“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.” [1]
Speaking with His disciples, the testimony of Jesus our Lord gave concerning Himself was, “I came from the Father.” The implications of what He said is stunning! It was as He spoke these words that the disciples belatedly began to realise the significance of Jesus’ presence in the world. They recognised that Jesus was a gifted teacher, that He possessed amazing power over nature and that He possessed amazing compassion for hurting humanity. These qualities had drawn them to follow Him as Master. The disciples appear to have had a hazy understanding that Jesus had some sort of relationship with God, but they seem to have been oblivious concerning either His origin or His purpose on the earth. These men had been with Jesus for months—they had heard Him speak, witnessed His power, shared hardships and travelled to multiple towns and villages throughout the land while in His company; and yet, they seem not to have recognised who He was.
Separated as we are by two millennia from the days when the first disciples walked with the Son of God, we modern people exalt our knowledge, murmuring in astonishment at how dense those disciples were. “Had we been there,” we are wont say, “we wouldn’t have been so slow to understand what Jesus was saying.” However, we weren’t there! Moreover, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given—that divine Spirit Who “convict(s) the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” [JOHN 16:8]. Without His prompting, none of us could have believed. And until He opened the eyes of these first disciples, they could not understand either who Jesus was or where He came from or why He had come to earth.
We are privileged, living as we do at the end of this Church Age. Christ ascended into the heavens and sent His Spirit to live with those who followed Him as Saviour. Within the churches the Spirit of Christ dwells, uniting believers and equipping them to be the Body of Christ. Perhaps we wouldn’t expect outsiders to be greatly moved by the presence of the Son of God, but surely Christians should be humbled by the knowledge that God sent His Son!
PLAIN SPEECH — “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” [JOHN 16:25]. Jesus did speak in parables, doing so for a reason. In the Gospels, we read, “[Jesus] told [the crowds] many things in parables” [MATTHEW 13:3a]. The disciples were wondering about this, so they asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables” [MATTHEW 13:10]? The Lord gave a rather pointed reason for employing parables whenever He spoke to the crowds. What Jesus said merits careful consideration.
Jesus responded to the question His disciples asked, explaining, “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.’”
[MATTHEW 13:10-15]
To understand the message Jesus delivered would require a spiritual perspective. His words would require those who wanted to know the meaning of His message to listen with humility—genuine humility, not a practised act of some pious Terpsichore. Those wishing to understand what Jesus was saying would need to think; they would have to develop an understanding of the fallen condition of this present world and their own fallen condition, in order to begin to see with the eyes of the Living God.
It is also worth noting that Jesus’ use of parables was constant, fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy. Matthew, citing the Psalmist Asaph [2], writes, “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
‘I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’”
[MATTHEW 13:34-35]
As an aside, it is fascinating to discover that Asaph, though known to be a Psalmist, was recognised as a prophet. Many of the Psalms are prophetic if we will receive them as such.
This is in keeping with Peter’s statement concerning prophecy. “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” [2 PETER 1:16-21].
People can be positively obtuse when God speaks, just as the disciples could be incredibly dense when Jesus spoke. As was true for the disciples, so it is true for us—we need to hear plain words, statements that are easily understood, rather than being forced to decipher nuanced statements. I’m not suggesting that we should seek to hear an audible voice thundering from the heavens, but we do hear the voice of God as we read His Word—we know the will of the Holy One. At such times, we are often stymied by what we read. In great measure, this is the result of our unwillingness to allow His Spirit to direct us. We have our own ideas, and we really don’t what God messing up our plans. If we listen to what is said through the Word, then we will be expected to live by what is written. Our flesh rebels against such submission. We imagine that we are masters of our fate.
The tragic truth is that God has made Himself easily understood and we refused to hear. We must be humbled by the words Paul employed as he opened his letter to the saints in Rome. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse” [ROMANS 1:16-20].
“What can be known about God is plain to [all], because God has shown it to [mankind].” There is no excuse for ignorance of God’s existence. There is no excuse for ingratitude to God. God is not silent! As the Psalmist has written,
“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.”
[PSALM 19:1-4a]
Despite God having revealed Himself to mankind, the most have chosen to ignore Him as though He was a figment of the imagination. How awful are the words of the Psalmist when he writes:
“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly
I will show the salvation of God!”
[PSALM 50:22-23]
To forget God is tantamount to ignoring God; and ignoring Him never works in our favour. Those who choose to ignore God must know that they shall one day meet Him as their Judge!
The point of this excursus through the divine revelation of God is to emphasise that each individual does have knowledge of God—we know that God is. We know a great deal concerning the character of God—we recognise His holiness; we are fully cognizant of His justice; we cannot deny His mercy. At the most unexpected moments we appeal to these qualities, testifying that God will hold the swindler to account after they have robbed us, testifying that phony Christians are truly hypocritical and questioning why God hasn’t shown us mercy when our loved one is sick. Therefore, if we fail to receive the life He promises, it is on us. We are responsible for our choice, and we must bear the consequence of our choice.
How disturbing is the reminder of the knowledge of God that is ubiquitous throughout our world! You will no doubt recall the dark words with which Paul opened the Letter to Roman Christians. Paul wrote, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse” [ROMANS 1:18-20]. What a dark condemnation is contained in those dire words the Apostle wrote, “They are without excuse!”
Can it be that God is speaking to us through the very celebration we know as Christmas? Though our culture has transformed this sacred season into something foreign to the mind of the Most High God, do we not witness the Lord revealing His mercy through this season? At some point, the human mind will turn rather naturally to the question of why we observe this season. We will at some point begin to question why God would send His Son to earth. When we begin to question, we will discover that the Spirit of God is working to open the heart to faith in the Son of God. Is it possible that we who are followers of the Son of God will take responsibility to ensure that our Christmas celebrations reflect the reality of the Living Saviour? And in doing so, we will glorify His Name by calling many people to life in Him? Surely, such action would honour the Lord and glorify His Name.
I love the response of the disciples as Jesus began to state what would shortly take place. “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” [JOHN 16:29-30]. They really hadn’t grasped what He was saying to this point—they heard the words, but they never really understood what they meant. Though events would prove that they still didn’t fully comprehend what He was doing, they at last did begin to understand.
Something like that is true for modern Canadians. We read the words Jesus spoke, but we don’t really understand what is meant. Despite having the advantage of being able to look back to see history unfold, we still don’t fully appreciate what has taken place. So, we celebrate His birth by worrying about a perfect day with all the family present, never permitting ourselves to grieve that the family may not be eternally present. We sing about peace on earth while our hearts are torn because we have bought into the lies delivered by this fallen world. The promise of fulfilment through possessions draws us away from the peace that God promised, and our souls are consequently impoverished. We sing about joy in our broken world even as we squabble, quarrel and feud with one another, jockeying for position that will enable us to feel good about ourselves. We foolishly seem to believe that we can better ourselves through stepping on others, only to discover there is no joy in our selfish aggression.
POWERFUL SPEECH — “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” [JOHN 16:26-27]. “In that day…” Clearly, the Master was pointing to a time that was then future, a time that could be anticipated only by faith. We might legitimately ask, “What day did the Master have in view when he spoke these words?” The Master was preparing His disciples for His exodus. Soon after speaking these words, Jesus would face the cross and the unspeakable agony it would exact as He took upon Himself the sin of the world. The sinless Son of God would take upon Himself the sin of all the world; He would give His life as a sacrifice because of man’s broken, sinful condition.
However, Jesus’ death would not be the end of the story—He would rise from the dead. The Holy Son of God, would conquer death, bringing life and immortality to all who receive the gift of life He offers as people place their trust in Him and in His Word. The day to which the Master pointed was the day when the disciples at last saw with undimmed eyes the truth that He was alive, and that in Him was life. To ensure that we would understand what He was saying, Jesus pointed to the day in which we live—He was pointing to this Church Age.
During this Church Age, we are guided by the words which the Master spoke and also by the words which His servants penned; we who follow the Christ are guided by the Word of God. The Word of God has become for us wisdom, guiding us as we order our lives according to the precepts presented in the pages of this holy book. Moreover, this Word is powerful in that it rebukes our sin and points us to life that is pleasing to the Father. We are being transformed into the image of God’s own Son through what has been written in this blessed Word.
In this context, perhaps you will remember the words penned by the Apostle when writing to the Christians in Rome. Paul wrote, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” [ROMANS 8:28-30].
We who have been redeemed are destined to be conformed to the image of Christ. That transformation is even now taking place as we walk with the Saviour and as we grow in Him, just as Paul as written elsewhere: “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to” [2 CORINTHIANS 3:18].
Think of that! As we seek the glory of the Lord, as we witness His glory, what we are observing is transformational! As we read the Word, seeing Christ on every page, as we pray, speaking with the Risen Lord of Glory and as we worship, recognising the presence of the Lord and marvelling in His grace, we are being transformed into His image. Can you see the glory of God in your fellow worshippers? You should see His image with ever greater clarity. This process will at last be completed at the return of our Master. Therefore, we read, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” [PHILIPPIANS 3:20-21].
In a similar manner, John also alludes to this transformation. However, John focuses our attention on the completed change, when he writes, “Now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” [1 JOHN 2:28-3:3].
Again, referring to His words as recorded in the text, we see that Jesus said that we would ask in His Name. Tragically, much of the Christian world has reduced this teaching to a formulaic recitation of words. We hear almost every prayer conclude with the words, “In Jesus’ Name.” However, listening to the requests presented before the Lord God, it is obvious that the words are spoken almost as though they were a talisman, a magic incantation that will perhaps compel the Living God to do what we want. Is that all that matters in prayer? Is the only requirement a recitation of specific words?
To say that we pray in Jesus’ Name is to say that we are requesting the response from the Father that He Himself would request were He standing before us. In fact, He is standing before the throne pleading for us. When we truly pray in His Name, we are identifying with Him. Look at some of the times Jesus instructed us in the confidence we should have when we ask the Father for whatever the Spirit has placed on our heart.
“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” [JOHN 14:12-13]. The context of this particular teaching is the works that Jesus did, and the fact that His people will do ever greater works than He had done. They will not do these works according to what they desire; rather, they will do these works based on seeking the Father’s glory through the Son.
Again, the Word of God reveals the Master as He was teaching His followers, “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 have I 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. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” [JOHN 15:7-11]. The context demands that we understand that abiding in Christ is a necessary precursor to answered prayer. Knowing the will of the Master and doing His will results in confidence that He will answer the prayers offered.
Shortly after this, Jesus continued instructing His followers, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 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. These things I command you, so that you will love one another” [JOHN 15:12-17].
Do you wonder why some church members appear to say prayers, but never receive answer to the petitions they fling heavenward? One major reason may be that these individuals are devoid of love for the brotherhood. Jesus is pretty clear in insisting that answer prayer is dependent upon love for fellow followers of the Son of God. Unloving church members should not expect that their prayers will be answered until they repent of their loveless condition. The Saviour expects His people to be loving toward one another.
Let me pause for a moment to touch on this matter of showing love for fellow believers. When we love others, we will treat one another with respect. What is sought cannot be construed as obsequious deference, but a genuine preference for one another. We are commanded, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor” [ROMANS 12:10 NASB95]. Love means that we receive one another as of infinite worth—it is to esteem one another, to honour one another. To treat one another with love is to avoid all gossip, slander and calumny against those we call fellow saints. To truly love one another is to build one another, to comfort one another and to console one another. In short, genuine love as expected of the follower of Christ the Lord is revealed in courtesy and in consideration.
The haughty individual who feels himself superior to another, who looks down on another believer, is not showing love. The arrogant soul who insists on her way, threatening to quit participating in the life of the Body or berating another, reveals that she knows nothing of love—either for the Saviour or for His beloved people.
Loving one another means that we are prepared to risk our relationship, holding one another accountable for our actions and for our speech—we love others enough to confront them when they are in error, gently urging them again to walk in the path of righteousness. Loving one another means that we refuse to verbally degrade our fellow believers with our words, being especially cautious in how we speak before the thoughtless and unbelieving world. If we love one another, we do not insist on our way at the expense of another.
Professed followers of the Risen Son of God will do well to memorise the words of the Apostle that were penned to a dysfunctional congregation. Paul was instructing the saints in Corinth in the love that marks followers of the Christ, when he wrote, “This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience—it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive; it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.
“Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it shares the joy of those who live by the truth” [1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-6 PHILLIPS].
Immediately before He spoke the words of our text, Jesus had said to His disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 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. 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” [JOHN 16:20-24]. The prayer that will receive God’s answer is a prayer marked by joy—genuine, vibrant, untrammeled joy. This is the joy that comes from the knowledge that we are accepted in the Beloved Son. This is the joy that comes from knowing that we seek God’s glory.
To ask in Jesus’ Name means that we seek the Father’s glory through Jesus the Son of God. To ask in Jesus’ Name means that we are abiding in Christ and not being controlled by our own feelings or sense of entitlement. To ask in Jesus’ Name means that we love the brotherhood and seek to advance the knowledge of Christ as Master. To ask in Jesus’ Name means that we are praying with joy because we are living in joy. This is so much more than merely fulfilling requirements for a ritual or a rite prescribed by ecclesiastical expectations. This is the reason I so often insist that there is a vast difference between saying prayers and praying!
THE ONE WHO PRAYS IN JESUS’ NAME IS ASSURED OF RECEIVING WHAT IS REQUESTED! We have the Master’s promise on this matter. We can be assured that our prayer will be answered! That is powerful! I know that some have gone to seed on this issue. They are teaching that if you “say it” you will have it. This so-called “word-faith” movement is at best heresy. It is a form of idolatry that teaches the deceived to have faith in their own faith. Indeed, the important truth that must never be forgotten is that prayer in Jesus’ Name is not a formula—it is a position. Followers of the Saviour must never imagine that they are simply reciting a formula—they are placing themselves in the centre of Christ’s will; they are standing in Christ’s place before the Father’s throne when they make their request.
The words that Jesus spoke are powerful—powerful because they are true, powerful because of the encouragement they provide to all who receive what He said, powerful because His words lift the human spirit, enabling the believing individual to look into the face of the Father. However, in my estimate, the truly exciting truth is that because of His powerful words, when His people speak in His Name, when those who follow Him speak as the Spirit of Christ prompts us to speak, what His disciples say has incredible power to transform broken humanity. Reciting Jesus’ words to those who are outside the Faith can result in transformation of lost souls into followers of the Christ. Reciting His words can cause a hell-bound sinner to turn away from the mad pursuit of death to embrace life.
The words of the Master, when they are received and incorporated into life, will lift the heart of the individual suffering a crushed and broken spirit; she will be pulled from the filthy morass that sucks her down into mind-numbing despair. The words of the Saviour, spoken to the soul imprisoned in hopelessness, can deliver strength and hope. The words of the Living Christ declared to the weakened saint will impart strength and courage. Jesus’ words have power; and the power that He possessed is given to His followers to be used for His glory.
Focus on the essence of the Master’s words. He is not saying that He will intervene with the Father on our behalf, though He does speak for us; rather, Jesus is saying that we who follow Him will have direct access to the throne of God. Let the import of what I just said sink in: we who follow the Christ now have direct access to the throne of God. The point of these words is that we do not require a priest, a preacher, a pontifex, anyone to approach the throne of God on our behalf. We have full and direct access to the Father’s throne. If you want to focus on the reason for Christ’s First Coming, this is it! In His first advent, He has given us direct and immediate access to the Father. If ever there was encouragement to pray, surely this is it!
PRESCIENT SPEECH — “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” [JOHN 16:28]. The Son of God knew where He had come from, and He knew where He was going. Throughout the Scriptures we see references to Jesus’ knowledge, knowledge that allows Him to act even before people know what they are about to do. Of the Master, Paul testifies, “In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” [COLOSSIANS 2:3].
On one occasion, a crowd witnessed the signs the Master was performing, and they indicated that they wished to be counted as followers. However, the Master was less enthusiastic about their professed desire to become disciples. The reason for His reticence becomes evident in John’s words. “When [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” [JOHN 2:23-25].
People are often drawn to Jesus because of what they think He can do for them. Frequently, people profess faith in the Risen Saviour because they fear a diagnosis they may be facing, or because they financial ruin looms over them, or because… Well, you get the idea. This is what we could call a “fox-hole conversion.” It is the classic situation of someone facing danger or serious reversal of a personal nature, and they cry out for deliverance, promising God that if He will only deliver them, they will do something for him; but God does not bargain. Salvation is all of grace. It is not a transaction predicated upon some quid-pro-quo basis.
The Lord made a covenant with Abram, but Abram did not participate in the covenant. At God’s direction, Abram prepared slaughtered a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon, dividing the carcases so that the parties to the covenant would pass between them, symbolising their commitment to the covenant. However, things didn’t work out as Abram thought they should. Here is the divine account.
“As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’
“When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites’” [GENESIS 15:12-20].
God made a covenant with Abram, but Abram did not make a covenant with God. The LORD God passed between the carcases so carefully arranged on the ground, but Abram was fast asleep. Let me emphasise again that God made a covenant with Abram, but Abram did not make a covenant with God. The LORD God would do as He willed, and Abram, though chosen by God and richly blessed by Him, did nothing either to merit the blessing or to participate in the blessing. God deals with mankind on the basis of grace. Man is recipient of God’s mercy, but man can do nothing for God.
God’s independence of mankind is emphasised as God speaks through the Psalmist Asaph in THE FIFTIETH PSALM.
“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
[PSALM 50:7-15]
What is essential to remember at this yuletide season is that God sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. God does not say to man, “If you will do something for Me, I will give you life eternal?” One rich Christmas text is seldom recognised for the Christmas text it truly is. John wrote, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” [1 JOHN 4:9-10].
In our text for this day, Jesus spoke of His coming into the world; now He was preparing to leave this world. He would be returning to the Father. It was necessary that He should go away. He had already said, “I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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” [JOHN 16:5-11].
Because He would surrender His life for the sin of the world, those who accept His sacrifice will receive life. And with the life that the Living Saviour gives, His people will receive joy, and peace, and hope, and power to fulfil all that He appoints them to accomplish. Christmas is a joyous time for the people of God precisely because the Son of God came to give His life as a sacrifice so that man need not be condemned. Indeed, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” [JOHN 3:18]. We invite all who are willing to believe today. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] See PSALM 78:2
[*] A PDF version of this message is available at https://newbeginningsbaptist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/John-16.25-28-I-Came-From-the-Father.pdf.
