Thru the Gospel of John Загвар

Where peace is found.

In John 16, Jesus finishes up His last private talk while He and His men walk to Gethsemane. Back in John 14, Jesus promised them a glorious future with Him, but He made it clear that to follow Him means to forsake all and sacrifice.

He said all these things to strengthen them (and us) and to let them know what’s ahead.  Jesus loved them to the very end and tells them that they will suffer. But He assured them—"I will be with you.” 

This heavy talk gave the disciples a heavy heart. Jesus saw their sorrow. “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you”. Why was that best? 

Jesus’ purpose in coming to this world was to die and give His life to pay the ransom for whoever will believe in Him (see Mark 10:45). Once that was done, He went back to the Father. 

When Jesus became a man, He limited himself to being in one place at a time. The Holy Spirit can be in all places at once. 

The Holy Spirit will be the Comforter, and He’ll come alongside us. The Holy Spirit, our teacher, guides us into truth. He takes the deep things of God and shows them to us—something He alone can do. (See 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10.)

Jesus told His disciples that they would soon be separated, but He promised He would come to them in the person of the Holy Spirit . . . and that’s where we live today. Jesus then invites us to pray to the Father in His name. God wants to answer prayer, but they must come from the heart of one who loves Jesus Christ, is in fellowship with Christ, and who is obeying Him. 

The last thing He said to them is a great saying about the Christian life: Peace is found in Him alone. 

In this world, you’ll only find trouble. But be of good cheer; Jesus has overcome the world. The only one who ever lived a victorious life was Jesus Christ. His victory is our victory! 

When we learn to identify ourselves with Him, come into close fellowship with Him, and make real these things that are just theories to the average Christian, then we will begin to experience the peace of God in our hearts, we’ll be of good cheer, and we’ll know real joy in our lives. 

Next, we discover how Jesus prayed for you.

Question: Have you ever experienced this peace and victorious joy in your life?