Rev. Paul J Cain
John 15:26-16:4
To Keep You from
Falling Away
Wednesday of Exaudi, Seventh Sunday of Easter, 11 May 2016
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus said, “I have said all these things to you to keep you
from falling away. 2 They
will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever
kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have
not known the Father, nor me. 4 But
I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember
that I told them to you.
Why have four texts been read from the Gospel according to
John on four Sundays, but not in sequential order? That’s a question I
considered after noting that the Gospel for Easter 4 was said by Jesus after
the Gospel for Easter 5. To bring us up to date, the four parts of John 16 were
not presented in their Biblical order. We’ve asked the question, “why?” Why did
John 16 get read over four weeks in a “3-2-4-1” order?
I think the key is the first paragraph of today’s holy
Gospel, the last verses of John 15 that lead into our theme verses. Jesus has
been preparing us for something. He says: thos26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to
you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will
bear witness about me. 27 And
you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
The Helper. God the Holy Spirit. The Third Person in the
Holy Trinity. Jesus has been preparing us for the coming of the Holy
Spirit—both in salvation History on the first Christian Pentecost fifty days
after His resurrection, which we celebrate next Sunday—but also for the coming
of the Holy Spirit at our conversion, our baptism. Why was John 16 read in a
different order? Jesus has been preparing us for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
At least in the opinion of churchmen for a thousand years, this order may have
been chosen to make Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit more clear and/or to
build anticipation for Pentecost.
Jesus says that He is the Vine and we are the branches in
Chapter 15, to remind us to keep connected to Him amid the hatred of the world
through the Holy Spirit. That is why He gives this teaching to keep you from
falling away because He knew we would need it in addition to the disciples who
would fall asleep and run away after He prayed the High Priestly Prayer of John
17. Jesus has been preparing all of us for the coming of God the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit’s main work is holiness, sanctification, in you.
We confess belief in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of
life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets… Thus far the Nicene
Creed.
The original creed of the Council of Nicaea had a very brief
third article on the third person of the Holy Trinity. A later council at
Constantinople added the full form we confess this Communion Sunday—with one
exception—the filioque.
“Filioque” means “and the Son,” for the Nicene Creed as
confessed in western Christendom confesses that the Spirit “proceeds from the
Father and the Son” on the basis of John 15:26. The Church of the East, often
called “Orthodox” does not confess those words with us. For some Greek,
Russian, and other Eastern Orthodox Christians, it has become a denominational
distinctive to omit those words. Others are proud of the omission and take pride
in its omission, coming dangerously close to denying what Jesus says very
simply here: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth…” What does this mean? Jesus promised to send the
Spirit from the Father. Jesus kept His promise to send the Spirit from the
Father. Jesus has blessed you with the gift of the Holy Spirit, Whom He has
sent from the Father to dwell in you.
Do you see why this matters? We dare not deny even a little
bit of truth from the Scriptures. Will pride be the reasons Christians will
refuse unity? I pray not, but there have been divisions since the early church.
They were magnified by the Great Schism of 1054, by the excommunication of
Luther in 1521, Henry VIII of England declaring a church independent of Rome,
and countless unchristian divisions since. Consider the differing motives of
Luther and Henry. Luther was kicked out because he wanted to reform the church,
remove error, and restore the Gospel. Henry left because the Pope of Rome would
not grant Him a divorce. Six wives later, the question of who would be his heir
was even more complicated, and Christians were given a poor example of a false
reason to leave or divide a church.
Sin has consequences. Luther was not sinless. Lutherans have
not been sinless. Differences in the languages we speak should not be the only
or main reason why churches are not in fellowship. The only reason for
Christians to have different Church bodies is because some say “no” to part of
what the Bible says or because some attempt to add a writing or authority to a
status on par with the Word of God.
Over the last two months in Sunday morning Bible Class, we
have learned how to speak with and care for skeptics, those who have left or
never been part of the Christian faith because of moral, scientific, or
allegedly “spiritual” reasons, in addition to those who have problems with the
Bible.
Jesus said, “I have said all these things to you to keep you
from falling away. 2 They
will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever
kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have
not known the Father, nor me. 4 But
I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember
that I told them to you.
This paragraph builds on the last verse of John 15 in
particular: “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from
the beginning.” Part of the apostolic qualification to bear witness is that
these men had been with Jesus from the beginning. When the early Church
prepared to fill Judas’ vacancy, they wanted someone who had this qualification
in addition to being a witness of the resurrected Christ. Those
first-hand-witness qualifications were essential for all who would be Jesus
apostles, His sent-ones, those who spread out over the then-known world to tell
of the crucified and resurrected one.
Jesus taught His disciples and still teaches us so that we
would have a realistic and accurate understanding of suffering and tribulation
in this fallen world. He also points you to His promises, that you may have
peace.
Remember Jesus’ warnings and promises. Do not be surprised
and do not fall away.
It always good to
repent and ask and pray the Lord for His good gifts, for Jesus has overcome the
world.
Pray that God the Holy Spirit will continue to guide you
into all truth.
Faithful patience results in full joy in Jesus. He does not
want you to fall away.
Jesus said, “I have said all these things to you to keep you
from falling away. 2 They
will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever
kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have
not known the Father, nor me. 4 But
I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember
that I told them to you.
Next Sunday we celebrate the coming of God the Holy Spirit.
LSB 499:1: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, And make our hearts Your place of
rest; Come with Your grace and heav’nly aid, And fill the hearts which You have
made. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
