Jesus Sends The Holy Spirit

John 16:5-11 - May 30, 2004 - Pentecost

JOHN 16:5-11

5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?’ 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:

For the past two months we have been looking at this section in the gospel of John. To remind us, it is the section where Jesus spends the last hours with his disciples in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday and Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross)--from John 13 to 17. Jesus spends this time with his disciples in order to comfort his disciples and to encourage his disciples. Today is no different. We find that Jesus is going to send to his disciples the Holy Spirit. For even though Jesus would leave them for a very short time when he died on the cross and 40 days later he would leave them physically, Jesus still promised to be always with them. We are going to examine how Jesus was planning to always be with the disciples. It was by the Holy Spirit. We also remember when Jesus ascended into heaven the promise he gave to his disciples that "they should make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" and Jesus continues, "...and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (MATTHEW 28:20). Jesus said that even though he was ascended into heaven, he would still be with His disciples. We know Jesus is with us today. Jesus leaves this earth. Jesus goes to his Father in order to send the Holy Spirit. Our theme for this morning is:

JESUS SENDS THE HOLY SPIRIT

I. To comfort his disciples

II. To convince the world

JESUS SENDS THE HOLY SPIRIT I. TO COMFORT HIS DISCIPLES

The reaction of the disciples is very different as Jesus speaks to them at the beginning of our text. We hear his Words: 5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?’ It wasn’t that long ago when Jesus said he had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. It wasn’t that long ago when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to leave. They asked, "Where are you going," because they did not know. When Jesus had told them he was going to die, Thomas said, "We will go with you. We will die with you also." Now as Jesus is getting very close to the time of his death and says, "I am going to leave; I am going to my Heavenly Father," they don’t even ask him, "Where are you going?" By faith that God had worked in their hearts through grace, the disciples know. They believe that Jesus is going to return to his Heavenly Father.

But there is also another reaction: 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. The disciples were very close to Jesus. The disciples were emotionally attached to Jesus. Yes, they understood that he had to leave them. Some among the disciples even understood that Jesus was going to die first. But they were not anxious to see him go away. They didn’t want to lose the One that they loved. They would miss Jesus, so they were filled with grief at the sense of their loss.

Again, Jesus comes back to that comfort. Jesus reminds them it is for their good. He says: 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. It was for their good that Jesus was going away to die on the cross, because their sins would be forgiven. It was for their good that he would ascend into heaven 40 days after his resurrection, because Jesus would send the Spirit. He says that: Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. The word Counselor here was going to counsel them or we could say comforts them. Different translations use different words to describe that same person of the Trinity--Counselor, Comforter, and some use Paraclete, which means the same thing (this word is from the original Greek.) We know him as the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to his disciples, "I know you are sad that I am leaving, but I am going to send the Holy Spirit to you."