The greatest wonder, greater than all of creation is the wonder that thou my Lord should die for me.
”Take that all in. My creation is larger and more complex than you could ever imagine. Yet the plan I have had for the redemption of the lost is even more complex and precious than all of creation. Look up at the cross, it is my love letter to you. It is my love letter to the whole world Written in drops of blood, each one squeezed out with infinite agony but carrying a multitude of blessing to billions. The wonder of it all! Just accept it. Accept it as my greatest token of love and share it with as many as you can so that this great news, this infinitely powerful Gospel may become the war cry of the new kingdom – so that many more may appreciate and be transformed by the wonder of it all.”
Today we come to an end of the so-called discourse by Jesus with some important final words. Our reading is John 16:25 – 33.
Throughout the discourse Jesus has repeated the invitation to the disciples to ask anything from the Father in His name on a number of occasions, following that with the promise that they will receive what they have asked for. Today He expands on that with an explanation that up to now He has been speaking figuratively but from now will speak plainly. Let’s look at what He is saying.
He repeats the offer to ask anything in His name but then expands on that. Although He is inviting them to ask the Father in His name this does not mean that He has to persuade or squeeze God for an answer. No, the Father wants to answer because He already loves them because they have loved Him and believe that He came from the Father. He came on a mission to earth and is now returning to be with the Father so they together will be available to these disciples and every disciple after them, including us to answer whatever prayers we ask. However the limitation is “in Jesus’ name”. That means according to the will and program of Jesus.
Now we come to the end and a verse which most Christians find huge comfort in. However we may actually miss the full impact of this verse if we don’t read it in context. The verse is vs 33: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
This amazing promise must be seen against the background of the previous verse where he warns them that they are going to face such trouble that they will all be scattered and will return to their homes abandoning the whole kingdom program. As they face this, His promise is that He will give them peace in the midst of all that. He is speaking of the whole crucifixion event of course.
This is another of the great enigmas of Christianity. The word translated here as trouble is often translated as tribulation. The whole of the book of Revelation describes the gospel era as the time of tribulation. We live in a fallen world with potent enemies. Yet Jesus promises that despite outward appearances He has overcome the world and will give us an inner peace which the world will never understand during these times of tribulation. Paul repeats this in Phillipians ch 4:4ff “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice:…….The Lord. Is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”.
So during this time of tribulation we live in, Jesus makes a secure promise, repeated by Paul that despite the tribulation, which will come since we are living in the time of tribulation, God will give us whatever we ask in Jesus name and so that we can have deep inner peace in our hearts and minds. We are never offered total physical protection, although God often does give that, but the true blessing of our intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus is the deep inner ability to trust God completely in everything and reap the fruit of pure peace from that.
This is a lot to digest and difficult to unravel the full implications of in a short devotion, yet, if we believe it there is an amazing promise we just need to take hold of and believe to experience it.
Richest blessings till next week.