Author: Jeff Englund

| came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that several posts are talking about the fact that Jesus isn’t from around here. He does things that no other human being has ever done or will ever do, and he talks like he is from another place, too. Now we know where.

“I came from the Father…” is a simple statement, yet packed with interesting topics. Where is the Father? Who is the Father? Why does he call him “the Father” instead of my Father?

I remember Jesus trying to explain to Nicodemus that the Son of Man is the only one to have come from Heaven. Then Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that “God is spirit….” (John 4: 24)

Jesus came from being what he calls “spirit,” and became what we know as “flesh.” Now he is telling the disciples that he is going back to the place of spirit again. In essence, he is all packed and ready to go.

Food for thought: Which do you suppose seemed more real to Jesus; being in the spirit form or being in the flesh?

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Continue reading “All Packed- John 16: 28”

In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Which day is “that day”?

“That day” is the day when those who believe in Jesus rejoice with a joy that no one can take away. It is a day that happens after Jesus was crucified. It is a day when Jesus can send us the Advocate. It is a day when we can ask the Father for whatever we want directly. We do not have to ask Jesus, although we need to ask in his name. We have a direct connection with God.

What does this mean?

In Jesus’ day, the temple worship was still in place. The priests were still officially the representatives of God before the people. To ask God for anything meant asking through a priest. People didn’t just casually talk with God.

Why is this possible?

Jesus. Really, that is the whole answer; Jesus. God becomes a man called Jesus. Jesus speaks God’s word and will to the people. The people kill Jesus. Jesus rises from the dead, the perfect sacrifice. So in love with his creation that he suffered death on the cross to be able to redeem those who will believe in him.

Food for thought: If you were to ask God for something, what would it be?

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Continue reading “Direct Connect – John 16: 26 – 27”

Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

It must have been frustrating to be a disciple. Jesus spoke “figuratively” a lot. Trying to decode what he meant is challenging enough today. And we have the written record of Jesus’ life and words. As a disciple, all of this figurative stuff was being thrown at them real-time. Who could blame them if when Jesus said he was going to speak plainly they thought, “It’s about time!”

Has that time come when Jesus speaks plainly about his Father?

I would like to suggest that it has. Over the past few days, we have learned about the connection between the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We know that when we hear the Spirit speak, we are hearing Jesus’ words. We know that Jesus speaks only what the Father wants him to speak and that he glorifies the Father. As a believer who has received the Holy Spirit, we are in direct connection with the best possible source of information about the Father; Jesus.

Food for thought: What better way is there to learn about God than through a direct connection with His Spirit?

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Continue reading “It’s About Time! – John 16: 25”

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

“That day” is a day when Jesus is seen again. “That day” is after Jesus has ascended. “That day” is when the Advocate has come to make his home in our life.

Now Jesus returns to the theme of asking. As anything. Ask in His name. Ask and you will receive. Ask, and your joy will be complete.

Wow.

Food for thought: Have you asked the Father for anything? Has it been given to you?

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Continue reading “That Day – John 16: 23-24”

You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Charlie Brown cartoons are timeless. Even though the Charles Shultz strip first appeared almost 70 years ago, his cartoons are still popular today. While other comic artists rely on contemporary topics for humor, Mr. Shultz tapped into the core of the human condition: grief. Charlie Brown’s favorite expression was, “Oh Good Grief!” and grief seemed to follow him wherever he went.

Fortunately for Charlie, his grief was a gentle kind of grief. A child’s grief over child-like things. The disciples had to face very adult-like grief. This grief would be like a knife to the heart. It would paralyze them and deny them the ability to think straight. The grief they will face will be unlike anything they have ever experienced because it will tap into the very bedrock of their existence. The one they have come to know as God will die.

Once again we see Jesus preparing his disciples for what is to come. Once again we hear his reassurance that everything will be okay. Once again he promises that he will return and we will see him again, and no one will take away our joy.

Food for thought: How is our situation today similar to what the disciples are about to experience? Do you find encouragement in Jesus’ promise that a time of rejoicing is coming?

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Continue reading “Good Grief – John 16: 20b – 22”

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.

As Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to begin the next day, he weaves a pattern of ideas before them.

You will not fall away (v1)
They will put you out of the synagogue (v2)
People will kill you (v3)
I warned you! (v4)
He is going to the Father (v5)
He goes for our good (v7a)
Jesus will send the Advocate when he is gone (v7b)
The Advocate will prove the world wrong (v8-11)
The Spirit will guide you into truth (v13)

The paradox of spiritual life, life in God, verses the physical life, life in the world, is the main pattern in the tapestry Jesus weaves. In today’s verse he continues the pattern; “… you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.”

How could life with God be so out of sync with life in the world? Why would the world rejoice at the death of the one who healed and forgave them in the name of God?

Jesus knows. The answer is not pretty.

Food for thought: Draw two circles on a piece of paper. Label one circle “’Life with God” and label the other circle ‘“Life in the world.” Put a mark in the circle that includes most of the things you want in life. Now put a mark in the circle where you hope to spend the eternity that comes after this life. How does your heart and your hope align?

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Continue reading “Weaving Soon – John 16: 20a”

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?”

When I was in school, I remember being afraid to ask questions. I remember feeling stupid because everyone else in the classroom seemed to know what was going on. The teacher would be talking about something that I just didn’t get and I wanted to ask questions. Yet I didn’t want to look stupid in front of everyone else.

I don’t know if that is what the disciples were feeling, but if it was, I can relate. This is not the first time that Jesus has talked about going away. They have heard this before. Like me sitting in class thinking, “I should know this stuff…” they might have been thinking something similar.

Wouldn’t it be great if your teacher or instructor or even your college professor could see the question mark floating over your head? And then they would say, “Did you want to ask about what I just said?” Then he or she could answer your question without you having to ask it and risk looking stupid! That would be awesome!

Of course, Jesus being God knows what his students are thinking. He knows that they have a question and he knows what the question is. He also knows that they are afraid to ask. Instead of finding fault with his pupils, he acknowledges their question, puts it on the table, and once again answers it in a fresh way.

Food for thought: What kind of questions are you afraid to ask God? If He already knows your question, why not ask?

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Continue reading “Feeling Stupid – John 16: 19”

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

Time is an interesting construct. We use the term to differentiate between the past, present, and the future. Time helps to keep our thinking in order.

Because Jesus is an eternal being, because he existed when the earth was created, his sense of time is very different than ours. To him, a thousand years are like a day. Yet, while he was here on earth a day was like a day. I can understand why the disciples would ask what he means by ‘a little while!’

If you are familiar with the Gospel story, you know that Jesus is talking about his impending death on the cross and the resurrection that follows. The disciples, however, do not know what is going to happen.

So what can we take away from this passage?

Jesus is truthful and Jesus sees the world from both a human perspective and God’s perspective. He knows what will happen before it happens. He wants to explain things to his disciples that they cannot comprehend. So, he uses a riddle to capture their attention and focus their minds on what he wants them to know.

Food for thought: How much does God know about your future? How much are you ready to know?

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Continue reading “A Riddle – John 16: 16- 18”

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.

One thing about our God that I find personally very comforting: Our God is logical. Everything about the world makes sense when looked at through the laws of physics and mathematics. There are things we do not yet understand. There are things we think we understand but do not. Yet the things we do understand correctly are consistently logical.

God’s logic applies to Himself as well:
Jesus and the Father are one. (John 10: 30)
All that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus. (John 16: 15)
The Spirit speaks only what he hears from Jesus. (John 16: 14)

Today’s verse repeats this logic. Jesus wants us to know who it is that speaks to us through the Spirit.

Food for thought: If God is logical, where does confusion come from?

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Continue reading “Logic – John 16: 15”

All that belongs to the Father is mine.

So what does the Father own anyway? When we look at the world around us, the sky above, the night stars, etc, do we think of them as belonging to anyone? And what is the value of the physical universe anyway? Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” (2 Peter 3: 10) It sounds like there won’t be much left to own.

What the Lord values is not the physical shell of our being or the world it lives in. What he values is you. The you that is inside, the you that can love the Father.

All that exists belongs to the Father. All that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus. What Jesus values most is you.

Food for thought: How does knowing Jesus help you understand the difference between your stuff and Jesus’ stuff?

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Continue reading “Stuff – John 16: 15a”