Spirit of Truth

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: John 15:26-27 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry. (John 15:26-27 NLT)

This is the final time Jesus would meet with his closest followers before his death. In a few hours he would be arrested, and they would be scattered, and things would never be the same again:

  • No more conversations around the dinner table.
  • No more ushering for him as he taught the crowds on the hillside or in the town square.
  • No more miracle meals for thousands on a hillside. No more story-telling around the campfire.
  • These are Jesus’ last words and instructions to his disciples before the change comes. He knows it and they don’t.

Jesus knows how hard it is for people like us to remember a lot of detail. He knows that in the shock of his imminent death and in the emotional upheaval they are about to experience, there’s no way they’re going to retain all this. But Jesus isn’t worried at all! The Holy Spirit will come from the Father and will bring all this back to them, at the right time and in the right place.

Two of the men in the room are going to write the story and the stories of Jesus’ time on earth. They’ll write of his time with them, his teachings, his miracles, and his goodness. Those stories won’t be written for nearly forty years in one case, and almost sixty years in the other case, but Jesus isn’t worried at all! The Holy Spirit will come and testify all about Jesus and they’ll remember and they’ll write it down, each as he saw and heard and experienced it. Each story will be a disciple’s story, told from his own viewpoint, focusing on what caught his eye, his ear, and his heart. Inspired by the Holy Spirit who came to “testify all about” Jesus.

And now, you and I are here to testify about him! Our telling of the Good News is a disciple’s story, told from our own viewpoint, focusing on what Jesus has said to us, done for us, and worked in us. And it’s all drawn out of us by the same Holy Spirit who has come to us from the Father. We have a Jesus story to tell to our world, friends, and our story is a story only we can tell!

Prayer:

Father, May your Holy Spirit testify to us and testify through us of Jesus. Amen!