A person who is about to die often writes a last will and testament in which he leaves his possessions to his loved ones. Here in this passage of Scripture, John 14:25-31, the Lord Jesus does that very thing. He does not bequeath material things to His disciples but He does promise them three things that money cannot buy.
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT (verses 25-26)
In verses 25 and 26, Jesus promises His disciples that, when He leaves them and returns to the Father, He will ask the Father to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to them. He would be their new teacher and illuminator. This promise of the Holy Spirit’s revelation to them was meant for the apostles only, and not for believers of every age that was to come. God kept his promise to them as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were given the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write the four gospels anywhere from 35 to 65 years after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no way that they could have remembered those details and the words of Jesus for that long a period of time apart from the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
However, there is a sense in which those words of Jesus to His disciples pertain to believers of all ages. When the gospels and epistles were written down by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we benefit from those 27 books just as if the promise were made to us. The New Testament writers wrote down everything that was needed, so beware of those who claim that they have received a new revelation from God today.
II. PEACE (verse 27)
Secondly, Jesus promises His disciples peace when He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” This is a special peace. It is the peace that Jesus Himself experienced throughout His earthly life. We know from the scriptures that Jesus did not lead a sheltered life. He faced all the difficulties in life that we face and to an even greater degree because He did not give in to them. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin.”
We often don’t know the full strength of a trial or a temptation because we give in to it and fail so quickly. The Lord Jesus, however, remained sinless. He can therefore sympathize with us in our trials because He knows the strength of those trials better than you and I will ever know it. Furthermore, He was victorious and He is able to, give us the victory. He also told His disciples that His peace is “Not as the world gives.” The world’s peace is only temporary. The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ is forever. The world’s peace is an external, outward peace. The Lord’s peace is an inner peace of mind and heart in spite of outward circumstances.
If you have ever studied the universe or watched programs on TV about the universe, you are probably familiar with a phenomenon called a “black hole.” A black hole is a swirling mass deep in outer space. It’s like a ravenous beast that sucks up and swallows any bit of matter that comes close to it. Professor Diogenes Allen of Princeton Seminary said, “There is an empty spot at the core of our being that is like a black hole. . . . There is an emptiness in us which threatens to suck us down as well, although what it is actually doing is dispelling an illusion. It is not destroying us but revealing to us that we are already a dead thing trying to give itself life by taking in all within its reach. But the core of us remains an emptiness.” What can satisfy the black hole of the human heart? Can wealth, pleasure, travel, fame, learning, or art satisfy that need? These can no more fill that inner void than a fistful of pebbles can fill the Grand Canyon.
In an attempt to find peace for his soul, King Solomon experimented with every resource imaginable. He wrote, “I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). But what was the result of his search? He concluded, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind.” Solomon came to the realization that fulfillment can be found only in knowing and living for God. Augustine of Hippo, one of the early church fathers, said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Where are you looking for peace and fulfillment? If you go to your doctor and say you have no peace, he will probably write you a prescription for a tranquilizer. That is called chemical peace. It is artificial. It dulls the mind, it eventually wears off, and it can be habit-forming. That is one way the world dispenses peace. Another way is called “escapism”. When you’re not feeling inner peace and fulfillment, this method tells you to take a vacation, go on a trip, take a long walk, or find some other form of escape. But when you get back, the troubles are still there, aren’t they?
The Lord Jesus Christ, while He was on this earth, had peace in doing the Father’s will, even in the midst of trials and difficulties, and in the face of death on a cross. The world can only wish a person that kind of peace, but the Lord Jesus gives it. Did you know that when Jesus was dying on that cross, He made a will? Has anyone ever remembered you in a will? If you are a child of God, the Lord Jesus Christ remembered you in His will. He willed His body to Joseph of Arimathea. He willed His mother to John, the son of Zebedee, and He willed His spirit back to His Father. But to His disciples and to us He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” No judge or jury can set that will aside because it’s written in blood, and Jesus rose from the dead to execute His own will. No power on earth can take it from us. Isn’t that a wonderful promise?
III. HIS DEPARTURE AND RETURN (verse 28)
Then Jesus says in verse 28, “You have heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ ” This isn’t the first time that Jesus said those words to His disciples. He is giving them a reminder in order to refresh their memories. Jesus is talking about His resurrection because it would prove who He really is. It would also demonstrate that He had the power to fulfill all His other promises to them. When Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I”, it sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? When you compare, you compare things that are of the same nature. You don’t compare a horse with a dog. You compare horses with other horses and dogs with other dogs, right? Jesus would never have made His statement, “”The Father is greater than I” if He did not belong in the same category as God the Father. If I were to say to you, “God is greater than I”, you would probably be thinking: “That’s obvious! Why would you make a statement like that?” But Jesus did not say, “My God is greater than I.” He said, “My Father is greater than I” because He has the same nature as the Father. Philippians 2:5-8 offers an explanation. Jesus was “in the form of God.” He possessed all the attributes or qualities of God, and He had all the glory of God, but when He became a man, Jesus temporarily laid aside the independent use of His attributes as God. He also temporarily veiled His glory when He took on human form and became a servant. Jesus never gave up or lost any of His divine attributes or glory. He just allowed the Father to direct His life totally for a time. He added a sinless human nature to His divine nature and He is now the God-man.
IV. CONCLUSION (verses 29-31).
Jesus concludes, in verse 29, by giving His reason for making these promises to His disciples. He gave these promises so that, when His predictions come true, they would believe in Him. The Lord Jesus then gives them two more future evidences of His deity in verses 30 and 31. The first evidence will be His victory over Satan. Since Jesus led a sinless life, Satan had no grounds for accusing Him and could bring no charges against Him. By Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sins, Satan would be a defeated foe. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
The second evidence of Jesus’ deity is His loving obedience to the Father. John 14:31 says, “so that the world may know that I love the Father and do exactly what the Father has commanded me.” Jesus’ perfect obedience would be a demonstration of His perfect love for the Father and for us. Then Jesus says, “Come now; let us leave.” It appears that the rest of what Jesus has to say to His disciples before His death will be said as they leave the upper room and head for the Garden of Gethsemane. In summary, the Bible speaks of two kinds of peace that a believer can experience. The first kind of peace is peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The apostle Paul begins most of his epistles with the words. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” All true followers of Jesus Christ have peace with God. Without that peace with God, there can be no true peace within ourselves.
The second kind of experience that a believer can experience is the peace of God. This is a sense of peace from moment to moment, and not all Christians have it to the same degree. This peace of God comes as a result of close, personal fellowship with Him. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace who mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in Thee.” It also comes in answer to believing prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Do we have peace with God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Do we have the peace of God because of a close, personal fellowship with Him in His Word and in prayer? If so, we are ready for what God has next for our lives. If not, there is no better time than now. I’m closing this sermon with an illustration about peace.
Long ago a wealthy man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imaginations of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful picture after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained to be unveiled. As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace? A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil. That’s the kind of peace that God wants to give to His children today and always!
CONSTRUCTION SITE: Completed