John 15:26-16:4
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Second Students “The Advocate”
Second Students “The Advocate”
Intro
It helps to have someone in your corner. Maybe not that guy, but when you need help or even worse, if you were in court, you would want someone who is knowledgeable. Someone who is fighting for you and is there to help you. Tonight we are going to be talking about the Holy Spirit, how Jesus explained the Holy Spirit to His disciples , and how we can remember to rely on the Holy Spirit in times of doubt or stress.
Let’s pray.
Context — John 15:18-25
Context — John 15:18-25
Jesus expands on His example of the “vine and the branches” explaining that just as the world has hated Him, His disciples would also face opposition. Being connected to the “vine” of Jesus would lead to their rejection and persecution.
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
30-Second Theology: Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity—fully God, co-equal with the Father and the Son.
Show diagram on projectors
The Holy Spirit dwells within believers to guide, empower, convict, and transform us into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit also glorifies Jesus, teaches truth, and equips the Church through spiritual gifts and fruit.
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
The disciples had witnessed Jesus’ ministry. They were a part of Jesus’ time on earth, but their job wasn’t over just because Jesus was going back to the Father. In fact, it was just beginning. The promise of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, would be crucial for the disciples’ faith as they would go through some of the most difficult and confusing times of their lives.
The Greek term used here is paraklētos. It means a person who acts as a spokesperson or representative of someone else’s policy, purpose, or cause; especially before a judge in a court of law.
God is the judge. He judges based on whether we believe that eternal life comes through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit acts as a mediator between us and the Father, who we would not be able to interact with on our own because of our sins. Jesus’ death atones for our sin, and the Holy Spirit is offered to us to guide and help us, as well as providing us a “down payment” for our salvation.
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”
Meaning that while we wait on the eternal life promised to us in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit that lives in us that acts as a guarantee of what the future holds. While we are down here on earth, we still have to deal with sin, and death, and all of the other crazy things that this world has to offer. But we aren’t alone. We have an Advocate. We have a Helper.
Application
Trusting in Jesus means the Holy Spirit doesn’t just fight for you—He lives in you.
Trusting in Jesus means the Holy Spirit doesn’t just fight for you—He lives in you.
“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me.
This has to be hard to hear as a disciple of Jesus. You have been following the Messiah around, watching Him perform miracles, teach in ways that unraveled the Scriptures in ways that people had never heard before. They ate meals together, traveled together. Their lives had been changed by Jesus. And then, Jesus tells them He is going away, which would be hard for anyone to deal with. But not only that, their future without Jesus on earth would include expulsion from the synagogue and death.
In the time of Jesus, synagogues were the heart of community life. For the disciples, being expelled would feel like losing your home. Imagine walking through a world where your faith in someone, Jesus, forced you to leave behind not just your worship but your friends and family. The disciples must have felt torn, knowing that their commitment to Christ alienated them from everything familiar, as if they bore the weight of the decision alone, risking isolation for the sake of their beliefs.
The comforting news of the Holy Spirit comes with a reason — they would be persecuted. Persecution means suffering or being mistreated for being a faithful follower of Jesus. The disciples were imprisoned, they were beat, they were threatened by authorities, they were exiled, and most of them were eventually killed for their faith. Christian tradition would tell us that the disciples would be mainly crucified, stoned to death, or beheaded. These are not things any of us would want to go through, and especially not alone. But the power of the Holy Spirit provided peace for the apostles in every situation — and the same power lives in every Christian today.
Application
Even when the future feels heavy, the Holy Spirit brings healing and hope.
Even when the future feels heavy, the Holy Spirit brings healing and hope.
Living in this world will result in your experiencing difficult moments. Maybe (and hopefully) these experiences are not the same as the disciples experienced. But the weight of the pain and hurt that happens in our lives overtime can become unbearable to life on our own. Rely on the Holy Spirit to provide comfort to your soul.
Bonus Application
Be careful that your holy service is not wholly misdirected.
Be careful that your holy service is not wholly misdirected.
Driven by passion but detached from the truth, you might find yourself fighting for God while standing against Him.
Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.
From the moment that Jesus chose His disciples He knew what would happen to them once they made the decision to follow Him. But He didn’t tell them that at the time. Why? There are a number of reasons why Jesus chose to give this information to His disciples during the last supper, but I think the most important thing for us to remember is that God has perfect timing. He doesn’t forget to give us important information that would help us in our decisions. He also doesn’t give us every bit of information at one time — that would be information overload!
God is intentional when He gives His people knowledge of what is to come. And in this case, it was to give His followers a reminder that when these things He described were actually happening, they would remember the warning. That they would remember that He had told them this would happen to them.
But why is it important that the disciples know they were going to be persecuted and be killed? Because when the time came to go through those excruciating trials, they would know that their suffering would have meaning. It would not be a sign of failure. That Jesus was still in control even in the darkest of times and their faith wouldn’t be shaken when the road got hard.
Application
We are not meant to know all the details. We are meant to be faithful to the one who does.
We are not meant to know all the details. We are meant to be faithful to the one who does.
When we lack a clear answer from God, use His Word as a guide. We don’t have to have God spell out every aspect of our lives. If we are obeying what He has said and seeking after Him, we can rest assured that our decisions are going to align with His plans.
Closing
Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Family Group Questions:
How does understanding the role of the Holy Spirit provide comfort to us?
— Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit provides deep comfort because it reminds us that we are never alone, even in our most confusing, painful, or uncertain moments.
In what ways can you lean on the Holy Spirit when facing doubts or stress?
— Invite Him through prayer, ask for wisdom and clarity, let Him speak through God’s Word, rest in His presence, rely on His power, and be involved with a community of believers (they have the Holy Spirit too).
In what situations do you find it hardest to trust that the Holy Spirit is with you?
— (Examples to help promote discussion: when I’ve failed or sinned, when I’m going through a difficult time but I don’t feel like God is with me, when I pray for something and nothing changes, when I feel alone, when I have doubts, etc.) Remind students that all Christians have went through times where it was hard to trust that the Holy Spirit was with us, but that the Holy Spirit never leaves us even if we feel like He has.
