Sæktu forritiðLast Will & Testament: The Last Apostle | John 16Sýnishorn
With the last of his final words, Jesus sets up a dichotomy. Now and later. Grief and joy. It’s easy to get myopic. It’s easy to focus on the here and now. It’s easy in the struggle to only see the struggle. It’s easy in grief to see only the grief. If we only see “now,” we can miss the bigger picture of what God is doing. If we only see “now,” we can easily collapse under the weight of a present worry or struggle. So Jesus shows us “later.” He shows us what’s to come. He shows us why it’s worth it. Jesus calls it “eternal life,” or “the life of the age to come.” When we see “later,” we can face “now.”
Keep your eyes fixed on the end game. Jesus’s glory will be yours too. You will suffer now, but the glory that awaits is better by far. Your grief will turn to joy. You’ll stumble in this (John 16:32), but know in Christ there’s peace. You will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world (16:33).
Ritningin
About this Plan
Near the end of his life, John was the last of the living apostles and wrote a story about Jesus. It’s his testimony of who Jesus is, what he said, what he did, and who he claimed to be. Jesus has a story. He invites us to make it our story. When we make Jesus’s story our story, we have life in his name. This plan focuses on Jesus’s final moments and words with his disciples, preparing them for his crucifixion to come. It is Jesus’s last will & testament. This plan focuses on John 16. It is part of an ongoing series.
More
