v.26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Dear friends in Christ, how is it that we know that God is with us? Such is the question asked by one of Jesus' disciples', Judas, immediately prior to our Gospel text this morning. Jesus had said, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Good question. How do we know that God is with us and for us—that He has come to make His home with us? Jesus' quick response, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him."
So, how is it that Jesus manifests Himself to His disciples, but not to the world? Through the Word. This may strike us as rather strange. After all, if we are looking for surefire signs of the manifestation of God among us we look for "big things" like the Holy Spirit coming in power and might among the disciples at Pentecost. I mean just look at our epistle text from Acts! There are the disciples minding their own business, gathered for worship at the temple on that special festival day—and bam!—the Holy Spirit comes upon them swiftly and mightily—there is the sound of a great rushing wind, tongues of fire dancing upon heads, and of course, the miraculous speaking in tongues. Now that, we think, is some serious manifestations of God's presence among His people. Give me some of that!
And yet that particular gift was in no way promised or given to every Christian. But listen, rather, to the words of our text from Jesus. "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
How does Jesus manifest Himself to you—make Himself known to you—and not the world? Through His Word. And who is it who works through this Word to bring Jesus to you—to grant you faith and peace and joy? The Helper, the Holy Spirit. For this is the great work of the Holy Spirit—bringing people to—and keeping people in—the one true faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour for sinners. Jesus does not say that when the Holy Spirit comes He will give you miraculous super powers, but rather that He will direct you to the words and work of Jesus. And the Spirit further works in you, as Christians, by leading you to love Christ and keep His Word—that is, to guard and cherish it as most precious.
The Spirit does not work apart from the Word of Jesus. Nor does the Word of Christ come without the Spirit. They are part and parcel together. The whole point of the Spirit is to work through the Word to bring people to faith and to comfort them with the Gospel of Christ. For Jesus gives and brings peace to His people, not as the world gives, but in an extraordinary way—through the shedding of His own blood on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world. All the evil and death in your heart has been taken care of by Jesus. No more need you be afflicted by guilt or terrified by your sins—for in Christ Jesus and His blood shed for you—you are forgiven and declared righteous and pure. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have made their homes in you heart—through the Word that has been preached to you—even through Words that are attached to simple elements like water, bread, and wine.
And it is this promise and work of Christ, dear friends, that gives you peace when overwhelmed with your sin. It is this promise and work of Christ that comforts you and gives you peace when the hour of death draws nigh. For these words bring faith and life and salvation to all who believe. Indeed, this is the particular work of the Holy Spirit who leads you to put your trust in Jesus who died and rose again for you. And it is this Word of Jesus that unites all people of the world together who come to faith in Christ. We all trust in one and the same Lord Jesus. We are given hope and joy in the words and promises of Christ that the devil and the world cannot overtake us. For the devil, the ruler of this world, has no claim on Christ, and so He has no claim on those who are in Christ.
For the only weapon that the devil may bring to bear against us is our sin—which has been fully paid for by Christ already in His death on the cross. We are new creations in Christ Jesus—washed clean through water and the Word—filled with His Spirit of peace and joy. What can the devil say? "You are a sinner!" What of it? You are a sinner redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And when the devil comes to tempt you to sin and despair, the Holy Spirit works to remind you of the sure and certain words and promises of Jesus. Remember what He has said to you. That He has come with the Father to make His home with you. That He fulfilled all the Father's commandments for you. That His love for you knows no ends.
Beloved, on this Pentecost Sunday, lift up your heads and rejoice and be glad! For Christ the Lord has risen from the dead to free you from all bondage to sin and death and hell. You are free! Free to love and cherish that saving word of Jesus. Free to speak boldly all that He has first spoken to you—not only in humble prayer and praise back to Him—but also in love to your neighbor who does not yet know the joy of believing in Christ.
The Spirit manifests Himself by not directing your attention to Him, but rather to Christ who is the Author and Perfector of your faith. Jesus has given Himself fully and freely to you in His death and resurrection to rescue you from your sin and to grant you life and salvation by His holy name. You do not look for grandiose manifestations of the Spirit to prove that Jesus has made His home with you. Rather, you cling to His Word and Sacraments, whereby He has promised to manifest Himself to you through the forgiveness of sins that He earned on the cross. It is in these means of grace that the Spirit works to come to each of you and establishes the peace of Christ in your hearts that surpasses all human understanding.
Beloved, you have been taught by the Spirit to trust in the Word of Christ—those promises so sure and certain that not even the gates of hell can prevail against them. Know, then, that Christ is with you and for you. Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid. For Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ, how is it that we know that God is with us? Such is the question asked by one of Jesus' disciples', Judas, immediately prior to our Gospel text this morning. Jesus had said, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Good question. How do we know that God is with us and for us—that He has come to make His home with us? Jesus' quick response, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him."
So, how is it that Jesus manifests Himself to His disciples, but not to the world? Through the Word. This may strike us as rather strange. After all, if we are looking for surefire signs of the manifestation of God among us we look for "big things" like the Holy Spirit coming in power and might among the disciples at Pentecost. I mean just look at our epistle text from Acts! There are the disciples minding their own business, gathered for worship at the temple on that special festival day—and bam!—the Holy Spirit comes upon them swiftly and mightily—there is the sound of a great rushing wind, tongues of fire dancing upon heads, and of course, the miraculous speaking in tongues. Now that, we think, is some serious manifestations of God's presence among His people. Give me some of that!
And yet that particular gift was in no way promised or given to every Christian. But listen, rather, to the words of our text from Jesus. "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
How does Jesus manifest Himself to you—make Himself known to you—and not the world? Through His Word. And who is it who works through this Word to bring Jesus to you—to grant you faith and peace and joy? The Helper, the Holy Spirit. For this is the great work of the Holy Spirit—bringing people to—and keeping people in—the one true faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour for sinners. Jesus does not say that when the Holy Spirit comes He will give you miraculous super powers, but rather that He will direct you to the words and work of Jesus. And the Spirit further works in you, as Christians, by leading you to love Christ and keep His Word—that is, to guard and cherish it as most precious.
The Spirit does not work apart from the Word of Jesus. Nor does the Word of Christ come without the Spirit. They are part and parcel together. The whole point of the Spirit is to work through the Word to bring people to faith and to comfort them with the Gospel of Christ. For Jesus gives and brings peace to His people, not as the world gives, but in an extraordinary way—through the shedding of His own blood on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world. All the evil and death in your heart has been taken care of by Jesus. No more need you be afflicted by guilt or terrified by your sins—for in Christ Jesus and His blood shed for you—you are forgiven and declared righteous and pure. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have made their homes in you heart—through the Word that has been preached to you—even through Words that are attached to simple elements like water, bread, and wine.
And it is this promise and work of Christ, dear friends, that gives you peace when overwhelmed with your sin. It is this promise and work of Christ that comforts you and gives you peace when the hour of death draws nigh. For these words bring faith and life and salvation to all who believe. Indeed, this is the particular work of the Holy Spirit who leads you to put your trust in Jesus who died and rose again for you. And it is this Word of Jesus that unites all people of the world together who come to faith in Christ. We all trust in one and the same Lord Jesus. We are given hope and joy in the words and promises of Christ that the devil and the world cannot overtake us. For the devil, the ruler of this world, has no claim on Christ, and so He has no claim on those who are in Christ.
For the only weapon that the devil may bring to bear against us is our sin—which has been fully paid for by Christ already in His death on the cross. We are new creations in Christ Jesus—washed clean through water and the Word—filled with His Spirit of peace and joy. What can the devil say? "You are a sinner!" What of it? You are a sinner redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And when the devil comes to tempt you to sin and despair, the Holy Spirit works to remind you of the sure and certain words and promises of Jesus. Remember what He has said to you. That He has come with the Father to make His home with you. That He fulfilled all the Father's commandments for you. That His love for you knows no ends.
Beloved, on this Pentecost Sunday, lift up your heads and rejoice and be glad! For Christ the Lord has risen from the dead to free you from all bondage to sin and death and hell. You are free! Free to love and cherish that saving word of Jesus. Free to speak boldly all that He has first spoken to you—not only in humble prayer and praise back to Him—but also in love to your neighbor who does not yet know the joy of believing in Christ.
The Spirit manifests Himself by not directing your attention to Him, but rather to Christ who is the Author and Perfector of your faith. Jesus has given Himself fully and freely to you in His death and resurrection to rescue you from your sin and to grant you life and salvation by His holy name. You do not look for grandiose manifestations of the Spirit to prove that Jesus has made His home with you. Rather, you cling to His Word and Sacraments, whereby He has promised to manifest Himself to you through the forgiveness of sins that He earned on the cross. It is in these means of grace that the Spirit works to come to each of you and establishes the peace of Christ in your hearts that surpasses all human understanding.
Beloved, you have been taught by the Spirit to trust in the Word of Christ—those promises so sure and certain that not even the gates of hell can prevail against them. Know, then, that Christ is with you and for you. Let not your hearts be troubled. Neither let them be afraid. For Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.