The Goodbye Gift

John 14:15–31 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Do you ever look up into the night sky and become overwhelmed by the vastness of this great universe God created?

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Or, are you like me, so busy, so preoccupied, so earthbound that you rarely look up to the night sky?

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A few weeks ago, I was outside at night and for a few brief minutes I looked into the night sky. It was magnificent.

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Staring into the night sky can be overwhelming, for seeing those twinkling lights dim in the sky reminds us of how big our world is, and how small we are.

In an article published by Psychology Today, Mark Travers writes:

Looking up at the night sky and asking, “Where is everybody?” is a profound human experience. In the 1950s, physicist Enrico Fermi posed this question, pointing to the paradox of our likely but unseen cosmic neighbors. Given the vastness of the universe and the probability of other civilizations, why haven’t we made contact?

These simple yet profound questions are more than just fleeting thoughts. They tap into a deeper psychological longing that has spanned our history—the desperate yearning to know if we are alone. Terrifying as it is to think there may be advanced civilizations out there, the absence of such civilizations is equally eerie. Are we, as a people, trapped here on Earth forever? Is our home planet both our cradle and our cage, or is there potential for humanity to eventually break free and find its place among the stars?

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-instincts/202310/why-are-we-afraid-of-being-cosmically-alone

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As Christians, we may doubt the presence of some alien life… BUT we know that there is Someone out there - omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent GOD.

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The amazing thing is that God determined at the beginning of time to create a world in which he would create beings - human beings - with free will, whom he would love, even when we failed to love him back and disobeyed him.

Even more amazing is that God, before the beginning of time, set in motion a plan by which he would redeem sinful humanity by sending His only begotten Son from the glories of heaven to become flesh, to live holy among us, and then to willingly suffer and die on the cross, taking the punishment of our sin upon himself.

God’s amazing power is further demonstrated in that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, victorious over sin and death.

God’s great love is shown in offering us salvation through Jesus’ blood shed on the Cross that we receive by repenting of our sins and placing our trust in Jesus alone for salvation.

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God’s plan of redemption had not been made this clear to the disciples at the time of the events of our text today. In just a few hours, Jesus would be betrayed and then crucified.

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But these disciples did believe in Jesus as their Messiah. So much about Jesus and God’s plan was a mystery to them, but they longed to see God’s kingdom established on earth.

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But in order for that to happen, Jesus would have to die. He would have to leave his followers. Can you imagine how alone they must have felt simply hearing Jesus say that He would leave them?

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Surely, they must have felt like they were staring into the vast nighttime sky, wondering if we are truly all alone!

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In John 14, Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure. He told them in the first fourteen verses that he would leave them, but they need not be troubled, for he would return to them and take them with him.

Jesus is the Way, Truth, and the Life!

The disciples were filled with questions. Jesus continued to reassure them. But in our text for today, John 14:15-31, we find the greatest benefit (outside of salvation) in Jesus’ leaving for us as Jesus’ followers.

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Why was Jesus’ leaving of his disciples beneficial to them? In our text, Jesus explained that he was giving them a goodbye gift.

Big Idea: Jesus' parting gift is His enduring presence through the Spirit.

As we consider Jesus’ parting gift and what that means to us today, first note:

1. The Promise of the Holy Spirit, vv. 15-17.

John 14:15–17 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Truly, our entire passage is packed with spiritual “meat”. There’s a lot to digest in these few verses. But notice with me three key truths that we find regarding the promise of the Holy Spirit.

First, the gift of the Holy Spirit is only given to Jesus’ followers.

John 14:15–16 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father…

In this, we also find an important clarification about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If we truly love Jesus, we will obey His commandments.

Yes, there is nothing we can do or should try to do to gain our salvation. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. We aren’t saved by our obedience to God’s Word or our good works.

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BUT… the person who truly knows Jesus as Savior obeys Jesus as Lord!

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And… it is this person who receives the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

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Secondly, notice in these verses a key word: another

John 14:16 ESV

… he will give you another Helper…

The Greek word translated Helper is paraclete. It is a legal term and refers to someone who comes alongside on our behalf. You could think of Paraclete in terms of a defense attorney. In 1 John 2:1 Jesus is our Paraclete.

1 John 2:1 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

But now that Jesus was returning to the Father, he was sending the Holy Spirit to be our Paraclete in his stead. Someone has written:

We have no single word in our language that can express the rich, powerful meaning of “Paraclete,” the English translation of the unique title John uses for this Holy Companion. Para in the Greek means “alongside,” and the root of kletos is “to call.” So this “Helper” whom Jesus will send will be alongside the disciples as Jesus has been, “calling out” as an “encourager,” a “counselor,” an “advocate,” a “witness,” and as a “judge.”

Fredrikson, R. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). John (Vol. 27, p. 223). Thomas Nelson Inc.

Thirdly, notice that the Holy Spirit was active in the world already, but now the Holy Spirit abides in God’s people.

John 14:17 ESV

even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Throughout the pages of the Old Testament, we mostly see God the Father at work. However, from time to time there are theophanies (pre-incarnation) appearance of Christ to different ones.

Also, from time to time we see the Spirit at work. At the very beginning of time we read:

Genesis 1:2 ESV

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Now that Jesus was about to return to the Father, however, the Holy Spirit would not merely come alongside the believer. The Holy Spirit would fill and empower the Christian. This first happened on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead.

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But as we continue to consider why Jesus’ leaving was so beneficial to his first disciples and also to us, let us note also what Jesus taught regarding…

2. The Presence of the Holy Spirit, vv. 18-24.

John 14:18–19 ESV

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

Someone has noted:

In the Old Testament, “orphans” (NASB, NIV) were powerless and needed a legal defender. The

Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Jn 14:18–20). InterVarsity Press.

Someone else has explained:

The Greek word for comfortless is orphanos which means “orphans.” Jesus says that He will not leave us orphans but will come to us in the person of the Holy Spirit.

McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 11-21) (electronic ed., Vol. 39, p. 85). Thomas Nelson.

In verse nineteen, Jesus may have been talking about his post-resurrection appearances to the disciples. After Jesus rose from the dead, we read about him appearing to various groups of disciples, but not to the world in general.

But these words may also be referring to what Jesus will make more explicit in this passage. In verse twenty, Jesus went on to say that then they would understand that Jesus and the Father are one, but also notice the unity God’s people have with God.

John 14:20 ESV

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

The unity that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit enjoy, we can experience. Our identity is that of being the children, the followers, the people, the Church of God!

But notice the key dynamic for this relationship that we experience with God.

John 14:21 ESV

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

We demonstrate our love and loyalty to God by obeying His Word. God demonstrates his love by his presence with us through the Holy Spirit.

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The concept of the Trinity is one of those mysteries about God that we may never fully comprehend. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons in the Godhead, yet they are one God.

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We may be tempted to compartmentalize the Persons of the Godhead. We think of God the Father being active in the Old Testament times. We think of God the Son being present in our world for 33 years before being cruficied, rising again, and then ascending into Heaven.

We think of God the Holy Spirit abiding within us, filling us, empowering us for service. But note what Jesus says:

John 14:23 ESV

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Someone has explained this, saying:

The Persons of the Godhead come in the Paraclete to abide, encourage, empower, and witness through the disciples. No wonder the disciples will never be orphans.

Fredrikson, R. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). John (Vol. 27, p. 224). Thomas Nelson Inc.

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Is that not an amazing thought - that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all come to abide with and in us?

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Notice something else. Last week, as we studied John 14:2, we noted that probably the best translation of that verse is “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” The Greek word is mone and refers to rooms or dwelling places.

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While I like the idea of owning a mansion in Heaven, Jesus’ point was not so much about a beautiful house we will own, but rather that in Heaven our dwelling will be with God.

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But now notice in John 14:23 as Jesus says that He and the Father “will come to him and make our home with him”, the same Greek word is used!

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So, while God is preparing a place for us in Heaven where we will live with him for eternity, right here and now, God is at home with us - in us!

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Truly, we are not alone!

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Truly, through God’s empowering, infilling presence, we can live and serve Him!

This thought then leads us to…

3. The Purpose of the Holy Spirit, vv. 25-31.

John 14:25–26 ESV

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Why did the Father send the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name?

In John 14:26 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will teach the believers all things and bring the words of Jesus to their memory. Even so today, the Holy Spirit continues to teach us and to help us to recall God’s Word for those times we need guidance and more in life.

Those times… truly, we need God’s guidance every day, and every moment of every day!

The Truth of God’s Word is truly understood spiritually. It is the Holy Spirit that impresses God’s Truth on our hearts and minds, that makes the principles of scripture more than mere rules or good suggestions, so that they become life to us.

In the noise of the world where so many voices shout for our attention, it is the Holy Spirit’s whisper that guides us rightly. It is his convicting that pricks our hearts to help us know right from wrong.

It is His strength that gives us power to resist the urges of carnality and the pressure of peers - to stand for Christ regardless of what anyone else does.

The Holy Spirit teaches us, guides us, empowers us, assures us. And so we see a vital connection between the ministry of the Holy Spirit sent to us by Jesus and the peace He leaves us.

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Because of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us, we can live at peace within and without. We can live with confidence that we are in the center of God’s will, in obedience to His Word, secure in the palm of His hand!

This then is why Jesus said…

John 14:28 ESV

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Commentators hasten to explain that Jesus is not saying that the Father is a greater god than Jesus is. Rather, the three Persons of the Trinity are all equally God.

On the Father is greater than I, Barrett comments helpfully, ‘The Father is the fons divinitatis in which the being of the Son has its source; the Father is God sending and commanding, the Son is God sent and obedient. John’s thought here is focussed on the humiliation of the Son in his earthly life, a humiliation which now, in his death, reached both its climax and its end.’

Milne, B. (1993). The message of John: here is your king!: with study guide (p. 218). InterVarsity Press.

But notice that Jesus said that if the disciples truly understood the benefit they would receive by the coming of the Holy Spirit, they would “rejoice”.

Yes, we all desire to see Jesus, but we can rejoice because of the infilling, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit!

Have you ever wondered what it will be like when you cross the River of Death and enter the Pearly Gates of Heaven?

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Wouldn’t it be neat to look up some of the Bible heroes?

Someone has suggested…

One day Christian arrived in Heaven and met the people of the Old Testament Scriptures.

To Noah, he asked what it was like to be in the ark with all those animals.

To Joseph, he asked what it was like to be understand dreams and be 2nd in command of all of Egypt.

To Moses, he asked what it was like when the Red Sea parted.

To David, he asked what it was like to take down Goliath.

To Solomon, he asked what it was like to have such great wisdom.

To Daniel, he asks what it was like to be in the Lions Den.

As they each responded, they in return asked one question…

What is it like to HAVE the SPIRIT OF GOD IN YOU?

In our text, we find Jesus just a few hours before he would leave his disciples. As he prepared them for this moment that would seem so devastating, Jesus promised them a goodbye gift:

Big Idea: Jesus' parting gift is His enduring presence through the Spirit.

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You are not alone!

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You are not alone to fight Satan, sin, and the world!

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You are not alone to guess and hope and experiment to know God’s will.

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We can know - we can be assured: God loves us and so He has provided all we need to live in victory for him!

A young pilot had just passed the point of no return when the weather changed for the worse. Visibility dropped to a matter of feet as fog descended to the earth.

Putting total trust in the cockpit instruments was a new experience to him, for the ink was still wet on the certificate verifying that he was qualified for instrument flying.

The landing worried him the most. His destination was a crowded metropolitan airport he wasn’t familiar with. In a few minutes he would be in radio contact with the tower.

Until then, he was alone with his thoughts. His instructor had practically forced him to memorize the rulebook. He didn’t care for it at the time, but now he was thankful.

Finally he heard the voice of the air traffic controller. “I’m going to put you on a holding pattern,” the controller radioed. Great! thought the pilot.

However, he knew that his safe landing was in the hands of this person. He had to draw upon his previous instructions and training, and trust the voice of an air traffic controller he couldn’t see.

Aware that this was no time for pride, he informed the controller, “This is not a seasoned pro up here. I would appreciate any help you could give me.”

“You’ve got it!” he heard back.For the next 45 minutes, the controller gently guided the pilot through the blinding fog.

As course and altitude corrections came periodically, the young pilot realized the controller was guiding him around obstacles and away from potential collisions.

With the words of the rulebook firmly placed in his mind, and with the gentle voice of the controller, he landed safely at last.

The Holy Spirit guides us through the maze of life much like that air traffic controller. The controller assumed that the young pilot understood the instructions of the flight manual.

His guidance was based on that. Such is the case with the Holy Spirit: He can guide us if we have a knowledge of God’s Word and His will established in our minds.

(Dr. Anderson, Freedom in Christ and Harvest House Publishers www.ficm.org)

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As we close this morning, let us express our gratitude and love to Jesus for giving us a “Goodbye Gift”. Let us obey His Word and welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit to move in us and among us in a new and fresh way.

Can we sing a song of joy and thanksgiving?

315 He Abides