Two weeks on the Life and Teachings of Jesus: Day 9 – Jesus’ Final Instructions (John 14)
13:21-14:14
Difficult times lay ahead for Jesus. He would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot (21-30). He would be denied by Peter (36-38). For Jesus, there was His departure (31-33). It would be a difficult time for His followers. He tells them to ‘love one another’: ‘By this all men shall know that they are His disciples’(34-35). Jesus points them beyond the difficult times. He speaks of His glorious future. He assures them that the best is yet to be. He is preparing a place in His ‘Father’s House’for us. He will come again to take us to Himself (1-3). He is the Way to this place, the true and living way (6). Now, He reveals the Father to us (9). Now, He is working in and through us (12-14). He is preparing us for His place: ‘Lord Jesus… fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there’(Church Hymnary, 195).
14:15-15:17
Those who love the Lord are called to a life of obedience – keeping His ‘commandments’, keeping His ‘Word’(21,23). We cannot live this life in our own strength. Christ must make His home in us (23). Once He has come to live in us, we are to abide in Him (4). Jesus says to us, ‘Apart from me you can do nothing’(5). You cannot live the Christian life until Christ comes to live in you. ‘The Holy Spirit teaches us all things’(26). Christ’s ‘words’abide in us (7). We are called to a life of fruitfulness (15:5,15) – ‘the fruit of the Spirit’: ‘love, joy, peace…’(Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus loves us (21). He gives us His peace (27). He gives us His joy (11). Love, Joy, Peace: Let this ‘fruit’be seen in us. Let it be shared with others. ‘Love one another… Go and bear fruit… love one another’(15:12,16-17).
