John 14:15-27

John 14:15-27: Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 

17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 

20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 

21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 

24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen

Dear congregation,

Do you know the old children's game, ‘I spy with my little eye’? We loved playing it as children. You don't need anything to play it. You can just start right away. One person says, ‘I spy with my little eye something you can't see, and it's yellow!’ Everyone else looks around and tries to figure out what the other person is seeing. ‘Is it the cup over there?’ ‘Is it the T-shirt over there?’ 

When the question is answered, ‘Is it the yellow in the flames at the Last Supper table?’, the person who discovered it is delighted. Suddenly, this person recognises something they had not consciously seen before. Until that moment, they had not paid any attention to it.

As childish and simple as this game is, a few years ago it became a parable for me. In a way, it applies to believers. We see something that others cannot perceive or recognise.

John speaks of this in this section of his Gospel. The section is one of three chapters entitled ‘Farewell Discourses’. 

John states: ‘The world no longer sees me. But you, my disciples, see me, for I live.’

Who is this ‘world’ that does not see Jesus?

John uses the word ‘world,’ cosmos, 72 times in his Gospel. In the other three Gospels, it appears only 15 times in total.

For John, the world is the place of humanity. The world is the earthly sphere of influence. This is where people live and work. This is where people determine what happens. This human world stands in contrast to the divine world. They are two different worlds. In and through Jesus, these worlds are now connected.

In other words, John deals with the question: How is God in the world? To this day, people continue to grapple with this question. Some see and experience God in this world. For others, the world is a godless and godforsaken place.

So there are different perspectives when looking at the world, and there are different levels of perception. There is the level of everyday life, the physical level: this is the level that every human being perceives. We can describe the world, try to grasp it.

When we look at Jesus, this is the Jesus who lived in the world. There was no doubt about that. There were so many contemporaries, eyewitnesses. So many people experienced Jesus, felt him, invited him into their homes, were healed by him. There is no question: Jesus lived.

But then, after he died, the distinction begins. There are some who saw him after the resurrection, and there is the vast majority who did not see him.

John writes several decades after his death. He writes and seeks an answer to the question: Is Jesus still in the world? Can we see him, feel him, perceive him?

Most say: No, he is no longer here. He has left the world.

The disciples are like orphans who have lost their parents.

And then there is a group of believers, including John, who say: I see something you don't see. They not only see, they also feel what others do not feel. They experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

As true as it is that, from a purely everyday, physical point of view, Jesus has left the world, it is equally true for Christians that he is still alive. His spirit is at work in our community. We are still experiencing God.

Now it is natural to ask: How and where do you Christians see and experience the spirit of Jesus as a living spirit? And John's answer is quite simple: In love. 

But whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.

This insight arouses great enthusiasm. For it makes it clear that no matter how far away Jesus is, he remains very close at the same time.

Comparisons are usually somewhat flawed. This is also true of the comparison I am now attempting – but the comparison also helps me to understand. Love knows no bounds.

Think of how often you have said goodbye: at the airport or at the front door: your loved ones have gone away – you cannot see them, yet you can continue to love them.

Even at the final farewell, it is the same: love remains. Life, everyday life, ends at the grave – love continues.

Love is not visible to everyone. Those who cannot love or experience love will say: there is no love in the world, there is only hatred and war, there is only selfishness and competition and violence and the law of the strongest.

But those who love and are loved see love: almost everywhere. The whole world is full of the Holy Spirit. Love can be found in every place. Love can arise at any time.

‘I see something you don't see, and that is love!’ The disciples are filled with the spirit of love at Pentecost. They are instructed to love and act lovingly in the world. They are given the task of bearing witness to this love. The disciples will say again and again: ‘I see something you don't see, and that is love – not just any love, but the love of God!’

It is wonderful when other people then become attentive – look around them – change their sad view of the world and realise: indeed, love remains and it has the power to give hope.

Pentecost is the feast on which we Christians celebrate: ‘Love remains and it remains possible to love!’

In this world, which John experiences and describes as so far from God, the Spirit of Jesus is at work, love is growing.

John sums it up: Let us love, because God loved us first.

There is really nothing to add to that, except the encouragement to look closely at the world to see how Jesus is at work. The moment you discover this is always a little Pentecost.

‘I see something you don't see – not yet, but hopefully soon!’ That is the beginning of every mission.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.