John 15:22-27

John 15:22-27

“If I did not come and speak to them, they were not having sin.  But now they do not have any real excuse regarding their sin.  The one who hates me also hates my Father.  If I did not do works in them that no other person did, they were not having sin.  But now they have also seen and they have hated even me and my Father.  But now, in order that the words that have been written in their Law should be fulfilled, ‘they hated me without cause.’  When the Helper whom I will send to you all should come from the Father, the Spirit of truth which proceeds out from the Father, that one will testify regarding me.  And you also testify because from the beginning you all are with me.  

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

In this opening line we have a subtle theme that runs the scope of the Gospel of John.  Knowledge and proximity to God brings increased responsibility.  Prior to Christ’s coming, people could not know a true relationship with God as we see taught and lived out in Christ.  However, once we are shown this reality anything besides embracing it is rejection of it.  Jesus knows that the religious leaders around Him are ultimately rejecting the relationship God desires with humanity when they are rejecting Him.  When Jesus comes into our midst, we are given a great opportunity to know the Father intimately.  But we are also given the opportunity to reject such a relationship by choosing something else in the world, too.

So what is it for you: relationship with the Father above all else or not?  How do you live out that reality?  How do the people outside of your life see that in you?

Second Thought:

However, Jesus is doing more than offering relationship.  In order to receive relationship we must also receive the diagnosis of sin.  In order to truly know the Father, we must confess and repent of our sinfulness.  We must be willing to stare into the blackness that lies within and turn away from it in turning to God.  Coming to Jesus is like going to a doctor and having an illness diagnosed.  Just because we know what the illness is, unless we take the prescription and take the medicine and live as the doctor tells us we need to live we won’t actually get any better.  The offer of relationship with the Father necessarily implies dealing with and turning away from our sinfulness.  Otherwise we’re like a sick person who refuses to do what it takes to cure what ails him.

How readily do you recognize your sinfulness?  What are you doing to turn away from it?  Are you willing to let Jesus purge your life from what ails you?

Third Thought:

At the end of this passage, Jesus talks about our witness.  Yes, Jesus tells us of the Holy Spirit that will testify through His disciples regarding Him.  That Holy Spirit is truth and His testimony is true.  But what I find fascinating is the truth that Jesus says regarding His disciples.  Jesus isn’t using a future tense verb here.  Jesus is using a present tense verb.  It is, “You all testify,” rather than, “you all will testify.”  Jesus is telling His disciples that the Holy Spirit will bring absolute truth among them.  But they are already a witness to Christ even without the Holy Spirit.  Even through their stumbling and inability to grasp deeply what Jesus is teaching, they are still a testimony.  The fact that they continue to walk beside Jesus and not abandon Him is a testimony.  The fact that they are trying – even if they are not always successful – is a testimony.  They will not be a testimony, they already are a testimony.

Are you a testimony for God?  How?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 16:1-4