John 14:15-21 -- Signs of Divine Love

John 14:15-21: “Signs of Divine Love”

One thing we humans struggle with is relationships over distance. It is so hard to relate truly, to build honesty, trust and openness over distance.

One statement means near-death for friendship: “Oh, you’re in a long-distance relationship!”

The context of today’s text is a long-distance relationship with the Lord. Jesus is preparing the disciples for His physical absence. A few verses before, Jesus tells them that He is going away to prepare a place for them. Now He says that in a little while He won’t be with them physically.

So the disciples face the question: What does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus when He is physically absent?

It’s a great question which we have wrestled with ever since. How do we relate to Jesus, when we can’t see, touch, or handle Him? How do we express relation of love when our Lord is not physically present?

Jesus gives two signs by which express love in absence, two relations whereby we show vital relationship with Him: We know that we love Jesus by our relation to His words and Spirit, our relation to His commands and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells His disciples that if they love Him [in absence], they will keep His commands [v. 15, 21].

Think of this on a human level. If someone we love is not immediately present, how do we show love to that person? We honor their words, their intents, their wishes.

Growing up, my father would give us chores to do. Sometimes he would have to leave, but before he left he’d say, “Do this much before I return.” And he’d smile, and be pleased if he came back and found good work done. However, sometimes I wasn’t too happy. I thought Dad didn’t know the meaning of ‘working smarter.’ He believed in working harder, in ‘busy work.’ “Dad, we could rent a machine and do this in half the time!” But the only machine he believed in was a shovel, or other tool of manual labor! Looking back, there was more going on than mere chores. Why was Dad pleased by progress? In his absence, faithful work was more than a task: it was about relation.

And, here on a far higher level, this is what Jesus says.
Verse 15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
Verse 21: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”

So simple: love for Christ is shown relation to word, relation to His desire and command.

When we love someone, we find even in their absence, a desire to do their will.
I think of this when I think of Martha Rohn. We all miss Martha, with her passing last year. But when my schoolwork seems long, and days hard, I think, “Martha is pulling for me. This is what Martha would want!” And I smile, and go on.

What are we talking about? Relation to word, in absence: “If you love me, keep my commands,” said Jesus.

But we have a problem: Our human nature is such that when obedience to command conflicts with personal desires, we then can play games with the commands: “Oh, He really didn’t say that!”

Or, “I’ve read the Bible and it doesn’t say not to do this” [fill in the blank].

Imagine my shock when I completed four years of Bible college, only to have a friend tell me that the Bible was ok with marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms, because they were “natural.” :-) ‘The Bible doesn’t say not to enjoy them, and they are natural!’ And he knew all about the Bible, he said, because he read it one time!

Rabbi Mendel of Kotzsk once instructed a man in the Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures of Moses. Rabbi Mendel tried to teach the man wisdom and life, only to have the man respond: “Oh rabbi, I’ve read the Torah many times!” “Yes, that's fine,” replied the rabbi, “But how many times has the Torah read you?”

How many times has Christ’s word read us?

Humans can play games with words and commands.

And this is where Jesus’ second sign of love speaks so loudly. Jesus tells the disciples that if they love Him they will keep His commands, but then He goes on to say something about relation to the Holy Spirit [v. 16-17].

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever --- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

“The Spirit of truth…lives with you and will be in you.”

Word, now Spirit: Here we are in uncharted waters, which the world cannot understand or perceive. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives, to be with us and in us. The “Spirit of truth,” Jesus called Him, the Counselor who would lead us into all truth.
This promise looked forward to Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit descended and ignited their lives in flames of truth.

So we pray before hearing the Word, that the Holy Spirit would teach us, and fill our lives with truth…

I freely admit: when speaking of the Spirit, we are in mysterious territory. How do we explain the Holy Spirit living in us? We really can’t, except to say that a Holy wind fills us, empowers us for living, and empowers us for Christ’s command.

Jesus promised that in some silent, mysterious manner -- that the world cannot see or know -- the Spirit of truth would come to live in us.

Here we find not only words, but a vast, infinite reality of Spirit life.

It is the real mystery of the Spirit -- that changes life and renews us in the word of Christ. John develops this later, and says, “We know that we know…by the Spirit He gave us.”
Obedience to word, life in the Spirit: two signs of divine love, two signs of relation to Christ.

Here the text towers high above us, and asks: Do you want to know if you are in Christ? Do you want to know if you love Him while He is away?
Then ask: What is my relation with His word, His commands? And what is my relation with the Spirit?

Jesus gives a powerful promise here, to be with us through the Holy Spirit, in the last part of verse 21: “He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

She who loves me will be loved by Abba, and I too will love her and show myself to her.

This is full circle in the mystery: For though He is away, yet He now promises to reveal himself through the Spirit, to those who love Him. Though He is not physically present, He now promises to make himself known. As He said, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst!”

For those who love Him, those who know Him and are known by Him, He is here! He is standing here this morning…

The revelation of Christ through word and Spirit: this is the ultimate sign of divine love. What is our relation to Christ? Answer: What is our relation to His Word, and Spirit?

Here we reveal, and find, the sign of divine love…

Children of God, Parkview Christians!
Let us continue, let us persist in faith until this sign is clear in our hearts!

Amen.