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by Sandy Shaw
Jesus Christ is now ready to make His Will – verse 27. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. We are reading in John Chapter 14.
Consider all He was about to leave – His clothes to the soldiers – His mother He gave to John – His body would go into the hands of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus – His Spirit was commended to God the Father – and to His disciples He bequeathed His peace.
People can leave you money, property, possession, and things - but only Jesus Christ can give you peace.
It is when we receive the peace of Jesus Christ – it is then that we are more ready to appreciate his words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled – and do not be afraid”.
Verse 28 – Jesus goes on to tell His men and explain to His men exactly what is going to happen. He wants them to know. He wants them to be aware of the facts, so that they will believe!
When you meet someone who has questions about the faith, they are normally people who have questions about the facts! They question the facts. Never do that.
Verse 30 – Hmmmm! Jesus now explains that the devil is coming.
Jesus tells us the nice parts and also the not so nice parts.
The battle is going to be fierce. “He has no hold on Me.” He cannot point the finger with any justification. He cannot accuse Me of anything and then prove it.
What a strong position to be in – to be this righteous.
Jesus had loved the Father, and Jesus had done what the Father wanted him to do. Jesus had lived as the Father wanted him to live. Jesus is at peace. Jesus is filled with peace. There is no guilt. Jesus had done what the Father commanded Him to do. Jesus had allowed the Father to run His life and guide His life.
Jesus had been obediently submissive to the loving authority of His Father. ‘Submissive’ means ‘to hear under’.
Jesus was under the Father, and heard the Father, and was saying what the Father wanted said, and He did what the Father wanted done in this world. In that position there is confidence and trust and protection and assurance.
Jesus had answered all their questions. Jesus had fed them with bread and wine.
Jesus had caringly taken time to explain all that they needed to know.
Jesus had promised the gift of peace, which can only be had from Him.
If only the world could see that – that peace comes from God the Father, through Jesus Christ. That is part of the message we have to share with a needy, terrified, frightened, broken, pained, and sinful world.
Jesus Christ had shared in that room all that these dear men required to face the future without fear or anxiety.
It is only after all this that He says – “Come now; let us leave.”
Did they fully realise the significance of all that He had been saying? I don’t think so. But some four days later, the risen resurrected Jesus breathed His peace into them, and some 60 years later the Holy Spirit reminded John of all that was said that night, and John wrote it all down for us to read, and feed on, and learn from, and be strengthened.
Notice how John is so Christ centred. This passage is focusing upon Jesus Christ, and how Jesus Christ cares for, and is concerned about, those whom He calls.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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