The Little while and the End of the Discourse

“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 16:16–20.

"In effect, what He has said is: It is good for you that I go, for not till I become invisible physically, shall I be visible to you spiritually: I must be withdrawn from the eye of your flesh, before I can be seen by the eye of your mind." A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 436.

We often wonder what our faith would look like if we were the original followers of Jesus. When I say this, I mean actual followers of Him in His time here on earth. Would we be better Christians if we had? Or would we be just like we are today?

During this time when Jesus made this statement, the disciples had no conception of what He meant when he spoke these words. It was a mere riddle to them which again they did not understand; however the disciples were roused as a result of this saying and it sparked their curiosity. Jesus, looking at them and their faces knew an explanation was necessary. Note though how Jesus never explains the two types of seeing to them. This explanation would only have to be worked out through their own experiences in the future. And that future was fast approaching...

I find the next statement by Bruce to be hugely insightful into the human realm. "... from an ignorant implicit faith to a faith developed and intelligent; their initiation into the highest grade of the Christian mysteries, when they should see clearly things presently unintelligible, and be Epopts (one who is instructed in a secret system) in the kingdom of heaven." Furthermore he states; "It is a great thing to be regenerated, but it is a not less great thing to be illuminated." page 439. 

When Jesus disappears and goes to heaven, the disciples will then receive the Holy Spirit. He will be the spiritual light and life that will permeate their being. This Spirit will give them an enlarged comprehension of truth as He tells them; "In that day you will not question Me about anything."

 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 16:23.

In the coming days, no longer will they have to ask the questions like a child and their incapacity to understand the answers will be gone. Their childhood spirit will be replaced by the understanding spirit of adulthood. They will have an imparting from the Holy Spirit who give them knowledge into all things. All spiritual things!The mysteries of the kingdom will no longer be unknown to them and Jesus will be more real to them than He ever was when the Spirit of Truth comes.

As we reflect, I re-visit the question posed in the beginning of this blog. Would we be better Christians if we were walking with Jesus right now? Well, the Bible tells us we have the perfect knowledge of God now as the Spirit indwells the believer in this present age. So how to we know all things? We take our Bibles out and we read them each day. Even the disciples didn't have the complete written Word then! We must avail ourselves to the Holy Spirit in prayer and asking for wisdom each and every day. We talk to God each day and ask that He would show us Himself each and every day how to be more like His Son.

Don't allow yourself to go throughout this life without using what God has given to each of us (His Spirit) who know Jesus as their Savior. Then you won't have to ask some of the childish questions that the disciples posed to Jesus as new babes! Then you will possess perfect knowledge!

Tribulations and Encouragements from the Departing One

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 16:1–4.

From this time on, Jesus told the apostles they would face some pretty tough tribulations. Their fruit which remained was sure to make them become men of sorrow. Pretty harsh conditions from One who promised them eternity...

"To be hated and evil entreated is one of the penalties of moral greatness and spiritual power; or, to put it differently, one of the privileges Christ confers on His 'friends.'" A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, pg. 423. 

Imagine with me how harsh this sounds, but consider what else Bruce says; "Hatred is very hard to bear, and the desire is to escape it is one main cause of unfaithfulness and unfruitfulness." Bruce, pg. 423.

Most of us treat our lives as ones that want to live as peacefully as we can with as little turmoil as we can, but does this really line up with the real gospel? Jesus statement, "These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling" is almost said apologetically to the apostles. The apostles face some tough times ahead and Jesus knew it. Would they be good soldiers in the fight, or run for high ground? Would they realize that the Master told them that they would face trials and tribulations for being one of His and face them boldly? Or would they seek to escape the trouble ahead?

Then I read on in Bruce's book. Here's what he had to say next: "Men who suffer for their convictions are greatly tempted to regard their opponents as in equal measure the opponents of God. The wrongs they endure provoke them to think and speak of the wrong-doers as the very children of the devil. Then it gives importance to one's cause, and dignity to one's sufferings, to conceive of the former as God's, and of the latter as endured for God's sake. Finally, broadly to state the question at stake as one between God's friends and God's foes, satisfies both the intellect and the conscience,- the former demanding a status questionis which is simple and easily understood; the latter, one which puts you obviously in the right, and your adversaries obviously in the wrong." Bruce, pg. 426.

This reminded me of something that happened to me a long time ago. It concerns a friend's wrong convictions. Several years back, a friend called me to ask for prayers for he and his family. He told me that he had been facing some really hard difficulties in his life. You see he was about to lose his license to practice medicine. I asked him what was happening so I would know how to pray about the situation. He explained the situation. He stated that he was being persecuted by the devil and wanted me to pray Satan would be defeated in this attack. After more probing, I found that the entire problem was a result of poor decision (a wrong conviction) he had made in his professional and personal life; all brought upon himself by himself! This was obviously his fault, but yet he chose to blame Satan for the trouble. It was more about his personal vanity than his gospel conviction.

Ok, so I know this is an extreme case, but it does allow us to see the difference and how we react to trials and tribulations. I don't think sometime we endure the things we do because Satan is outwardly attacking us. It might be just because those around us don't know Who we know. There was a man who in Acts 7 did the same thing. His name was Saul.

Jesus told the apostles that they would face trials and tribulations as a result of being connected to Him. But He told them not to be surprised of the times when they came. He stated, "But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them." (John 16:4). 

Sure, all of us face tribulations from demons (not Satan) throughout our lifetime. If Satan were to directly attack us, most of us wouldn't endure it well... I remember Job's story too well. I think a lot of the time, we are going through these times as a result of those who are not connected to Jesus and thinking they are doing the right thing while attacking us (again Saul springs to the mind). Then again, sometimes we are our own worse enemy sometimes as well. Then it is not the attitude of "the devil made me do it," rather "I helped the devil do it!"

Is our conviction truly for the gospel of Jesus Christ or is it somewhere muddled in what we think this life should contain? 

I challenge you today to think the next time trouble comes as to what is attacking you. Is it a result of what we have done to ourselves or is it because those who attack us do not know the One? Remember, if we are standing alongside Jesus, He will consider us His "friends" as we endure a tiny fraction of what He endured for us!