JOHN 16:1-20..
This chapter contains some of the most precious words that the Lord Jesus
uttered before he died upon the cross..
Verse 1. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be
offended..
Or, as the Revised Version translates it, “be made to stumble.” Christ would
not have his children stumble. There is an offense of the cross, but he
would not have us needlessly offended. How careful is our dear Savior not to
give us offense! We ought to be very careful not to offend him; but what
condescension it is on his part that he should be careful of offending us,
or of permitting us to be offended, or made to stumble..
2. They shall put you Out Of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service..
Can you remain faithful to your Master then, when you lose your position, or
your character, or men put you out of the synagogue? When you nearly lose
life itself, and when they shall think they are doing God’s service by
seeking to hill you, can you stand true to Christ then? The Master knew that
days of bitter persecution would soon come upon his followers, so he
strengthened them against those evil times that were approaching..
3. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the
Father, nor me..
It is ignorance that makes men hate God’s people and his Son: “They have not
known the Father, nor me.” Truly did Paul say, “I did it ignorantly in
unbelief;” and for such persecutors there is full and free forgiveness. When
they turn unto the Lord, even this sin shall be forgiven them; but they will
not forgive themselves for having committed it; and, like Paul, they will
count themselves the chief of sinners because they persecuted the Church of
God..
4. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may
remember that I told you of them..
“You will then see my foresight, my care for you, my prophetic power. To be
forewarned is to be forearmed. You will not be taken by surprise.” If any of
you who have lately been converted should meet with great opposition, do not
be surprised; Jesus has told you to expect it; and if the fire should get
seven times hotter, count it no strange thing that the fiery trial has
happened unto you. It has happened unto others before you, and will happen
to others after you; therefore be prepared for it..
4. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with
you..
“While I was with you, you could run to me, and tell me all about your
trials and difficulties. If anybody was hard with you, I could come to your
help, and comfort you. You did not need to know these things before, so I
did not tell you of them. You do need to know them now, and now I tell you
of them.”
5. But now I go my way to him that sent me;
Christ was going to the cross, and to the grave, and afterwards to heaven..
5. And none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
For want of asking that question, Christ’s disciples were full of grief..
Sometimes we do not ask enough questions. We ask too many questions of
doubt; it would be well if we were to ask a few more questions of believing
curiosity. There are some things that we ought to wish to know; and Christ
encourages his people to come to him for information..
6. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your
heart..
When a poor Christian friend is dying, you are full of sorrow because he is
going away from you. Why do yon not ask whither he is going? If he is going
home to heaven and to glory, why, then be comforted about him; you have no
cause for distress on his account..
7. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away..
“It is better for yon that I should be absent than that I should be
present.” Their Lord was their joy, their Leader, their Teacher, their
Comforter. He is going away, and he tells them that his absence will be a
gain to them. It is expedient for you that I go away.”
7. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him, unto you..
Now, it is better for us to have the Comforter than to have Christ here in
bodily presence; for if Christ were here to-night, in this Tabernacle, where
could we put him so as to be equally near each one of us? I should certainly
want him up here on the platform; and you, up there in the top gallery,
would say, “Well, we are a long way off; why should he not come up here?”
You see, if it is bodily presence that is enjoyed, some must be near, and
some must be far off; but now that Christ has gone up to heaven, his Spirit
is here. Where is that Spirit? On the platform, I hope, and everywhere else..
Any of you who desire it may have the Holy Spirit’s presence. The Lord
says,” I will put my Spirit within you.” Better than the bodily presence of
Christ is the real, though spiritual, presence of the Holy Ghost..
8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment:
What, a Comforter reprove? Yes. The Holy Spirit never comforts till he has
reproved. There must be a reproof of sin before there can be comfort in
Christ. And while the Spirit comforts saints, he reproves the world..
9. Of sin, because they believe not on me;
The greatest sin in all the world is, not believing on Jesus. Oar Lord did
not say, “Of sin, because of the evil of drunkenness.” That is a great sin,
a cursed sin, and there are other great sins; but Christ said, “Of sin,
because they believe not on me.” That is the root sin, the foundation sin,
the sin that keeps a man in his sin..
10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
It is God’s righteousness that takes Christ up to heaven. He has been here;
he has lived a perfect life; he has died a sacrificial death; and God has
shown his acceptance of him, for he has gone to his reward..
11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged..
When Christ came here, there was a crisis, a judgment; and sin was judged
and condemned; and the prince of the world, the chief sinner in the world,
received his death-blow: “the prince of this world is judged.”
12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now..
See how Christ teaches us slowly, wisely, prudently. There are some things
which some of you young Christians not know; you could not bear them if you
did know them. You shall know them when you can bear them. A man with a
doctrine that he cannot handle is often like a child with a tough piece of
meat which he cannot bite. Give the child milk, or the crumb of the loaf. Do
not put crusts into his mouth till he has teeth to bite them; do not give
him meat till he can digest it. See the gentle Savior’s way of imparting
instruction. He teaches us much, but not too much at a time..
13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide yon into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come..
See, my dear brethren in the ministry, bow little store the Holy Ghost sets
by originality. We have men nowadays straining to be original. Strain the
other way, for listen, “He shall not speak of himself,” — not even the Holy
Ghost, — “He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that
shall he speak.” He is the Repeater of the Father’s message, not the
inventor of his own. So let it be with us ministers. We are not to make up a
gospel as we go along, as I have heard some say. We are not to shape it to
the times in which we live, and suit it to the congregations to which we
speak. God forbid! Let this be true of every one of us, “He shall not speak
of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak”
14. He shall glorify me
The Holy Ghost does that; therefore, surely we, who are the preachers of the
gospel, should aim at the same object: “He shall glorify me.” It should be
our one desire to magnify and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ..
14-16. For he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things
that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine,
and shall shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me; and
again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father..
That was a very simple statement, every Sunday-scholar understands it now;
but the twelve apostles did not understand it when they heard it
.
17, 18. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is thisthat
he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a
little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They
said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell
what he saith..
They said this “among themselves.” This was not a wise course, for what can
ignorance learn of ignorance? Here were disciples questioning one another;
none of them knew anything, and yet they were trying to teach one another..
If they had all gone to their Master, how much more quickly would they have
understood his words! Take everything to Jesus. Try everything by the Word
of God. Do not believe what you hear because I say it, or because somebody
else says it. Go to the Word of God to learn what you need to know, and to
the Spirit of God to teach you the meaning of what you read..
19, 20. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto
them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye
shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily,
verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament,
Christ would die; he would go away and be unseen. On the cross he would
depart out of this life; in the tomb he would be hidden from his disciples:
“Ye shall weep and lament.”
20. But the world shall rejoice:
But not for long; the world’s joy at Christ’s death was soon over..
20. And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy..
I think we may leave off our reading at this verse, with these words to
flavor our mouth all this week: “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” God
grant that it may be so with many here present, for Christ’s sake! Amen..
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr. Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
