-believers do not have any knowledge of His presence at all. In John 14:17, Jesus said, “ …  The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you“. Not for the world are the benefits of believing in Jesus – the Holy Spirit is a special Person who comes to live within us to teach us all about the way to our ultimate spiritual home and to remind us of all the things that Jesus taught about. The first disciples had received three years or so of teaching from Jesus, teaching that was both by word, such as the parables favoured by the Master Preacher, but also through the day to day experiences, as they followed their Lord and God. It was, to them, all life-changing “stuff” but probably difficult to make sense of at the time. 

We pilgrims have the benefits of the written down words of the New Testament, but before we think that we don’t therefore need an aide-memoire, the teaching contained in the Scripture has to be applied to our daily lives. The Holy Spirit does favour an academic exercise or philosophical debate. We read in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is life changing and transformational. We transition from being a world-follower to being a God-follower and there is literally a “world” of a difference. Someone I know feels very inadequate because they cannot remember Scripture very well, but the amazing thing is that they find what they need in the recesses of their mind when an opportunity arises and requires it. Watching the Holy Spirit at work in another believer is a thing of joy. The Holy Spirit, a teaching aid and a memory aid. What an amazing God we serve and follow!

Dear Father God. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, allowing Your presence to be with us for ever. Amen.

Last Moments

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.”
John 14:23-25 NLT

A person’s last words carry much weight and importance. Many a film has included a cameo of an old or very sick person lying in a bed during their last hours, with friends or relatives hanging onto their every word, especially if these are few and far between, and their inheritance is at stake. But this scenario didn’t apply with Jesus. In His last hours He was fit and well, and He had much to say to His disciples. The shadow of the Cross was becoming shorter and He must have been feeling many emotions. Of course, the ever present thought of the pain and humiliation ahead of Him must have been uppermost in His mind.  Jesus would also have been looking forward to the joy of returning to His Heavenly home and being with His Father once again. But His primary concerns were for His disciples. How would they cope without Him? And it is true that they would have had no chance except for the Gift coming their way, the Holy Spirit. But in this interlude bounded by the Last Supper, and a few hours later, His arrest, Jesus had much to say to His friends. As we have already read, Jesus reassured them, “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live” (John 14:18-19). 

As a preface, Jesus told His disciples that the information He was making available to them was not something He was arbitrarily making up – His words originated with Father God Himself. In other words, what He was telling them could not have been more important. And He emphasised the significance of love and obedience, primary requirements in their relationship with Jesus that would underpin their future life without Him. 

We pilgrims are modern day disciples of Jesus; His teachings still apply today and will continue to do so until the end of time. So everything we are about, doing and thinking, must be conformant with the need to love Jesus and diligently be obedient to all His commands. But this is not a legalistic demand. There is no law or rule about loving God that can be quantified and applied. Such love comes out of a relationship with Jesus that motivates and guides us through all we do and say. And that love will define our obedience to His commands. Paul taught in Ephesians 4:21-24, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy“. Love and obedience to Jesus can only come from a new birth experience.

Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. Without Him and His truthful guidance, we would be incapable of living in the way Jesus demands. In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light“. Living the Jesus way, infiltrated with love and obedience, somehow puts us into a zone of Kingdom compliance that is surprisingly not nearly as hard as some make out. In Acts 26:14b, we read what Jesus said to Paul on the Damascus Road,“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will“. Paul had to come to the point where he totally abandoned his old self and way of living, and instead became a true believer living in the way of love and obedience to Jesus. And so it must be with us pilgrims, as we once again consider the last words of Jesus.

Dear Lord Jesus. We celebrate, because You are alive today. Thank You for Your love. Amen.