Jesus Promises Pentecost Peace

John 14:23-27

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus Promises Pentecost Peace

One of you asked me a good question last Sunday that I probably don’t explain enough: “Why have we been lighting the candle that’s in the baptismal font?”

First of all, did you notice that we have been lighting that candle? For those of you who did, do any of you remember when we started lighting it? It was on Easter morning. For the last 7 Sundays, that candle has been lit. Maybe you noticed. Maybe you didn’t; that’s OK. But now I’m really going to test your memory. Without looking – and only 4 of you could see it from where you’re sitting anyway – do you remember if that candle is lit right now? It’s not.

Allow me to explain. That candle is called the Paschal candle. It’s a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus, and so we light that candle on three resurrection-related occasions:

1. We light it for funerals, as a reminder of the joy that we have that all who die in faith will live forever, because of the resurrection of the dead.

2. We light it for baptisms, because as Paul said, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”[1] Our baptisms are what connect us to Jesus’ resurrection and make us beneficiaries of it.

3. And finally, we light the Paschal candle on Easter morning – and every Sunday morning in the season of Easter – as a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus spent with his disciples between his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven.

So, every time you see a flame on the wick of that candle, you can think of spending eternity with Jesus because of the resurrection from the dead.

“Great, pastor! Now you tell us, now that – barring any future baptisms or funerals – we won’t see a flame on that candle for another 310 days. I’m definitely not going to remember this by the time Easter rolls around next year.”

That would be a fair criticism. But I also think that it would reflect the way the disciples must have felt around Pentecost. They had just spent the last 40 days soaking up every minute that they could of being with the resurrected Jesus. Every time they looked at him, they could still see the nail marks in his hands and be reminded that Jesus was victorious over death. He rose from the dead. He is the all-powerful Son of God.

Every time they listened to him, he opened their minds to understand another portion of Scripture that they hadn’t been able to understand before. They had heard those passages before. But now they saw them in a totally new, Christ-centered light, with Jesus providing the fulfillment of so many promises they had been waiting on.

And now he was gone, ascended into heaven never to be seen on earth again until Judgment Day. They spent the next 10 days waiting and wondering what was going to happen next. I’m sure that some of them were wishing that Jesus had never gone, that they still got to bask in the glow of his resurrection, but it wasn’t to be.

And yet, even though Jesus was gone, he hadn’t abandoned his disciples or orphaned them. He was fulfilling a promise to them – a promise we read in John 14:

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”[2]

That’s quite a promise! The Holy Spirit would come to be their Helper, to be with them, to live in their hearts, to empower them to do amazing things, but, above all, to teach them all things and to remind them of everything Jesus had said to them.

That’s the promise we saw fulfilled in our reading from Acts this morning. 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ disciples in dramatic fashion. There was a sound like a violent wind even though no branch swayed and no leaf stirred. It was mysterious and inexplicable, and it got everyone’s attention so that a great crowd had formed, and, just at that moment, the Holy Spirit filled Jesus’ disciples and enabled them to begin speaking languages they had never studied before:

Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues![3]

At least 15 different languages were suddenly being spoken by these uneducated Galilean fishermen. It’d be like if you heard a dozen Newfies down on holiday from Fort Mac suddenly speaking the most beautiful French and Spanish and Portuguese, Nuer, Swahili and Cantonese. These things just don’t happen.

And then, on top of that, there were tongues of fire on top of their heads, but no one was burning. No fire alarms were going off. No one was frantically shouting, “Stop, drop and roll!” It was a miracle. It was the Holy Spirit whom Jesus had promised.

But the Spirit hadn’t come to make a spectacle. He came to strengthen faith, bath in the disciples and the crowd that had gathered. The only reason for the sound of the wind and the sight of the flames and the sudden speaking of different languages was so that everyone in the city that day could hear the truth about Jesus in words they could immediately and completely understand.

It’s the same thing that the Spirit does today. No, he doesn’t use flames to identify who the truly faithful are. No, you do not have to speak in tongues to be filled with the Spirit. But the Holy Spirit does still help you, by teaching you all things and reminding you of everything that Jesus has said.

That’s why we’re here, because every Sunday you can guarantee that you will be reminded of what Jesus has said. You will be reminded that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son to save it. You will be reminded that Jesus loved you so much that he willingly gave up his life on a cross to save you. You will be reminded that the Spirit still works in your hearts every time you hear God’s Word.

Our translation of John’s Gospel calls the Holy Spirit “the Advocate” here. But he’s far better than Johnny Cochrane or even Camille Vasquez. He’s not a lawyer who argues our case before the judge. He’s our Helper. He speaks to us through God’s Word. He helps us to understand what God says there. He helps us to understand what Jesus did there. He helps you apply these words to your life as you live it.

After your salvation, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift God has given you, because even though Jesus is gone, God is still with you. Even though that candle out there is no longer burning, and even though we don’t have tongues of flame flitting about on our foreheads, the Holy Spirit has kindled in your heart the fire of his love. He fans your faith into flame every time you hear God’s Word, and he facilitates Jesus’ next promise:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.[4]

The peace that Jesus mentions here is central to the festival of Pentecost. Jesus is gone, ascended into heaven. In many ways, it feels like we live in a godless world. We’re reminded of it in the movies we watch, the sins that our society celebrates, the apathy and indifference, even the open hostility against God and those who believe in him. That doesn’t sound very peaceful, does it?

Then you add all the person problems and anxieties, e.g. the fear and loneliness we face, the uncertainty about our futures, the regrets about our past, the challenging positions we’re put in at work or school, the relationships that are fractured or broken. Again, that doesn’t sound very peaceful, does it?

But that’s why Jesus says, “I do not give to you as the world gives.”[5] The world would define peace as the absence of danger, a lull in the conflict, a lack of trouble. The peace that Jesus gives us is so much better than that.

Jesus gives us peace by giving us hope and a future in his salvation. We don’t have to wonder how our stories are going to end. We don’t have to fear our unworthiness or be ashamed of our sin. They’ve all been forgiven in him, and we’ll end up in heaven where he will make his dwelling with us forever.

Jesus gives us peace by giving us his Holy Spirit to keep us strong and confident in his Word. To assure us that we are not imagining our salvation or fabricating some fairy tale to make us feel better. We have peace because of the objective reality of what God has done for us. The Father loved us enough to send his Son. Jesus loved us enough to die for our sin. The Holy Spirit continues to show his love for us by living within and strengthening us in him.

There is an objectivity to the peace that Jesus gives us. The events of our lives don’t have to be peaceful in order for us to have peace. We can even be at peace when we’re feeling anxious and afraid, guilty or unworthy. We have peace because of what Jesus has done and is continuing to do for you. We have peace in his blood and peace through the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things and reminds us of everything Jesus has said and done for us.

Obey his teaching. Cling to his Word and to the promise of the Holy Spirit who works in our hearts by faith and you will have this peace today and everyday. Amen.

[1] Romans 6:3,8,5

[2] John 14:25,26

[3] Acts 2:9-11

[4] John 14:27

[5] Ibid

[6] John 14:24

Jesus' Ascension Clears Up Kingdom Confusion

Acts 1:1-11

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach  
2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Jesus’ Ascension Clears Up Kingdom Confusion

My wife and I bought a new tent a week or so ago. You might have seen it set up in the yard last Sunday. Now, I’ve pitched plenty of tents in my life, so I thought that this one should be a breeze. I laid out all the pieces in front of me and then asked myself the question that is the downfall of every member of the male species, How hard could it be?

I looked at the picture on the box to get my bearings – to make sure I knew what the final product was supposed to look like – and then I set to assembling the tent, like I’ve done hundreds of times before. I attach the first pole to one end and then bend it and attach it to the other. I do this three times for the three poles, but they’re all just lying flat on the ground. There are no clips to attach the tent to the poles, nothing to attach the poles to each other, nothing to get the tent off the ground.

That’s when I saw them. There are sleeves that you have to run the pole through before you do anything else. So, I had to undo all the work that I had so confidently started and go all the way back to square one. At that point, I thought I should actually open the instructions and follow them this time.  

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Your familiarity with something gives you a false sense of confidence. Rather than thinking through what you should do, you just plow ahead, make a bunch of mistakes and then you have to start over and rethink everything along the way?

That’s where we find the disciples this morning. They had been following Jesus for 3 years. If anyone was familiar with all the things that Jesus began to do and teach, it was his disciples. On top of that, Jesus had just spent the last 40 days leading them through Bible bootcamp, opening their minds to understand things from Scripture that they had never been able to put together before. If anyone was equipped to understand what Jesus meant when he was talking about the kingdom of God, it was his disciples.

But perhaps it was precisely that degree of familiarity with Jesus and his kingdom that bred a false sense of confidence in – which was actually a fundamental confusion about – what the kingdom of God really is. Just like me and my tent. “I know tents. This one should be a snap.” The disciples thought to themselves, “We know Jesus. We know kingdoms. Same wavelength, Lord.”

But they weren’t on the same wavelength. Did you notice it the first time we read Acts 1? Verse three reads:

“He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”[1]

In verse six, the disciples ask,

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”[2]

When the disciples heard Jesus talk about the kingdom of God, they immediately imagined the picture on the box – a crown, a throne, armies, authority, power, glory. They were familiar with those things. They had seen them before. They thought they knew what it would take to go from a ragged band of dispersed disciples to a glorious kingdom. It would take power and might to overthrow their Roman overlords. It would take Jesus assuming the throne in Jerusalem and raising their homeland to its former glory. It would feel like heaven on earth.

When the disciples heard Jesus talk about the kingdom of God, they thought they knew exactly what he meant. But what they pictured in their imaginations couldn’t have been further from the truth. The thing about the kingdom of God is that it is not a realm; it’s a reign. The kingdom of God is not a parcel of land with borders and armies and palaces and castles. It’s something entirely different.

Jesus’ answer may seem evasive or non-committal. He doesn’t mention the words kingdom or restoration or Israel at all.

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”[3]

I think this is fascinating. Jesus doesn’t yell at his disciples. He doesn’t say to them, “C’mon guys! Get your heads in the game! That’s not what the kingdom is. This is what the kingdom is…!” He doesn’t say anything about the kingdom, because, frankly, their little human brains couldn’t hear the word “kingdom” and think of anything other than castles and crowns.

So, Jesus calls for patience and humility – “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” – and then proceeds to tell his disciples what the kingdom of God is without telling them what the kingdom of God is:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[4]

The kingdom of God is not a realm but a reign. God doesn’t rule over a parcel of land. He claims a place in our hearts by faith. That’s what the disciples didn’t understand. Jesus was already restoring the kingdom. It’s just that the kingdom of God didn’t look like the picture on the box.

Jesus was going to sit on a throne, just not the throne in Jerusalem. He was about to ascend into heaven and to sit at the right hand of his Father there.

Jesus does have all power and authority, but he doesn’t need armies to enforce it or castle walls to defend it. He rules over all things even now from his place at the right hand of his Father in heaven.

Jesus would wear a crown and receive honor and glory and praise. But not from parades of people flooding the streets of every major city shouting his name. He receives praise right now from the angels and saints in heaven, and from all believers here on earth.

The disciples were confused about what the kingdom of God was going to look like. Do you ever share in their confusion? Do you ever wish that his kingdom looked more like the picture on the box in your imagination? Do you get frustrated or disappointed when it doesn’t?

I’ll admit that my heart asks the same question, “Lord are you finally going to restore the kingdom?” We live in a broken world with war and refugees, with mass murders in middle schools and grieving families, with outbreaks of monkeypox and loved ones in the emerge center. How long, Lord? How much longer do we have to endure this? How much longer until you usher in a new era of your kingdom?

They’re not bad questions. Christians from every generation have asked them. The problem comes when we begin to look for something God doesn’t promise or when we reject what he does.

God never promised heaven on earth. In fact, he told us to expect trouble in this world. We shouldn’t expect our politicians to be Christians. We shouldn’t expect society to bend over backwards for our beliefs. We shouldn’t expect life to be free of trouble or worry or anxiety.

But that doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t sitting on the throne in heaven right now ruling over all things. We may long for more, quicker, more complete answers to our prayers, but as Jesus reminds his disciples here, he is not deaf to our needs. He may not grant the kingdom that matches the picture on the box in our imagination. He promises something better:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”[5]

From his throne in heaven, Jesus gives you something far more precious and powerful than all the gold in Fort Knox and the combined forces of NATO. He gives you his Holy Spirit to live in your heart by faith.

Sometimes we can feel like that’s so pedestrian and underwhelming, but it’s the Spirit who gives you the strength to believe that your sins are forgiven, that heaven is your home and that when Jesus comes back he’ll take you to live with him there in peace and safety and happiness and joy forever. It’s the Spirit who gives you the strength to endure the hardships and difficulties we face today, knowing that Jesus is currently sitting on the throne at the right hand of his Father in heaven, ruling over all things for your good, giving you your daily bread, guarding and protecting you from all evil.

That’s what the kingdom of God looks like – not a castle or a moat, but the Holy Spirit at the helm of your heart giving you hope and confidence for the future and comfort and guidance for right now. That’s what the picture on the box should look like.

And we don’t have to wonder how to get from A to B. We don’t have to try to reverse engineer the kingdom of God and figure out how to get the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Jesus tells us how his kingdom comes:

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[6]

What insignificant instruments we are to usher in God’s kingdom, but we are the tools God chooses to use to bring his Holy Spirit and hope to the world. We are the ones he sends with his Word to bring comfort to those who mourn and grieve, to bring the message of forgiveness to hearts weighed down by guilt, to bring hope to those who are lost or afraid.

You will be his witnesses. Maybe not in Jerusalem, but around the dinner table as you talk about Jesus and what he means for you and your family on Parkwood Dr. or Norman Ct. You will be his witnesses. And you don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to bring the gospel there. You can just talk to our friends in Mill Woods and they’ll bring the gospel to their family and friends in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

We could conjure up some wonderful imaginations about what this world would look like if Jesus sat on a throne. But the kingdom he promises is greater. It starts with his Holy Spirit ruling in our hearts by faith, and it extends to the world through the Word we bring, and it promises to bring all who believe to the rightful throne of Jesus in heaven where we will live under his care forever.

God give us clarity and confidence about his kingdom, and the courage to proclaim it to the ends of the earth. Amen.

[1] Acts 1:3

[2] Acts 1:6

[3] Acts 1:7

[4] Acts 1:8

[5] Acts 1:8

[6] Acts 1:8

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