Preparation for the Sacrifice

Transcription

1 Lesson #82 Preparation for the Sacrifice John 16:16-24 Presented Live on September 2, 2018 I. Introduction and review A. We spoke last time we got together about the Holy Spirit and His communication with a few in order to write the New Testament 1. A book which He has since used to communicate God s plan to His Church 2. And to illuminate His truth to individual believers in order to bring into them into the presence of their God B. Now there are a number of churches today who see the Holy Spirit their as leader and diviner 1. They slay in the Spirit 2. They speak in tongues in the Spirit 3. The heal in the Spirit 4. They proclaim themselves apostles in the Spirit 5. And seek a greater or second anointing and blessing from the Spirit 6. They openly glory in their relationship with the Holy Spirit and accede glory to Him C. In doing these things they are placing the Spirit above the Son of God 1. But we can know they are wrong in this, due to what Jesus said to these men in John 16:14-15 Page 1 of 7

2 II. 2. He states unequivocally that the Spirit will glorify the Son, not Himself D. As Jesus gets close to finishing His this time in the upper room, 1. He now turns from His teaching concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit and provides them with encouragement as to their immediate future 2. He will speak to His disciples about how they will benefit from three promises given to the believer, 3. The promise of: joy, love and peace 4. So as the looming shadow of the cross, threatens to darken their days and their lives, these promises will bring the light of truth and the dawn of victory to their hearts Jesus again predicts His death, resurrection and ascension A. John 16:16-17 A little while, and you will no longer see 17 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 '?" B. Jesus now adopts a format that has a negative prediction and a positive promise 1. The first is the prediction of His death 2. Followed by the promise of resurrection C. Jesus is clearly speaking to them of a 50 day period 1. The next day Jesus will die on a Roman cross 2. Three days later He will rise from the dead 3. He will remain with them for 40 days a. See Acts 1:3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4. And on the 50 th day, the Holy Spirit will come D. Why can t they understand what Jesus is saying? 1. Emotional turmoil 2. Anxiety over the future a. This had grown to an extreme b. It seemed that nothing that Jesus said could Page 2 of 7

3 III. console them 3. Lack of capacity 4. Lack of empowerment 5. Blindness to the goals or purpose of the Messiah s coming to earth a. Consider: Matthew 16:21-23 From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." b. Consider that in the backdrop of Jesus preaching the gospel of the kingdom c. And even their instructions from Jesus when He sent them out to the towns and villages of Israel 6. And so confusion seems to reign in the disciples hearts How will Jesus deal with this confusion? A. John 16:18-19 So they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while '? We do not know what He is talking about." 19 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'? B. Jesus had been sharing this concept of a little while all along 1. John 7:33 Therefore Jesus said, "For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. 2. John 12:35 So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 3. John 13:33 Little children, I am with you a little Page 3 of 7

4 IV. while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 4. John 14:19 "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. C. But they are so blind, that they can t see what should be plainly visible to them 1. So instead of asking Jesus, they try to come up with their own answer 2. Jesus then interjects Himself into their private conversation 3. Is there any conversation that is private as to Jesus? Jesus seeks to prepare them for what is to come A. First He seeks clarity for them B. John 16:20-23a 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. 21 Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23 In that day you will not question Me about anything. C. Consider here the negative prediction and positive promise 1. Each of you will experience weeping, lament and grief 2. But those emotions will be transformed into joy 3. It is not a case of sorrow being followed by Joy 4. But the sorrow of the disciples becoming joy D. Consider some modern day examples 1. Athletic event 2. Political event 3. Work or job event 4. A national event E. Then consider the cross 1. Does the fact that you can know that you will eventually win have any effect on you in these types Page 4 of 7

5 of situations? 2. Does the welling up of internal joy have any effect on you when faced with these circumstances? 3. This is an event over which they will rejoice in the future a. 1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, b. 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. F. Why does Jesus use the example of birth to describe this sorrow/joy conundrum 1. Jesus had to die because of sin 2. Why does a the woman have to go through such travail in giving birth? G. Jesus then says:... but I will see you again There is a change from you will see Me to I will see you 2. Here Jesus is referring to the rapture 3. Do the disciples even know about the rapture? 4. Yes because our Lord told them about it in John 14:1-4 H.... your joy no one will take from you. 1. This passage connotes that the world may try and take your joy but be unable to do so 2. This can t be referring to the second advent or even the rapture 3. After those two events, no one will be trying to take your joy V. Consider the workings of prayer and joy A. John 16:23b-24 Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24 "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. B. Why have they not asked anything in His name up til now? C. How do we ask? 1. We must ask in agreement with the will of God 2. Then He responds with great abundance Page 5 of 7

6 VI. D. Does prayer and joy have any inner relationship with each other? 1. One of the results of the intimacy of prayer is joy 2. And not just joy, but joy in the fullest measure Lessons for us A. We lack joy when evil gains the upper hand and we worry that it will become permanent 1. But what if: a. Each time we lost or left a job, we would get a better, higher paying job b. Each time we suffered from an illness, we gained more health then before and were assured of living longer c. With each financial setback we experience, would result in greater income thereafter d. And any accident lead to a renewal of our condition 2. How would you regard such any affliction in a world like that? a. With dread or anticipation b. With gloom or with joy c. How wou7ld that knowledge affect your ability to persevere under hardship 3. There is of course no world like that 4. But God has made certain promises to us that involve Him taking any circumstance and turning it to good 5. And supplying us with an unlimited supply of transformed joy B. Consider again the joy that God brings to our lives 1. That joy is not the result of some kind of substitution or addition 2. But instead it is the result of transformation 3. Consider the example of the birth of a child a. It was the child which caused the woman pain b. But it is that baby that brings the joy c. God did not substitute something else to relieve the mothers pain d. But uses what is there already, the baby, to transform into the source of joy Page 6 of 7

7 4. God takes seemingly impossible situations, adds to them the power of grace, and thereby transforms the trial into triumph and the sorrow into joy 5. That s His promise & Believer s Bible Class, & Douglas W. Brady Page 7 of 7