John 14:28-31 You heard me say, "I am going away and I am coming back to you." If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
Come now; let us leave.
He says, I have been telling you for some time I am going away. You are not listening carefully; you don't have ears to hear." They did not want to "hear" his words. They wanted another message. They sought another proclamation; they expected a King and a kingdom now. Just as He had done before, He spoke God's plan to them; yet they lacked understanding of his words, the depths of his meaning. He had just promised them the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, who would teach them all things. He said, Do not let your hearts be troubled, yet He could see trouble in their eyes, feel fear emanating from their hearts and minds. He knew them, felt their sadness over his departure. He was not sharing some new revelation; but his message sounded strange to their natural ears. They could not "hear" him just as He had predicted all along. Christ was not straying from the path He had walked from the beginning of his earthy ministry. Jesus consistently proclaimed God's salvation plan from his earliest interactions with them. When Jesus asks Peter, Who do you say I am? and Peter declares,
The Christ of God, Jesus immediately says, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teacher of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Luke 9:20-22) After telling Nicodemus he must be born again, Jesus says, No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:13-14)
He repeated this message on numerous occasions; they did not comprehend his words.
Jesus warned his disciples: The prince of this world is coming. The time was now: Jesus Messiah, Lamb of God must journey to the cross. He would face betrayal at the hands of sinful man; his precious followers would experience shame, suffering, and sorrow. Jesus was not angry with them: He loved them. He did not expect more than they could give. We studied earlier incidents where the disciples failed to understand events in Christ's ministry. When Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and a great crowd greeted him shouting Hosanna, John writes, At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. Even then Jesus knew the people came because of the miracles. He tells his disciples to look beyond the surface, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (John 12:16 &23-26) Now He speaks lovingly, knowing they lack the power to resist the whirlwind of evil forces ahead as they witness their beloved Master persecuted, mocked, and crucified on a cruel cross. He tells them Satan has no power over him before this terrible cataclysm transpires, so when it happens, they might believe in the Father. Nonetheless, He knows in that dark hour when Beelzebub, the prince of demons, temporarily has his way, they will not remember what He told them because the Spirit has not yet come.
Today, is your heart troubled, are you afraid, are you grieving, do you lack hope? Look up: Your Redeemer lives, your Deliverer is here! Even the disciples, those who walked with Jesus throughout his entire ministry, could not overcome the prince of this world and the powers of darkness through their own strength without the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. They could not even remember the amazing insights, the wonderful truths, and the divine revelations Jesus shared with them until they gathered together in one place, in agreement, earnestly waiting for what Jesus promised them. Then just as He said, the Comforter came in all power and authority in a mighty manifestation so magnificent that none would ever doubt and that all might believe: Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:3-4) Jesus spoke truth to his disciples while He was with them. He said the Father would send the Holy Spirit as a gift in the name of the Son to teach them all things and to remind them of what Jesus told them, to empower them, to enable them, to guide them. This is our inheritance, brothers and sisters. If we do not walk in that reality, we live far beneath our privileges as sons and daughters of our Father God. Let not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Jesus says, "The evil one had no hold on me, and he has NO HOLD ON YOU! I PAID THE PRICE." After Pentecost, they remembered: they turned the world upside down! WE MUST REMEMBER AND LIVE!
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