John 16: 4-5 ‘I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me, and none of you asks me: “Where are you going?”

A short preface to this weeks blog. With all that is happening in the world around us we need a rock to stand on. There is no greater one than God’s word in a time of uncertainty it will comfort, teach and inspire while challenging us to stand firm in the uncertainty of the times. The disciples find themselves facing the challenge of taking the word to the world and doing so without the  physical presence of Jesus. 

Never easy to leave those we love behind even if we know it is necessary and will be better for them. It is hard for us to accept that these simple men after all this time with Jesus were still in some respects confused by the things that were happening around them. At this point in our scriptures we find these men bewildered and grief stricken. The simple truth was that Jesus was somewhat constrained in his present state. The disciples had only a snapshot you might say of what’s about to happen….They were going to lose Jesus. He told them this must happen so the Holy Spirit, the Helper could come. They had yet to see the bigger picture. The time of hello’s and goodbyes were over. He told them that in this body I cannot be everywhere. As it were now he was confined, but there will be no limitations in the Spirit, everywhere you go the Spirit is with you. I am sure they struggled to understand what he was saying. Matthew 28:20 ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’ The Spirit would bring to men and women an uninterrupted fellowship forever. It would bring to the preached word a power that would change the people who heard it and the world they lived in. 

As with all biblical scripture we sometimes find words that can’t be fully translated and this is the case here with a word John uses to speak to the work of the Spirit…elegchein, which is translated in the Revised Standard Version as convince.  This is as good a time as any to ask this question. Why does the crucifixion of, in their minds a criminal 2000 years ago, still through all this time   weigh upon the hearts of people all over the world? It is nothing less than the work of the Holy Spirit! 

 (1) The Holy Spirit will convict people of sin. 

(2) The Holy Spirit will convince people of righteousness.

(3) The Holy Spirit convinces people of judgment.

One last point to be made here is this simple truth. When we believe with certainty that on the cross of Christ is our salvation and that with Christ we are forgiven, and saved, this too, is the work of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we are convicted of our sin and convinced that our savior will forgive us of our sins.

 Life is Good

jk