Jesus in John: Jesus Prepares His Disciples I. Base Text: John 13:31-16:33 II. Context A. Jesus’ ministry among the people (John 1:1-12:50): Jesus taught many wonderful things, did signs among the people; the light would soon depart from among them; the people were hardened and did not believe B. The Last Supper (John 13:1-31): Jesus’ final hours with His disciples before His death begins with the Lord’s Supper, Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, declaration of betrayal, and Judas going out to betray Jesus C. From John 13:31 through John 16:33 John sets forth an extended discourse between Jesus and His disciples as He prepares them for His death, resurrection, and what will follow III. Meaning A. The Way (John 13:31-14:11) 1. As soon as Judas leaves Jesus declares God will be glorified in Son of Man, Son of Man glorified by God, repeats that where He goes the disciples cannot come; He thus gives them a new commandment: love one another as Jesus loved them; all will know they are His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:31-35; cf. John 8:21-24) 2. Peter wants to follow, even die for Jesus; Jesus predicts his threefold denial (John 13:36-38) 3. He does not want them to be troubled but believe: Jesus goes to prepare a place to bring His followers to Him; they know the way (John 14:1-4) 4. Thomas is confused, thinks he does not know the way; Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life, the only way to the Father; if you know Jesus you know the Father (John 14:5-7) 5. Philip wants to see the Father; Jesus declares that he essentially has by seeing the works of the Father in Him, and that the Father abides in Him (John 14:8-11) B. The Comforter (John 14:12-31) 1. Jesus declares that greater works will be done by them after He returns to the Father; He will do what they ask so the Father is glorified; if they love Him, they should keep His commandments, and receive the promised Comforter (Greek Parakletos, advocate, intercessor, comforter, helper), the Holy Spirit, which the world cannot receive (John 14:12-17) 2. Jesus may be going away, but He will not leave His disciples desolate; the world will no longer see Him, but His disciples will abide in Him as He abides in God: the one who keeps His commandments loves Him and will have Jesus manifest to him (John 14:18-21) 3. The other Judas wants to understand how Jesus can be manifest to them but not the world; Jesus reiterates how He and the Father will abide with believers and then promises that the Comforter sent by the Father will teach them all things and bring to remembrance what He taught them (John 14:22-26) 4. Jesus promises His peace to them: if they loved Jesus they would rejoice that He goes to the Father; after all this He will speak to them no more before all takes place; they go to another place (John 14:27-31) C. The Vine (John 15:1-17) 1. Jesus then provides the illustration of the vine and branches: He is the vine, disciples are branches, Father is vinedresser; those abiding in Jesus bear much fruit, those not abiding in Jesus cut off by Father; Father glorified in fruit of disciples (John 15:1-8) 2. Jesus emphasizes the need to abide in His love; as Father loved Him, He has loved them; keep the commandments as Jesus kept the Father’s commands to abide in that love; love one another as Jesus loved them; no greater love than to lay down life for friends (John 15:9-13) 3. Jesus now calls them friends since He made known to them what the Father told Him; He chose them to go, bear fruit, and have it abide; He commands these things so that they will love one another (John 15:14-17) D. Hostility in the World (John 15:18-16:33) 1. The world will persecute and hate them because they persecuted Jesus; the world loves its own; the world knows its sin because Jesus proclaimed it; those who hate Jesus hate the Father as well, fulfillment of Psalm 69:4 (John 15:18-25) 2. The Comforter, the Spirit of truth, will bear witness about Jesus, and the disciples will bear witness, for they were with Jesus from the beginning (John 15:26-27) 3. He speaks thus lest they stumble, telling them in advance of the persecution they will suffer from the Jews, thinking they offer service to God by killing Christians, since they did not know Jesus as the Son (John 16:1-4) 4. Jesus goes to the Father, yet they do not ask where He goes; He knows sorrow is in their heart, but it is better for Jesus to go so that the Comforter can come and convict the world in terms of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:5-11) 5. Jesus would like to tell them more but they cannot bear it at that moment; the Spirit will make it known to them at the right time (John 16:12-15) 6. Jesus says in a little while they will not see Him, and then in a little while they will see Him; they are hopelessly confused but do not ask Him directly; He perceives how they speak amongst themselves and explains: they will weep when the world rejoices, but their sorrow will be turned to joy; a laboring woman has pain but then joy when her child is born, and so it will be for them (John 16:16-22) 7. They have asked Jesus nothing, and have requested nothing in Jesus’ name: they will not ask on that day, but whatever they ask of the Father they will receive in Jesus’ name; their joy will be full (John 16:23-24) 8. He has spoken in cryptic ways; days are coming when He will speak of the Father plainly; He will not have to ask the Father for them for the Father loves them and will make things known; Jesus came from the Father and is returning to Him; disciples finally understand something, confess Jesus came from God and knows all things (John 16:25-30) 9. Jesus asks if they now truly believe: yet the hour has come when they shall scatter and He will be left alone, yet not truly alone, for the Father is with Him; He said these things so they have peace: in the world they have trouble, but He has overcome the world (John 16:31-33) E. Jesus will go on to pray to the Father for them and for all who believe (John 17:1-26) and would then experience betrayal, trial, torture, crucifixion, death, and burial (John 18:1-19:42) F. Thus John presents Jesus’ farewell conversation with His disciples, preparing them for what He and they would experience! IV. Application A. To Whom Are the Promises? 1. As we consider what applications can be gained from John 13:31-16:33 we must first ask an important question: to whom are the promises of which Jesus speaks? 2. It has proven very easy for people to entirely flatten the distance between themselves and the text in context and assume that whatever Jesus says to the eleven disciples present is equally true and applicable to them 3. Yet there are some contextual clues showing that Jesus in many ways is speaking specifically to the eleven in a way that cannot be true of others a. John 14:5-9: the eleven concretely, literally saw Jesus in a way none since could b. John 14:26: the Holy Spirit can only “bring to remembrance” all Jesus said to those who actually heard what Jesus said at the time; He cannot do that for those who never heard Jesus in the flesh c. John 15:27: the eleven can bear witness because they were with Jesus from the beginning; no one else since can have such witness d. John 16:12ff: the eleven at that time could not bear to hear what Jesus wanted to say, but the Spirit would—and did—make such declarations in the early history of the church so that all was revealed through them (Jude 1:3) e. John 16:16-22: the eleven would not see Him after His death but would in His resurrection; a declaration very much only in its time and place 4. Jesus Himself will go on to make such a delineation explicit: in His prayer He first prays for the eleven (John 17:6-19), and then goes on to pray for those who will believe on Him through the word of the eleven (John 17:20-23) 5. Nevertheless John will go on to incorporate many of Jesus’ primary themes as spoken to him and the other ten to all the Christians to whom he writes his letters a. John 13:34-35 // 1 John 2:7-11, 3:11 b. John 14:15, 21-25, 15:9-12 // 1 John 2:3-5 c. John 15:13 // 1 John 3:16 d. John 15:18, 23 // 1 John 2:15-17, 2 John 1:6-9 e. John 16:33 / 1 John 5:4 6. So if some parts apply but other parts do not apply, how can we properly interpret Jesus’ discourse with His disciples so as to handle the Word properly? 7. We must first remember that everything Jesus says is in private to the eleven and that is the near context 8. John, as an inspired witness of these events, through the Comforter, the Spirit of truth given to him, explains how many of the things which Jesus said to the eleven are also true of all disciples (cf. 1 John 1:1-4) 9. We can know that those things dependent on having actually seen Jesus in the flesh are restricted to the eleven; we can also know that those things which John applies to Christians afterward have greater application 10. The illustration of vine and branches is appropriate for later Christians since we are to abide in God in Christ and maintain association with God and the apostles (John 15:1-8; cf. John 17:20-23, 1 John 1:1-7) 11. The gift of the Holy Spirit was given to Christians above and beyond the eleven (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:1-14:40); nevertheless binding and loosing was only granted to the eleven and Paul since they had seen the Lord and received the Lord’s promise (Matthew 18:18, 1 Corinthians 9:1) 12. The gift of the Holy Spirit stands for the Christian (Acts 2:38, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, etc.), but not in the measure given to the Apostles or those upon whom the Apostles laid hands, and certainly not to the extent promised in John 13:38-16:33 (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11, 13) 13. Thus we can respect the context while finding many important applications to our faith B. Loving One Another 1. The major theme of Jesus’ discourse with His disciples is the need to love one another (John 13:34-35, 14:21-24, 15:9-14, 17) 2. To love one another as Jesus loved them is the new commandment; John makes much of it in 1 John 2:7-11, 3:11-20, 4:7-21 3. Everyone, in fact, makes much of it (Peter, 1 Peter 1:22; Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; James, James 2:8; the Hebrew author, Hebrews 10:24, 13:1; Jude, Jude 1:2, 21) 4. We do well to consider why Jesus must hammer this home! 5. Externally: how can we manifest God who is love if we do not love one another (1 John 4:8)? We can only be known as His disciples if we have love for one another as He says Himself (John 13:35): if there is no love among us, have we not missed everything (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Ephesians 2:1-8)? 6. Internally: as Jesus says throughout, there will be difficulties, persecutions, challenges, temptations: if we don’t have each other’s backs, take care of each other, who will? 7. The world will be no friend or ally; if we don’t love one another, we’re doomed! 8. Little wonder, then, that love for fellow Christians is of the greatest importance in Jesus’ discourse! C. Sustained in Jesus 1. The vine and branches illustration in John 15:1-8 does well to show how we live and thrive in the faith 2. On our own we are sinful and cannot redeem ourselves (Romans 3:20, 23) 3. In order to bear fruit we must be connected, nourished, and sustained by Jesus, the vine, for we are His branches 4. The goal of the branch is to bear fruit; this pleases the Father 5. Without that connection we can do nothing and we die and are cut off! 6. A wonderful illustration of Titus 3:3-8, and a great reminder why we need connection to Christ and among one another! D. The Preparation 1. In the end this whole discourse is unique to John’s Gospel: the other three Gospels move quickly from Judas’ going out to betray to Jesus praying in the Garden 2. The discourse is meant to prepare the disciples for what is to come: death, resurrection, ascension, the coming of the Comforter, and bearing witness to Jesus 3. It will feature sorrow and joy, but they must be ready for the persecution to come 4. Yet in the end Jesus abides with them through His Spirit and has prepared the place for them to be with Him when they have finished overcoming the world 5. Although we were not there we also need to be prepared for what we are enduring 6. We are His disciples in the world; we will receive opposition; we must love one another; we must take strength from the Comforter, abide in Jesus, and bear fruit so that we may enter the place He has prepared for us 7. Are we living according to Jesus’ discourse? V. Conclusion A. Thus we have seen how Jesus prepares His disciples in John 13:31-16:33 B. He will die but rise from the dead, ascend to the Father, and the Spirit will come upon the disciples C. They will understand all things, bear witness to Him, suffer persecution, but will abide in Christ forever if they bear fruit for Him D. May we trust their witness, abide in Christ, love one another, and bear fruit for the Father and abide in Him and the Son! E. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35). Jesus places emphasis on love among fellow Christians: this is a new commandment He gives, and it is the mark by which His disciples are to be known. If we love each other, we reflect Christ; if we do not love each other, we are not of Him! 2: Jesus saith unto him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the way to the Father because He has manifested all the essential characteristics of the Father as the Son. If we want to be of God, we must follow Jesus. His way is the only way to the Father! 3: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). Jesus is the vine; His people are the branches. On their own the people of God can do nothing; in Jesus they can bear fruit that pleases the Father. Let us find our strength and sustenance in Jesus and produce to the glory of the Father! 4: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The world did not care for Jesus’ testimony; it feels the same way about His disciples. God’s people will experience trial, tribulation, and difficulty in the world. Yet we can persevere because we know Jesus has overcome the power of the Evil One through His death and resurrection. Praise God!