John 14-16: When Your World Explodes
Jesus knew, the night before his death, that the disciples' world was about to be blown to pieces. He would be arrested, tried, and crucified. They'd committed themselves to Jesus and he would be gone. In this powerful message, Jesus prepared the disciples to live in peace and spiritual power when the world around them was falling apart.We will take the next three weeks delving into this passage.
Today's Reading: John 15:26-27
26 “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father —the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Through the Bible Readings: Ecclesiastes 1-2, Romans 7, Psalm 95, Proverbs20:16–18
If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings.
Devotional: Exalting Christ
Our world is increasingly hostile to the faith that we
profess. We live by a set of values, morals and beliefs that are rejected by
today’s cultural norms. To believe that there is only one way to God, through
Jesus Christ, that marriage is defined by God’s word, not by mankind’s whim,
that right and wrong are not decided by our personal opinions but by the
character of God and his divine standards – these ideas have been roundly
rejected in the world. All over the world today, in China, in North Korea, in
Muslim nations, there are Christians who are suffering, being imprisoned,
undergoing torture, and being put to death on a regular basis because of their
faith in Jesus Christ. It has always been so, it is so today, and it will
always be so.
Jesus promised this in his Farewell Discourse. In John
15:18, Jesus said, “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before
it hated you.” He adds in verse 20, “If they persecuted me, they will also
persecute you.” The world that hated Jesus is going to hate those who love
Jesus. Yes, some servants of Jesus are hated for hypocrisy, for being
obnoxious, for a kind of Christian pharisaical approach to life, but Jesus
could not have made it clearer. If you love him and serve him, you will be at
cross-purposes with the world and the world will be hostile toward you.
So, how should we respond to the wicked world we live in?
What should be our attitude and approach to it? It is easy to treat the world
with fear and loathing, to simply regard it as an evil thing to be avoided. We
could retreat in fear of the world as the early monastic orders did. Or we
could return hostility for hostility toward the world. They condemn us; we
condemn them. It is not hard. It is easy to look at this world and simply be
disgusted, dismissive, and as hostile to them as they are to us.
But that is not the life the Bible calls us to live. 2
Corinthians 5:14 says, “For the love of Christ compels us.” We are driven in
this world by Christ’s love and mercy, to reach people. They should know we are
Christians by our love, by our ministry and kindness. We do not approach the
world in fear, because we know that greater is he who is in us than he who is
in the world. We do not approach the world in hostility because we are
compelled by the love of Christ to reach out to this world in his name.
The key to our response is found in John 15:26-27. Some have
suggested this instruction is out of place, interrupting the flow of the
passage. This brief passage on the Holy Spirit is sandwiched by passages focusing
on persecution. But these verses are not an interruption but an explanation.
Here is how you live in a hostile world.
Notice the Spirit’s role here. He testifies to Christ and
glorifies him, then he works in us so that we testify to Christ in this world. This
is how we respond to a wicked, perverted, hostile world. We do not recoil in
fear or react in reciprocal hostility. We walk in the fullness of the Holy
Spirit and in his power, we bear witness to Christ. The only solution to the
problems of this world is Jesus. The Spirit glorifies him and works through us
to glorify him in this world.
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