I want to start today by asking a question. The question is, where is Jesus? Where is Jesus?
! A child once spoke to his parents after a church service and said, Mummy and Daddy, is this my church?
Mummy and Daddy said, yes, of course it is, you come here every week.
The child then said, Mummy and Daddy, is this your church?
A bit perplexed, they said, of course you know this is our church, we come here every week.
The child thought for a little bit and then said, Mummy and Daddy, is this Jesus' church?
Yes, of course it is, they said. The child said, well why does he never come then?
Where is Jesus?
The one thing that seems obvious, wherever he is, he is not here.
We have never seen Jesus, have we? We have never heard him speak.
We know that reality with which Jesus tells the disciples in these chapters that we have been looking at in John,
that Jesus in one very important sense is not here.
He has been explaining to his disciples that there is coming a time when he will depart from them and from the world and they won't be able to follow him.
Jesus is going on, isn't he, after his death and resurrection and ascension.
And today that is obvious.
We haven't heard Jesus' footsteps in our homes, in our workplaces, in our churches.
We've never seen Jesus out at the shops, have we?
We've never shaken his hands or kissed his feet or given him a hug.
The Bible tells us that Jesus, the man, is in heaven,
sat at the right hand of God the Father,
as ascended king, reigning over all things.
And our senses tell us that that Jesus is not here.
Or is he?
He is going on to heaven.
But in this section of John, he wants his disciples to know
that whilst he is going to be physically absent,
he is going to be personally present amongst his people.
He explains he is going on,
but his presence and his work and his fellowship with them
is ongoing with and through his disciples.
Where is Jesus?
Yes.
Physically absent, but personally present.
Very present.
Now this is quite a dense part of the Bible,
so we're not going to be able to look at it in every detail,
but I just want to pick out a few key verses for you
to get the gist of what Jesus is saying in this passage.
Three things really.
He tells his disciples,
I am going on from this world to heaven,
but firstly, my work in the world will be ongoing.
My work in the world will be ongoing.
If you look at verse 12,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do,
and greater works than these will he also do,
because I am going to the Father.
Now, so do you see the first thing there?
That even though Jesus is going away,
he's physically absent,
his work, the things that he's been doing,
will continue to be done
through the work of his disciples.
That those who believe in him
will do the works that he does.
Jesus will be present in the world
as his works are continued to be done.
His physical absence in the world
does not mean that he will cease from activity in the world.
It doesn't mean that Jesus will no longer have anything to do
with the world that he was in physically,
or that he'll have no interest in the world that he was once in,
or that because of his work being done
in his death and resurrection and ascension,
he will sort of be redundant,
twiddling his thumbs with nothing to do.
And we know that Jesus is going to continue working
through his disciples,
but because, did you see how this work will be done?
It will be done through prayer.
Verse 13,
Whatever you ask in my name,
this I will do.
Jesus still says, doesn't he,
I will do the work.
These works that the disciples are going to be doing
will be done as they pray to Jesus.
And Jesus still takes responsibility.
The works are still his.
Did you see again in verse 14?
If you ask me,
I will do it.
And we see that happening in the early church,
in the book of Acts, don't we?
You might remember that Luke begins the book of Acts,
and he says,
In my first book,
I've dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
until the day he was taken up
and gave commands to the apostles.
That was in Luke's gospel, wasn't it?
And so the implication is,
at the beginning of Acts,
this is a book about all that Jesus is going to do next,
through his apostles.
So after he has gone physically from the world,
Jesus himself will continue to minister,
he will continue to preach,
he will continue to bring salvation into people's lives,
through his disciples.
And Jesus will give them all they need to continue this work.
So whenever someone hears a sermon,
faithfully preaching God's word in a church,
they hear not just a preacher,
but Jesus speaking.
Whenever the good news is proclaimed by his people,
it is Jesus.
Whenever prayers are answered,
it is Jesus.
His work is ongoing.
But there's a big question in this passage,
and it's about what Jesus says in verse 12.
He says that work will continue,
but he says that there will be a change in the work,
doesn't he?
Verse 12.
The question is,
what does Jesus mean when he says,
greater works than these will he do,
because I am going to the Father?
The work that will continue in the world,
that Jesus will do through his disciples,
will be greater than the work that he's done
while he was on earth.
How can that be?
Well, one way of answering that
is to think that Jesus here is talking about
the quality of the work.
Often people explain it by saying that
he's talking here about the quality
and the sort of impact of miraculous signs
that he did.
And that his disciples are going to perform
even greater miracles than Jesus did.
That the quality of the work will be greater.
But I don't think reading Acts
and reading the rest of the New Testament,
it can mean that.
Because Jesus has done amazing things,
hasn't he?
He has raised people from the dead.
He's healed people.
He's cast out demons.
It is very, very difficult to imagine
something greater than that, isn't it?
And we don't see the apostles and the disciples
in Acts doing greater things than those things.
Well, there's another way of explaining it.
Perhaps he means greater in the sense of
not quality, but quantity.
That as the worldwide church
kind of explodes all over the nations,
Jesus' work won't be restricted to just one place
like it was in Galilee or in Jerusalem.
As the worldwide church serves him,
his work will explode onto the world stage.
And in that sense it will be greater.
It could mean that.
I think there is a sense that that is true.
But again, as with a lot of questions like this,
the clue to the answer is, I think,
in a careful reading of the text itself.
Look at what Jesus says in verse 12.
Look closely.
Greater works than these will he do.
And here's the reason why.
Because I am going to the Father.
And that is a really key thing.
Jesus is saying there, simply,
that the greatness, or the greatness,
of these works that his disciples are going to do,
has something to do with his ascension to the Father.
And in John, we've seen that Jesus going to the Father
is another way of him talking about ascending to heaven
and sitting in fulfilled victory over his enemies
and being crowned as king over all things.
He is going to the Father.
It's like his coronation ceremony, isn't it?
As king.
And so his disciples will do his works,
but they will do them in a way that Jesus himself has not,
as they participate in a new age of his kingdom.
They will do the works that Jesus has done,
but in the light of Jesus' finished work.
Until then, all that Jesus has done in his ministry,
in a sense, has been incomplete.
And it's been provisional.
But after his death and resurrection,
there is a completeness.
There's a new situation
where these works are being done,
where these works have a different context.
Now, I was trying to think of a picture to illustrate this.
It would be, I think, a bit like doing work for the queen.
Imagine you're a chef,
or you're a butler,
or you're a porter in Buckingham Palace.
Now, I've never been any of those things,
but I'd imagine there's a difference
in being the chef
before the queen is crowned
compared with after she's crowned.
There's a difference in the prestige of the work
before she's on the throne
compared to when she is on the throne afterwards.
The first meal that the chef cooks in the palace
after the queen sits on her throne,
that meal, in a sense, will be greater.
Not because it's better ingredients,
but because it is done with the knowledge
that the one he cooks for now
is his crowned sovereign.
And the kitchen,
that was once like any other catering kitchen,
now is in the place that houses
his sovereign, his queen.
All that stuff that he uses,
the ovens and the equipment,
they're kind of normal ovens, aren't they?
But when she is on the throne,
they become royal ovens
and royal whisks
and royal pots and pans.
It is a royal kitchen.
He now cooks on royal turf
in a way that before her coronation,
he didn't.
So it's not a change in the works
themselves so much,
but the prestige and the privilege
and the greatness that they're invested with.
that Jesus' disciples will continue his works
after his coronation.
And the world in which they do those works
is now his footstool.
The work will be done on royal turf
in a way that it wasn't before.
They will be the works that Jesus has been doing
to bring glory to the Father
in his teaching and his preaching
and so on,
but done with this backdrop
of his coronation,
of this new era of his rule
in the world.
And that is why Jesus can say to them
quite confidently,
in the work,
whatever you ask of me,
I will do it.
Imagine the chef phones the queen
and says,
Mum,
can I order more tea bags?
Or can I order more beef?
Or more cheese?
And she says,
yes,
because I'm the queen.
You will have whatever you need
to do the work.
Whatever you ask,
I will do it.
And we will supply it.
If it's for the work of the palace,
if it is for the work
to glorify the sovereign,
then you'll get it.
No expense per it.
So in his physical absence,
his personal work
will be ongoing
and it will be done
in a greater way
since he is now Lord of all
and sits on the throne of all.
And he can afford anything
for the work to be done.
So his work will be ongoing.
Secondly though,
Jesus' ongoing presence
amongst his people.
Jesus' ongoing presence.
It's not just that Jesus
will carry on working in the world.
He could do that
via remote control,
couldn't he?
Kind of fiddling around
from a distance.
We've got one of these robots
in our church
who sort of hoovers up
after you've left the room.
I'm not sure how good it is,
but it's supposed to do the job.
But that is not how Jesus works.
He's not just leaving
his disciples to it.
He's not working through them
through a remote control
where he's at a distance
and he's hitting buttons
on a controller.
He may be going physically,
but his work
and his presence with them
will be ongoing.
Now look at verse 16.
I will ask the Father
and he will give you
another helper
to be with you forever,
even the spirit of truth.
And then verse 18.
I will not leave you
as orphans.
I will come to you.
Thinking about the word helper,
he's going to give you
and he will give you a helper.
It's a Greek word.
The Greek word is
parakletos.
And it comes from
two words
stuck together.
Para,
meaning alongside,
and kleto,
which means to call.
Something like that.
So Jesus is going to send
another parakletos,
one to be beside them,
to call with them.
And this is about
Jesus' ongoing presence with them.
We might get into
what this word parakletos
means more in chapter 15.
But I want you to see for now
something else important.
It's not the word parakletos,
really.
But it's the word in verse 16
that he puts with it
another helper
or another parakletos.
Now he's talking there
about the Holy Spirit.
He calls him the spirit of truth.
But Jesus first calls him
another parakletos,
another helper.
He's saying, isn't he,
that this helper
that he's going to send
will be one
like they've already had.
He will be another helper
to replace the one
that they've already got.
And so in a sense,
this parakletos,
this helper,
will come
and bring
Jesus to them.
Jesus is the one
they've already got,
isn't it?
And so whilst
he's absent physically,
this helper,
the Spirit of God,
will present
Jesus to them.
And Jesus will be present
through his Holy Spirit.
The New Testament
teaches us
that the relationship
Jesus has
with his Spirit
is so close
and it's so tight
that the Holy Spirit
bears the imprint
of Jesus himself.
And so as Jesus
sends the Holy Spirit,
Jesus himself
is present.
The ongoing work,
the ongoing presence
of Jesus
through his Spirit.
And so thirdly
and lastly,
Jesus' ongoing
fellowship
with his people.
Jesus' ongoing
fellowship
with people.
And you may have noticed
that the passage
is full of
descriptions
of intimate,
close fellowship
with Jesus,
isn't it?
Between Jesus
and his people
and between Jesus
and his Father,
all united
in the Spirit.
And look at the end
of verse 23,
just near the bottom.
Anyone who loves me,
my Father will love him
and we will come to him
and make our home
with him.
Or verse 20,
in that day
you will know
that I am in the Father
and you in me
and I in you.
There's a lot of language
there of fellowship
and dwelling
and togetherness,
isn't there?
And notice the word
in.
I am in the Father
and you in me
and I in you.
Jesus is not just present
but he is present
in a deeper
and fuller way
through his Spirit.
Even though he is
absent physically,
Jesus is in his people.
Not just near to them
or beside them
or next to them.
Not even just present
but dwelling in them.
He won't just move
next door
but he will move
into the very heart
of the home
of your life
and of your heart.
He will be in you.
Now as we close,
it is important to see
that this ongoing
relationship
and this ongoing
presence
and privilege work
will not be
for everyone.
Not everyone
will get to
enjoy the privilege
of working
on royal turf
or of knowing
Jesus' presence
or of having
fellowship
with and in him.
That is what
Judas asks,
isn't it?
In verse 22.
Lord,
how is it that
we'll get these things
but not the rest
of the world?
In other words,
why isn't everyone
going to get this
ongoing relationship
with you,
Jesus?
And the answer
Jesus gives
is the same
for us now
as it was
all through
John's day
and when Jesus
was in his
earthly ministry
that there is
only one if.
There's only one
condition
to Jesus'
ongoing presence
in our lives.
Look at what he
says in verse 23.
If anyone
loves me,
he will keep
my word
and we will
make our home
with him.
And this idea
is repeated
a few times,
isn't it?
The one condition
is,
verse 21,
whoever has
my commandments
and keeps them.
Or verse 15,
if you love
me,
you will keep
my commandments
and you will
know this
ongoing work
and presence
and fellowship
of Jesus.
Now,
Jesus is not
saying there
that my
ongoing presence
in your life
depends on
your law
keeping
or your
moral behaviour
or your
performance.
As we've
gone through
John's gospel,
that has
never been
how people
have met
with Jesus,
is it?
And have
had fellowship
with him.
That is not
what he means
by commands
here.
If you think
actually about
the commands
that Jesus
has given
all through
John's gospel,
think about
some of the
words that he
has given,
some of the
commands that
he's spoken.
Follow me.
Feed from me.
Ask from me.
Believe in
God.
Believe also
in me.
Abide in
me.
His commands
aren't so much
a list of
precepts that
we kind of
have to tick
the boxes on,
are they?
But words
commanding our
trust and
our faith
and our love.
And so not
only in his
presence then,
his work and
his fellowship
are ongoing,
but also his
challenge is
to today.
Because this
one condition
is the same
now in his
physical absence
as it always
was in his
physical presence.
The one
condition,
if you like,
of him being
present in
your church
and in your
home and in
your life,
at the very
heart of your
life,
whatever your
life looks
like,
the one
condition is
that you
have to
want him
there,
is that you
have to
love him.
Even if that
love is weak
and it's
poor,
the one
condition of
him being
present is
not that he
comes to us
physically in
a ceremony
at church or
in an
experience,
because there
is another
helper to
bring Jesus
to us in
his spirit.
No, the
one condition
of us having
him is that
we love him
and we
trust him.
And Jesus
says,
doesn't he,
anyone who
loves me
and trusts
me and
keeps my
word,
my father
will love
him and
we will
come to
him and
we will
make our
home with
him.
So let me
ask that
question again.
Where is
Jesus today?
Where is
he?
Well, in
some ways,
I guess that
is up to
you, isn't
it?
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.
Let's