John 15:12-17 Line by Line with Albert Mohler

Third Avenue Baptist Church
Sunday School — The Gospel of John Series
November 15, 2020
 
 
It was wonderful to see you this morning and wonderful to be able to turn to God's Word together, and we're continuing through our study in the Gospel of John. We're in John 15, and we are in the farewell discourse of Jesus and thus issues are intensifying, and we are also in, as we shall see, a passage of scripture in which Jesus is giving what amounts to a final briefing to his disciples. And we have the honor by the Holy Spirit of observing this. Over hearing it. Let's pray.
Father, we're just so thankful that you give us the opportunity to hear these words even as the disciples heard these words from Jesus. And Father, this means that you intended these words for us, even as Jesus intended these words for his disciples, and may they have the same effect on us as they had upon the disciples. May we receive these words with great joy because we receive your word with great joy. And may we live it faithfully. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
So when we were together last, we worked our way to John chapter 15, verse 11, and you'll recall that in verse 11, Jesus said, “these things I spoke to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.” Now, one of the challenges we face in John chapter 15 in this farewell discourse is that it is the Farewell Discourse. It is Jesus knowing that in a very short amount of time, he is going to be arrested and taken away from his disciples. Before his crucifixion these will be the final words. Now what we have are three chapters here, John chapter 15, which we will conclude shortly. John chapter 16 coming, and then of course the high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. But that last part is the prayer between Jesus and the Father and the disciples were not a part of that.
So the time with the disciples is getting very short. The intensity is very high. We're at a fever pitch. This is the greatest tension in the drama of what's taking place in the life and ministry of Jesus as he has headed for the cross. And thus, the words that he's speaking take on a particular poignancy. Now there's something else that takes place in this farewell discourse, and that is that all of this belongs together, but it is not just a matter of Jesus going through an outline. It's not like if you've ever been on a cruise ship and you have a briefing of what to do, if you have to go to the lifeboats and on every cruise, you've got to do this. You've got to go through the drill. It's an international maritime rule. And so when you're on the cruise ship, eventually like the second morning, you've got to meet out at your life boat posts and you have to put on the vest and you have to listen to what's being told.
And, and yet, you know, it's a beautiful sunny day. You're in the Caribbean, you're in the Mediterranean. No, one's thinking about the boat sinking. The Titanic's long in the past. And you know, you really do need to know this, but you really want it to be over. And it doesn't go too long, and besides that, the people doing it are reading off of a clipboard so that they can check off everything that they've done. I think of that when I see airline pilots doing this, when I get on an airplane. I look back in the cockpit, looking for a little reassurance that somebody in there looks like he's not 14, and that has some competence to fly this plane. And generally they're going through a checklist. And I'm just thinking,” you know, if I did that two or three times a day, I might get a little careless. I'm hoping you don't.”
This is not a checklist in the sense that it's just going through a sequential order. Jesus here, the authenticity of the conversation, this discourse Jesus is having with his disciples, a part of the authenticity is how Jesus goes back to an issue and circles back and will say, “this is why I told you.” Now in looking at that, I have to say that I look at t