My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. --1John 2:1
Have you ever thought about what your last words might be?
If you Google the last words of celebrities, you will find a number of pithy statements, some humorous and some profound, but some not so much.
Whenever a condemned criminal faces execution, the warden will often give him a chance to make a final statement. We've all seen the movies where the condemned prisoner is brought to the gallows or strapped to the electric chair, and the warden or priest will ask, "Any last words?"
At that point, there is no time to wax eloquent. There is little time for an extended soliloquy. Death is imminent.
In the last hours of Jesus, He has a lot to say in a short period of time. John records the works spoken in the last 24 hours of His life in chapters 13 through 17. It's hard for us to fathom these words of Jesus as spoken at one setting. Not only do the chapter divisions get in the way of our thinking of this as a single monologue, but the way that preachers and commentators break down each separate idea to help us digest the passage.
It's true that there is a wealth of information here given in a relatively short period of time. I can imagine John, the youngest disciple, furiously taking notes as if from a professor giving a two-hour lecture. We know it didn't happen that way, however. John's gospel was written decades later, and I'm sure in his research John spoke to many of the disciples who were there, and each contributed a memory.
Let's read a small section of the final instructions of Jesus before His arrest and crucifixion.
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. --John 14:12-21
Prayer
In the first section Jesus speaks of prayer as our connection with the Father. He Himself was often seen by the disciples as getting away alone to pray. After communing with the Father, Jesus was enabled to do the great miracles and works that He was known for throughout the region. Jesus promised the disciples that they, too, would be enabled to perform many great works--even greater than those that Jesus had performed--but only if they remained attuned to the Father's will by prayer.
In the kingdom of nature they should work greater miracles. No miracle is little, but some to our apprehension seem greater than others. Christ had healed with the hem of his garment, but Peter with his shadow (Acts 5:15), Paul by the handkerchief that had touched him (Acts 19:12). Christ wrought miracles for two or three years in one country, but his followers wrought miracles in his name for many ages in diverse countries. You shall do greater works, if there be occasion, for the glory of God. The prayer of faith, if at any time it had been necessary, would have removed mountains. --Matthew Henry Commentary.
The core of Jesus's ministry was to bring people to the Father. His scope was limited during His lifetime here on Earth, because of the constraints of time, travel, and language. However, after Pentecost in Acts 2, people from all nations and tongues were given the Gospel. Therefore the scope of the Christian message was widened to include the whole world, not just the region in and around ancient Israel.
The purpose of Jesus's earthly ministry was to glorify the Father, and in so doing the Father glorified the Son. So when Jesus said, "If you ask anything in My name I will do it," He did not promise to answer every petition that we might make for selfish purpose or personal gain. NT Wright wrote,
The all-important phrase "in My name" doesn't, of course, just mean adding "in the name of Jesus" to anything we might think of, however stupid, selfish, or hurtful. The "name" after all, as in many cultures, is supposed to reveal the character. Praying "in Jesus' name", then, means that, as we get to know who Jesus is, so we find ourselves drawn into His life and love and sense of purpose. We will then begin to see what needs doing, what we should be aiming at within our sphere of possibilities, and what resources we need to do it. When we then ask, it will be "in Jesus' name", and to His glory; and through that, to the glory of the Father Himself (verse 13). But when all this is understood, we shouldn't go soft on that marvelous word anything. He said it, and He means it. --John for Everyone
Paraclete
Jesus then promises to pray for the disciples, even after He is taken up to the Father. The Father will then send the Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. John uses the Greek word paraclete, which can mean Helper. It can also mean Comforter, Intercessor, and Advocate.
God the Son will return to the Father, but God the Father will send the Spirit to console, to guide, and to intercede for them. The New Cambridge Bible Commentary says,
We have noted how Jesus' knowledge, revelations, and words constitute the chief elements of His legacy. So the Advocate serves to ensure access to this legacy now that Jesus has gone away. Tricia Brown argues this cogently: "The Paraclete makes possible continued access to Jesus after Jesus has departed.... In the Discourses Jesus's exclusive ability to provide a way to the Father is strongly reasserted, and the Paraclete is depicted as providing the believers with continual access to Jesus." (Spirit in the Writings of John). At least here, the sole function of the Advocate is to keep Jesus current to the disciples: "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."
This particular Greek word is exclusive to John; it is used by no other Gospel writer. However, the Apostle Paul uses a verb form of the noun paracletos in his letters to the churches. Paul encourages them to parakaleo, to come alongside to comfort or console believers in times of trouble (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Other New Testament writers use this verb to mean to exhort or encourage to live faithfully and to pursue good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). In other parts of the New Testament this verb is used to mean to entreat or plead on behalf of someone reflecting both personal and communal support (Strong's Greek Concordance).
The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, and this is why Jesus could say, "I will not leave you orphans." That is, He will not leave us bereft of a father or bereft of a teacher, guide, or guardian. The Spirit of God fulfills all of these roles.
Partner
Jesus comforts His disciples after telling them that He will not be with them much longer. He then describes Himself as being in the Father, and of the disciples being in Him, and He being in the disciples. This three-fold Godly presence in and around all Christians is not only a confirmation of the concept of the Trinity, with the Spirit indwelling us, us indwelling Christ, and Christ indwelling the Father. It is also a confirmation of the eternal security of the believer. Remember the words that Jesus spoke in John 10:28-30: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
The New Cambridge Bible Commentary introduces this passage in terms of a Broker. If you know anything about business, and honest Broker works on behalf of a Patron or Benefactor on behalf of a Client. In this analogy, Jesus is our go-between, the Broker between God the Father and ourselves. In business, a Broker first seeks to establish a relationship with the Client, but he speaks on behalf of (or in the name of) the Patron or Benefactor.
He, in fact, will broker the Paraclete for them (14:16-17, 26). The Broker, moreover, is solicitous for his clients: He warns them of coming crises, exhorting them not to be disturbed (14:1, 28); he tells them prophecies of future hard times for the express purpose of alerting them how to weather those storms successfully (14:29; see also 13:19); and finally, he gives them otherworldly peace (14:27). Although he leaves them, he declares that he will not leave them orphans (14:28). The clients know that they are truly connected to their patron if they keep his commands (14:15) and feed on his words (14:23). Finally, we glimpse the complete relationship of patron, broker, and clients: "On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" (14:20).
What greater partnership can we hope for? It is predicated upon prayer, and guaranteed by the Spirit of Truth, our Paraclete. While we marvel that we can approach the throne of heaven and address God the Father in the name of God the Son, we can also wonder that the Son prays to the Father for us, and that the Spirit also intercedes for us, with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26).
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