Listening To John

Remember, the present discourse is that the Gift of the promised Holy Spirit with His special, enabling power, can only come to the disciples after Jesus is ascended, back to the Father. John is being used to help us understand this fact. This is John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and forerunner to Him.

John has been doing his work all along and Jesus is nowhere on the scene. John talks about Jesus and bears testimony to Him, when one day John sees his cousin, who is younger than he is, coming towards him. Jesus is there in the public eye of everyone, but He is not on the preaching, teaching, healing scene as yet. In other words, although Jesus is present; although He is out and about, meaning that He is not in seclusion or confinement, His official ministry has not yet begun.

Jesus only began His public work after John had been taken away from the scene, as it were. This truth finds confirmation in Matthew’s Gospel. When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. Matthew 4: 12 – 14.  We have also been reliably informed of this. From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matthew 4: 17. John and Jesus never worked together, preaching and teaching. Have you noticed that? John had to decrease and depart, for Jesus to increase and impart. In his own testimony about Jesus, John says, He must increase but I must decrease. John 3: 30 KJV.

It is in this understanding therefore, that Jesus, the Risen Lord, has to depart so that His human disciples will be His witnesses.  The Father cannot send the Holy Spirit to empower the disciples to be witnesses, while Jesus is still among them in Risen Body. Has not Jesus Himself told this to His grief-stricken disciples? But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16: 7.

Have you ever thought carefully about this? Have you ever wondered why Jesus could not be present, in Resurrected Body, when the Spirit at Pentecost came? Remember, we are listening to what the Lord Jesus Himself is saying about the wisdom and truth in His leaving the disciples and ascending into heaven.

Okay, where are we? We have established that Jesus has breathed upon His disciples and they have received the Holy Spirit. We know for sure that He has given them His authority to go out and do His work of preaching repentance, and forgiveness of sin. As simplistic and as obvious as this may sound to you, will you accept what you are about to read in the underlined words, as the Spirit’s revelation? Let me confess that I do believe.  Why do I say this? Why do I believe? This is solely because I am confident in it, as it is what our Teacher has given to me and made flesh in me.

Here are the underlined words.

Jesus, in human resurrected body, is able to breathe the Spirit on His disciples, for this work. On the other hand, when it comes to the work of witnessing, He cannot be present in flesh and bones, if they are to receive the Gift of the Spirit.

Why is this? Here are questions which I have been asked, and now ask you, as you are being enlightened further, on this move of our Risen Lord.

If you have been living in another country and have returned home, do you need a witness to tell your community, your neighbours and your friends that you have returned, when you are standing there among them, in the flesh?

If you have been living a lonely, sad, dejected and pathetic life and by the grace and mercy of God, you have received a changed life, so that you are totally different in manner, standing and status, do you need witnesses to tell the world – your family, friends, co-workers, Church, and all who know you - of your change, when you are standing there in flesh and bones? 

Think about this. When Jesus rose from the grave, He was His own witness to all His disciples. For forty days, He went among them with convincing proofs that He was not just alive, but that He was the same human being who had the physical scars of suffering on His side and in His hands. He showed them that He was human, in that He ate and drank with them. Yes, Jesus was His own witness. But for His disciples to be His witnesses to the world, about His resurrection from the dead, He has to leave this place in His human body and form. This is simple and factual, but yet ever so profound.

Only the Lord Himself, our Teacher can breathe this truth upon us and open our minds to the realities of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.