Three Minute Bible

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”

He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

Now here is an interesting tidbit: When you hear from the Holy Spirit, it is actually Jesus who is talking to you! I bet you didn’t know that!

The Spirit does many things in carrying out God’s will. He is our comforter, our guide, our protector. Yet even while doing all of these things, he is also our direct link to Jesus.

When you pray, it is Jesus on the other end of the line. Of course, we often pray to our Father in heaven as Jesus taught us to. Yet it is Jesus who is the line, the direct link, to God the Father.

How cool is that?

Food for thought: What does it change knowing that what you hear from the Holy Spirit is coming directly from Jesus?

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Continue reading “Jesus Calling – John 16: 14”

…and he will tell you what is yet to come.

One of the advantages of gently strolling through the garden of John’s words is the ability to stop and examine a flower like today’s passage. Jesus is telling the disciples that they will receive a special spirit from God, the Spirit of truth. This Spirit, Jesus says, will guide his followers into all the truth. He also assures us that the Spirit of truth does not add to or take away from God’s word.

Besides to all this, the Spirit of truth will “tell you what is yet to come.” What do you suppose that means? Is this an inside track to the horse races? Is this a sure-fire way to beat the stock market? No?? Then what?

As with the proofs about sin, righteousness, and judgment, the Spirit of truth is not interested in worldly concerns or desires. He desires only what God desires. He speaks only what he hears from God. “What is to come” could refer to a lot of things, but one thing they would all have in common is that they are spiritual matters not worldly.

Food for thought: What kinds of “things to come” do you want to hear from the Spirit?

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Continue reading “Flower Power – John 16: 13c”

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears…

Jesus is giving last-minute instructions to his disciples. There is more that he wants to share with them than he has time for or they can bear. Instead, he will send them a helper he calls the Spirit of truth.

This Spirit of truth is not a random spirit or a rogue spirit but is a very special spirit. Jesus describes how this spirit works by saying “he will not speak on his own.” This spirit does not invent things to say or speak off the cuff. So what does he say?

Jesus gives us the answer to that question in the next verse. For today’s meditation, we look at how this Spirit of truth is obedient to the truth. He will speak only what he hears.

Would Jesus send a spirit that misleads? Would a spirit sent by Jesus have to guess at what should be said? No, this spirit is given a message for you. Especially for you. You can be sure that it does not have to guess at what to say. From God’s lips to your ears, the Spirit of truth speaks only what it hears.

Continue reading “From God’s Lips to Your Ears – John 16: 13b”

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

Do you ever wonder if there is a “truth” that everyone can agree on? God’s view is that it doesn’t matter what you or I think is true if it doesn’t agree with what He knows to be true.

God is in a unique position. He created the universe and everything in it. That alone is pretty amazing. He set into work the original atoms which are the same today as they were when they were created. He laid the foundations of existence by putting in place the laws of physics that hold the universe together. The universe is incredibly complicated yet uniquely simple in how it operates.

From God’s point of view, there is no question about how things work. He knows. From His point of view, there is no question about how things are supposed to function. He made us to be a certain way. We can claim that reality and truth are what we want them to be, but in the end, God’s truth is the one that remains.

Since the world allows for all kinds of truth claims, it is confusing sorting out what is true from what is not true. What a blessing that God offers us His Spirit of truth. How awesome that we have a personal guide to lead us through the jungle and show us what our Creator intended.

With the Holy Spirit as our guide, life is no longer a confusing jungle but rather an exciting adventure of discovery. The Spirit leads us from truth to truth, opening our minds to understanding and our hearts to the love of our Creator.

Continue reading “Guide – John 16: 13a”

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

Jesus’ last night on earth is a mixed bag. On the one hand, he is able to celebrate Passover with his disciples. On the other…

On the other hand, he is going to have to prepare them for his departure and for the time between his death and the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Then he is going to be up all night asking his Father if there is some other way. After that, in the waning hours of the night, he will be confronted by the traitor, Judas, and the cadre of militia that accompany him to take Jesus into custody. Allowing himself to be led away Jesus is hauled before the High Priest and his mock trial begins. He will find no rest until he gives up his spirit on the cross.

Continue reading “How much can you bear? – John 16: 12”

…and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

So far the Spirit has proven the world wrong about sin and righteousness. God defines what is sin, not the world. Righteousness is a matter of what comes out of the heart and not the things one does to mask what is in the heart.

Now the Spirit takes on the world about their definition of judgment. How does He prove the world wrong here?

Continue reading “Judgment – John 16: 11”

… about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer …

The world doesn’t understand sin because it doesn’t know God. To the world, “sin” is anything that the world doesn’t like, not what God doesn’t like. Today we look at righteousness. How does Jesus going to the Father prove the world wrong about righteousness?

In Jesus’ day, the concept of righteousness was closely tied to the Mosaic laws. Outward obedience to the laws meant that you were being righteous. Jesus was hated by the Jewish leaders. He cared more about inward righteousness than he did the outward righteousness practiced by the Jews.

Jesus proves them wrong about righteousness because he will be with God the Father while those who were “righteous” on the outside but unrighteous inside are not. The Holy Spirit attests to this truth.

Food for thought: If someone doesn’t believe a proof, does that mean the proof is not a proof?