Manifested love, Pt 29: Going away
John 16:23-28 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. 25“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Now you pray to the Father
These days a believer learns that when he or she prays he should finish by adding, “In Jesus name.” We accept that as a normal part of prayer, but it may surprise you that in Jesus’ day such was not the case. Jews prayed directly to God. They did not say, “In the name of Jesus,” because of course they were still with him. This section is about Jesus’ impending return to his Father; he came to the world to accomplish a specific mission, that is, to redeem the world and offer eternal life to those who accept him as Savior. But that mission is not done yet. It requires that he willingly sacrifice himself for our benefit and then rise after death to prove that death no longer had a hold on him or on any who believe in him.
Also, let’s remember what ‘in Jesus’s name’ means. In those days when an agent was traveling to a distant land on behalf of a principal it was said that he traveled in the name of that principal. In fact, he carried the full authority of the sending principal, and any affront or rejection of the agent was seen as rejection of the principal and the consequences of such rejection were as if the rejection was made directly to the principal. In this case that means when we pray ‘in Jesus’s name’ we make the petition or request fully dependent on his authority and merit, not our own.
But a change is coming
But that dependency doesn’t apply when the principal is present. To make a petition in someone’s name when that person is present is absurd: One would just petition him directly. Once Jesus has died, however everything will change. He will no longer be present and so the only effective communication is through Jesus’ name. The tense of the Greek indicates that we are to ask and keep on asking in Jesus’ name, the idea being that we should be so devoted and intimately involved with him that every aspect of our lives will be dependent on him. Let’s remember: Praying in Jesus’ name is a privilege and a blessing. Because of the presence of Jesus in our hearts through the agency of the Holy Spirit, whose arrival 50 days later at Pentecost is a permanent blessing for the Church, we have permanent access to the full expression of God through the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Notice also that while we ask in Jesus’ name, the Father also responds in Jesus’ name. This is such a blessing: God loves that we love his Son. The whole mission of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection is evidence of his love for us so when we ask is Jesus’ name the Father gives in Jesus’ name because it is in full alignment with the Father’s original redemptive plan.
Because of four key doctrines
Verse 28 is profound in the depth of its meaning; it is an exaltation of victory. Jesus is saying, “It is done!” I imagine him having a grand sense of accomplishment. If you imagine the verse expanded into four individual sentences, Jesus is saying, “I came from my Father. I chose to enter the world. I choose to leave when it is done. I am going back to my Father”. Wow! Isn’t that beautiful? He is saying, “I willingly do this! Satan can’t stop me and the world can’t either.”
And consider what this verse says about Jesus himself:
· He is divine; he is God. He has existed from eternity past and willingly came into a sinful world.
· He became incarnate and gave up his pre-incarnate form to take on human form and so as a man perfectly redeem the world of the sin initiated by another man (Adam).
· He willingly suffered humiliation, rejection of the Father because of the world’s sin laid on his shoulders.
· He voluntarily returns to the Father. He will ascend to the Father leaving sin in the grace and conquering Satan once and for all time.
9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2Corinthians 8:9)
What about me?
Well, here we have it. 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17). How can we not consider what this means in our everyday lives? We think we understand John 3:16 in our heads, but what does it mean in our everyday lives? We find ourselves loving God but doing things which displease him (Romans 7:15-20). We find that we don’t have the strength to resist temptation.
And this is exactly why Jesus came into the world, why he sacrificed his life, rose from the dead, and conquered sin. Believer, you probably have an habitual sin which you can’t seem to conquer. Maybe it is alcohol, or drugs, or criticism, or immorality, or any of a number of others. The thing is you don’t have to conquer it on your own. Jesus knows you are not divine; he knows the struggle lies beyond your strength. That is why he says,
13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:13-14)
Remember, prayer is not some fancy structured formal process. It is just conversation. It is talking to God through Jesus and saying, “I can’t beat this!”, or “I don’t know what to do.” Having such a conversation with God will always bring results. God is kind and loving and he wants the best for his children.