John 14:23-27 Hold On

John 14:23-27 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

23Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words. The word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me.

25“I have told you these things while staying with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.

27“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.

Hold On

I.

Today’s appointed Scripture readings are interesting. The First Reading (Genesis 11:1-9) was the account of the Tower of Babel, sometimes pronounced Babble. Up to that point in the history of the world, everyone had spoken a common language. God confused their languages because they had refused to follow his direction to spread out into all the world—to fill the earth and repopulate it.

The Second Reading (Acts 2:1-21) recorded the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, as Jesus had promised. For a few hours, the Holy Spirit completely reversed the curse of Babel. The disciples spoke in languages they had not learned. People who had come from all over the known world and spoke a variety of languages heard and understood what the disciples were saying.

The Gospel for the day, our sermon text, is like a flashback from the Second Reading. Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure—both his death, and his ascension into heaven. He wanted them to be ready for what was to happen, and to look forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says: “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word” (John 14:23, EHV). “Hold on.” “Wait a minute!” Sometimes that’s what we mean when we say “Hold on.” Is that what Jesus meant?

Sometimes when we say “Hold on,” we mean something like: “Make sure you don’t lose this.” Hold on to this precious heirloom, for example. Something that has been passed on from generation to generation is to be considered important, not just to be shunted off in some forgotten box in the basement.

Still other times when we say “Hold on,” we mean “Put this in your safe or lockbox.” There are certain documents that you will need at various times, like your birth certificate or passport, or your vehicle title, or the mortgage document for your home. Hold on to such things in a place where you can easily find them when they are needed.

When Jesus says: “Hold on to my word,” he means all these things and more. The disciples certainly were to wait for the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Word is indeed precious—more precious than the most valuable heirloom you might have inherited. You certainly need Jesus’ Word; it is good to be able to find it at a moment’s notice when it is needed.

II.

To understand him more clearly, consider the negative side of “Hold on.” “The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words” (John 14:24, EHV). Who is it that does not hold on to Jesus’ words?

Is Bible Gateway one of the most important tabs in your browser? Are all the printed Bibles in your house in some dusty, moldy box in the basement? When your phone pops up that “Free up space” notification and tells you to review the apps you might want to delete, is your Bible app one of them because you never open it?

Maybe your Bible is locked up for safekeeping. It’s as important as your mortgage document, but also as seldom-used. It sits there, unused, until you are desperate for God’s help and finally pull it out. You are completely befuddled when you look at it. You haven’t seen it in so long you have absolutely no idea where to look in that long document for the answers you seek.

“The one who does not love me does not hold on to my words.” Jesus is especially explaining that unbelievers reject him because of their own unbelief. But he’s giving a warning to believers, too. The words of Jesus are not merely a fire alarm, or defibrillator, only to be used in the most dire of emergencies. Those who think of Jesus only when times are desperate are at least in danger of becoming unbelievers.

Jesus’ Word is to be hung on to—to be clung to.

III.

“If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23, EHV).

Hold on! Hold on for God’s blessings. An old German Haussegen, or “House Blessing,” says:

Wo Glaube da Liebe

Wo Liebe da Friede

Wo Friede da Segen

Wo Segen da Gott

Wo Gott keine Not

If you don’t know your German, don’t worry, I’ll translate it for you as we go along.

Wo Glaube da Liebe: Where there is faith, there is love.

Jesus summarized all the Commandments of God with two short phrases, drawing on the Old Testament. For the commandments concerning our relationship with God, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, EHV). For all the rest of the commandments, he quoted Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, EHV). In other words, love describes all the commandments: love God, and love your neighbor.

Unbelievers can do a superficial job of loving their neighbors. They might not murder or steal. As the Apostle Paul puts it: “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10, EHV). In other words, the only way a person can truly love God or love his or her neighbor is by having faith in the Lord Jesus. Only he truly fulfilled the law.

That means faith and love go together. Where there is faith in Jesus and what he has done to save you from your sins, the love of God is present and reflected in your life as a believer.

Or, as the German House Blessing said: Wo Glaube da Liebe: Where there is faith, there is love.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27, EHV).

“Not as the world gives...” People seek for peace in the world through strength, or by marching around with signs. That kind of peace is constantly destroyed by evil forces.

Jesus gives a different kind of peace. Wo Liebe da Friede: Where there is love, there is peace. The love of God is revealed on the cross. Jesus didn’t abandon his disciples when he said: “It is finished,” and gave up his spirit into death. He had already completed the world’s salvation by the time he uttered those words. Jesus’ love, poured out on the cross, brought real peace—peace between sinners and a righteous God. “Where there is love, there is peace.”

“I have told you these things while staying with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you” (John 14:25-26, EHV).

Jesus’ Word—the Word we are to hold on to—is given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We call it the Word—the Bible. The Bible is not just to be left on a shelf gathering dust, or an unused app on your phone or a bookmark never used in your browser. The Bible is living and active. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to remind you of everything Jesus told you—of everything he did for you.

Wo Friede da Segen: Where there is peace, there is blessing. Dig in to God’s Word. Use it. Peace is right there when you use God’s Word—the peace that passes all human understanding. With the peace of God comes his blessing. No matter what the circumstances, no matter how dire things are in your life, when you use God’s Word on a regular basis, you will find the blessing of God’s peace showering over you.

“My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 ... The word that you are hearing is not mine, but it is from the Father who sent me” (John 14:23-24, EHV).

Blessings and God go hand in hand. Wo Segen da Gott: Where there is blessing, there is God. God has blessed all human beings in creation. Rain and sun, growing and harvesting, are there for both believers and unbelievers alike. Only those who believe in God, and in the Savior he sent, know God’s greatest blessing—the forgiveness of sins.

IV.

“Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid” (John 14:27, EHV). You and I still live in a world filled with sin. There are plenty of things to bring trouble into our lives. There are plenty of things that could potentially make us fearful.

How can you keep your heart from being troubled? How can your heart not be filled with fear with all the evil in the world and all the troubles you face every day?

Perhaps the final line in the German House Blessing can give us a clue: Wo Gott keine Not: Where there is God, there is no need.

No need. In the Lord’s Prayer we focus on spiritual things. The only physical blessing we pray for is that God would give us this day our daily bread: we pray for our physical needs. God satisfies those physical needs, as he sees fit.

Much more important are our spiritual needs. We need the forgiveness of sins. Where there is God, there is no need: he has provided our Lord Jesus to bring us the forgiveness we need, so that we can be confident we will be with God in heaven forever.

Hold on. Hold on to Jesus and his Word. On this celebration of the Day of Pentecost, praise the Lord for sending the Holy Spirit, so that we could be taught and reminded of all the things the Lord Jesus has done for us.

Where there is faith, there is love.

Where there is love, there is peace.

Where there is peace, there is blessing.

Where there is blessing, there is God.

Where there is God, there is no need.

Give thanks to God for his blessings, won by Jesus on the cross, poured out on you through the gift of faith given by the Holy Spirit. Hold on to Jesus and his Word. Amen.