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[0:00] John and chapter 16. Is that you, Evan? Are you back there? John and chapter 16.

[0:14] And Evan is serving us this morning. and he will be reading chapter 16, verse number 1, down through verse number 15.

[0:24] I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

[0:35] And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their house comes, you may remember that I told them to you. I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you.

[0:50] But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I will tell you the truth.

[1:01] It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

[1:16] Concerning sin because they do not believe in me. Concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer. Concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.

[1:28] I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.

[1:41] And he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for what you will take is mine and declare it to you. All the Father has is mine. Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

[1:55] Thanks, Evan. Father, again, we come before you asking that you would guide and direct Holy Spirit, that you would be near us, that you would be near me as I open your word and preach to your dear people, to my brothers and sisters.

[2:16] Would you please guide and direct, keep me from error, guard my heart from foolishness and mindless, careless words.

[2:27] We want to see our Savior Jesus lifted high. Would you please, Holy Spirit, do that as we turn our attention to this text. In Jesus' name we pray.

[2:38] Amen. Amen. Have you ever started something that did not turn out the way that you expected?

[2:51] Maybe it was a gym membership. That one hurts a little bit, doesn't it? Maybe it was a new job or a home remodel project.

[3:05] Parenting. Maybe it was that new used car purchase. At first it sounded really great and then reality set in.

[3:18] Sometimes the greatest discouragement is not the hardship itself. It is the unexpected hardship. Humans are remarkably resilient creatures.

[3:33] We can endure almost anything if only we are prepared for it. But surprise suffering? That shakes us.

[3:45] When people begin following Jesus, we tend to talk about forgiveness and eternal life and peace and joy, purpose.

[3:57] All things that are wonderfully true. But we don't always add. You may be misunderstood. You may be excluded.

[4:10] You may suffer for doing what's right or for absolutely no reason at all. You may even be hated or persecuted or killed. Not because you are an obnoxious person, but because you belong to Jesus.

[4:25] Jesus. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prepares his disciples so that they are not shaken by suffering.

[4:41] Their sorrow on this night is real, but it is no match for the Spirit's power. Earlier in the evening, Jesus washed the disciples' feet.

[4:56] They celebrated the Passover together, remembering how God had miraculously delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.

[5:09] This is my body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you. They leave the upper room and Jesus continues to teach them.

[5:24] I am the vine and you are the branches. I am the true vine and you are the branches. Remain in me and bear much fruit.

[5:34] How? By obeying my commandments. But this remaining and obeying will not be easy.

[5:46] Why not? Well, because Jesus tells them the world will hate you. What is the world?

[5:58] It is people and values and priorities and power structures operating as though God is unnecessary and unwelcome. It is creation trying to function separate from its creator.

[6:14] If the disciples were still part of the world's rebellion, Jesus assures them the world would love you. If you were part of this rebellion, trying to function without the creator, the world would love you.

[6:31] But because Jesus chose them out of the world. The world hates them. And will persecute them.

[6:42] Why is Jesus telling them this now? Verse 1. I have said all these things to you.

[6:57] To keep you from falling away. They will put you out of synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

[7:13] And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me. But I have said these things to you. That when their hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you.

[7:33] The disciples' faith is real. But it is small. Their faith is sincere.

[7:43] But it is fragile. They are committed. But they are confused. And especially on this night. Their expectations about the future are incorrect.

[7:57] Jesus knows that they are on a one-way street towards fear and sorrow and scattering. Religious people will expel them from places of worship.

[8:15] This is not an inconvenience like it might be for us. Where you might say, no big deal. We could just go and find another church.

[8:26] To be expelled from the synagogue is a loss of identity. A loss of family. A loss of community. Jesus warns that the world's hatred for them will be intense.

[8:44] So intense that they will kill those who follow Jesus. And those who kill them will think that they are doing it for God.

[8:56] Their killing of Jesus' followers will be accompanied by supposedly religious motives. They will wrongly rationalize that killing Jesus' disciples pleases God.

[9:12] The world's hostility for the disciples is very serious. But it is not personal.

[9:25] It's directed against those who follow Jesus. But it is not ultimately about them. They are hated because and by those who reject both the Father and the Son.

[9:42] Why does Jesus tell them these things on this night? Because surprise suffering shakes us.

[9:55] He prepares them for what is coming in order to keep them from falling away. Death is not the greatest danger from the world's hostile hatred.

[10:12] The greatest danger is experiencing persecution and falling away.

[10:24] Apostatizing. Abandoning the faith. Rejecting Jesus. Jesus tells his followers what's coming so that rather than being surprised or shaken or shattered by the persecution, their faith instead will be steadied.

[10:45] Why would their faith be steadied? Because they can remind each other, Jesus told us this was coming. We shouldn't be surprised by this.

[10:55] Remember what the Savior said. He said there was going to be hostility. He said the world would hate us. He said persecution would follow. Don't give up.

[11:08] Don't give up. If the night before his crucifixion seems like kind of a strange time to talk about these things, to talk about hatred and persecution that's about to come, Jesus agrees.

[11:27] Jesus agrees. It does seem like kind of a strange time. Look at the end of verse 4. We're right in the middle of verse 4. I did not say these things to you from the beginning.

[11:41] I didn't tell you this at first. I didn't warn you about the world's hostility and persecution that is to come from the very beginning when you followed me.

[11:52] Why not? Because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me.

[12:04] And none of you ask me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

[12:18] The disciples had expectations. The Messiah will be a conquering king.

[12:28] They envisioned a future finally free of Roman occupation. And they gave up their lives to follow this dream.

[12:41] They gave up their lives, their jobs, their families to follow Jesus around. To learn from him. They risked reputation.

[12:52] They risked their own safety. This was a big deal. But now they know the world is going to hate and persecute you. Jesus didn't tell them this at first because he still had time with them.

[13:08] But now time is short. Jesus is leaving. No wonder their hearts are full of sorrow. No wonder their hearts are full of sorrow.

[13:26] At least two disciples did ask questions that night. Peter says this in chapter 13. Lord, where are you going? And Thomas asks this in chapter 14.

[13:39] Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? What does Jesus mean when he says, None of you, none of you ask me, where are you going?

[13:52] I think these questions are more of a protest. We're not really trying to understand where Jesus is going. This is like a child who says, Ah, Dad, do you have to leave now?

[14:09] Do you have to leave now? The questions protest his departure.

[14:20] They are centered on what they are losing. And their deep grief in this moment exposes something that I suspect we can all relate to. We wrestle with God's plans that don't match our expectations.

[14:45] After acknowledging their very real sorrow on this night, Jesus says something unthinkable. It's in verse 7.

[14:56] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away.

[15:09] For if I do not go away, the helper will not come. But if I go, I will send him to you.

[15:19] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.

[15:30] Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer. Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

[15:44] This seems unthinkable. How could losing Jesus be advantageous? How could him leaving them be better?

[15:57] Jesus says it very plainly. If I do not leave, then the helper, the Holy Spirit, will not come.

[16:09] This is not because the Holy Spirit and Jesus can't minister at the same time to the same group of people. What Jesus is saying is that the next stage of redemptive history, when the Holy Spirit comes in fullness, cannot begin until Jesus has died, been raised from the dead, and exalted to the Father's right hand.

[16:40] It is then, when Jesus leaves to be exalted to the Father's right hand, it is then that the Holy Spirit will come. And the next age of redemptive history can begin.

[16:59] When he leaves, he will send the Spirit, and the Spirit will convict the world. In other words, the Spirit will offer convincing, compelling evidence about three crucial realities.

[17:14] First, the Spirit will convict the world about sin. About sin. Which, at its core, is unbelief.

[17:28] Unbelief that leads to rejecting who Jesus is and the life that he offers. Second, the Spirit will convict the world about righteousness.

[17:45] By raising him from the dead, the Father stamps his seal of approval on Jesus' life and death. That his life really was sinless.

[17:58] That he really was a perfect sacrifice who had no sin of his own to pay for. The Father raises Jesus from the dead, stamping his seal of approval on Jesus' life and death.

[18:14] And then raising him and exalting him to his right hand. Jesus' exaltation proves that he was righteous all along.

[18:27] And it demonstrates that every attempt to be right with God, apart from the Son, is futile and foolish.

[18:41] The Spirit will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and finally, about judgment.

[18:52] There at the cross, the ruler of this world, the devil, will be judged. He will be condemned at the cross.

[19:04] At that hour when it seemed like life had lost and death had won. When it seems like hope is gone. There, in that dark hour, what has actually occurred is that the ruler of this world has been judged and condemned and defeated.

[19:24] Those who reject Jesus align themselves with an already defeated leader.

[19:40] Do you see what Jesus is doing here? He is so kind. He does not minimize their grief.

[19:54] He acknowledges that their sorrow is very real. But it is no match for the Spirit's power. He lifts their attention up and off of their present circumstances that seem confusing and perplexing and that are only going to get worse when he leaves and the world's hostility ramps up.

[20:19] He lifts their eyes off of their present circumstances. So that they glimpse the Spirit's work in redemption.

[20:35] Jesus is leaving. And no doubt the disciples see subtraction. But Jesus sees multiplication.

[20:46] They see an absence coming. But Jesus sees the gospel advancing. They are losing Jesus in person.

[21:01] And yet they are gaining his presence by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus has more to say to them.

[21:14] But the time for that teaching is not now. They're not able to hear it right now. Look at verse 12. I still have many things to say to you.

[21:25] But you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

[21:39] For he will not speak on his own authority. But whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come.

[21:50] He will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine.

[22:03] Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. When the Holy Spirit comes, Jesus promises that he will guide these disciples into all truth.

[22:21] Not new truth. Not different truth. But the full meaning of what Jesus has already taught them.

[22:33] He will help these disciples understand the significance of Jesus' life and death and resurrection and exaltation.

[22:47] And so Jesus says, He will glorify me. And when Jesus leaves, it's not the Spirit who steps into the spotlight.

[22:59] No, the Spirit turns the spotlight onto Jesus Christ. The Spirit's mission is singular.

[23:11] To make much of the Son. To magnify Jesus Christ, as we sang together this morning. Jesus is leaving them. Their sorrow is real.

[23:25] But it is better that Jesus leaves because he will send them the Holy Spirit. And so when Jesus leaves, their memory of him does not fade.

[23:40] The Spirit helps them to remember all that Jesus taught them. When Jesus leaves them, their knowledge of him doesn't diminish.

[23:51] Through the Spirit, they see even more and more of the glory of the Son as they grow in understanding and appreciating the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

[24:07] And it is by the Spirit's inspiration that they write all about the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and God preserves that for us in the pages of Scripture.

[24:22] This is the truth that the Spirit guided those disciples into. Since Jesus has gone to the Father and since the Spirit has come and since the Spirit glorifies Christ, then three things change in us.

[24:51] First, we remain steadfast under opposition. We repent of interpreting the world's hatred and hostility as failure.

[25:11] We repent of letting discouragement distort our faith. Jesus told his disciples about persecution so that they would not fall away.

[25:24] He knew it was coming. He prepared us for this. You can love someone who is kind to you without the Holy Spirit.

[25:40] But to show kindness and gentleness to someone who is not like you, someone who is mean to you, someone who is disagreeable, someone who hurts you, this can only happen by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[26:02] So we stop measuring success by the applause that the world gives us. We stop panicking when culture seems to be spiraling into greater and greater wickedness.

[26:18] We stop wondering if Jesus is losing. Jesus is not losing. He has already won.

[26:29] Second, we remain steadfast under opposition. Second, we learn dependence in evangelism.

[26:45] Since conviction is the job for the Holy Spirit, we do not need to coerce. We do not need to manipulate.

[26:55] We do not need to manufacture emotion in someone to try to get them to respond in the moment to something that we are telling them in the gospel.

[27:08] Instead, we speak clearly, winsomely, convincingly about the Lord Jesus.

[27:20] and we love well and show our love to them. And then we trust the Spirit who still convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment.

[27:41] Maybe you would ask yourself this question. When I sin, do I feel guilty about it? Do I want to repent and receive God's forgiveness?

[27:59] Or has my heart become hardened to the Spirit's work of conviction? As we witness to our children, to our families, to our neighbors, to our coworkers, our role is proclamation.

[28:21] We proclaim the Lord's death, resurrection, and exaltation. And it is the Spirit's role to convict.

[28:34] And so we learn dependence in evangelism. Finally, we grow in devotion to Christ. Jesus says of the Spirit, He will glorify me.

[28:51] So, wherever Christ is minimized, something other than the Holy Spirit is at work there.

[29:07] And in addition, wherever attention shifts away from the Lord Jesus, even in the name of the Spirit, we would be wise to be cautious.

[29:25] We honor the Spirit as God, equal in power and glory with the Father and the Son. But the Spirit never glorifies Himself.

[29:38] He always takes the spotlight and shines it on the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we don't measure spiritual life by emotional intensity or by some kind of spectacle, not by cleverness or charisma, but by an increasing love for the Lord Jesus.

[30:07] What is more important to you than Jesus? What gets more of your attention than Him? Is there something that is grabbing glory glory that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ?

[30:23] Where the Spirit is present, Christ becomes more precious. And as Christ becomes precious, everything else finds its place.

[30:41] Belief deepens, love develops, obedience grows, worship intensifies, Christ likeness increases.

[30:55] Brothers and sisters, let's grow in devotion to Christ. The disciples' sorrow is real.

[31:08] And often so is ours. Jesus so kindly does not deny the reality of sorrow and He also doesn't leave us in it.

[31:20] He went to the Father. He sent the Spirit. The disciples were not abandoned and neither are we. Life as a follower of Jesus will not be easy.

[31:37] But we are not shaken by suffering. We expect it. Jesus prepared us for this. When opposition increases, it is the Spirit who sustains followers of Jesus in our steadfastness.

[31:56] When you share the gospel, no matter how hesitantly or timidly, it is the Spirit who clarifies and convicts.

[32:09] And as you grow, day by day, sometimes by fits and starts, but as you grow in devotion to Jesus, it is the Spirit who applies fresh forgiveness from the infinite supply of grace.

[32:26] and because the Spirit dwells in you, the final word on your life will not be sorrow.

[32:41] The final word on your life will be the absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[32:56]  Let's pray.