Bible Study series No.21 from the Gospel of John "The Last Message of Jesus"

Bible:

Prelude:

Jesus made it clear to His disciples that He would soon be leaving. He had told the disciples many times, but they were still unable to accept it. 

But with the tension of the possibility of losing the Lord Jesus, they were afraid of what they would do with their lives.

The advocate refers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who will stay with them, comfort them, and live with them even after Jesus leaves.

"That day" refers to the Pentecost, which happened on the 50th day after the Passover. It was the 50th day after Jesus' death on the cross. When the disciples gathered at the same place, suddenly there was a sound as if a violent wind came from heaven, and then something like fire appeared above each of them, and they all began to speak in another languages.（another tongue）

It was a sign that the promised Holy Spirit would descend, as Jesus had said.

But was there any way the disciples could have imagined such a thing?

This does not mean that the Holy Spirit will only work on their memories to remind them, but rather that the Holy Spirit will work on the disciples to make them more able to live with Christ and do His work!

However, from our point of view, what should we do if we are told not to be anxious?

The more we try to calm down, the more anxious and impatient we become.

The disciples must have all thought that as long as the Lord Jesus was visibly present, they would be able to live in safety and peace, and with strong faith.

Don't you think that we who live in the modern world also feel the same way?

 

When I was a child, I asked my mother, "Mom, why wasn't I born when Jesus was? If I had lived in the Old Testament era, I might have heard God's voice, right?

My mother then said, "I can understand why you feel that way. But you know, this is the age of the Holy Spirit, and we know more about God now than in those days. We are blessed." I didn't understand what she meant at the time. But little by little, what my mother said made sense to me.

The disciples understood what the Lord Jesus was saying much better than when He spoke His words on earth. The disciples must have expected that the coming of the Son of God to earth would be the salvation of the Jewish people from Roman oppression and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

 I don't think they could have imagined that it would be for the salvation of mankind throughout the ages. Also, they followed the Lord and must have had their ideal image of Christ in mind and tried to make sense of their lives by being his disciples.

However, it was only after the Lord's death on the cross, the encounter with the resurrected Lord, and the coming of the promised Holy Spirit that all things became clear to the disciples.

Their faith deepened. Furthermore, they received a great mission to work for the Lord as disciples with the gospel.

The mission was to spread the Lord's salvation work in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They began to walk firmly.

We cannot see Christ with our eyes, nor can we touch Him.

We cannot listen to his words directly either. However, we can recognize the certainty of salvation more and God's love through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God.

Postlude:

Ref.

Lena Maria Vendelius

She was born with severe disabilities in the village of Harbo in south-central Sweden. She competed as a swimmer at the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul.
She sang at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Paralympics (Winter Games). Her parents loved her and raised her as they would a child without a disability, sending her to swimming lessons and putting her in the church choir to practice singing. After graduating from college, she began to sing as a "Gospel" singer, and still gives concerts all over the world, inspiring and encouraging many people.