23 The Upper Room Discourse: Jesus’ Final Teaching (John 13-17)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Thanks for making Wednesday and the Word a part of your day. This is the penultimate and 23rd talk in my series on the Gospel of John. Today we'll be studying John chapters 13 through 17. The show notes for today's talk are at wednesdayintheword.com slash John 2 3. And don't forget to follow or subscribe to this show. Today I want to look at the Upper Room Discourse, which is found in John chapters 13 through 17. Obviously, we're not going to go through this verse by verse. Since this series has been focused on the big themes in the Gospel of John, we're going to go over the big themes of this talk. At some later date, Lord willing, I hope to do a detailed verse-by-verse study of the upper room discourse, but there's so many topics and books I have planned for this podcast. I pray the Lord lets me live long enough to finish them all. In the meantime, today will be an overview. Last week we looked at the end of Jesus' public ministry. From here on, he speaks only privately to the disciples in his inner circle, except for a few words from the cross. John chapters 13 through 17 record the talk that Jesus gave his disciples on the night he was arrested. As we have seen, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in a very public miracle. This caused many people to believe in him, but also caused the leadership in Jerusalem to resolve to get rid of Jesus once and for all. Jesus publicly entered Jerusalem before the Passover to the tearing crowds and the scorn of the Pharisees, and he is aware that he has set in motion the events that will lead to the cross, and the hour of his death is quickly approaching. This is his last night with the men who will become his apostles before all that happens. Now the other gospels don't tell us much about what happens at this dinner. They tell us that Jesus will be betrayed. Judas leaves to do that. They tell us about the Lord's Supper, where Jesus says, This is my body and this is my blood, as he's distributing the bread and the cup. John doesn't focus on those things. Instead, he's concerned with the teaching that Jesus gives to the remaining eleven disciples who will become his apostles. This teaching is a private instruction. There are no crowds, there are no other of his followers present. Jesus talks about what they will face in the days ahead, his arrest and execution, and so on. And John decided it was important for us in the church to know what Jesus said to them. And let me remind you, John is writing this many years after he first lived through the events, maybe 50 years later. He's writing to people who never met Jesus, who never had the chance to hear Jesus or see him do a miracle. John is asking his readers to believe in Jesus and find eternal life on the basis of the testimony of the apostles, of which he is one. As we have seen, John has focused very tightly on this issue of testimony, belief, and response to testimony. It's really been striking to me as I've prepared for this series to see how incredibly focused John stays on that issue. John has talked about the relationship between miracles, belief, and unbelief. He has talked about the importance of testimony concerning those miracles. John himself has testified to many of the miracles that Jesus did and to the many people that saw Jesus do them. He has told us stories about people who believe because they heard someone's testimony or have seen a particular miracle themselves. He's told us stories about people refusing to believe, even though they saw miracles happen right in front of them. And he has told us what Jesus taught about the nature of belief and unbelief. All of this is very relevant to us because we believe based on the testimony of the apostles. And that's why the upper room discourse is so relevant to us today as well. In this teaching, Jesus explains to his apostles the role that they are going to play after he leaves. And that's where you and I are. Jesus has gone away. We are in the situation that Jesus is about to describe to his disciples. Now, as apostles, they have responsibilities we don't have, but insofar as we are disciples of Jesus too, we are in the same situation. We have to learn to live with him not physically present. We've seen two important things about this group of now eleven disciples. First, they are examples of genuine belief. They heard the testimony of John the Baptist and they believed in Jesus because of it. They saw miracle after miracle and they believed in Jesus because of it. When the crowds turned against Jesus, they chose to stay with him. They are an example of persevering in belief. They believe that Jesus is the Messiah and they stick with him. The second thing we've learned about this group is we have seen hints that Jesus is preparing them for a larger role. They are going to be his appointed representatives. As far as what's recorded in the Gospels, he hasn't really explained this role to them yet, but he has hinted at what's coming in these various teachable moments that we saw. Now he does explain. In the upper room discourse, Jesus calls his disciples to fulfill those two roles. He calls them to be his apostles, and he calls them personally to live out their lives as believers and disciples. So in this talk, he's speaking to them both as generic believers and as his unique representatives. And it's our job as Bible students to figure out which is which. In this discourse, Jesus explains both what it means to follow him, given the fact that he's leaving, and he explains their role as apostles and how they are going to fulfill that role. And both of these ideas should be important to us. When Jesus explains what it meant to be his apostle, we learn why we should listen to these apostles. When Jesus tells them how to live as believers in his absence, he is also telling all of us how to live as believers in his absence. And it's of course our job to figure out how much of this applies to them as apostles and how much applies to all believers throughout church history. Now we're going to jump around in these chapters because I want to pull out the themes from the upper room discourse. Since this is a big picture study, I'm not going to go into the details of each section and each point. Instead, I'm going to highlight the main themes that Jesus talks about in this talk. You might want to pause the podcast and read through chapters 13 through 17 and then come back. I'm going to assume you're familiar with the content. So if you haven't read these chapters in a while, now's a good time to do so. Pause and come back to the podcast. First, let's talk about the setting. Let's remember where we are in the gospel. Throughout John's Gospel, we've seen Jesus visit Jerusalem, usually for one of the feasts. While he's there, he does something that provokes the authorities, like healing on the Sabbath, and then he leaves. Each time he visits, the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders intensifies until it culminates with the raising of Lazarus from the dead. That miracle is the final straw that solidifies all the opposition against him and Jesus knows it. We've seen him talk about how his hour has not yet come. He has expressed his confidence that they cannot and will not harm him until the appointed time. Well now the hour has come and Jesus is fully aware of the plan. This is how John starts this section. This is thirteen one. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Jesus has completed his earthly mission almost. It's almost time for him to part, and that is the first theme of this discourse. The first theme of this talk is Jesus tells them he is leaving, and the main point of this whole discourse is the devastating message I am leaving. For example, in John 13, 33, he says, Little children, yet a little while I am with you, you will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. Today we've had two thousand years to get used to this idea that Jesus is no longer walking around on the earth. The idea that Jesus came for a little while and left is very familiar to us. This is the way Christianity works for us. It's always worked that way. But this is not what the disciples were expecting. They had come to believe Jesus is the Messiah, but they had no expectation that the Messiah would leave. They expected all the things that we expect to happen at the second coming to start happening back then. The fact that Jesus says he's going away had to be devastating news for the disciples. So given the fact that he's about to leave, the main purpose of this talk is to explain to his disciples what they're going to face while he's gone. In the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus talks largely about the future. He explains what's coming next, and he assures them that he's coming back. And that's related to this theme. I am leaving, but I am going to return. Let me give you some examples. This is John 14, 1 through 4. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also, and you know the way to where I am going. So Jesus tells them, Yes, I am leaving, but in the end I am coming back for you. I am going away, but I will return to gather you to myself. One day Jesus will return to raise his people from the dead, to permanently establish the eternal kingdom of God and rule over it in righteousness forever. At that time he will gather his people together, so that all his people will live forever under his rule with the abolishment of sin and death and the joys of abundant eternal life. So he says, Don't be troubled. I know what I'm describing here is hard. I'm going away. I have some hard things to tell you about what you're going to face while I'm gone, but the difficulty will end. Ultimately, I'm coming back for you. I'm going to come back. I'm going to give you that place in my kingdom that you long for. I am coming back to fulfill all the promises of God. Now, of course, that promise is not just for the apostles as apostles. Jesus is coming back for all his people, and that includes you and me. While he's gone, the path is going to be hard, but it will be worth it in the end. And this is a very common theme that we see throughout the Bible. Scripture frequently teaches that we should judge whether a path is worth taking, not by how hard it is, but by where that path takes us in the end. If the destination is glorious, then the path is worth traveling no matter how hard it gets. And that's basically what Jesus is doing here in the upper room discourse. He's describing the hard road in front of the apostles, and to some extent, the hard road that all of us as followers of Jesus must travel as well. And he's saying, ultimately, the end result, the end destination of this road is the place you want to be. I will return and call you to myself, and the journey will be worth it. So there's this ultimate reinsurance that yes, he's leaving, yes, it's going to be hard, but in the end, all of this is going to work out for the best. But most of what Jesus has to say in the upper room discourse is not about that topic. He does talk about coming back for us, but that's not where he spends most of his time. Most of what Jesus talks about in this discourse is what's going to happen before he returns. In particular, what it's going to be like for his apostles. He concentrates on what they're going to face as his apostles, and this is where we see Jesus speaking to them about the two roles they have to play. He's going to talk to them about their role as apostles and what it means to be his representatives in the world. And he's going to talk to them about their role as believers, what it means to follow him when he's gone. First, let's look at what he says to them about being apostles. The word apostle means one who has been sent as a representative or a messenger. It's like being an ambassador. If I stay home, but I send you out in my place to speak for me, then you are my apostle. You are the one who has been sent to act as my representative. I'm not there, but when someone hears what you say, they are hearing what I say because I sent you to speak for me. So we've seen examples where a rich man would send his steward or his eldest son into the marketplace to conduct business in his name. We see Jesus using this language throughout the upper room discourse. He says a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him, and that word messenger is the word apostolos, which is where we get the English word apostle. It just means the messenger, the representative, the one who has been sent. A large part of this talk is Jesus talking to these eleven who are going to be his apostles about what they will face. Let me give you some examples. This is John 13 20. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. He's talking to the apostles, they are the one he's sending. Another example in John 15, 27, and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. So he tells the apostles, You will bear witness, you will testify concerning me because you have been with me from the beginning of my earthly ministry. You're the eyewitnesses, those who spent the most time with me, you can testify to what you saw and heard during the time you spent with me. And then in the end of the discourse, he prays to the Father and he says, This, this is John 17, 18, as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. So this is the second theme in the upper room discourse. Jesus is commissioning his apostles. The first theme is that he's leaving, but he is coming back. The second one is he is sending these eleven to be his apostles, his messengers, and their job is to represent him to the world. But remember the situation. They're hiding in the upper room right now because the rulers in Jerusalem want to arrest Jesus so they can kill him. Well, what's life going to be like when you are a representative of a guy like that? I mean, what should they expect to happen? And Jesus tells them the world is going to hate you. And this is our next theme. Here's an example, John fifteen, eighteen to twenty one. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours, but all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. Another example of this in John sixteen verses one through four. 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, 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. I did not say these things to you from the beginning because I was with you. Now Jesus is cryptically promising them that they will face execution one day just as he is about to face execution. He is going to be arrested that very night and quickly executed, and he tells them, Ultimately, you, my apostles, are going to have to face that as well. They didn't like me, and they're not going to like you. The day is coming when they're going to kill you and congratulate themselves because they think they're serving God in doing so. And that's exactly what happened. All the apostles except John, the author of our gospel, were martyred or executed. The Bible records the death of only one of them, and that is James, the brother of John, not James who wrote the book of James, who was the brother of Jesus, but James who was the brother of John. He was the first of the apostles to be put to death. Church history and tradition tell us of the deaths of the other apostles. And ironically, the only apostle, according to tradition, that died in his bed rather than being executed was John, the author of our gospel, although he was living in exile at the time. But when he's writing this gospel, which I understand to be fairly late, all the other apostles are gone. He's the last one. And here Jesus is warning them that's what's going to happen. The world hated me and it's going to hate you, and it will kill you the way it killed me. Yet, Jesus' message in the upper room discourse is not a message of doom and gloom. Remember, he assured them that he is going to return and give them a place in his eternal kingdom. Furthermore, he tells them that their ministry will be incredibly successful. Being his apostles is actually going to work out remarkably well if you don't count that part about being killed in the end. Because even though Jesus is leaving, he is not leaving them to do this job alone, and this is our next theme. Another of the big themes in the upper room discourse is the idea that Jesus will send the Holy Spirit to be with them. And let me read you a few places where he talks about that. This is John 14, 16 and 17. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. And then John fourteen twenty six, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. And then John fifteen twenty six to twenty seven, but when the helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me, and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. And one more, John sixteen, seven through eleven, nevertheless I tell you the truth. 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, 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. Now we want to be careful with these passages. It is true the Holy Spirit has been sent to all believers. We talked about that back in chapter three about being born again. But I think in this particular discourse, Jesus is focused on what the Spirit will do in the ministry of the apostles, and some of what he says applies only to them. I remember being told very early in my teaching ministry that if I had real faith, I wouldn't spend so much time studying and preparing. And the person who argued this pointed to these verses in John about the Spirit will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said. And he told me, look, this is a promise. The Spirit will teach you all the stuff you need to know. So why are you teaching from written notes? Don't you trust the Spirit to tell you what you're going to say when you're standing up front? Well, I think that is a misunderstanding about what Jesus promises at this place. Here I think he's talking to the apostles. They spent the last three years traveling, working, and living with Jesus. They heard him speak and teach on numerous occasions. Sometimes they didn't understand everything they heard. It was only later that they figured it out. I think here Jesus is promising his apostles as he sends them out to be his apostles that the Spirit is going to prepare and equip them for that role. The Spirit will teach the apostles and bring to their minds what Jesus taught them when he was physically standing in front of him. I think that's what the promise is all about. They will remember what Jesus taught them because the Spirit is going to ensure that they remember and that they accurately understand. They heard Jesus say it, but maybe they didn't fully understand at the time. But now the Spirit is going to teach them so that they remember and fully understand. And that way they can go out and tell everybody else what Jesus said and did and why it was important, and they can write the New Testament that we study. Furthermore, he says the Spirit is going to teach them new things, things that they were not yet ready to hear. For example, this is John 16, 12 through 15. 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 truth, 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. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine, therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. So Jesus tells them here, look, I still have a lot of things I need to tell you, but you aren't ready to hear it yet. So later the Spirit is going to bring you an understanding of those things. Now it's interesting, I can't help speculating. What did Jesus have in mind? What sorts of things were they not ready to hear yet? Well, I speculate that one of the things they probably weren't ready to hear was this whole issue of the Gentiles being part of the church. Jesus didn't really talk about that issue much at all in the Gospels, but it was a big problem in the New Testament times. One of the main issues the apostles had to sort out was what do we do with all these believing Gentiles? Where do they fit into the kingdom of a Jewish Messiah? Do they need to convert? Do they need to be circumcised? Do they need to keep the law? How does that work? And I suspect that's one of the kinds of things Jesus is talking about that they aren't ready to hear yet, but the Spirit will guide them and help them sort that out. Now notice how important this is to John's purpose in this gospel. This is a book about testimony and whether people believe testimony or not. And now we have Jesus, the Messiah, the representative of God in this talk saying the testimony of the apostles is absolutely reliable because the spirit of truth is teaching and reminding them of truth. To them, it's an encouragement that they are going to be able to do these big jobs they're being called to. The Spirit is going to equip them to fulfill the role that Jesus is asking them to do. But for us, it is also an encouragement because we can have confidence and believe what the apostles said because Jesus ensured they were right. They were prepared to do this job. He made sure they knew and understood the truth, and he sent his spirit to make that happen. So we can have confidence that what they said is accurate and true because the Spirit of God gave them accurate and true understanding. And let's take this one step further. Notice what that tells us about this gospel. Why should we believe that John could accurately write down what happened 50 years after it happened? Well, John is one of those apostles. He is one of those authoritative representatives of Jesus. And the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of God, made sure that John accurately remembered and fully understands the truth he was taught. Now, those had to be incredibly comforting words to the apostles. Jesus is leaving, they're being tasked to carry on his work. The job they're taking over is huge and overwhelming and extremely important. Carrying on the ministry of Jesus has to be intimidating. But Jesus says, you're not alone. I'm not leaving you alone in this. I am sending you the Spirit. You can do this job because the power of God will be working in you. Now that has to be encouraging. But it's also incredibly important to us because it tells us something about the people we listen to. Why should we pay attention to John or Peter? Because Jesus himself called them to this role. Jesus, the Messiah, sent his spirit to make sure that John did his role well. So it's important to them, but it's also important for us to know. And that brings us to one of the more controversial teachings in the upper room discourse. There is a lot of discussion about the implications of this discourse for us as believers today. And where do we draw the line? How much of what Jesus says applies only to the apostles, and how much of it applies to all believers as his disciples? For instance, in the upper room discourse, Jesus says something like, Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. How are we to take that? Was that specifically addressed to the eleven, or was it a promise to all believers? And if it is to all believers, well, what does it mean? Does it mean if I just decide I want something, if I pray I'll get it? Well, let me give you some examples. This is John fourteen, twelve through fourteen. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. And here John fifteen, seven and eight, If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John fifteen sixteen, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give it to you. And one more, John sixteen twenty three and twenty four. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name, ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. Now this is a really big topic. There is a we could spend a lot of time on this. We could spend a whole series talking about the issues involved in these statements and how they relate to other passages in the Bible and how we understand the whole role of prayer, what's been promised to us in prayer, and all of that. In fact, prayer is such a huge topic. One day I'd like to do a podcast series on it. But for now, let me give you a big picture kind of introduction to what I think is going on with these verses. Before we do anything else, we need to understand what it means for the apostles to ask for something in Jesus' name. Jesus is calling them to be his authoritative representatives. What they teach is what Jesus taught. They have the authority to speak for Jesus and to speak about Jesus. When I hear an apostle, I am hearing through them what Jesus himself would have wanted communicated. In that sense, they teach in the name of Jesus. Now that is not true of me or any other teacher today. No one since the apostles has that kind of authority. Furthermore, this describes their relationship to the Father. Now remember in the story of Lazarus, Jesus prayed, I know you have already heard me. I have absolute confidence that you're going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and I know you've already heard that request. And so I'm just praying here so everybody else can hear and realize that I'm with you and I trust you and you're listening to what I'm asking you to do. That kind of thing. That was the relationship Jesus had to the Father. He could pray for the miracles that he did with absolute confidence because he only said and did what the Father instructed him to do. He didn't act on his own authority. He acted on the authority of the Father, doing what the Father asked him to do. He didn't take all the responsibility and power that the Father had given him and run off and do his own thing. He took all that and he did exactly what his father wanted him to do with it. So he healed with confidence because he knew the father intended to validate his ministry through the miracles he did. As I understand it, I believe Jesus is telling the apostles that they now can pray with that same confidence as Jesus' appointed representatives. They can pray to the Father in the name of Jesus because they are called to fulfill the same ministry that Jesus did. They are going to preach the gospel to the world, and God is going to validate their ministry with the same kind of miracles and signs that He validated Jesus' ministry. So in the name of Jesus is not some magical incantation that they have to say to get the results that they want. It has a meaning, it has a context to it. It means they can't speak for Jesus. They are praying in his name because they are commissioned to be his apostles. He has given them the authority to speak for him. Now, what sort of things are they praying for? Notice that Jesus describes it as doing the works he did and in fact doing greater works than he did. And that's exactly what we see the apostles doing as the story of the church plays out after Jesus leaves. Jesus spent three years preaching around the nation of Israel, but he had very few followers at the end of that time. If you only saw his earthly ministry, you might think he was a failure. Lots of people heard him, but large crowds turned against him when he was arrested and executed, the eleven guys with him scattered like flies. From a worldly perspective, it doesn't look like he ended up very successful. He didn't leave behind churches, he didn't leave behind monasteries, he didn't write a series of theological books, he didn't leave behind a school of followers, he didn't run a megachurch, and he didn't have a television show. But he did leave behind the apostles. The apostles preached and thousands upon thousands of believers spread throughout the world. So they had even greater works than Jesus did in that sense. Jesus did miracles. People would believe because of the miracles, but then many of them quickly abandoned that belief. The apostles also did miracles. The apostles raised the dead even. But this time, faith and belief in the gospel spread throughout the world. Many people came to believe because of the miracles the apostles performed. The apostles were the ones who were actually given the task of spreading the gospel to the world. In other words, we see the apostles pursuing the same spirit-empowered ministry of preaching and miracles that Jesus did, but they have a worldwide impact that Jesus did not have. Now, actually, Jesus did have a worldwide impact because his apostles carried on his ministry, and that was the plan. God's plan was that the apostles would be the ones to bring about that worldwide impact, while Jesus confined himself to the twelve and the nation of Israel, and the nation of Israel didn't like him that much. So what I see going on here is Jesus is promising them that they can ask the Father with confidence to do the same works for them that the Father did for Jesus. They can ask the Father to validate their ministry in the same way he validated the ministry of Jesus. Now, admittedly, at first reading, if you just took these verses out of context, it would sound like Jesus is saying, just ask for whatever you want and you'll get it. But we know that can't possibly be what he means. First, that's not what the rest of Scripture says, and second, that's not the way life works. Just read through scriptures and you'll see many, many examples of people asking God for something and the answer is no. And you've probably had that experience in your own life where you've asked God for something and he said no, or he said wait. So it doesn't seem very likely that Jesus intends to imply that you can get whatever you want here. The context is Jesus speaking to his apostles. He's preparing them for the job ahead. He's describing for them what life is going to be like after he leaves, and he is telling them they can confidently ask God to testify that they are in fact his apostles, even if they ask God to raise the dead. As apostles of Jesus, God is willing and able to testify to their authority, so they can ask him to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and they can ask with the same confidence Jesus had that the Father would do what he asked. Now, in my opinion, this does not blanketly apply to all believers, but there is a principle here that applies to all believers. You and I are not apostles. I can't ask the Father to raise the dead for me, even if I use the words in Jesus' name, because I am not an apostle. I am not one of his appointed representatives, so the promises made to them don't apply to me. But I can ask the Father to forgive me, to teach me, and to give me wisdom because I am a disciple of Jesus. I can expect him to keep all the promises he made to all those who call on the name of Jesus and ask to be forgiven by his blood and the cross. I can expect God to teach me, to mature my faith, to work all things together for good and to forgive me on judgment day because those are things he has promised to do for all believers. And when I pray those things and I say, in I'm asking in Jesus' name, that's not some magic words like please and thank you. I'm saying, based on who Jesus is and what he did for me on the cross, I am making this appeal to you. I only dare approach you because I trust that you have accepted the blood of Jesus Christ on my behalf. Now I can't pray for me that he will do what he promised to do for an apostle because I'm not an apostle, but I can pray with extreme confidence that he will do for me what he has promised to do for all his people. Now I explore that topic a lot more in a series called Who is the Holy Spirit? And I'll put a link to that in the show notes if you want to go further into that idea. The show notes are at wednesdayintheword.com slash John 2 3. Briefly to summarize, I think the scripture teaches there is a universal work of the Spirit that God does in every believer, and we believers can confidently expect that God will keep those promises. Then there are individual works of the Spirit, individual gifts that are given to some, but not everyone. There are particular gifts that the Spirit gave only to the apostles, some only to the prophets, and so forth, and we should not expect to have those gifts or promises made to them fulfilled in us. So in this context, I think Jesus is primarily talking to the apostles about their unique calling and role. God will testify to their authority that they are Jesus' representatives by doing great miracles through them. That's their job, not my job, not your job. But the principle that applies to us all as followers of Jesus is that we can pray with that same confidence that God will keep the promises that Jesus made to all believers. And we can pray with confidence that God will equip us to do whatever the particular job is that he calls us to do. All right, so here's what we've seen so far about what Jesus had to say to his disciples about their upcoming role as apostles. He said, Jesus is leaving, but he's coming back, and it will all end well. He is sending them out to be his spirit-empowered representatives. The world is going to hate and persecute them just like it hated and persecuted Jesus, but they are not alone. The Spirit will teach and remind them of everything that Jesus has taught them. The Father will do miracles to validate their ministry, just as he did for Jesus himself, and those who reject Jesus will reject the apostles, but those who are prepared to listen to Jesus will listen to them as well. Now John is not telling us all this to satisfy our curiosity. He's writing to convince us to believe in Jesus. John is one of those apostles that Jesus is talking to here. John is one of those people testifying to what Jesus taught and did, and he's claiming that the Spirit of God is standing behind the truth that he says and this gospel he has written. Even though this teaching is addressed to them as apostles, it's very relevant to us because they are our window on Jesus. And the question is, how clear is that window? And John is telling us that window is crystal clear. Okay, let's turn then to what Jesus said about what life would be like after he leaves. There's a couple of themes that come up here. Up to this point in John's Gospel, there has not been a lot of what we might call ethical teaching. By ethical teaching I mean teaching or explanation about how we ought to live. John has focused almost exclusively on the issues of belief and unbelief in response to the miracles and testimony concerning Jesus. But here in the upper room discourse, we have a very famous ethical teaching and a very famous commandment that Jesus gives the disciples. This is John thirteen, thirty-four through thirty-five. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And then later in John 15, twelve and thirteen, this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that somebody laid down his life for his friends. And then John fifteen, seventeen, these things I command you so that you will love one another. Now the first obvious question is why does Jesus call this a new commandment? The two great commandments of the Mosaic Law are love God with all your heart and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. That teaching's been around for a long time. So why does Jesus call it a new commandment? Well, I think Jesus is commanding something slightly different than love your neighbor as yourself. Love your neighbor as yourself has a kind of logic to it. What he's commanding here is new in the sense that it has a different focus with a different kind of logic. And I will explain briefly what I'm talking about. I go into a lot more detail on this in my series on the fruit of the spirit, which I will also link to in the show notes at Wednesday in the Word.com slash John two three. First, what's the logic of love your neighbor as yourself? When I look at my neighbor, I should see someone who is just like me. I should see a human being made in the image of God just as I am. We stand in the same relationship to God as his creatures. We are both worthy of dignity and respect because we are made in the image of God, my neighbors are just as worthy to be treated well as I am, and my needs are no more and no less important than theirs. When I'm trying to figure out how to treat my neighbor, I should ask myself, if I were in her place, how would I want to be treated? And then do that. And this is the logic behind the golden rule. But here Jesus is saying something new. He says, Love your fellow disciples. And the logic here is different. When I look at any human being, I should see a person worthy of being treated well and love them in that sense. But when I see a fellow disciple of Jesus, I should also see my brother or my sister. I should see someone in whom the Spirit of God is at work. I should see someone who stands to inherit eternal life just as I do, and one of the sheep whom Jesus loves and for whom he died. Because Jesus means something to me, the people he loves ought to mean something to me as well. If I were to mock, reject, ridicule, or persecute followers of Jesus, that says my claim to follow Jesus is a lie. So believers are called to two different kinds of love. We're called to love all human beings as creatures made in God's image, but we are especially to love our fellow believers because we are in the same family. Now the next important thing to note is that Jesus says we are to love one another as he has loved us. And how has he done that? Notice he describes it. He says, Greater love has no man than this, than that he laid down his life for his friends. Jesus loved his people so much that he suffered the agony of death on the cross that we might find eternal life. He came to serve us, not serve himself, and he took great suffering upon himself for our sake. At the beginning of this evening, Jesus enacted a little parable of service by washing the feet of the disciples. He did the job that only the lowliest of household slaves would normally do, and he says he did this to set an example. Here is Jesus, the teacher, the Lord, the master, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If anyone has the right to say, kneel before me, it is him, and yet he stooped to serve them, and that's the example he leaves us. These are his people. We in the church, especially those of us in leadership, are called to serve other believers. Then finally, he says that by our love for each other, people will know that we are his disciples. And I think this is related to the other things that he's just been saying. First, let's say what he's not saying. There is a popular interpretation that I think is wrong. I do not think that Jesus is saying, you're going to be such loving people that it's like you'll just have this pink love glow. When you walk by, everyone will recognize, hey, she's got that Jesus glow. She must be a follower of Jesus. That is not what he's saying. He is not saying that you will be so strikingly overflowing with good vibes that people will know you're my disciple. I think what he's saying is other people will know you're my disciple because you love my other disciples. You don't go around mocking Christians. You don't persecute religious people because they follow Jesus. You don't make fun of followers of Jesus or think they're strange. You treat them well, you want to be with them, you see them as kindred spirits, and you act for their benefit. The new part of this commandment is my disciples should love one another. That's the new thing. The general commandment that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, well, that's been around since Leviticus. That's not new. The newness of this command is the emphasis he places on followers of Jesus loving each other. The world will recognize that you are a follower of Jesus because you love other followers of Jesus. And remember, love is not warm, fuzzy feelings. It is what we say and do. It is acting on the welfare of another. So we actively seek each other's benefit in spite of the many things that may divide us. People will know you're a disciple of Jesus because you don't go around trying to kill other disciples of Jesus. You go around serving and loving them. And this is one of those themes I think that applies to all of us as followers of Christ. Now, very quickly, there's another warning that Jesus gives in the upper room discourse about being his disciple, and that is you have to stick with it. You have to persevere. He uses this very famous analogy about the vine and the branch. This is John 15, one through ten. I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. Now again, there's a whole lot we could talk about in that passage, but we will persevere and stick to the big themes. We have already seen this theme in John. It's not enough to be impressed by a miracle once, you have to stick with belief. In order to be Jesus' disciple, you have to remain at his feet, you have to persevere and keep believing him. It's not enough to make a one-time claim to faith and then ignore it. It's not enough to be initially emotionally excited and then give up. You have to decide to stay with him, especially when the going gets tough. When the branch is attached to the vine, life flows through it. When a branch is cut off from the vine, it withers and dies, and you throw it in the fire. And this is especially important as a warning for the disciples and for all of us because this is our call. This is what life in the absence of Jesus is all about. What are we to do until he comes back? We are called to hang in there with him, to remember who he is, to remember what he's promised, and continue to listen to his word and learn from the ones he sent and embrace and live the truth. And we are to stay on that path no matter how hard it gets. One last thing I'll mention here is that throughout the upper room discourse, we see Jesus promising that his love will sustain them through this time that he's gone. Yes, he's calling them to sacrificial love, he's calling them to persevere and believing him, but he's also promising to be with them and to ultimately rescue them from the world. Let me give you some examples of that. This is John fourteen one. Let not your hearts be troubled, believe it God, believe also in me. John fourteen twenty seven, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John sixteen thirty three, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. And then in his final prayer in this talk he prays for the disciples. This is seventeen twelve through seventeen. While I was with them I kept them in your name which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the Son of Destruction, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in them. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth. The apostles are going to face many pressures, trials, sufferings, and hardships, but Jesus is asking that the Father would preserve them, that He would keep them in His name, He would protect them from the evil one and sanctify them by bringing the truth home to their hearts. Ultimately, God is going to keep them faithful and fulfill the promises that Jesus has made. That's what Jesus is praying for them. This is the assurance they need that Jesus has overcome the world. They are not left alone to live out this faith on their own. God Himself would hold them and protect them and teach them. And now just to make it absolutely clear that he's not talking just about the eleven men in front of him, Jesus ends this prayer by talking about people like you and me. Up to this point I think he's been praying for the disciples who are right there in the room with him, but when he ends, he says this, this is John 17, 20 and 21. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. And here is the great theme of the Gospel of John: believe in Jesus through the testimony of the apostles. Jesus looks forward into the future, recognizing that from here on out, those who believe are not going to believe because they got to hear Jesus in person, they are going to believe because they heard the apostles, and the apostles passed on what Jesus did. And Jesus prays that God would keep and preserve and protect and sanctify not just the disciples in front of him, but people like you and me and all believers throughout church history. People like you and me who believe in Jesus because of what the apostles wrote. This really makes clear the scope of Jesus' intentions. He is sending out the apostles to raise a group of people who believe in him, and he is praying for all of us together that we would be preserved and protected by God until he returns. To summarize then, as I see it, these are the major themes in the upper room discourse. One, Jesus is leaving, but he's coming back, and it will all end well. Two, Jesus is sending his apostles into the world as his apostles. The world will hate them just as it hated Jesus, but they will succeed. Three, the apostles will succeed because they are not alone. Jesus is sending his Holy Spirit to equip them, teach them, and remind them of everything he has said and done. Four, while he is gone, all of us disciples of Jesus are to persevere. We are to abide in Jesus and remain faithful to his teaching, and we all have the Holy Spirit to help us. Five, while he is gone, we disciples of Jesus are to love one another, not just as fellow human beings, but as fellow heirs of the gospel and followers of Christ. And last, we can have confidence that Jesus will keep us and preserve us. He will not lose a single one of his sheep. John's gospel has been about testimony and belief. Most believers throughout church history do not have the opportunity to see Jesus in person for themselves. The vast majority of us believe because of the testimony of the apostles, and that's what the upper room discourse is all about. You and I are in the same position as John's first readers. We must decide what we're going to do with Jesus, not because we've seen him, but because the apostles testified about him. Jesus says this about himself in this discourse. This is John 13, 20. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Notice the progression there. To embrace and accept what the apostles say is true is to embrace and accept what Jesus says. And to embrace and accept what Jesus says is to accept the Father. The Father sent Jesus, Jesus sent the apostles. My response to an apostle is my response to Jesus, and my response to Jesus is my response to God the Father. We have to decide whether we're going to persevere in following Christ. The stakes are high. God grants eternal life only to those who persevere in faith. As we persevere, we have to decide how are we going to treat each other. Jesus loves us and came to serve us even to the point of sacrificing himself on the cross. Do we love and trust him enough to treat each other the same way? And then finally, we have this assurance we are not in this alone. Jesus has prayed that God would teach us, protect us, and mature us in the faith, and we can have confidence that God will answer that prayer. Jesus may be gone, but he has not left us alone and he's coming back. Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word, the podcast that explains not only what a passage means, but also shows you how to figure it out. The blog version of this podcast is on wednesdayintheword.com slash John 23. You can find all previous episodes in this series on my website, wednesdayintheword.com, as well as many other seasons and episodes of the podcast. There is no charge, no spam, and no ads. If you've been blessed by this podcast, please share it with a friend. But most importantly, share with them what you learned and tell them where you learned it. Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find his great and incredible worship music on heartfeltmusic.org. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.