At the end of the Upper Room discourse, Jesus told the apostles that He was returning to His Father. This daily devotional looks at Jesus telling the apostolic their Father’s love.
Nuggets
- Jesus loves us enough to intercede for us, but we have access to God Himself.
- The most important part of the mission for Jesus was that it began and ended with the Father.
- Jesus didn’t want His apostles to miss this.
Devotions in the Living Life Connected to Christ series
Jesus was winding down what He wanted to tell His apostles. He still had the prayer to say.
But Jesus had a couple of more things to say that the apostles needed to hear.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Do We Really Need an Intercessor?
“In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (Jn. 16: 26-27 ESV)
Jesus loves us enough to intercede for us, but we have access to God Himself.
I am having a little trouble with this verse. It seems — to me — that it is contradicting another verse.
“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Rom. 8: 34: ESV).
So, I am going to have to see what others say about this.
Jackson interpreted the meaning of the verse in John for us. He wrote, “Christ does not decline to pray for us. He only makes known God’s willingness to hear us directly. But all the while we know He ever liveth to make intercession for US.”
Resource
What that tells me is Jesus doesn’t have to intercede for us. He wants to do so.
We can to go God directly.
But isn’t it great to know that Someone is in our corner fighting for us?
This was different from the way the Jews did sacrifices. Only the High Priest could go one day a year into the Holy of Holies.
Jesus being the Sacrifice for our sins changed all of that.
When we have God in our hearts, we don’t need priests interceding for us. “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’” (Jn. 14: 23 ESV).
We don’t want to put space between us and God. That is especially true when that space is other people. We want to listen to God, not them.
God doesn’t want to be off on His throne in Heaven, not having direct contact with us. He wants to be a hands-on God.
Why does God want contact with us? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
Wait! What? That verse said God loved us before He sent Jesus to die for us and clean us up?
Yep. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5: 8 NLT).
God loves us just the way we are — even in our most sinful state.
But God doesn’t want us to stay that way. He does not give us a pass for our sins even though He still loves us.
We must change to have the character of God.
Jesus’ Round Trip
“I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” (Jn. 16: 28 ESV)
The most important part of the mission for Jesus was that it began and ended with the Father.
Jesus knew His mission was important. He was coming to take away the sins of the world for those who would repent.
Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to change our sinful ways to ways of righteousness through obedience.
- Obedience means submitting ourselves to the will of God as it is presented to us and living our lives accordingly.
Glossary
In His mind, Jesus knew that coming to earth by the command of His Father was really important. It ranks right up there with returning to the Father.
But it isn’t just that Jesus was going back. It was that He was going back having completed His mission.
Jesus didn’t give up halfway through. He didn’t summon the legion of angels to come get Him out of this.
Jesus finished His mission. He died and rose again.
Listen to what Maclaren said. He wrote, “Jesus Christ willed to be born, and to plant a new beginning of holy life in the very heart of humanity which henceforth should work as leaven. Unless we preserve this clear in our minds and hearts, the power to sway our affections is struck away from Christ. Unless He voluntarily took upon Himself the nature which He meant to redeem, why should I be thankful to Him for what He did?”
Resource
- Jesus chose the life He had here on earth.
- We have to get this acknowledgment down to the heart level.
- We can only be thankful about what He did when we realize it was totally His choice.
But think about it this way. Going back to God has significant meaning. Jesus will return again to pick up His church. That is going to be a glorious day!
Jesus is hanging out until He can come get us.
Jesus’ Plain Teaching
“His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God’” (Jn. 16: 29-30 ESV)
Jesus didn’t want His apostles to miss this.
It seems like through all of Jesus’ ministry, He was accused of being hard to understand. But then, Jesus purposely told parables.
“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand’” (Mt. 13: 10-13 ESV).
But really. During the whole Upper Room Discourse that we have been looking at, Jesus has been pretty much laying it out.
What made the words difficult for the apostles to understand was they weren’t the ones they thought they were going to hear. They thought they would hear a war cry.
Instead, through most of the verses we have already talked about, Jesus was comforting the apostles.
Making the Connections
It was really important that the apostles get what Jesus was saying. In a couple of hours, Jesus would be dead.
They wouldn’t have Jesus to tell them what to do.
The apostles had to be in a position that they were be starting to get it before the night is over.
How Do We Apply This?
- Celebrate Christmas and Easter.
- Bury ourselves in God’s Word.
- Study on what Jesus says.
Resource
Father God. It amazes us that You sent Jesus as the Savior of the world. Help us to search for and seek You. May we always look to You for guidance. Amen.
What do you think?
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