Life on Mission

John 16:4-15

Main Idea: Jesus calls his disciples to continue his mission by spreading his message.

1. The Disciples’ Mission Is Bigger Than Themselves (16:4b-6).
2. The Disciples’ Mission Requires Supernatural Help (16:7-15).
   1. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin (16:8-11).
   2. The Holy Spirit will guide the disciples into truth (16:12-15).

Agood mission statement shapes the priorities of a company and provides a framework for decision making. If an employee understands the big picture—the mission of the organization—it places his small, daily actions in the context of a grander agenda. A clear mission gives purpose to the mundane. As Christians, what is our mission? Our mission revolves around the gospel. We have been chosen by Jesus to bear the fruit of the gospel in our lives and share the message of the gospel with our lips. We are here to continue the mission of Jesus by spreading the message of Jesus.

Though Jesus is leaving, his disciples still have a job to do here on earth. Their job, their mission, is to live together as a new community of faith in such a way that the world will see that the gospel is true and has the power to change lives. They are to serve as witnesses to the gospel. They are to “testify” (15:27) to the unbelieving world about Jesus—who he is and why he came. We must interpret these chapters in light of the mission Jesus gives his disciples. He helps them see that their mission is bigger than themselves (16:4-6) and therefore requires supernatural help (vv. 7-15).

The Disciples’ Mission Is Bigger Than Themselves

John 16:4b-6

What Jesus teaches them on the eve of his crucifixion is something they weren’t ready to hear earlier. He’s waited to tell them “these things” (v. 4) until now. What are “these things”?

First, he has not fully revealed his departure. Throughout the Gospel Jesus speaks of his death, but the disciples don’t understand what he’s saying. It isn’t until after Judas leaves the room that Jesus, carefully and deliberately, helps the disciples understand his coming death, resurrection, and ascension.

Second, he has not fully revealed their mission. Even in this passage we see him unfolding piece by piece his plan for them. They are learning exactly what it will mean to follow him as his disciples after the cross. The cross changes everything. Everything before points to it, and everything after looks back. The cross will become the focal point of the disciples’ mission. They will be sent to the nations as messengers of the cross.

Third, he has not fully revealed the world’s reaction to the message. If you remember, Jesus has just warned them about the world’s hatred (v. 2).

The reason Jesus hadn’t told them all of these things is because he was with them. They didn’t need to worry about persecution or focusing on a mission; they simply needed to listen to Jesus, follow him, and trust him. But now their role is changing. Jesus is no longer going to be with them physically. He’s leaving and entrusting them with the work of calling new disciples.

What would a normal human response be to all that has happened to the disciples this night? Everything they’re counting on seems to be torn out from underneath them. I wonder how the disciples felt when Jesus basically said, “I’m leaving. People are going to hate you, but you need to tell them about me.” No wonder he follows that news with “Ever since I began to explain this to you, your hearts have been full of grief” (v. 6; my paraphrase). Their response may be natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. In fact, Jesus gives them a mild rebuke in verse 5. From the moment they hear Jesus is leaving, their thoughts are consumed with themselves. All they think about is how this affects them. They never once consider what Jesus is thinking or feeling or what his purpose is in all that’s taking place. They don’t give his wishes or desire a second thought. His concerns are obscured by theirs. They’re like the traveler who visits the pyramids in Egypt, turns his camera around to get a picture of himself in front of this wonder of the world, and when he gets home, he realizes all you can see in the picture is his face. He’s completely blocked the focal point. The disciples are so focused on themselves they don’t even ask Jesus where he’s going. The couple of questions they ask him—Peter’s in chapter 13 and Thomas’s in chapter 14—are not so they can understand what he’s doing but to find out how it impacts them.

Why does Jesus rebuke them on an evening when they’re already grieving? The reason is not because their grief over his departure is wrong. The reason is because their grief is insignificant compared to what’s taking place that next day. Jesus is not demeaning their concern for the future. He’s lifting their eyes to look beyond their circumstances to something much greater. What happens on the cross the following day is more important than their health and safety. It’s bigger than them. Jesus teaches his disciples to live for something bigger. The mission he gives them as his witnesses is far bigger than their hopes and dreams. The mission is worth giving up conveniences and comforts—like safety, security, stability—to invest in something eternally profitable. What a tragedy to find that what you invested your time, energy, money, influence, and abilities in is gone long before you are. Jesus calls us to invest everything in something bigger than ourselves—his service.

Their Mission Requires Supernatural Help

John 16:7-15

Jesus is leaving, which is good for them. He will go to the cross and then ascend to heaven. Only then will the Spirit be able to come to them (v. 7). The Spirit will be sent by Jesus to live in the disciples of Jesus as they continue the mission of Jesus to call other disciples to follow Jesus. We need the Spirit for many reasons, but the context of this promise is our mission as disciples. Jesus doesn’t send the Holy Spirit so we can have an invisible butler to bring us cold beverages as we lounge around the pool. He sends the Spirit to empower us to accomplish his mission.

Imagine an ancient king deciding to take a trip to visit one of his cities on the far side of the country. He sends his trusted lieutenant ahead of him to get everything ready for the trip. The day of the trip comes, and his caravan starts out. When he arrives at the city, nothing is prepared for him. No lodging, no food, no meetings, nothing. He calls his lieutenant and asks what happened. His lieutenant says, “I came to help them, and they wouldn’t listen to me. I told them what you wanted, and I offered to assist them. I assured them I had the authority and resources to accomplish it, but they ignored me. The few times they spoke to me, it was to ask me to do something for them. It wasn’t to do what you asked but to do what they wanted.” How would the king respond?

The Holy Spirit wasn’t sent to assure us lives of comfort and ease. The Spirit doesn’t live in us so we can rest comfortably in our easy chairs doing nothing for the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit comes to us, disciples of Jesus, to empower us for a mission that cannot be accomplished apart from his supernatural help. Jesus elaborates on the Holy Spirit’s role in verses 8-15. He highlights two ways the Holy Spirit advances his mission.

The Holy Spirit Will Convict the World of Sin (16:8-11)

Jesus, the light of the world, exposes sin (cf. 3:19-20). With Jesus’s departure, the Holy Spirit will continue to expose sin, but the Spirit will also convict the world of righteousness. How do you convict a person of righteousness? Isn’t righteousness a good thing? Throughout the Gospel of John we find two types of righteousness. One type is the righteousness of man apart from God (self-righteousness), and the other is the righteousness of God. These two types of righteousness regularly came into conflict. For instance, in chapter 9 Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders condemned Jesus and characterized themselves as righteous defenders of God’s law, but in reality they were more concerned with their own public image than with helping those in need. False righteousness—any attempt to earn God’s favor on your own—is always a temptation. When I visited Africa, I was invited to eat at the home of one of the local men. We sat in his backyard and ate a dinner of boiled yams and peanuts. At one point one of his daughters brought out a pitcher of water and began to pour us glasses. He stopped her, took my glass, and poured it out on the ground. She was doing her best to be kind to me, but her best wasn’t good enough. He knew if I drank that water, I’d get sick. Her gift of water was a polluted offering. God calls our best efforts to please him “polluted” (Isa 64:6). They’re unacceptable. They’re tainted by sin and will be poured out as worthless. No one can come to God based on good works.

The Holy Spirit convicts the unbelieving world of sin (v. 9), righteousness (v. 10), and judgment (v. 11). Their judgment about Jesus is wrong. Jesus urged them to “judge according to righteous judgment” (7:24), but they persisted in their unbelief and as a result would face the same condemnation Satan himself faced. The Spirit reveals to the world their sin, self-righteousness, and condemnation in order to call men and women to repentance and faith. The word translated “convict” (v. 8) has the goal of convincing a person to turn from his or her sin. How does the conviction of the Holy Spirit take place? How does he call the unbelieving world to repentance and faith? He speaks through the disciples. The disciples are the agents the Holy Spirit uses to call the world to repentance. Trace the flow of this passage:

• In chapter 15 Jesus calls the disciples to join him in his mission of making more disciples. The chapter ends with the reminder of the Holy Spirit, who will bear witness about Jesus through the disciples.
• This chapter reveals their mission will bring suffering and persecution (16:1-4). Then Jesus reminds them of the importance of their mission, which can only be accomplished by the power of the indwelling Spirit.

So the Spirit convicts the world by empowering the disciples to bear witness about Jesus. The Spirit brings conviction to the world through the message of the disciples. God blesses this unique combination. His Spirit will take the gospel proclaimed by his disciples and bring conviction to the world. The role of the disciple is to faithfully bear witness to Jesus, and the role of the Holy Spirit is to make that witness spiritually effective. John Calvin wrote,

How can someone’s voice penetrate minds, take root there, and eventually produce fruit making hearts of stone into hearts of flesh and renewing the people themselves unless the Spirit of Christ makes the Word alive? (John, 372)

Jesus gives the disciples an impossible task. When they heard, they must have thought, There’s no way we can do that. People won’t listen to us. You said yourself they would throw us out of the synagogues. This is crazy! There’s no way we can make this work. They were right. There was no way they could make this work, but Jesus, through the Spirit’s power, would accomplish everything he promised and commanded. Everything good that has happened in Christianity is the result of the Holy Spirit’s power.

Maybe you don’t realize the Spirit’s power in your life because you aren’t busy doing things only he can accomplish.

• Without the Spirit’s help you can love people who are like you.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can give an hour and a half a week to sit in a service.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can attend a Sunday seminar or community group.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can put money in the offering plate.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can talk about the gospel.

But do you know what you can’t do without the Spirit’s help?

• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t love someone who is antagonistic to you and your family.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t be on call 24–7 for a person in need.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t meet weekly with a brother or sister to bear each other’s burdens.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t give your hard-earned money when little is left.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t plead with your unbelieving friends and neighbors to repent and believe.
• Without the Spirit’s help you can’t move your family around the world for the sake of the gospel.

For you to be faithful to the mission to which Jesus has called you, you need the Spirit’s help.

The Holy Spirit Will Guide the Disciples into Truth (16:12-15)

At this moment the disciples must have questions. Jesus describes a mission that will take an entire lifetime and might require them to give their lives. He unfolds a new community unique in the way it lives together. Their minds must have been buzzing with questions: How will this look? What should we do? How will we make decisions? Jesus doesn’t answer their questions; he gives them a promise. The Holy Spirit will guide them into all the truth they need to know (vv. 12-15). The answers to their questions will come, but they will come through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God will indwell them and instruct them as they continue on their mission.

Jesus makes a promise overflowing with kindness and grace. He says the Spirit will “guide” them (v. 13). The only other time that word is found in John’s writings is in Revelation 7:

For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; he will guide them to springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (v. 17; emphasis added)

The Holy Spirit will guide the disciples to the refreshing springs of truth like a shepherd leading thirsty sheep to a cool, refreshing spring. The Spirit will reiterate and expand the truth taught by Jesus. The Holy Spirit declares the revelation of Jesus Christ to the disciples.

In the following chapter Jesus will talk about those who believe based on the word of the disciples, the Scriptures. This promise of the Holy Spirit’s guidance into truth takes a different form for us than it did for the first disciples. They were reminded of what Jesus had taught them personally. We get the teachings of Jesus through them. The Twelve chosen by Jesus were used to inscripturate—to put in written form—the truth of Jesus. Now we are brought to the truth by the Holy Spirit as we open up the Word of God. The Spirit works through the Word. The Word is his means of conveying the gospel and bringing conviction of sin. We should never look for spiritual truth apart from his Word.

We receive personal guidance from the Spirit as we read the Word he wrote. I wonder if the reason we don’t read the Bible more often is because we don’t want to be guided by the Spirit. Too often we want people to agree with us, to rubber-stamp the decisions we’ve already made. The Holy Spirit is no rubber stamp. He’s a sword-wielding, flame-throwing God. We need to come to him humbly and beg him to tell us what to do. Instead we often open our Bibles and treat the Spirit’s words like a buffet table, taking what we like and passing by the rest. He promises to guide us, but we must listen to everything he says. The truth can be hard to hear. Sometimes we’d rather be ignorant, even lied to, but the longer we listen to lies, the more painful the truth will be. The Spirit guides us into truth as we listen to him speak through his Word.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What is the mission statement of followers of Jesus?
2. Why hasn’t Jesus told the disciples “these things” in verse 4 until now?
3. What questions would you have wanted to ask Jesus if you were with him and his disciples on that night?
4. Why is the mission of God worthy of your sacrifice?
5. Why does Jesus send the Spirit?
6. How will the Holy Spirit convict the world of righteousness?
7. How will the Holy Spirit call them to repentance and faith?
8. What does it reveal about God that he gives his people an impossible task and the means to accomplish it?
9. What are some reasons you might not realize the Spirit’s power in your life?
10. How does the Holy Spirit provide personal guidance to Christians?