The Comforter has come

 

     During our services, we sing songs with words like, “Come, Holy Spirit, I need You,” and “Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.” There are others with similar words, but all of them are inviting the Holy Spirit into our presence with the hope that hearts are stirred.

 

     But who is the Holy Spirit? Make no mistake, there is a definite response in a room when the Holy Spirit is present. However, does that mean there are times when the Holy Spirit is not around? Is the Holy Spirit some type of mystical force that only comes at our invitation? Our text for today reveals the identity, nature, and purpose of the Holy Spirit through the words of Jesus. Do the words of Jesus match our understanding?

 

     John 16:7-10(CEB):

 

     “I assure you that is better for you that I go away. If I don’t go away, the Companion won’t come to you. When he comes, he will show the world it was wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. He will show the world it was wrong about sin because they don’t believe in me. He will show the world it was wrong about righteousness because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore.”

 

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

 

 

     These words of Jesus are shared as He is sitting around the table for the last time with His disciples. He has finished telling them that He has to go away, a statement they do not like. So the words Jesus shares with them are meant to be encouraging for the disciples.

 

     Jesus makes His intentions about these statements clear in verse 7 when He says, “It is better for you if I go away.” Humanity comes at a cost. In becoming human like us, Jesus was limited to being a specific being, in a specific place, and facing a certain enemy. It was limited. Losing Jesus meant the disciples would lose their teacher, but more importantly their friend. As sad as this loss would be, Jesus is saying it is necessary for the greatness of God’s plan.

 

     He continues in verse 7 saying, “If I don’t go away, the Companion won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” The word “Companion” could also be translated as “Advocate” or “Comforter.” Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit, who has always existed. The Holy Spirit is God as much as God the Son and God the Father. There were instances in the Old Testament and even in the gospels where the Holy Spirit empowered folks for a specific moment, but what Jesus is referencing is something more. A continual inward presence.

 

     While the disciples had the opportunity to physically be in the presence of Jesus, Jesus had to go. This is not the result of some internal conflict between the godhead, but to fulfill the work of God. Jesus had to die for our atonement and ascend to intercede on our behalf. But the disciples would not be left without God’s presence, they would be given the Holy Spirit in their hearts. No longer would God be an external presence, but an internal one through the Holy Spirit.

 

     Remembering that these verses are spoken as encouragement, Jesus says in 8 and 9, “When he comes, he will show the world it was wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. He will show the world it was wrong about sin because they don’t believe in me.” The Comforter (the Holy Spirit) is sent to convict and convince the world of sin. Conviction is a legal term, meaning “declare someone guilty of a crime.” But the Holy Spirit does not do this to condemn someone, the goal is to point them to their need for Jesus. Unbelief in Jesus is the biggest obstacle for anyone to overcome, and it is failure to do so that leads to hell. Without faith in Jesus, a person cannot be pardoned of sin.

 

     In verse 10, Jesus says, “The Comforter will show the world it was wrong about righteousness because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore.” The world’s definition of righteousness was crucifying Jesus. Why? Their accusation was blasphemy, but in reality, Jesus lived a sinless life in every action, thought, word, and intention. The Holy Spirit's coming would prove the world wrong because His arrival proves the world wrong by keeping Jesus’s words. Jesus was not some blasphemer, but the Son of God, Savior of the world. And not only that, it demonstrated that living a righteous life was possible.

 

     What does this have to say to us? Well, I have already answered our question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” The Holy Spirit is God who can dwell in the hearts of believers. This truth was evidenced by the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles, then others who would come to the faith throughout the book of Acts.

 

     And that is what this passage has to do with us. We believe in the same Jesus as the apostles! The same Holy Spirit that descended upon them can descend upon us. Without the Holy Spirit convicting us, we would not have recognized our need for Jesus. Our sinful nature was content with living in rebellion before God, but the Holy Spirit convinced us that we were wrong. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit helps us to be transformed into living according to God’s will.

 

     But remember, Jesus shares these words as an encouragement to his disciples. How is that so? Other than the obvious, living in step with God, it also implies that is all we need to do. If we live surrendered to the Holy Spirit, He will work in us and through us. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts and convinces the world of sin, not us! But how? Through us living surrendered lives. The whole thing is not dependent upon you and me but on Jesus! Then Jesus works through you and me.

Our Lord's Prayer

 

     The gospels are interesting. Many scholars believe Mark was the first one written, with Matthew and Luke using material from the same source or sources. Of the four, only Matthew and John were written by disciples who had been with Jesus. Even then, John is very different in its presentation from the others.

 

     Among the many differences, John gives a different version of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Rather than recording Jesus praying to have the cup removed, John shares that Jesus prayed for His disciples. As disciples continuing in the same faith as those original twelve, we find something that is intended also for us.

 

     John 17:6-19(CEB):

 

     “I have revealed your name to the people who you gave me from this world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. This is because I gave them the words that you gave me, and they received them. They truly understood that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

 

     “I’m praying for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. Everything that is mine is yours and everything that is yours is mine; I have been glorified in them. I’m no longer in the world, but they are in the world., even as I’m coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them in your name, the name you gave me, that they will be one just as we are one. When I was with them, I watched over them in your name, the name you gave to me, and I kept them safe. None of them were lost, except the one who was destined for destruction, so that scripture would be fulfilled. Now I’m coming to you and I say these things while I’m in the world so that they can share completely in my joy. I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just I don’t belong to this world. I’m not asking that you take them out of this world, just I don’t belong to this world. Make them holy in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. I made myself holy on their behalf so that they also would be made holy in the truth.

 

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

 

 

     When Jesus was praying this, He was a short time away from being arrested. But as He prays, the cross has already been decided. This also means the Resurrection and Ascension events are certain. That certainty is evident in Jesus’s prayer, both for His current disciples and us who share in their faith today.

 

     In verse 6, Jesus says, “I have revealed your name to the people you gave me.” This is not so much about the name of God as it is the nature of God. Over the centuries, God has revealed His nature to humanity. Not all at once, but a little bit at a time beginning in creation, through the Law, and ultimately in Jesus. Jesus was the Son of God, the Word made flesh. The word kept by the disciples was believing in Jesus who was revealed in the Scriptures. Their understanding was not perfect at this moment, but the disciples were firm in this faith and growing in it.

 

     Verse 9 records Jesus praying, “I’m praying for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me.” This is not Jesus rejecting the need for salvation for the world, but more addressing the needs of His disciples. These disciples had been handpicked by Jesus and they were set apart from the world to establish the community of His Kingdom here. Continuing in verse 11, Jesus says, “Holy Father, watch over them in your name, the name you gave me, that they will be one just as we are one.” Lofty words, asking God to make the disciples one in the same sense as Jesus Himself is with the Father. He is asking that the disciples would be their shared bond of God’s love. No matter who they are, their understanding, or their background the disciples shared in God’s love. God’s love is sufficient to bind them together if they remain true to their faith.

 

     Verses 13 through 16 further highlight the distinction between Jesus and His disciples with the world. God’s plan to redeem the world through Jesus would be through the disciples carrying on the mission of sharing the good news. To redeem the world, God is essentially establishing His Kingdom like in creation, but in the heart of the corrupted one. Like Adam was formed from the dirt, Jesus was formed in the womb of Mary. Unlike Adam, Jesus lived a sinless life. This is the life Jesus was calling the disciples to live. Verse 14 says, “I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world.” The world did not hate the disciples (or Jesus) because of their evil actions, but because they lived as citizens of a Kingdom with a message offering them good news at the cost of giving up sin and self. Everyone wants what is good, but not many are willing to give up self. But to carry out God’s mission, the disciples have to remain in the world that hates them.

 

     Verse 17 is critical to all of the things just mentioned. Jesus prays these words here so that disciples can be one just as He is one with the Father, and so that they can carry out the mission with the world that hates them. What is our Lord’s prayer here, “Make them holy in the truth, your word is truth.” By making this appeal to God, Jesus is acknowledging that this is something His disciples cannot do themselves. They need a power beyond themselves to inwardly prepare their hearts and empower them to carry out the mission. Being made holy means to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the heart becomes completely saturated in love for God, the mind is centered on Him and obedience to Him, and those intentions come out in every action.

 

     What does this have to teach us? Before I answer that, we have to consider the events that follow this. Jesus is arrested, and the disciples scatter. It would seem Jesus’s prayer was not answered. But the story does not end there, Jesus is resurrected, and before He ascends to heaven, Jesus gives instructions to the disciples to wait together in an upper room in Jerusalem. There the Holy Spirit descended on them, filling them with the power, just as Jesus asked. The disciples are restored and then they are sanctified, made holy.

 

     And if they can be made holy, we can too. You and I are carrying on the same mission. We live in a world that is not our home. In the love of God, we are called to share His good news. This is not done with picket signs, bull horns, or shouts of condemnation. It is done by demonstrating the love of God that fills our hearts, floods our minds, and directs our actions. Instead of focusing on their outward expressions, we see they are a sinner suffering from the untreatable condition of sin. While neither themselves nor the world can cure their brokenness, we can share the message of the man who can. This requires all sorts of self-denial, kindness, compassion, and gentleness on our part.

     If the disciples can be made holy, we can too. You and I are carrying on the same mission in the faith of the same Lord who prayed the same prayer for us. Carrying out this mission requires you and me to be one as the Father and the Son are one. We are all different from each other, with different understandings, and backgrounds, but we can be sanctified by the same Holy Spirit and united in the bond of God’s love. It is sufficient to overcome every difference between us so we can effectively share in the work of the Kingdom together.

 

     This is not a work we can do ourselves, only God can do it. But for God to do the work, we have to offer Him all of ourselves. Are we willing to pay that cost? Can you and I surrender all?

The Altar

 

     Have you ever stopped and thought about the furniture you find a church? It is a strange collection, a set you would not find at Ashleys or IKEA. You have a piano, but at the same time stuff for a library. We have pews to sit in, thankfully cushioned. At the front of our church, and many other churches, is a long wooden bench called an altar. The altar is not a piece unique to Christianity, humans have been using them since the dawn of time. Thankfully, unlike those other religions, we do not sacrifice animals or people on the altar.

 

     What role does the altar play in our faith? Naturally, the answer that comes is “It is where people find Jesus.” But we know altars are not the only place such things happen. So, what is the purpose of this sacred furniture? Understanding the purpose is important because, without it, the piece becomes meaningless and good for nothing. Or worse, an idol.

 

     Isaiah 22:9-34(CEB):

 

     So the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh went back. They left the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. They went to the land of Gilead, to the land that they owned. They had settled there at the LORD’s command given by Moses. They came to the districts of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan. The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, an altar that appeared to be immense. Then the Israelites heard a report: “Look. The people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the far edge of the land of Canaan. It lies in the districts of the Jordan on the Israelite side!” When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go up to war against them.

 

     Then the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. They sent with him ten leaders, one leader from each important family among the tribes of Israel. Each was the head of an important family among the military units of Israel. They came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke with them. They said, “Here is what the LORD’s entire community says: ‘What’s this disrespectful thing that you’ve done to the God of Israel? Today you’ve turned away from following the LORD by building yourselves an altar as an act of rebellion against the LORD. Wasn’t the offense of Peor enough for us? Even today we still haven’t cleansed ourselves from that sin, when there was a plague on the LORD’s community! Today you are turning away from following the LORD. If you rebel against the LORD today, he will be angry with the entire community of Israel tomorrow. If your own property is unclean land, then cross over into the land of the LORD’s property and settle among us. That’s where the dwelling of the LORD stands. But don’t rebel against the LORD. And don’t involve us in rebellion by building an altar for yourselves other than the altar of the LORD our God. Didn’t Achan, Zerah’s son, do such a disrespectful thing with the items reserved for God? Wrath came on the entire community of Israel. And he wasn’t the only one to die for his crime.”

 

     Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the military units of Israel: “The LORD is God of gods! The LORD is God of gods! He already knows, and now let Israel also know it! If we acted in rebellion or in disrespect against the LORD, don’t spare us today. If we’ve built ourselves an altar to turn away from following the LORD or to offer on it an entirely burned offering or gift offering, or to perform well-being sacrifices on it, let the LORD himself seek punishment. No! The truth is we did this out of concern for what might happen. In the future your children might say to our children, ‘What have you got to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has set the Jordan as a border between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have no portion in the LORD!’ So your children might make our children stop worshipping the LORD. As a result we said, ‘Let’s protect ourselves by building an altar. It isn’t to be for an entirely burned offering or for sacrifice.’ But it is to be a witness between us and you and between your descendants after us. It witnesses that we too perform the service of the LORD in his presence through our entirely burned offerings, sacrifices, and well-being offerings. So in the future your children could never say to our children, ‘You have no portion in the LORD.’ We thought, if in the future they ever say this to us or to our descendants, we could say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of the LORD that our ancestors made. It isn’t for entirely burned offerings or for sacrifice but to be a witness between us and you.’ God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away today from following the LORD our God that stands before his dwelling!”

 

     Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the community, and the heads of the military units of Israel who were with him heard the words that the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke and approved them. So Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is among us, because you haven’t done a disrespectful thing against the LORD. Now you’ve delivered the Israelites from the power of the LORD.” Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and came back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan. They brought word back to them. The Israelites agreed and blessed God. They no longer spoke of going to war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and Gad were living. The people Reuben and Gad referred to the altar this way: “It is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

 

This is the word of God

For the people of God

Thanks be to God

 

 

     The Book of Joshua is a historical document. It records the events of the Israelites entering the promised land and making it their own. Just before the twelve tribes crossed over the Jordan River, two-and-a-half tribes asked to keep this land as their inheritance but promised to continue fighting with the rest of the Israelites until the rest of the nation could all be at rest.

 

     Here in our reading, all the fighting is over. All the land has been divided up between the twelve tribes, and everyone goes to their homes in victory. The two-and-a-half tribes who had land on the opposite side of the Jordan River returned home, they desired to remember God who had blessed them and the entire nation. Verses 9 and 10 tell us what they did, “They built an altar by the Jordan, an altar that appeared to be immense.” It was not original in its design. They had seen the altar built to God in Shiloh, a holy place for all of Israel. It was built in such a way and place that all could see this monument to the Lord.

 

     How did the other nine-and-a-half tribes respond? Verse 12, “… the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.” If it seems like that escalated quickly, the nine-and-a-half tribes had a good reason to be upset. The Tent of Meeting, the one place of sacrifice and worship to God, was in Shiloh. This is where all the tribes were supposed to pilgrimage to for worship. God was jealous for his people, and the nine-and-a-half were jealous for their faith.

 

     As the nine-and-a-half surrounded the altar, homes, and land of the two-and-a-half, someone had the wisdom to send in a negotiator. Imagine being a member of the two-and-a-half tribes, seeing your extended family surrounding you by the thousands with weapons, without words they were being told, “We need to talk.” Verse 13, “The Israelites sent Phineas son of Eleazar the priest to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.”

 

     “What’s this disrespectful thing that you’ve done to the God of Israel? Today you’ve turned away from following the LORD by building yourselves an altar as an act of rebellion against the LORD.” (Verse 16) By building their altar, the two-and-a-half appeared to be rejecting the call to united worship God had given his people. Phineas is passionately asking, “How could you?” after all the Israelites had been through together.

 

     Verse 19 is an olive branch being offered, Phineas says, “If your property is an unclean land, then cross over into the land of the LORD’s property and settle among us.” He echoes the thoughts of Jesus in Matthew 5:30, when the Lord says, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” If the land of the two-and-a-half tribes is polluted with sin, then they should get out of there. Phineas shares the past community sins at Peor and of Achan to alert the two-and-a-half tribes to the dangers of the sin they were committing. The nine-and-a-half were responding with ferocity because they did not want to break the faith, nor suffer the consequences from others being disobedient. Now the war drums were sounding and the two-and-a-half had to respond.

 

     Verse 22, “The LORD is the God of gods! The LORD is the God of gods! He already knows, and now let Israel also know it! If we acted in rebellion or disrespect against the LORD, don’t spare us today.” The two-and-a-half knew their intentions, and they knew their intention was not provable. So, they called the only witness who could testify, God. Lost in the English translations, the two-and-a-half use all three Hebrew names for God. Such was the earnestness of their plea to God for their innocence.

 

     Verses 24 and 25, “No! The truth is we did this out of concern for what might happen. In the future your children might say to our children, ‘What have you got to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has set the Jordan as a border between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have no portion in the LORD!’ So, your children might make our children stop worshipping the LORD.” The two-and-a-half recognized a challenge that might arise with future generations. With the Jordan acting as a border, it would be easy for the other nine-and-a-half to develop a sense that their tribes did not belong to the same faith as them. As the nine-and-a-half were zealous to keep the nation from falling into sin, the two-and-a-half were zealous that their future generations would not be forgotten as belonging to the house of God. Verse 27, "The altar is to be a witness between us and you and between your descendants after us. It witnesses that we too perform the service of the LORD in his presence.” This altar was not built as a place of worship. It was not built as a place of sacrifice. It was built as a legal witness, which this altar’s very existence was a testimony to their shared faith.

 

     What does this have to say to us? The altar in our day is a source of witness. It is not a place to find salvation or sanctification, but a witness to testify that you found Jesus who has the grace to perform those works in your life. “Christ is the greater altar,” says Matthew Henry. You can experience his grace anywhere because Jesus is not bound to a building or piece of furniture. He is the place to find grace.

 

     While the altar is not the place to find grace, it is a witness to the power of Christ in your life and mine. Not only does it witness the shared faith between us, but it also stands as evidence for those who sought Christ before us! Christ is the divine healer, but this altar and the others like it are witnesses to the miracles of Jesus, and those that will be! Amen.

 

     What is the purpose of the altar? To be a witness to you finding salvation. To be a witness to you being made holy. To be a witness to you being healed. To be a witness between you and me that we share faith in the same God through Jesus.

     In a few moments, I am going to invite you to this place of witness. But as we gather in, we are going to take the Lord’s Supper together. The elements represent the body and blood of Jesus, who died for the forgiveness of our sins. We will gather to take these elements together at the altar so it can be a witness to a covenant we will make with one another. Our covenant will be that no matter who comes to these altars, or why they come to them, we will rejoice in the victory occurring in the lives of those who kneel here. They come broken to be mended, guilty to be pardoned, trapped to be rescued, and for any other reason. Our covenant is that we will rejoice, looking on without judgment, and with feet ready to pray with them.

 

     Will you come, gather at this place of witness, and make this covenant with me?