“‘In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of 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. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.’ His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 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.’”

1.      True Joy is Found in Christ

Today’s passage opens with Jesus saying, “In that day you will ask nothing of me.” This beginning merits that we back up to properly understand what this day is that He’s speaking of. We pick up in the midst of Jesus teaching His disciples, mere hours from the cross. The Passover meal has been finished, and Judas Iscariot has departed to go and bring the ruling Jews and Roman cohort to arrest Jesus. From John 14, we see Jesus begin to teach with a different kind of pointed intensity than we’ve seen previously, driving home points of great concern for His disciples, but also great hope. We last left off with John 16:22,

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

This would be the day that Jesus speaks of when He says, “In that day you will ask nothing of me.” While Jesus’s words concerning seeing Him again don’t have to be bound by a singular meaning, and can certainly apply to the joy His disciples would know in seeing Him after His resurrection, this idea of a day when they will know complete joy, a day when they will ask nothing of Him points us to a later time. After all, how can you ask for anything when every need is met? Revelation 21:22–27, 22:1-5, gives us a picture of this day,

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

We’ve discussed this numerous times before, but it’s always a good idea to keep our aim correct and remember that God is not a genie. He cares for us, provides for us, He even serves us in a way – but as Lord and Master, not as servant. Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:7–11,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

This doesn’t mean that I want a pony, and so I get a pony. It means that my needs – not what I think my needs are, but what God perfectly knows my needs to be in order to fulfill His will, will be met in abundance. Jesus says in Luke 12:32–34,

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

While people can become discouraged or even have their faith compromised by unanswered prayers, nothing sought in the name of Spirit and Truth goes unfound. What Jesus says next,

“Until now you have asked nothing in my name,”

helps us see this contrast. Mark 10:35–45 shows us a request put to Jesus, but the aim behind it is misguided, and correction is given,

“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?’ And they said to him, ‘We are able.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Where does our joy come from? We’ve seen from what Jesus has already said in John 16 that true joy, that which no one can take from us, is found in Him. It’s not about getting what we seek in our own hearts, but rather thirsting earnestly for the things of God. Nehemiah 8:10 closes with the words, “… And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

This comes after the people have been called out of exile and blessed to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Once the wall is completed all the people who are of an age to understand are gather together, and the Law is read. Upon hearing it, they begin to weep and to mourn. This is understandable. Jesus is the embodiment and fulfillment of the Law, and just as you cannot fathom your need for a savior until you’ve been blessed to see your own wretched condition, so the Law provided a standard, a measure by which your own unrighteousness is revealed. While commentaries point to the Jew’s weeping as a sign of repentance (which makes sense), we’re also told that this came along with mourning. It stands to reason that in the light of hearing the Law read in its entirety, they saw the gap between who they were, and who they needed to be, and they despaired. But this isn’t what God wants from the people – while understandable, it’s not the proper response. Nehemiah 8:9 says,

“And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.”

The gap between humanity and God, between what is wicked and what is holy in infinitely wide. The Law was a step closer, a set of rules and principles to guide the heart and spirit toward God. It was hope, and for that is was to be rejoiced over, yet it was not ultimately sufficient. Hebrews 9:13–14 tells us,

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

If there is joy to be found in the Law, how much greater the joy, how much more complete is what we have in Christ? What we can ask for and receive in Him is a work that is finished, an atoning blood that endures, and a hope for eternity.

“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.”

Matthew 13:10–17,

“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.’ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’”

The disciples have already been given teaching direct from the Father through the Son – what’s more, they’ve been given hearts to hear and understand things to a degree that is progressively increasing. This has been active since they were called to follow Jesus, and culminates in the receiving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Much of what Jesus says after the final Passover meal, He’s already told them. But as we’ve addressed previously, it seems that here, in the final hours before the cross, Jesus becomes more pointed with His words. There is a general lack of comprehension, a lack of willingness to understand that has plagued the disciples surrounding the coming crucifixion of their Lord and Master. As Jesus becomes more direct, they begin to experience the confusion and despair of understanding what is coming, at least in part. Though their hearts and minds still remain somewhat clouded, we can see that this promise of greater revelation and understanding isn’t limited to this teaching, but speaks to the hope and promise of what they will continue to receive; what we all receive as believers – the peace and understanding delivered beyond the flesh through the Helper of the Spirit.

“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

This is a principle that Jesus has outlined extensively – His connection to the Father and our connection to Him.

John 3:21,

“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 10:9,

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

John 10:17–18,

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

John 14:6–7,

“… I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

The will of the Son is the will of the Father; the love of the Son is the love of the Father. Through the Son we are brough to the Father, because of their unity this means that we’re not degrees of separation from God, but are brought directly to Him through our acceptance of Christ the Son as our Savior.

2.      True Authority is Found in Christ

“I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

While this sentence can’t quite be called “the Gospel in miniature” as John 3:16 has been, it does show us a synopsis of Jesus’s origin and future. Sent from the Father, He came into the world, the manifestation and fulfilment of the Word. Now, on the cusp of completing the work that He came into the world to do, Jesus prepares to return to the Father. Again, this isn’t something that He hasn’t already said, however it’s put so succinctly that it seems to cause a greater degree of comprehension from the disciples.

“His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.’”

In Matthew 7:28–29, at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, we see the response of the people to Jesus’s teaching,

“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

John 7:14–17 shows us the response of those who oppose Jesus,

“About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, ‘How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?’ So Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Despite the fact that they too marvel at Jesus’s grasp on the scriptures, the ruling Jews consistently test and question Jesus, not looking for the truth, but seeking to trip Him up. The disciples have seen, and have previously acknowledged Jesus’s divine station. Matthew 16:13–17 says,

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.’”

In the aftermath of Jesus feeding the 5,000, and His teaching that He is the bread of life, many of His followers depart. John 6:67–69 tells us,

“So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”

The twelve have heard His teachings firsthand, they have seen scribes, lawyers, Pharisees and Sadducees all come and go, attempting to twist His words and failing. Three of their number witness Jesus at the transfiguration, and know to an even greater degree who He is as the Son of God. They have a better understanding of the station that Jesus holds than anyone else on earth, and we see them draw validation from Jesus’s words, from the authority they have witnessed themselves. But we also know that their faith has its flaws.

3.      True Peace is Found in Christ

“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.”

While we don’t see their reactions, this news should have been crushing for the disciples. It so heavily mirrors Jesus’s recent dialog with Peter that it’s hard not to feel some degree of sting. John 13:37–38 says,

“Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.’”

“Lord I’ll die for you,” says Peter. To which Jesus replies, “Die for me? You’ll deny me three times before this night is finished.” The disciples have a moment where things seem to click, “We get it,” they say “we understand you, and this is why we believe in you!” Jesus doesn’t tear them down to nothing, be He does correct, kindly yet firmly. They are about to abandon Him, fulfilling the words of Zechariah 13:7, as He tells them in Matthew 26:31,

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”’”

In this as with everything else, Jesus shows compassion, teaching and guiding toward Truth in all things. We see a back and forth throughout His words to the eleven who remain, a harmony formed between acknowledging the pain and discomfort that is coming, with the eternal provision that has already been established. This is the spirit of the Gospel itself. We aren’t good enough. We’re sinners, corrupted in our very nature, and there’s nothing that we can do to right ourselves, to bridge the gap between us and holy God. This is bad news – it’s the absolute worst news. The only prospect we can rely on in ourselves is eternal separation and agony, unable to exist in the presence of Truth, Love, and Life. It stands to reason that for the good news to be good, there has to be something that its superseding, taking the place of, or washing away something bad. This horrifying prospect of eternal separation is erased by the blood of Christ, destroyed by the good news that God has done the work that we could not. Unable to pay the price to come to Him, God has covered our debt – not ignoring it, but paying it in full by coming to us Himself. The disciples are given bad news after the Passover meal is finished. Jesus is leaving them, the world is going to hate them, to seek their very lives, and they themselves are going to abandon their Lord and Master at His darkest hour. Yet there is good news – the helper is coming, they are left the words of Christ as great comfort in their coming persecution, and though they may run and abandon their Lord, He is not alone.

“Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 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.”

God is due our faith, our obedience, and out praise – but He is not reliant upon it, it is not necessary for Him. It is right that we humble ourselves, that we seek entirely for our will to align with His, but God is God no matter what we do. Whether we be obedient children, or rebel in sin, He is still on the throne. Psalm 33:10–11 says,

“The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”

The disciples may abandon Jesus in their panic, yet we see that Jesus is not alone, as God is not alone, and in this we may know a peace that is beyond anything the world can dream to offer. When we suffer, when we are neglected, and persecuted, and face trial upon trial, we are not alone. We are redeemed, we are armored by our Father in heaven, we are made into the Temple of the Spirit of the Living God. Pain is painful, hardships are hard, and yet in Christ, we know peace, by Him, we may persevere, more than conquerors, delivered through His victory, raised above the world.

Pastor Chris’s sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBZq7pHVjcs