The ‘Day’
What if you knew today was 'the day'? Not the day you'd finally meet your future spouse, or the day you retire, or the day you get your final grade for that class you were struggling with. But the 'actual day' - meaning, your final day alive on earth?
You have 24 hours left. What would you do? What would you eat? How much would you spend? Where would you spend it? Who would you spend it with? What would you say to them? The questions can go on and on.
According to dyingmatters.org, a secular website that raises awareness of dying and bereavement, most people would not want to know 'the day'. They did a survey and 90% of people said they would not want to know the exact date of their death. It would cause too much anxiety, irrationality, panic and absurd behavior (and who knows what else) according to their experts. I think I would agree.
It's crazy to think that Jesus knew exactly when, how and why He would die. He knew the exact minute it would happen. He knew where, when and how. And He knew it His whole life! And yet, it never seemed to do anything but propel Him forward more certainly into His vocation as Messiah.
On Jesus' final day before His death, He spent it not eating His favorite foods, seeing His favorite sights, or checking off any bucket list - He spent the time comforting and encouraging His disciples.
As we read through John 14, we follow John's line of thought fairly consistently. John tells us how Jesus explained to His disciples that He was preparing a place for them. One where God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) would dwell in them as the new temple. They would then be sent out to the world to be the place where people can be reconciled with God through believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 14:1-5).
John also explained that reconciliation with the Father only can be found through Jesus (John 14:6) and no one else (or any other way).
Once this reconciliation takes place, believers are then properly aligned with God, allowing Jesus to work in, through and for His disciples (John 7-14). This happens in several ways but first and foremost through prayer. All seems good so far... but then we come to this verse:
[John 14:15 NASB20] 15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
I don't know about you, but when I first read this, it felt as if John just stuck it in there because he didn't know where else to put it :-) Is it me, or does it not seem to flow?
Why did John place this seemingly arbitrary statement between verse 14, which is about 'asking anything in Jesus' name, and He will do it', and verse 16, (which looks like a whole new line of thought) about the sending of the Holy Spirit?
Of course we know nothing John writes is 'arbitrary'. Not just because we know John was a literary genius who finesses his theological insights tightly within the biblical narrative of redemption from all sorts of angles and inroads. But certainly because the Holy Spirit Himself is guiding John in order to further show us the eternal, majestic wisdom of God revealed even in the most simple to understand verses of scripture.
In this sermon we will throw the magnifying glass on John 14:15 and hopefully be encouraged by the surface meaning of what John means by loving and obey Jesus' commandments, but also how this ties into a deeper aspect of God's plan of redemption. For supreme extra credit read (or scan) Deuteronomy 6, 10, 11 and 30. For a nice 'star' sticker read Deuteronomy chapter 6. :-)
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