15. THE WORLD CONVICTED; ITS RULER
JUDGED; FULL JOY IN THE KNOWLEDGE
OF THE FATHER AND HIS LOVE.
(John 16)
WE must now consider the provision Jesus makes for His servants while in the midst of an opposed and antagonistic world. Precious as would be the grace of the Father and the Son in sending the Spirit of truth to bring the testimony of Christ glorified, even as the apostles would bear witness to His humiliation, the world nevertheless would remain unchanged. Perverted and subjected, especially in its religious and Jewish form, to a dark and evil influence, no outrage would be too great to express its enmity to grace. It would be considered a service to God to put the servants of Jesus out of the religious world, and for every one to kill them. But Jesus told them these things beforehand so that they might not be taken by surprise nor offended.
This is His first care, not minimizing the dangers, but forewarning of them, so that the persecutions even would be a verification of His word, and thus assurance to their faith and of their hearts in the trial. While He was with them it had been unnecessary to speak of the difficulties and of the evil power opposed to them, for Jesus Himself sovereignly governed their circumstances, and personally interposed between them and every difficulty and danger. But now He was going away, and His disciples would have themselves to face these troubles.
Nevertheless the Lord would have them free from self-occupation and sorrow. They were to think of Him and His concerns, for they had not even asked where He was going. Besides it was profitable for them that He should go away, for then He would send the Comforter to them.
In these two divine facts of supreme importance would the souls of the disciples find rest amid the tumultuous wave of an ungodly world and the storms of spiritual evil. Jesus gone and glorified on high, and their hearts rejoicing in His joy, and, on the other hand, the presence of the Comforter here, proof to the world of its sin in rejecting Jesus, of righteousness in His person only as gone away to the Father, and of judgment, since the principle of the world, with him who rules it, is thus declared to be opposed to the Son and to the Father.
There is thus divine competency in the Comforter to sustain the disciples in their testimony to the world for their absent Lord and Master, according to the heavenly and glorious place with the Father into which He has entered in manhood. Prominence is therefore given here to what is special and peculiar to Christian testimony, namely, to a glorified Christ. In chapter 14. the Comforter comes rather to substitute an absent one, and to carry on in divine power a testimony already given (vs. 26). Chapter 15. extends this, and includes His own particular witness concerning Jesus on high (vs. 26). Now (16:7-14) this latter is the especial purport of His witness (as we have it, no doubt, in the epistles). The Spirit of truth would guide the apostles into all the truth. He would not speak from Himself, but in serving the glory of the exalted Man according to that which He should hear. It would not be merely a bringing to memory of what Jesus was and had taught in humiliation on earth, but He would announce the coming things of the glory of Jesus (vers. 13, 14), who was indeed the Son of the Father. The things pertaining to the Son would be those of the Father also, since all that the Father has are the Son’s.
But again the Saviour’s thoughts turn to the needs of His beloved disciples during the time of His absence. As we have seen, its particular character would be that of the fiercest persecution. He now speaks of its duration. It should be but a little while, for He was going away to the Father. Had they been in spirit free to receive His words, how graciously were they designed to comfort them! The time so short, the reason so important and full of blessed consequences for them!
Full of questionings and sad of heart, the poor self-occupied disciples were unable to take the comfort His words conveyed. The Saviour spoke according as His own heart surveyed the circumstances. To Him the time was short, and He would see that the sorrow of it should be but short, however sharp. His love did not think it long or weary to wait on high for His loved ones, nor hard to serve them meanwhile. For faith, too, the time has ever been but short, a constant and momentary expectation, and suffering for His sake would but hasten on the time of His return.
But His thoughts were not theirs, and fear, not faith, was filling their hearts. They could not understand the “little while” of which He spoke. Impatient of display and worldly glory, even a short delay and Christ unseen were irksome.
In grace He anticipates their question and comforts them, not by hiding or belittling the sorrows of His absence, but by gathering their joys, their thoughts, their interests, around Himself. They would indeed weep and lament at His departure, for this world and its prince would see with joy the successful issue of their guilty and crafty schemes.
Miserable and short-lived joy! Whereas Jesus would see the disciples again, and their grief should be turned to joy unfading — a joy which none should take from them. The birth-pangs of a new-creation state should give place to the heartfelt and unceasing joy of man in resurrection.
Thus had the Lord unfolded to His disciples the circumstances as well as the duration of His absence, together with its moral character or the way their hearts would feel it. It would be a time of persecution, though for a little while only — a time of sorrow which should be turned to abiding joy.
Of one more source of comfort will He speak — one supreme in blessedness, namely, their relationship and intercourse with the Father. And how deeply would they need it, for in that day the familiar converse with Himself which they had hitherto enjoyed, however lacking in intelligence on their part, would then cease. Instead of this their requests would be addressed to the Father in His name, and would be answered according to the love of the Father towards those who loved His Son. So near the place, so spontaneous and free the affection that there was no room or need for His mediation for they should ask the Father themselves, personally and directly, and thus receive all their petitions.
Constantly had the Lord spoken to them of the Father, and presented Himself to them as the personal revelation of the Father in the Son, humbled in manhood; and implicitly had they received and believed His word, but without in the least apprehending the Father. His words to them were allegories. But the hour was coming when His testimony concerning the Father would openly convey the reality to their souls, for in Jesus glorified they would see a man in all the plenitude and perfection of the Son with the Father, and be brought by Him to enjoy in the same relationship, as Man glorified, the Father’s presence as well as His thoughts and communications. He had come out from the Father into the world; this they had seen though without intelligence. But He was leaving the world to go to the Father, and this change of place would change everything for their souls:
How sluggish are our minds, even where faith is, when eternal things and divine relationships are in question! The disciples had believed that Jesus came out from God. This their faith could connect with Israel, and its national and earthly relationship in this world with Jehovah. But, as we have seen, He had come out from the Father. Their faith had never apprehended this. It was the new revelation, and a relationship in which earthly things had no place; nor could the world ever know it, for He was now leaving the world to go to the Father.
To see Him in resurrection, that new and infinitely blessed place for man, glorious and eternal, nay more, to know Him in His heavenly place would be joy to them as of a woman when her child is born. Sorrow past, a man brought forth — an allegory which He now interprets plainly, as His disciples indeed perceive. Yet in spite of this their minds at once revert to, or rather never leave, the beaten track of earthly hopes and Jewish aspirations, in which their faith had always moved. Unable to look beyond the things which are seen, they say, By this we believe that Thou art come from God.
True He had come from God; their faith was orthodox, but powerless to keep their souls from being scattered by the power of evil. Governed by their own things, perhaps religious things, and personal considerations, they would leave the Son alone, and yet not alone, for the Father was with Him.
Everything for eternal life and blessing should abide unalterable and secure in the revelation of the Father in the Son. Everything of the creature failed, evil succeeded, and that little gathered company, tended and taught with so much love and care, was scattered.
Thus should they have peace in view of the success of evil, the failure of faith, and the wickedness of an antagonistic world where only tribulation was to be expected. In spite of all they were to be of good courage, for Jesus had overcome the world. He had proved it, judged it, passed out of it by the cross that they might enjoy with Him another world — fruit of the eternal thoughts and counsels of love of the Father and the Son. Full joy meanwhile should be theirs (vs. 24), as they depended on the Father, and derived from Him everything in the name of Jesus in answer to their requests.