John 15:26-16:4
Package Delivered
Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 28, 2017
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
The package has been ordered, but not delivered yet. The anticipation of the waiting, excitement of receiving something great. More and more, I find myself shopping online. The convenience of it all is unbeatable. But then there’s the wait. The package has to be shipped, and then delivered. I find myself tempted over and over again to check the shipping status, to track where the package is and when it might arrive. In our culture where instant gratification is the norm, the virtue of patience has become all but forgotten.
Jesus had promised the package was on the way. The Holy Spirit was to be sent by Jesus from the Father. This the double procession of the Spirit, as we confess in the Nicene Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. But at this time in the disciples’ lives, it would still be about 2 months until the Spirit of Christ would descend upon them at Pentecost. The order had been placed, the delivered promised, and now they all they had to do was wait through the crucifixion, the resurrection, 40 days until Jesus ascension and then another 10 before Pentecost.
And their waiting will not be easy, neither before nor after they have received the Holy Spirit. The disciples are going to face hardship. They will be rejected by the unbelieving Jewish leadership and persecuted in much the same way as Christ Himself was. In fact, out of 12 disciples, it was only St. John who died from natural causes, Judas who committed suicide, and the rest were martyred for their faith in Jesus.
Indeed, Jesus knows that it will be difficult for them. And so He gives them these promises and teaches them these things to keep them from falling away. And so He does for us too. Our church service is laden with Scripture, with the Word of God, that not only creates faith, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, sustains that faith to keep you from falling away.
But that’s not the only purpose either. We have the twofold teaching that the Holy Spirit will come and witness to Christ, and that we too must be witnesses to Christ. The great defender of the Truth is the Spirit. The witness of the Church is not only for Christ, but from Christ. The Spirit sent by Christ from the Father would give force to the disciples evidence, would give power to their words, and support their testimony by miracles. And so He does for us.
And there will be opposition to this witness. Because of sin, and because of rapid idolatry, the world is by nature opposed to the Gospel of Christ. This opposition comes from two sources. First, because men have not known the Father. And second, because they have not known Christ. For to know one, means to know the other. In fact, Jesus flat out says in John 14:6, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Without the knowledge and faith of Christ, there is no knowledge and faith of the Father. And vice versa. This is a hard truth, especially for those in our family and friends who lack this faith and for those who live with this tension daily.
Difficulties of witnessing was obvious in the first century when the witness was the martyr. Still today, Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, especially when lived out in a Muslim, Communist or Socialist country. We aren’t faced with death because of our faith in Christ, but that does not mean that the devil doesn’t try just as hard to silence the Holy Spirit’s testimony. Our heads may not be on the chopping block, but don’t think that the devil and our sinfulness don’t try to lead us into falling away from faith in Christ. We are faced with a rapidly declining population of those who call themselves Christians. Whereas regular church attendance used to be 3 or 4 Sundays a month, many people now treat it as once a month. False teachers have come and lead people away from the Gospel and God’s revealed Word. False prophets who were not sent, tell lies in God’s name. In the name of tolerance and acceptance, people think that all roads lead to heaven and that all gods are the same. Idolatry and polytheism are ingrained in our culture. And so we must not be surprised at the opposition to Christianity. And we must not think that Christianity is a mistake because people mistake Christianity. Christ said it would happen and He has said these things to us today so that we do not fall away, but rather hold on to Him even tighter.
Repent of your fear of things that have happened and things that might come. Repent of your timidity in bearing witness to Christ. For Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! We have victory, not just a future victory, but a present and real victory here and now. Christ has ascended to the throne of God and reigns over heaven and earth. We must not lose faith in Christ because success comes slowly. The first Christians were disappointed that Jesus’ return did not lie necessarily in their near future. But they still built their hope and their future on and around the expectation of His return. Throughout the ages the Church has prayed, “Come quickly Lord Jesus.” While we wait, we rest in the assurance that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). Faithfully, the Church has met Sunday after Sunday to be greeted by her Lord through His Word and Sacrament, waiting eagerly for the expected return.
The Lord is risen and He has ascended. He sends His Holy Spirit to you. He speaks His Word to you. You hear His voice as the Spirit continues to bear witness to Him. He has warned of your persecution that you would not fall away. And He has promised something even greater – That He will keep you. He has not died in vain, and neither do those who belong to Him. We wait, eagerly, with anticipation, and with joy, for the delivery of the final package of God’s full restoration of creation when Christ returns with glory to judge both the living and the dead, who kingdom will have no end.