The Promise of a Comforter

Sunday School Lesson
                                      
Lesson: John 14:15-26
                                                                                                 
Golden Text: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). 
I.  INTRODUCTION.  As children many of us have probably felt the terror of not being able to find our parents in a large grocery or department store.  When Jesus was crucified, His disciples felt as if He had abandoned them.  However, He had promised that after He went to the Father, another Caretaker would come---the Holy Spirit.
II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.  Our lesson takes place in the upper room where Jesus and His disciples had gathered for His last Passover meal.  While there, He had taught them spiritual lessons by washing their feet (see John 13:1-17).  He announced that He would be betrayed and Judas left to meet with Jesus’ enemies (see John 13:18-30).  Jesus also declared that He would be leaving them and that Peter would deny Him (see John 13:31-38).  Finally, in what we call the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus began to teach the disciples to prepare them for challenging days ahead (see chapters 14-16).  Jesus encouraged His followers by promising them an eternal home which He was the only way to (see John 14:1-11).  He also told them that their ministry would be even more productive than His if they depended on him in prayer (see John 14:12-14).  This is where our lesson begins.

III. EXHORTATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT (John 14:15-21) 

A. The obedience of love (John 14:14).  Our first verse says “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  In John 14:12-14, Jesus encouraged the Eleven (Judas had left the group) by promising them effectiveness in ministry and in prayer.  His commitment to do whatever they asked in His name seems to include anything they would ask for.  However, He qualified this promise by saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  This puts Jesus’ promise to answer prayer in proper perspective.  If the disciples expected to have their prayers answered, they must be obedient servants who love their Master.  The same truth applies to believers today.  Jesus was saying that genuine love for Him will be shown by obeying His commandments or His words (see John 14:22-23).  The term “commandments” included all the teachings Jesus had given them both verbally and by example.  Note:  By making obedience the measure of love, Jesus reaffirmed the standard God set in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 10:12-13; 11:1, 13-14, 22-23; 19:9; 30:16, 20).  We should be motivated to obey Jesus Christ not by fear of Him, but by love for Him.  Jesus has set the example for us in this.  His love for His Father was shown in unconditional obedience to Him (see John 5:30).  Now He asked His disciples to follow His example.
B. The coming of the Comforter (John 14:16-17).

1. (vs. 16).  Jesus continued to say in this verse “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”  In order to help the disciples keep His commands, Jesus said that He would “pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter.”  The word “pray” used here is the Greek word for “ask.”  In answer to His Son’s request, God the Father would send the Holy Spirit to take Jesus’ place to help the disciples.  The Holy Spirit is here called “another Comforter.”  The Greek word for “Comforter” is “parakletos” and can also be rendered “Advocate.”  It literally means one called alongside to give aid and was often used of someone who gives legal aid in a court of law.  Jesus is described this way in I John 2:1, referring to Him as our “Advocate” or a legal counselor who intercedes for us and represents the believer before the Father to turn aside the accusations of Satan (see Romans 8:34; Revelation 12:10).  However, the meaning of the term “Comforter” in our text refers exclusively to the Holy Spirit and is used in the general sense of “helper.”  The Greek word for “another” means another of the same kind.  In other words, the Holy Spirit would be another Person like Jesus, helping His own just as Jesus did.  Therefore, the disciples wouldn’t experience any loss spiritually once Jesus departed.  Jesus told His disciples that this new Advocate or Helper would “abide with you for ever.”  Jesus had been with His followers only temporarily, but the One who replaced Him would be with everyone who trusted in Him permanently.  In other words, the Holy Spirit would permanently indwell all future believers (see I Corinthians 6:19).  Note:  Jesus was ready to finish His earthly ministry and leave the earth, but the Holy Spirit’s work in Christians would last forever.  As a human being, Jesus was limited by time and space in His ministry.  The Holy Spirit is not.  The Holy Spirit had not yet come and started His work.  That would happen on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghoset came upon the church (see Acts 2:1-4, 33).  From that point on, the Holy Ghost has permanently indwelled all who have placed their faith in Christ (see Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:12-14).
2. (vs. 17).  In this verse Jesus continued describing the Holy Spirit by saying “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”  Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth” because He would bear witness of Christ who is the Truth (see John 14:6).  He would also increase the apostles’ understanding of Christ (see John 15:26; 16:13).  During His earthly ministry, Jesus validated who He was through miracles (see Matthew 12:28).  But now that He was going away, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus would send in His place, would be a witness in each believer.  Jesus went on to say that the Holy Spirit is One “whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.”  Here, “the world” refers to the unsaved, who are spiritually blind and under the rebellious order of Satan.  They can only understand material things of this life (see I Corinthians 2:14; I John 4:3-6).  As a result, the unbelieving world has no understanding of the Holy Spirit or His work.  Unfortunately, the Holy Spirit’s presence goes unnoticed by unbelievers.  In contrast to the world or unbelievers Jesus said to His disciples “but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”  The disciples knew the Spirit through personal experience both by observing Jesus’ works and by performing miracles themselves (see Matthew 12:28; Mark 6:12-13).  But something even better was in store for them, for Jesus said the Holy Spirit “dwelleth with you” meaning He “remains with you.”  Note:  The Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost would set the disciples and all later believers apart from Old Testament saints.  In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon select persons temporarily for specific ministries (see Numbers 11:25; Judges 3:9-10; Judges 6:34-35; Judges 14:5-6, 19; 15:14; I Samuel 16:13; I Chronicles 12:18; II Chronicles 1-2; 24:20).  Jesus said that now, the Spirit would permanently indwell everyone who trusted Christ for salvation (see Roman 8:9; I Corinthians 12:13).  Every believer without exception is now indwelled by the Holy Spirit (see I Corinthians 6:19).
C.  The comfort of Jesus (John 14:18-20).
1. (vs. 18).  Jesus now says “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”  Jesus made a promise to His disciples saying “I will not leave you comfortless.”  The Greek word used for “comfortless” literally means orphans.  Jesus was speaking figuratively.  He meant that He wouldn’t leave the disciples feeling bereaved, alone and helpless when he died.  The Holy Spirit would come upon them to guide and support them just as Jesus had done.  Many believe that Jesus’ further promise that “I will come to you” refers to His continuing presence through the Holy Spirit.  However, since His words were personal, it seems more likely that Jesus was referring to His appearances to His followers after His resurrection (see Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:9, 12, 14; Luke 24:13-32, 34, 36-43; John 20:11-18, 19-31; 21:1-3; Acts 1:3-8; 9:1-19; 22:3-16).  For sure, when they saw Jesus after His crucifixion they didn’t feel comfortless.
2. (vs. 19).  Jesus went on to say “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.”  The phrase “Yet a little while” refers to the hours remaining until Jesus’ crucifixion the next day.  Jesus said that after He was crucified, “the world seeth me no more.”  In other words, since no unsaved person would see Him in His resurrected state, He could say “the world seeth me no more.”  Then Jesus said to His disciples, “but ye see me.”  This phrase is in the present tense indicating that the disciples and other believers would keep seeing the resurrected Jesus in their mind’s eye as a result of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing teaching ministry.  As the Spirit glorified Christ, He would show them new truths about Him (see John 16:14).  In the last part of this verse Jesus said “because I live, ye shall live also.”  This phrase is in the future tense and it emphasizes that Christ’s resurrection would be the basis and assurance of the believers’ new life (see Romans 6:4-8; I Corinthians 15:20-22).
3. (vs. 20).  Jesus continued to say “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”  Since Jesus had just spoken of His resurrection, most likely the phrase “At that day” refers to it.  That’s when the disciples would first understand the meaning of “I am in my Father, and ye in me.”  After Jesus’ resurrection, His disciples would know that He and His Father were one in life and purpose.  The Father-Son union is absolute, unchangeable, and unique.  It’s a model of the union believers have with the Saviour and each other after they place their faith in Christ (see John 17:20-23; I Corinthians 12:13).  Jesus referred to this mutual union between He and believers as “ye in me, and I in you.”  He later illustrated this union by telling the parable of the Vine and the branches (see John 15:1-11).  The Bible describes this union using a human body to represent believers whose Head is Christ (see I Corinthians 12:12-27).
D. The call to obedience repeated (John 14:21).  In this verse Jesus said “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”  To show the importance of obedience and love, Jesus explained the principle He stated earlier in verse 15, that love and obedience go hand in hand.  First He said here that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.”  Jesus was saying that a truly saved person not only has or possesses His commandments, but he also keeps or obeys them.  Having eternal life motivates the believer to lovingly obey the Lord.  Then Jesus said “and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him.”  In other words, the believer who demonstrates love for Christ by obeying Him is rewarded by becoming the special recipient of the love of both the Father and the Son.  Since the Father loves the Son (see Matthew 3:17), He also loves those who receive His Son (see I John 4:7-12).  Since the Father and the Son are one (see John 10:30), they love the same people.  Note:  Saving faith is the basis for our union with God and the loving deeds we do for Him (see Galatians 5:6; I John 5:3-4).  If we try to gain God’s favor by good works, we will be rejected (see Romans 4:4-5; Philippians 3:4-9).  The one whose love is demonstrated by obedience will have the love of both the Father and the Son.  Jesus also promised here that not only would He and the Father love the obedient believer, but in addition He said I “will manifest myself to him.”  Though Jesus wouldn’t continue to show Himself physically as He did after the resurrection, He would always be with His own (see Matthew 28:20; Galatians 2:20).
IV. INSTRUCTION AND ILLUMINATION (John 14:22-26)
A.  A disciple’s question (John 14:22).  This verse says “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”  One of the eleven disciples who were still present (Judas Iscariot had already left the room at this point; see John 13:26-30) had a question for Jesus.  We are told that the disciple’s name was “Judas…not Iscariot.”  The Apostle John was careful to let his readers know that this Judas was not Judas Iscariot who would betray Jesus.  He asked the Lord “how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”  This question was prompted by Jesus’ words that He would come to them again, but the world wouldn’t see Him.  If Jesus’ kingdom would be a real, visible, earthly kingdom over the entire world, Judas couldn’t understand how Christ could “manifest” or show Himself to His disciples but not to the world.  But why would Jesus reveal Himself only to the disciples and not to the world after His resurrection?  Jesus knew that revealing Himself to the unsaved after His resurrection wouldn’t necessarily persuade them to believe in Him (see Luke 16:31).  The risen Lord’s desire to manifest Himself to His disciples only would be to strengthen His relationship with them and the reason is clear: they would be the ones who would evangelize the lost.  Note:  Luke is the only Gospel that includes a disciple with the name Judas other than Judas Iscariot.  In Luke’s Gospel, this Judas is called “Judas the brother of James” (see Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13).  This Judas who asked the question was probably the man also called Thaddaeus (see Mark 3:18) or Lebbaeus (see Matthew 10:3).  We come to this conclusion by studying the four lists of the disciples in the Bible (see Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19: Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13).  By the end of the first century around 90 A.D. when John wrote his gospel, the name “Judas” had become a notorious synonym for a betrayer.  Few, if any parents today are willing to name a child Judas.  The Apostle John protected the reputation of Jesus’ questioner from Judas the betrayer by inserting the words “not Iscariot.”  He didn’t want any misunderstanding.
B. Jesus’ answer (John 14:23-24).  
1. (vs. 23).  This verse says “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  Jesus’ response to Judas’ (Thaddaeus) question focused on the importance of a life of love and obedience.  Jesus was saying that those who truly love Him, will “keep my words” meaning they will obey His words.  The term “my words” refers to Jesus’ teachings, and is the same thing as His commandments in verse 21.  Those who love and obey Jesus will in turn be loved by the Father.  In addition to the obedient and loving servant having the love of the Father, Jesus said that He and His Father “will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  The word “abode” is the singular for the same word translated “mansions” in John 14:2.  It speaks of a dwelling place or room.  Jesus had already declared that the Spirit will dwell in the believer in verse 16, and now He was promising that those who love and obey Him would become the present dwellings of Him and His Father as well.  Note:  Where there is no obedience to Christ, there is no love.  Obeying Christ---keeping His commandments and doing His will---is the only sure test of love for Him.  Love and obedience are so inseparable that to claim to love the Lord and not obey Him is a false claim.  All that we profess to believe, claim to know, and seek to achieve is meaningless and worthless without love for and obedience to Christ.  
2. (vs. 24).  Jesus continued to say in this verse “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.”  Unlike those who loved Jesus, those who don’t love Him won’t “keep” or obey His “sayings” meaning His words. Love should always be the motivation for true obedience.  Works done out of fear, pride, or mere duty can never produce the closeness brought about by love.  But Jesus added something vitally important here.  He said that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.”  Disobedience is doubly serious because the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples were not His own.  His words came from the Father who had sent Him.  The truth here is that when we disobey Christ’s words we are also disobeying God’s words.  Jesus confirmed that He and the Father who sent Him into the world are always in perfect harmony and He spoke only what was in agreement with His Father’s will (see John 5:17-20; 8:28-29; 10:30; 12:49; 14:10; 17:1-4).  Jesus always took the role of the obedient Son.  Note:  There have always been cults that claim to be worshipping the true God while rejecting the claims and teachings of Jesus.  But this is impossible, for Jesus is God’s supreme revelation of Himself (see John 8:19).  Those who reject Jesus’ authority are rejecting His Father’s authority as well (see I John 2:22-23; II John 1:9).
C. The Spirit’s continuing teaching (John 14:25-26).
1. (vs. 25).  Now Jesus said in this verse “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.”  Jesus knew that more revelation was forthcoming but He first mentioned “These things” which most likely referred to everything He had just taught them in the Upper Room.  However, the phrase “These things” no doubt also included all of His teachings given so far while “being yet present with” them in His physical body.  The disciples were not able to comprehend His words fully or even remember their full content.  To leave them in this condition when He departed would have been disastrous.  During His three years of public ministry, Jesus had taught His disciples only as much truth as they were able to receive at that stage of their spiritual growth.  Much more truth remained to be revealed (see John 16:12-13).
2. (vs. 26).  In our final verse, Jesus continued to say “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”  Anticipating that more revelation would be needed and forthcoming, Jesus told His disciples that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.”  Jesus promised that the Holy Ghost would give the disciples further understanding.  As Jesus had come in the Father’s name, likewise the Father would send the Spirit in Jesus’ name.  The phrase “in my name” means that the Holy Ghost would officially represent Jesus on earth and carry the same divine authority Jesus had.  Jesus told His disciples that the “Comforter” or Helper who is the “Holy Ghost” or God’s Spirit “shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”  This promise, by interpretation, was made specifically to the apostles, not to all believers.  They were the ones who heard Jesus speak and the ones who needed the Holy Spirit’s help in reminding them of what they may have forgotten.  This promise committed the Holy Spirit to teach the apostles the meaning of Jesus’ words and to remind them even of teachings they may have forgotten.  This was essential for the apostles.  As the continuing witnesses of Christ on earth, they would have to give the gospel message accurately.  Therefore it was necessary for the Spirit to “bring all things to (their) remembrance.”  Like us, the apostles were human and prone to forgetting or confusing things they had heard Jesus say.  They would need the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to ensure that all of Christ’s words were passed on with accuracy.  The very words of Jesus would be brought back to their memories by the Holy Ghost.  Jesus was not promising unlimited knowledge to His disciples.  The promise is limited by the words “whatsoever I have said unto you.”  In other words, the Holy Spirit would remind them accurately of everything that Jesus had said during His earthly ministry.  Note:  This explains how the Apostle John could write his Gospel with such depth and detail.  The Holy Spirit was present to bring to his remembrance all that was important to record.  John was able to write such a detailed account some sixty years after it all happened.  How were writers such as Luke and Paul able to produce texts that don’t contradict even the smallest detail of what the rest of the New Testament says?  The answer to this question is found in the work of the Holy Spirit (see II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21).        
                                  
V. Conclusion.  Jesus promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them remember all that He had said.  The Spirit would unveil the truth and make its meaning clear and understandable.  How encouraging it is to know that the Spirit will teach us and help us understand God’s truth.  We don’t need to fear the troubled world around us, for the Comforter dwells within us and brings us peace.  The disciples experienced the joy of the Saviour’s personal presence.  We also experience the joy of His presence through the Holy Spirit.