Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Text: (John 16:5-15)
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Kä cäŋ ɛ jɛn inɔ, ɣän la̱tdä yɛ ruac in thuɔ̱k. Kä gɔaaɛ kɛ kui̱dun ɛn ɣöö jiayä, kɛ ɣöö mi /cä bi wä, /ci Cuum dee ben kä yɛ. Kä mi wa̱a̱ wä, bä jɛ jäkä yɛ.
Prayer: Sanctify us with the truth, Lord. Your word is truth. Amen.
There are two things that pastors are supposed to preach in the church. The first thing is the Law. And the second thing is the Gospel.
The Law of God is what he expects of you. The law of God is the 10 commandments. It tells you what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. It leaves no room for interpretation. It says: Do this, don’t do this. And when the law is preached to us, it shows us our sin, and it shows us that we deserve nothing but to die. That is what the law does: it finds us, and it kills us. People who think that they have done everything that God expects of them is a liar, or at least they are deluded so much that they think they are the Angel Gabriel himself who have no need of Christ to die for they, and so are not Christians.
And the law makes people angry. It makes people grumble against God, and hate God, because there’s no escape. Any person, any pastor, any church, any single human being who tries to soften God’s expectations of you simply says: “Did God really say you must not eat of any tree in the garden?” The law of God is the law of God. It punishes, it judges, it condemns. Anyone who wants to change it will be punished in some way. Anyone who escapes it will be punished. Anyone who ridicules it will be punished, as St Paul says: God is not mocked.
The law locks people out of heaven who think they are good people. It locks everyone out who thinks they have ticked all of God’s boxes. The law of God allows no one to enter the kingdom of God if they think there is any one thing in their life with which they seek to impress God. God says in Jeremiah: Is not my word like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? The law says: All your righteousness is like a filthy rag.
So that’s the first thing pastors are supposed to preach in the church. The second thing that pastors are supposed to preach in the church is the Gospel.
The Gospel is the good news about what God has done in Jesus Christ for you. The Gospel teaches you what Christ has done for you, by taking on human flesh for you, being born for you, suffering for you, dying for you, rising again for you, and giving all his gifts in the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel says: I forgive you all your sins.
The Gospel says: Baptism now saves you.
The Gospel says: This is my body given for you.
The Gospel says: God so loved the world that he gave his only son.
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So firstly, in our reading Jesus shows us that the Holy Spirit is a preacher of the law of God. In fact, he is the true preacher, who preaches through every pastor, and despite every pastor.
Jesus says: “When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Sin, righteousness and judgment. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. When you personally are convicted of these things, you know then that it is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says: “concerning sin, because they do not believe me.”
You often hear it said that this person or that person deserves to go to heaven, because they did a pretty good job in life. He was a good bloke. He was decent. She was a lovely lady. These people should deserve heaven.
But Jesus doesn’t say that the Holy Spirit will convict bad people of sin. He says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, because they do not believe me.
You know then, if you are a citizen of the world, then you fall under God’s judgment over sin. If you are a part of the world, then you know that you do not believe Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, because they don’t believe me.
St Paul says: Everything that does not proceed from faith is sin.
Anything outside of faith is sin.
And you might say, But I believe in Jesus? Yes, but do you believe in Him as you
should? I’m a Christian, aren’t I? I go to church, don’t I?
That bring us to our next part, where Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.
Yes, you are a Christian. Yes, you do go to church. And if you think that’s something to brag about, then you’re trusting in your own righteousness. And your righteousness is nothing but filthy rags, remember? If you’re such a great believer, why do you do the same things that unbelievers do? Jesus died and rose again for you: why do live as if Jesus were still dead?
What does “righteousness” mean, though? What are we talking about? Righteousness has to do with how you are able to stand before God, for what reason God will accept you and not condemn you.
There is no other righteousness that is acceptable before God apart from the righteousness that belongs to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only perfect human being, who offered one perfect sacrifice for sin, and who reconciled us to God. Jesus is our Righteousness. When we come before God, both in church, in prayer, and in the final judgment, we can only come before him standing in Jesus shoes. We simply must point away from ourselves and to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, or otherwise there will be no hope for us.
If you have not yet discovered that everything you do is tainted and corrupted by sin, then it means that you still believe that you’ve got a plan B in case Jesus’ death might not work. If you think you are worthy of anything from God, if you think you deserve something from God, then you stand under God’s anger, and there’s simply no hope. To people like this, Jesus says: Woe to you, hypocrites! There’s no point in showing to God one little insignificant leaf that you think looks nice: God knows what the root of the tree looks like and he will pull it up, roots, branches, trunk and all.
If you think it’s OK to sin sometimes, or that you don’t sin all the time, then it’s time for you to change. It’s time for you to repent, change your mind, change your attitude, change your life. Look to Jesus dying on the cross for you while there is still time. Jesus took on a human body so that he could die for you as a whole person. Every part of you is tainted, and but every part of Jesus is holy and pure.
St Paul says: God has consigned everyone to sin, so that he might have mercy on all.
There is no other name under heaven, [the name Jesus] by which we can saved. The only righteousness that is pleasing to God is the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. He went to the Father and we see him no longer. He died on the cross and rose again and ascended into heaven. He needed to go the Father, because he needed to give to his Father the payment of his blood for the sin of the whole world.
So the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world concerning sin, because they do not believe me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; and of judgment, because the ruler of the world is judged.
How do you judge yourself? Do you judge yourself by what other people think of you? Do you judge yourself by what your friends think of you? Are you worried about what people might say about you?
This is what people in the world think of Christians. This is the judgment that the world makes: They hate Christians. There is nothing worse for people than that someone should “preach” Christianity to them. There is nothing worse for people than that Christians should impose their truth on other people. Christians are misguided, stupid, arrogant, bossy idiots, and all of the world’s problems come from religion. “Imagine no religion”, “Imagine what a wonderful world it would be without Jesus”: That’s the judgment of the world upon you.
So why is it so important what the world thinks about the fact that you are a Christian? The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning judgment, because the ruler of the world is judged.
People say, everything is acceptable except Christianity. Everything saves except Christianity.
Each will receive his commendation from God. The judgment of the world is false. If Jesus were living among us in the same way that he lived among his disciples 2000 years ago, the world would do the same thing to him. They would crucify him. And if they really understood what your faith is about, they should crucify you too. All of history is full of false verdicts on the prophets, our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles, the martyrs. And on the last day, the record will put straight, and all people will know what in actual fact was true all along.
[The Holy Spirit] will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
So believe in Jesus, because you are a sinner.
Repent and trust in Jesus, because he is your only righteousness, and you can only be saved through him.
Don’t join in with the world in persecuting, judging and condemning innocent Christian people. Do not judge or you will also be judged.
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But Jesus also says: I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you…When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
The Holy Spirit has come to convict you. And once you are convicted, he comes to preach to you a different message. The second thing that Jesus teaches us today is that the Holy Spirit is a teacher of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Helper. The Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and preaches it to you. He says: “Comfort, comfort, my people. Speak it tenderly to Jerusalem, that the warfare is over.”
Our reading today is part of a long conversation which Jesus has with his disciples, a long sermon, on the night he was betrayed. He is calling his disciples together before he dies to give them a farewell speech.
Just like an old person about to die, he calls his children together to bless them, just like Isaac, and Jacob and Joseph.
He says: Now I am going to him who sent, and none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Jesus is present with them here in a physical, bodily, visible way. His apostles see him face to face. They can touch him. And there’s a certain comfort that comes with that. It’s nice to be with Jesus. It’s great to be taught by him. But he’s going, and sorrow fills their hearts.
But then Jesus says: “If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
Jesus says: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
We can’t see Jesus – and when we’re alone with our sin, our weak faith, our false righteousness, and our desire to want to please the world, it can be a lonely world.
But Jesus had to go. He had to go and die for you, he had to go and rise again from you, and he had to ascend into heaven and sit at God’s right hand so that he could be in all those places throughout the world where two or three are gathered in his name.
And the Holy Spirit then comes and comforts us, and says: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
The Holy Spirit says: “Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you by your name and you are mine.”
The Holy Spirit shows you where Jesus is: in holy baptism, in the forgiveness of sins given in the church, in the Lord’s Supper.
He declares to you what is to come: The resurrection of your body and everlasting life.
And that is the comfort that comes by hearing. It is the comfort that the world doesn’t listen to. The world doesn’t believe it.
But the Holy Spirit is taking what belongs to Jesus, and is preaching it to you. The Holy Spirit is taking the blood of Jesus and applying it to you. The Holy Spirit is taking the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus and applying it you, covering you, forgiving you. That’s what it means that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter. The Holy Spirit is preaching to you the holy Gospel.
I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people. All people includes you.
Jesus is hidden from our eyes. But he has risen from dead, ascended into heaven and has come to stand among us just as he did with his disciples on those first Sundays after Easter. And Jesus still sends us the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit then reveals to you that you are standing in the presence of your risen Lord Jesus.
And then the gardener calls you by name, and you recognise him. When you recognise him as your Lord, your God, your Saviour who will never let you be snatched out of his hand, you know for certain that the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, has led you into all truth: You know that the Holy Spirit is in fact your Comforter.
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things!
Amen.
Come Holy Spirit, and convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment. But also, come and comfort us with the sweet words of the gospel. Comfort us with the forgiveness of sins, and shower us with your gifts. Fill us with the true spiritual comfort, which can never be taken away from us. Amen.
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