John 14:27-31

July 27, 2014

Jesus comforts his disciples so theyll be ready for his crucifixion. Theyll be shocked and
scared, but the Holy Spirit will show them all its benefits. Today were going to look at
four of them:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The first benefit of Christs death is peace. The Greek word for leave doesnt mean to
leave something behind; in this context it means to hand over. Christ hands his peace
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over to the disciples. The world cant do that because it has no spiritual fruit to give. The
world can talk about peace, and it can possibly refrain from violence, but it can never
produce the Spirits fruit.

The disciples will have this fruit as a gift while living in the world. Its peace for sheep in
a wolves den and for disciples without a master. Its not saying theyll be trouble-free
while in the world; rather theyll have peace despite their troubles. Paul describes it as
the peace that passes understanding: Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
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Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
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Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.
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And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4-7).

His peace is based on the fact that he is at hand. That means that he sees all our troubles.
He meets all our needs. Hes coming back with his reward. Thats what he means when he
tells them that he and the Father will abide in them. Hes at hand, and theyve got no
worries as long as thats true. They dont need to worry about what will happen or what
they need; they just wait on God, and hell provide everything.

It passes understanding because its inexplicable. Its what Jesus had when the waves
threatened to sink the boat (Mk. 4:38). He could have been fretting with everyone else,
but what would be the point in that? He knows God has everything in his hands, and
nothing can happen that wont be for good.

Someone might point out that he knew all things (even the day of his death), so of course
he wasnt afraid. But what about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Where did they get
their peace? The king threatened to throw them into the furnace, and its clear from their
response that they didnt know the future: our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
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But if not,
be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image
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http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=afihmi&la=greek#lexicon
which thou hast set up (Dan. 3:17-18). Not even an angry king with a hot furnace could
take away the fruit they had as a gift from God.

Theres another example in the New Testament: And when they had laid many stripes upon
them, they cast them into prison, charging the gaelor to keep them safely:
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Who, having
received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the
stocks.
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And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners
heard them (Acts 16:23-25). Even after taking a beating and being locked up in stocks
these two men had peace because they knew that God was with them, and that he could
hear their praises.

Now, theres something here for us too. We have peace for the same reasons. First of all,
its a gift from Christ. Gods not telling you that you have to find peace or that you have
to be fake when something bad happens. Gods telling you that he gives his peace to his
followers, and that his peace is real and true. Its not like what the world gives; its unlike
anything they can muster. Its not fleshly or earthly. Its spiritual and holy and confident.

This peace isnt conditional; your circumstances cant change it. Satan cant take it. People
cant take it. Sickness cant take it. Hunger cant. Persecution cant. Death cant. Nothing
can: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth.
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Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
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Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword?
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As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter.
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Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us.
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For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
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Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord
(Rom. 8:33-39).

And so, were confident in him, his presence, and his love, so that were full of peace
despite circumstances. This, naturally, brings us to the second benefit of his death:

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Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved
me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than
I.

This second benefit is joy. But his disciples were sad, and he says, if you loved me, you
would rejoice. Hes not saying that they dont love him, but if their attitudes were in
line with love, then they would rejoice. How could he expect that?

Well, consider that he went to the Father and sat down next to him. He finished his work
as our priest, and he calmed Gods wrath permanently. Now the way to God is open so
that we can come boldly to his throne without even the slightest bit of fear or guilt. How
can we not be joyous about that?

It might sound strange to hear Jesus say the Father is greater, but just think about what
he means from the context of John:

Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me (7:33)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
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And I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
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My
Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Fathers hand.
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I and my Father are one (10:27-30).

The Father is greater in the sense that he sent the Son; when the Son returns to the
Father, that means the job is finished; the plan is complete! If the disciples had been
thinking this way, then they wouldnt be sad to see Jesus go; they would rejoice.

In the same way we rejoice at death because we know the plan is complete and the
promise is finally delivered. Were not sad that Jesus isnt here, and were not sad that
our loved ones are gone. Were happy because we know this isnt the end.

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And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye
might believe.
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Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world
cometh, and hath nothing in me.

The third benefit of Christs death is strong faith. He tells them about it up front so that
theyll know everything was intentional. Soon after his death theyll look back on
everything he said, see that it all happened the way he predicted, and then theyll be
emboldened to preach the gospel and make more disciples.

He says he wont talk with them much after this night because Satan is coming. Its a
pretty scary thought that the prince of this world is coming, and hes going to disrupt
their fellowship with Jesus. That certainly has potential to mess with their peace and joy,
but then look at what he says next: he has nothing in me. He has no hold over me. Hes a
prince, but he has no power over Christ. Christ will submit to death for the good of his
disciples, and it will come at the hands of the devil, but its not because the devil is so
powerful.

Pilate thought he was powerful too, remember? knowest thou not that I have power to
crucify thee, and have power to release thee?
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Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power
at all against me, except it were given thee from above (Jn. 19:10-11). Everything that was
happening was according to the plan. Jesus didnt go to the cross because he was forced
to do it. He wasnt overpowered. It was part of the plan so the disciples could have peace
and joy.

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But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me
commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

The fourth benefit is often overlooked or misread. Note that he doesnt say hes dying so
that the disciples will know how much he loves them. He doesnt say hes dying so that
the disciples will know how much God loves him. What he says is that hes dying so that
the world will know that he loves the Father. He proves his love (in the same way the
disciples would prove theirs) by obeying his command.

So, whats the point? Well, when Christ died on the cross he proved to the world that he
wasnt of the devil. The world rejected him, but they were proved wrong when he kept
Gods commands while they didnt!

So, what we find in these verses is the gospel: Christ died for us to give us peace, joy,
faith. He died to prove that the world was wrong. He was the promised suffering servant.
We were healed by his stripes and forgiven through his blood. That was something they
couldnt understand because they dont have the Holy Spirit. We do have him, and we
have his fruit of faith. We believe in Christ. We have his peace and joy. Were waiting for
that day when the world is proven wrong and the devil is shown to be powerless. Were
waiting for that day when he calls us home!

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