The Spirit of Truth

Elder Brian Haferkamp preaches on John 16, the giving of the Holy Spirit. He reminds us that Christ had to leave so that we can have God’s comfort, guidance, and assurance of the New Covenant through the Holy Spirit.

In the grand scope of history, we see God moving closer and closer to mankind. He created a man and woman and would come and walk with them. Then he called a people group out for himself. Then he dwelt among that people in the Temple. Then he came and dwelt with that people in the person of Jesus Christ. Then he sent his Spirit to live in the heart of each individual who believes. It is foretold that, when the end comes, God will bring all who are in Christ to be with him in his presence forever. Can you see how important God’s presence is to him and to his people? It is at the heart of God's redemptive plan. It is at the heart of this life that we are called to live.

One of the major themes in John 13-17 is God's presence. Jesus comforted the disciples because he was about to leave them. He didn’t want them to fall away or lose heart so he told them about what was to come. 

Jesus had been telling the disciples that they would do marvelous things. They would pray and Jesus (who would no longer be with them) would give them what they pray for. They would do greater works that even he had done. They would not be alone even though Christ would not be with them. They were to love as Christ loved. They were to abide in Christ, the True Vine. God would make his home with men and women.

But Jesus had also told the disciples that he would be leaving them, so how could these things come to be?

The answer is that God would provide his Holy Spirit to dwell within the hearts of those who are in Christ. From that point on the Father and the Son would be at work in the world through the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit dwelling not in the Tabernacle or Jerusalem, but in the hearts of everyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord and takes up Christ’s cross to follow him daily as his disciple.

As I’ve looked through this chapter this week one of the things that has been impressed upon me the most is how important God’s presence is to him and for his people. If you look back to the stories we all know so well, it will be plain to see.

When God called Moses, he met Moses’ appeal with the promise of his presence:

Exodus 3:11-12; 4:10-12

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

10 But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

Joshua's courage was also to be based on God's presence:

Joshua 1:5-6, 9

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

When God had brought the people to the edge of the Promised Land, he encouraged them not to be dismayed by the people in Canaan. 

Deuteronomy 7:21

21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

When Jeremiah was called by God as a prophet, God’s retort to Jeremiah’s reluctance was to remind him of his presence:

Jeremiah 1:6-8, 19

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”

19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”

God had Israel build the tabernacle to be a place where he could dwell with his people:

Exodus 30: 41-46

41 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. 42 It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

The Temple also was built as a place where God and humanity could meet. God would dwell with the people there, hear their prayers and forgive their sins.

In the New Testament, there are two main demonstrations of God’s presence. The first is Jesus Christ. 

Matthew 1:20-23

20 But as [Joseph] considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” 

(which means, God with us).

One of the names of the Messiah is “God with us.” As we see in John 16 this means more than just that God understands our trials and temptations; more than that he lived the life of a man. He was God on the earth--in the flesh--walking with us.

John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

And now, with those who have faith in Jesus Christ, God is building a living temple:

1 Peter 2:4-10

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”

8 and

“A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Now Jews and Gentiles alike have been made into a new priesthood; they are being built into a new temple for God. God no longer dwells in the Temple in Jerusalem but in the hearts of all men and women who call upon his name, take us the cross of Christ, and follow him. 

Ephesians 3:14-19

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is no metaphor. The reality of the life in Christ is that we now have the presence of God with us through the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. Christ had to leave in order that his Spirit might come and dwell, not in the Temple but, in the hearts of every man, woman, and child who responds to his call; to everyone who opens the door when he knocks; to all who seek him.

The affirmations of the presence of someone who loves you are so important. God is aware of that importance and has supplied reassurances and demonstrations of his presence and love. 

The Holy Spirit is also the sign, or seal, of the New Covenant between God and humanity. This New Covenant was prophesied in the book of Jeremiah, as well as other places in the Old Testament.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This is the New Covenant that God made with his people. It was instituted and made binding through the blood of Christ:

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

The mark, or seal, of the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You can think of the Spirit as a sort of down payment, or guarantee, of the promises of God.

Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

God has made an earnest payment in the form of his indwelling Spirit, that we might have an assurance of the eternal life God promises through faith in Christ.

Mos of the ways we can know that the Spirit is dwelling with us and working in us are very personal. It is difficult to see the work of the Spirit much of the time. 

However, when Jesus talked about the Vine and the Branches in John 15, he was talking about a discernible evidence of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit and an evidence of our participation in the New Covenant. 

The promise of John 15 is that if we abide in him we will bear much fruit. As we remain connected to Christ--being obedient to Christ’s commands and loving others--the fruit of the Spirit will begin to show in our lives. 

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;

This fruit is an evidence--to ourselves and to others--of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and is one of the byproducts of living in the New Covenant with God through Jesus Christ.

Finally, God gives his Spirit as a present guide in this age, that we might be reminded of the words of God in the Scriptures and in the life of Christ. The Scriptures themselves have been given by God through his Spirit. They are his words to humanity. Regardless how it happened, the Spirit was the one who gave the writers the words, guiding them into all the truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

God’s word is integral for living godly lives:

Psalm 119:97-104

97  Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

98  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

99  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

100  I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

101  I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

102  I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me.

103  How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104  Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

The promise of John 16:13 is that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth. He is not speaking on his own authority but is in harmony with the Father and the Son. Therefore, the truth he leads us into, the word that he has given to men, and those remembrances he provides are as true as the words of the Father or Jesus Christ.

In chapter 14, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will do the work of teaching us:

John 14:15-16, 25-26

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

If you ever find yourself wondering how to live or what to say, God promises, through his Spirit, to remind us what he said and, like the prophets before us, put the words in our mouths. 

Matthew 10:16-19

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Whether we are studying the Bible or facing persecution and being called to account for our faith or we are actively participating in ministry, God promises, through the Holy Spirit, to teach us and give us the words to say. His Spirit is integral to Christ’s continuing work in the world through his people.

The Farewell Discourse of Jesus might seem a little disjointed at first. He's covering a variety of topics that are cryptic, at best. However, understand that the giving of the Holy Spirit is at the center of what Christ is saying in each section. His presence was critical to the work ahead for the disciples and it is critical in our lives today. 

If we are to live this life God has called us to, it will only be because his Holy Spirit is within us leading, guiding, teaching, and directing. If you are trying to live this life without God’s presence you are walking in your own flesh. Let us not walk by the flesh, by the Spirit of God. 

Galatians 5:16-25

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

Christ died and was resurrected that we might be set free from Sin and Death. He left to be with the Father that we might have the presence of God with us continually through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to actually walk with Christ. But God quickly reminds me that I know every day what it was like. Because he is in us we have the continual presence of Christ in our lives. 

By God’s Spirit we can abide in Christ and he will bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. By God’s Spirit we can ask for what we want in the name of Jesus and the Father will give it. By God’s Spirit we can walk in this new way of life that we have been called to. By God’s Spirit we will have God’s presence and comfort to live in a world that hates the name that has been given to us. By God’s Spirit we will not be left as orphans in the world. By God’s Spirit our sorrow will be turned to joy. 

Amen.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Elder Brian Haferkamp preaches on John 14:1-14. He shows how Jesus’ statement that he is the way, the truth, and the life was (and still is) meant to be a comfort to his disciples.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

John 14:1-14

This section of John--chapters 13-17--is called The Upper Room Discourse.” For anyone who wants to know what happened on the night before Jesus' death these chapters give us a look into the upper room.

For most of my life I have heard preachers and teachers teach John 14:6 evangelistically. However, in its original context it is not an evangelistic message--rather, it is meant to be a comfort to Christ's disciples in their time of need.

I want to explore this verse today not as an evangelistic mic drop but as a comfort for the followers of Christ. If Jesus were giving an evangelistic statement alone then he was in the wrong place. Judas had already left the room (John 13:30) and Christ had declared to Peter that they were all clean and did not need to be washed again, referring to the washing of their sins (John 13:10, 15:3). So the people in this room were believers who had followed Christ as his disciples throughout his earthly ministry.

Once Judas left the room the plan was set into motion. Christ knew this; he knew that the clock was ticking. He began to speak to the remaining disciples and says,​

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me."

Things were about to start happening that would shake the disciples in this room. Think about the messages he had just told them in chapter 13:

  • One of you will betray me

  • I'm leaving shortly and you cannot come

  • Peter will deny me three times

These were not fringe disciples of a random rabbi. They were the core. They were the ones Jesus had invested so much of his ministry and teaching into. But Christ had a mission. He shared that mission with Nicodemus in John 3:

John 3:14-18

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

At that time, many assumed that the lifting up Jesus referred to was that he would be lifted up to the throne--to earthly power--where he would save the world through his leadership and military might. But Jesus knew that his death was his mission. He foretold his death three times (Matthew 16, 17, and 20). He knew that Abraham sacrificing Isaac on Mount Moriah was the kind of “giving” God meant in John 3:16. Being raised up like the serpent in the wilderness was about being raised on the cross of a criminal and not about being exalted to the physical throne on which Herod sat.

So this was a crucial time for Christ and his disciples. This time between Judas leaving and Jesus making his way up the mountain to Gethsemane was a time of comforting his followers.

Now we come to the verse we will focus on today--verse 6.

As he is talking about going to prepare a place for the disciples--a place they cannot go yet--he says,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How could this be a comfort to the disciples?

Put yourselves in the shoes of the disciples. They had given up their jobs, homes, and relationships to follow Christ these three years. All Jews, except perhaps John the Baptist, believed that Messiah would be a great military king and usher in eternal prosperity and peace. These disciples believed and even confessed that Jesus was the Christ. And now Jesus was telling them that he must go away and they could not come with him.

Was Jesus just carrying them along only to drop them? Leave them high and dry? That wasn't the plan, but only he knew what would happen after he died. So Jesus speaks of going away but gives the disciples this reassurance: Your belief in me has not been in vain.

Paul addresses the thought of our faith being in vain in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Jesus assured the disciples that they have chosen the right path--the only path. He is encouraging them to continue forward even in the coming dark days. Do not give up hope in the choice to follow Jesus. There is no other way to get to the Father. It will look as though all has failed, but they should not let go of their faith in Christ as the Messiah.

Let’s look at what Scripture says about Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.


Jesus is the way

In Acts, when the disciples were categorized as followers of The Way, it is the same word Jesus used in the upper room. We often hear about the "way of the Lord." Jesus is that way. He is the narrow path; he is the way of salvation; he is the way to God the Father.

Mat 7:13-14

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Mark 1:1-3

​The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
​‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

When the disciples followed him they began on the right path to the Father. Today Jesus might have said, "Stay the course. You're on the right path, regardless how it looks coming up ahead."

Imagine with me.

There is a wall dividing two sides. All men and women are trying to move from one side to the other. They are drawn and compelled to search for a way to the other side. Along the wall there is a door which leads to the other side. Its end is truly entrance to the other side. However, someone has come along and placed doorways which look like they would be the grand entrances to the other side. Inside each of those entrances, opposite the doorway, one runs into the same wall that separates both sides.

The roads are wide and smooth that lead to those false doors. There are many who are encouraging you along the way to go in this direction or that. It seems for all intents and purposes that that should be the way. And yet all are disappointed when they realize that is leads only to the same wall and not to the other side. Some who realize that fall down in despair. Others backtrack and try other doors.

There are so many doors, so many ways, that promise the life that we long for. Yet there is only one true door to the other side. There is only one way in--Jesus Christ. What a relief to find that door after so many years of searching and finding only disappointment!

In this age there are many doors promising to get you to the life you desire--Transcendental Meditation, Sex, Drugs, Work, Psychology, Other Religions, Anarchy, Family, Government, Buying things. Be encouraged that as you pass through the door of Christ and through the way leading to eternal life that you have chosen the true door. It will be tempting to grow discouraged and turn back. Don’t turn back! Don’t give into your discouragement when the way gets difficult! Don’t turn back to seek another door; it will only lead to darkness and despair. Press on until you reach the other side, confident that you have chosen the right way.


Jesus is the truth

Jesus also told the disciples that he is the truth. For the disciples,the next 72 hours would be some the most chaotic of their lives. In the chaos, however, they were to hold firm to what they had come to believe about Christ. The times threatened confusion, but it is the enemy who is the author of confusion. He is the father of lies. Jesus came in grace and truth.

Doubt was coming. Doubt that Jesus was who he said he was. Doubt that he had risen from the dead. Doubt that he was the Messiah. John especially likes to talk about Christ as the truth.

John 1:14, 17

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 5:30-33

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

John 8:31

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 17:17-19

17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

John 18:33-38

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Christ told the disciples plainly that Messiah would “suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

He also needed them to hear and hold onto the promises he was about to give:

  • I’m preparing a place for you with the Father

  • You will do greater works than I did

  • Whatever you ask in my name will be given

  • God will send his Holy Spirit to be with you forever

  • You will bear witness about me

All of these were the truth. When Christ said that all who come to him will have eternal life--that was the truth. When Christ said the disciples were cleansed of their sins--that was the truth. Jesus wanted the disciples to remember and be comforted by the fact that they knew the truth and could trust what Jesus had told them.


Jesus is the life

John 1:4

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The disciples gave their lives to Christ in faith believing that he was the Messiah. In return, Christ promises that the life that he has been given by the Father will be given to all who believe.

1 John 1:1-4; 2:24-25

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete...24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

John 3:35-36

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Not only had Christ given the disciples his life (which was the Father’s life given to him), but he promised to keep it and nothing can take that life away from them.

John 10:27-30

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

John 6:35-58

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Again, put yourselves in the shoes of the disciples. They were fully convinced while Jesus was with them that these promises would come to be. But what about when he went away?

If you staked your life on someone who promised to give you $100 million dollars then one day went away but still promised to give you that money. What would you think? Where would your mind be? What would others say when you had left everything to follow that person? What comfort would you need in the face of that promise walking out the door and you not knowing where the person was going to go?

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Believe.

This is the crux of the matter. That is the call to action that Jesus gave the disciples. This is the call to action for us.

Brothers and sisters, we live in dark times. As the darkness deepens, there will be a temptation to flee Christ. As the sheep are scattered there will be the temptation to seek out another way; an easier way. I assure you that there is no easier way. We must hold firmly to Christ. There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other life. The peace, the healing, the wisdom, the satisfaction you desire is found in no other. Believe in God. Believe in Christ. Believe that you have chosen the right path; that you have found the truth; that God will give you the eternal life he promises.

The days are evil. The darkness is getting darker. But the Son is coming. Daybreak is nearer than it has ever been. Hold fast to Christ. He is the only Way, the only Truth, and the Only Life. There is no other way to get to the Father except through him. Amen.

Freedom in Christ

Elder Brian Haferkamp preaches on Luke 4:16-21, exploring Jesus’ mission and how believers have benefited from the perfect completion of his work.

Luke 4:16-21

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

This was Jesus’ coming out. He was beginning his ministry and letting those around him know that he was the Messiah and that he came to proclaim liberty, set the oppressed free, and to publicly proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Let’s walk through verses 18 and 19 of the passage together.


The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me

Because Jesus has been anointed the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. The Hebrew word that we translate Messiah means “anointed” or “one anointed with oil.” This passage from Isaiah that Jesus read and attributed to himself was long understood to be a prophetic passage pointing to the Messiah.

Along with this anointing comes the Spirit of the Lord. This phrase is quite common in the book of Judges. Everyone God raised up as a judge to free the people of Israel received the Spirit of the Lord. This is also a phrase that we see associated with kings Saul and David. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Micah, It was the Spirit of the Lord that carried Philip away after he taught the Ethiopian eunuch. Our verse above is quoted from Isaiah 61, but we also see the Spirit of the Lord mentioned in relation to Messiah in Isaiah 11:2 and Isaiah 59:11.

When Jesus connects himself to the Law and the Prophets like this--when he connects himself to the prophecies of the Messiah--he is also helping people understand what is coming next. It is meant to be a sign and a comfort for John the Baptist:

Matthew 11:2-5

2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.


to proclaim good news to the poor.

Both the prophecies about Jesus and the words of Jesus in our passage today confirm that He came to proclaim, or herald, good news to the poor.

Matthew 5:2-12

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The version of the Beatitudes in Luke 6:20 starts this way:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.


Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus says the LORD:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

2 All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the LORD.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

Jesus did not come to court the favor of the strong. He came for the sick, the lost, the poor, the oppressed, the broken, the lame, the blind. But as we see in the Beatitudes it was not that he only came for those who were poor in money or land. He came for those who were poor in spirit. This means the humble, the broken, the contrite. His message is not liberation for only the poor of this world. It is for all men and women.

Romans 3:21-26

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

We are all the poor in spirit. We are all impoverished. When the Pharisees tried to put on their facade of perfection, Christ knew the truth. They were in need of a savior as much as the poor people they despised. They were just as filthy on the inside as the beggars in the streets were on the outside.

The good news Jesus came to proclaim was bound up in the Beatitudes:

  • A Kingdom in Heaven

  • Comfort

  • An inheritance

  • Satisfaction

  • Mercy

  • Sight

  • Being a son of God

The poor in spirit, the poor in this world, the rich in this world. Which of these things do we not all long for at some point? Who doesn’t long for comfort? Who doesn’t long for satisfaction? Who doesn’t long for mercy or to be able to see clearly?

Christ came to proclaim good news to those who are poor in spirit, who are contrite and humble, to those who are looking for salvation.


He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

The Romans began their occupation of the eastern Mediterranean in the 60s BC. By the time of Christ’s birth, Rome had stepped up its occupation of Judea, including Jerusalem.

The Jews had often been conquered, destroyed, and taken back to the conquerors’ homeland, but they had never seen anything like this. They were conquered but retained their homes and their land. They were even able to practice their faith freely. But they were definitely not free. Rome had put a puppet king in charge of Israel--Herod the Great, a Hellenized Jew, given power in 40 BC. So the Jewish people were oppressed in the truest sense of the word. They were not just held captive, they were held captive in their own land.

The message of Christ and the prophecy of the Messiah would have been music to the ears of a first century Jew.

Liberty to the captives: check!
Liberty to the oppressed: check!
Year of the Lord’s favor: check!

If at any time they needed a savior, it was in the first century.

The word we translate captives in this verse can be properly understood to be prisoners of war. Those who were once free but have been captured in some sort of siege or act. Is this not a perfect description of our spiritual predicament?

We were created in freedom to live in a perfect relationship with the perfect God. Then Adam and Eve sinned and that perfect freedom was exchanged for captivity. Mankind has been held captive by the Enemy of God since then.

The Romans represented a political captivity that mirrored the spiritual condition of the world. Oppressive, stifling, exacting payment, punishing harshly.

The Apostle Paul describes this world in Romans 1:

29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

This is the world we are bound by. This is the kingdom of the Enemy. These attitudes are reflected in Satan, not God.

Liberty is good news for the oppressed. It’s interesting to note that Jesus did not come to proclaim that liberty for the oppressed is coming. But God sent him to proclaim liberty in the active sense.

The verse is translated “proclaim liberty” I assume to match up with the wording in the OT. If we look at just the Greek words used, this could also be translated:

He sent me to forgive or pardon those captured in war.

When Christ talked about liberty to the captives he was speaking about something other than being freed from the oppression of Rome--or any other earthly power. The Apostle Paul assures us in Ephesians that the battle is not against flesh and blood:

Ephesians 6:10-13

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

There is a power much greater than the oppressive governments of the world. There is an enemy much worse than the ones who want to destroy your life and livelihood. There is a fate worse than the captivity of a cell. That is the captivity of the heart, blindness to the truth, an insatiable desire, a life without love. This is our captivity and it was the true captivity that Christ is referencing in our passage today.


and recovering of sight to the blind,

Just as Jesus was talking about spiritual and not physical captivity, here he is talking about spiritual blindness and not physical blindness. Otherwise, how could this message be for all mankind? The root of our spiritual blindness is found in the Fall of Man.

Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Satan’s promise to Eve--and consequently to Adam--was that they would have their eyes opened; they would be able to see as God saw. It is true, their eyes were opened. But in the spiritual sense they became blinded. They sought the ability to discern good and evil but ended up enshrouded in Sin and darkness.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The offer was to have our eyes opened but the reality is that we have been blinded by our Sin. We cannot see the Light as we once could. We now grope around in the darkness seeking out the Light but finding nothing. Our eyes are closed. We are poor, wretched, and pitiable without Christ. When you see the image of the blind beggars in the gospels, you see a picture of man without the Light of Christ. This is the world we live in. People are walking around trying to live without sight.

If you are in Christ, you have sight; you are able to see because the Light has shone upon you. What did Jesus do when he encountered the blind? He asked them if they wanted to see. He offered to open their eyes. When we see the blind floundering about the world harming themselves and everyone around them, what is our response? Is it judgment or compassion?

It is often acknowledged in the scriptures that the recovery of sight, the opening of the eyes, is a great miracle. Who can do such a thing but God alone? The same is true for our spiritual blindness. Who can shine the light of Christ into the heart of a man or woman but Christ alone? The rest of that passage in 2 Corinthians goes:

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Christ came to give light to those who are blind. He came to open the eyes of those who have been born blind because of Sin. They are living in a deep darkness.

Proverbs 4:19

19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.


Isaiah 9:2

2 The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

We talked about Darkness and Light in our series in John. Picking up in John’s epistles you will find a similar focus on Dark and Light. I pray that as you read those books in the future God will give you greater understanding of this concept of blindness and sight.


to set at liberty those who are oppressed

The word oppressed here means broken or bruised. Those who have been broken. And, again, the word liberty is to set free or pardon but to do so by forgiveness.

This blindness--this captivity we are in--is no gentle one.

1 Peter 5:8

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.


If we were to take the time to show our scars we would all weep. When we see the death and destruction that the enemy wishes upon this world, we weep. When we see those around us who are hurting, broken by life, bruised in their bodies and spirits, and torn to pieces by hatred, selfishness, and pride, we weep.

In the End, when Christ comes to set all things right, those who are not in Christ will suffer an eternal punishment. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, Jesus says. The tortures and darkness of this world will go on forever and there will be no hope. Our only hope is to choose Christ in this life in faith that he will deliver us into his Kingdom in the next life.

Those who have been broken in this world have a hope. It is found in Jesus Christ. It is found in the fact that he died so that we could be set free. The Apostle Paul uses the language of the marketplace: Christ has redeemed us. Sin put a price on our heads that we could only pay with our lives. We were condemned to die. Christ’s purpose, though, was to come and pay that price for us. He has given his life in exchange for ours. That is the basis of our freedom. That is how we can escape the chains of bondage and death. Without that exchange, we are bound to death and darkness.


to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Leviticus 25: 9-22

9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

13 “In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14 And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. 15 You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. 16 If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. 17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.

18 “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. 19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. 20 And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ 21 I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. 22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

The Year of the Lord is called the Year of Jubilee. This was in the Law and was supposed to happen every 50 years. By all known accounts this never happened in the history of Israel.

The Year of the Lord is a setting of all things back to their rightful places. Slaves and property owners would be freed of their debts. It would be a year of rest from the labor of work. God would provide for his people their labor. He would be their rest and provision.

The Year of the Lord has both come and is coming. Christ has set all things right through his sacrifice and opened the way for you and I to come to faith in him. He has made the way for all men--from all tribes and tongues and nations, slave or free, rich or poor, men or women--to come to him and have our lives set right. The most important being our relationship with God.

And we look forward to the hope that Christ will come again. This time, he will be the conqueror of men and lands. He will come to set injustice right. He will come to take home those who have given their lives to him in service and discipleship--who have become his Kingdom’s subjects--and punish those who have rejected his offering of forgiveness and love. They have rejected his offer to heal their blindness and bind their wounds, instead choosing Self, Pride, and to follow their Master the Devil.

Such was our lot. Each of us.

Ephesians 2:1-3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.


Is that you today? Is that the life of a family member? A co-worker? A leader in your community? Pray. Pray that Jesus Christ would open the eyes of the blinded. Pray that Christ would free that person from their bondage to Sin and the Devil. Pray for their Pride which stubbornly stands in the way of their salvation.

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, you have become the benefactor of his work in the world. We were dead, broken, bruised, blinded, and Christ came to make us alive. We had no hope in the world just like the rest of mankind and he came to proclaim his good news to us and to set us free.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This weekend we’ve been celebrating our political freedom. Yet there is a bondage that cannot be touched by our constitutions or laws or declarations. We cannot declare ourselves free from the Darkness that enshrouds us. We cannot free others by our will or our bombs or our clever negotiations.

Christ came to proclaim and bring true liberty to all men. For we are all born into a captivity that could only be broken in one way. We were not able to free ourselves.

But God..

No sweeter words exist.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. We are made alive through his suffering, death, and resurrection. The price has been paid. If you are in Christ, the Year of the Lord is both now and coming. You are free. You can live at rest.

If you are not in Christ--if you have not received the gift of freedom that he came to give--then choose him today. Put down your pride. You cannot get to God by yourself. You cannot save yourself or others. Accept that, confess that Jesus Christ can and has done it for you. Turn from your past and be healed. Walk in the ways of Christ and experience the true life that God created us for. Amen.