Isaiah 20:3-4 Psalm 22:1-2; 23-24; 27-31 John 16:25-33
Peace in Him
One of the problems with the speed of technical advance in our modern era is that old proverbial statements become obsolete. One such statement is that someone who keeps repeating themselves sounds like a "stuck record" (which, for the uninitiated, refers to a vinyl record needle stuck in one groove, causing the same sound to repeat endlessly). In digital terms, I believe a similar idea would be "glitching" or "looping", terms that capture the idea of something stuck in a repetitive, unintended loop—just as a stuck record once did, but now in the context of digital media like video games, software, or streaming.
Now, the phrase “you sound like a stuck record” or “you are like a stuck record” was often used for those who appear to be stuck on one train of thought without the ability to move on. Some folks will continue to be stuck in or to hold to a position even when proved wrong, just because that was what they were taught or that was the way it had always been done before.
For instance, how many folks still believe that if you go outside with wet hair, you will catch a cold? I was always told that shaving makes your hair grow back thicker. Fat lot of good that did me. Or how about the belief that cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis? Or that you should starve a fever and feed a cold? Or that eating carrots will improve your eyesight? Or you’ll get warts from touching a toad? Or here’s one for you mum’s present: Sugar makes kids hyperactive. Multiple studies have shown that sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children, but we still believe that don’t we?
But why do we hold on to our outdated ideas when we are presented either with truth or more evidence or a more viable explanation? Well, there are several psychological and emotional reasons: One is what we call cognitive dissonance: When new information conflicts with our existing beliefs, it creates discomfort. To resolve this, we often reject or rationalize the new information rather than adjusting our beliefs. Holding on to familiar ideas helps avoid the mental tension caused by conflicting viewpoints.
Another reason is confirmation bias: We tend to seek out and favour information that confirms what we already believe, while disregarding evidence that contradicts it. This bias makes it easier to maintain outdated ideas, even in the face of more accurate explanations.
Then of course there is our own identity and ego: Our beliefs are often tied to our identity, culture, or community. Letting go of them can feel like a personal loss or a threat to our sense of self. We may resist new ideas because accepting them might challenge our core identity or make us feel inadequate for having believed otherwise.
Another more common reason is fear of change: Change can be unsettling. Old ideas provide comfort and familiarity, while new ideas can seem risky or uncertain. People might resist the truth because it requires them to step into the unknown or change their behaviours.
Another common one is social or peer pressure: We are influenced by the beliefs and norms of the groups we belong to. Changing or adapting our views could result in social rejection or tension, especially if those around us continue to hold on to concepts or ideas we no longer hold to be true or self-evident.
And then finally, for some it may be a question of emotional attachment: Some ideas carry deep emotional significance. Certain religious, political, or cultural beliefs may be tied to personal experiences, making it harder to let go of them, even when presented with contradictory evidence.
Now, in the case of the disciples, it may be a combination of any number of these reasons. From the age of three when they first started to attend Hebrew school, they were taught certain things about what to expect regarding the coming Messiah. In the synagogue and at home they were more than likely told by local and itinerant Rabbis as well as their parents that the Messiah would be a conquering political King like David who would defeat their oppressors and restore the kingdom to Israel.
While it is important to note that these expectations were not by any means uniform because different Jewish sects had varying opinions, I do think it safe to say that all the first century beliefs regarding the Messiah reveal a radically different view from who Jesus was and what he came to do. That is why many in the crowds…even people that at one point wanted to crown him king…that is why they turned away. He just did not fit the mould they had cast for their messiah.
So, one can appreciate why the disciples had such a hard time understanding his idiomatic comments about “leaving” and them not “seeing” him…and then his “returning” and them “seeing” him once more. They had been told the Messiah would remain forever (John 12:34), so what was this about him going somewhere? For this reason, Jesus’ statement in verse 25 must have come as a relief. Here he basically told them that a time would come when his present obscure symbolic and metaphoric speech would become more straightforward.
Now to be fair, unlike the crowds, there were several things the disciples did understand. There is a difference between struggling to understand on the one hand and not understanding at all on the other. For example, the disciples had grasped the truth concerning the person of Jesus. When others walked away because they failed to understand, the disciples stayed despite their struggle to understand because they had come to know that he had the words of eternal life…that he was the Holy One of God (John 6:68). But they still struggled to understand because Jesus’ present perplexing predictions did not match their previously pre-packaged presuppositions. This is why Jesus said here: I know you are struggling to understand now, but you will get it in the future. So, hang in there.
The second thing to note is that we are finite and limited and therefore some things about God and his ways will remain in the realm of mystery. However, this does not mean we must roll over and play dead. God has graciously granted us inquisitive and inquiring intellects and so we ought to continue to dig deeper in God’s Word using all the tools available to us. Recent discoveries and advances in cultural anthropological studies, philology, archaeology, papyrology, and epigraphy open the ancient world to us in ways formerly not possible. Many previously perplexing passages become clearer when we understand the meaning of words and practices specific to that particular era or area.
True, God’s Word is and always will be our only true guiding light, but a lack of historical contextualisation – where content and context and culture are engaged together in an attempt to fully comprehend the meaning and application of the text – a lack of historical contextualisation can lead us to embrace practices that were either culturally and historically specific or it can lead us to enforce practices that are actually contrary to the original intention. Jesus’ teaching was often an attempt to dismantle entrenched misunderstandings. Remember the sermon on the Mount? You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour (biblical) and hate your enemy (not biblical and yet taught by the Rabbis)’. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Down through the centuries, people have used the Bible to justify their bad behaviour…just think about the theological justification for apartheid. So, we need to humbly seek to understand and humbly seek to change should we ourselves be weighed in the balance of truth and be found wanting.
But this should not discourage us. Delving deeper into God’s Word may be challenging not to mention time consuming – always remember that real Bible Study is far more than simply pulling a single text out of a Precious Promises box – but the digging and discovering is so rewarding! There are so many reputable resources available to us in print and on the internet…of course there are many not so reputable resources too, so the rule of thumb should always be to use Scripture as the criterion and the standard. But my point is, we ought to be excited by the hope of gaining a fuller understanding of Scripture through comprehensive study of all helpful material!
And never forget the presence of the Holy Spirit – the one who inspired what was written in the first place. As you study the Scriptures in the light of all the information available to us today, allow him to do what he does best…to lead you in truth, always keeping in mind that he will never contradict what has already been revealed as he does not speak on his own authority.
From the promise of fuller understanding, Jesus moved on in verse 26-27 to tell them about a new freedom and effectiveness in prayer resulting from a new relationship between God and humanity. Jesus’ “leaving” and “returning” would bring about a freedom of access to the real Holy of Holies – the very throne room of God himself. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, those who are in him may now approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence because Jesus has opened the way by removing the wall of separation that was once between us. Therefore, we can approach the Father directly in the Name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, both of whom constantly intercede for us.
Prayer is a great privilege too often misunderstood in the Church. According to our Lord, prayer is the language of love. We can pray to the Father because he loves us…a love that is chiefly demonstrated in that while we still sinners, Jesus died for us. “Greater love has no one than this,” Jesus said, “that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Prayer is an interaction made possible by God’s deliberate initiative to be reconciled with his estranged creation. And so, prayer ought never to be used as some magical method of manipulation. As a language based on God’s kind of love, we ought always to pray for him to do what he wills as his will is always expressed in terms of the love he has for the world.
Through Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross, we are restored in our position before God as well as in our understanding of things spiritual because the death and resurrection of Jesus restores us to our original, pre-Fall dominion status. God created humans to exercise delegated authority over God’s earth. As Jesus is both God and Man – two natures united into the one Person of the incarnate Son, never to be divided – and as his resurrection was a bodily resurrection and his ascension was a bodily ascension, he reigns at the right hand of God the Father as the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is the sinless second Adam, enthroned in paradise just as the pre-Fall Adam had been enthroned in the Garden of Eden.
Therefore, through Jesus the Church exercises the dominion once given to the first humans. As Jesus is the new representative of the renewed humankind, all authority in both heaven and earth has been given to him, so all those who are under his headship have the royal right to bring the nations into subjection to their rightful King. As such, believers are his co-regents over a world that will, someday by the grace of God, be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, just as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).
At this point, the disciples had an “aha!” moment. They seemed to have recognised that Jesus was divine – that he had come from the Father because, ultimately, he and the Father are one. This much they seemed to have grasped and so they enthusiastically assumed that the time Jesus was speaking about in the beginning of his statement had already come. “Now we can see,” they said. It seems that they thought they had made some progress and so they gleefully agree that Jesus’ statements were no longer completely unfathomable.
However, Jesus was quick to point out that even though they thought they had understood everything, they would nonetheless still be thrown into turmoil and confusion in the very near future when the unthinkable happened. In a sense they were deceived into thinking that they were wiser than they were.
So, Jesus reminded them that in their human fallibility they should not endeavour to attempt to understand what was beyond them. As I said before, there are certain things about God and his ways that will remain unknowable. And that’s fine because these inexplicable and incomprehensible things remind us of our total dependence on God. Our faith in his greatness and goodness ought to triumph over our discombobulations. Here Jesus told his disciples that although they thought they had it all figured out, the cross would prove to be too much for them and they would desert, disown, and ditch him completely.
But what Jesus said next has caused many a scholar to spill copious amounts of precious ink. “You,” he said, indicating the disciples, “will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Liberal scholars triumphantly point out that Jesus was obviously mistaken at this point regarding his faith in the Father’s permanent presence with him despite the desertion of all others because, on the cross, he clearly believed that God had, in fact, forsaken him. Jesus believed that the Father would never abandon him – and yet, apparently, on the cross he found out that he was mistaken – his trust was betrayed when he most needed his Father’s presence.
Now, it is here that I believe cultural studies help us unravel this apparent contradiction. Quoting the first line or a portion of Scripture was a typical training technique in which the Rabbi would expect his disciples to recall the teaching of the whole passage.
For this reason, several New Testament scholars now believe that Jesus' cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), references the first verse of Psalm 22 as a way of pointing his disciples to the larger context of the Psalm, which ultimately corrects the initial feeling of desertion. In fact, the Psalmist himself indicated that his perception of abandonment was not accurate as in verse 24 he wrote, “For he (God) has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
In other words, Jesus' use of the Psalm was a teaching moment for those present. As the master teacher that he was, Jesus was drawing attention to the Psalm's real message. Despite its dismal opening line, Psalm 22 actually affirms God's presence and deliverance even in the midst of suffering. In other words, Jesus' citation of Psalm 22:1 was for the benefit of those witnessing his crucifixion who, without a doubt, were thinking that God had abandoned them, encouraging them to recall the message of the whole Psalm and to reflect on its full meaning.
In fact, I believe that everything Jesus said from the cross was didactic…everything he said was instructive, all the way through to his final statement “It is finished” that echoed the word used in the Greek translation of Genesis 2:2. Using the exact same word, “tetelestai”, Jesus linked the completion of God's creation of the world with the completion of his work that ushers in the new creation. He then rested in the tomb on the seventh or the Sabbath Day and rose triumphant on the first day.
Do you see how knowing the cultural habits and the typical training technique used by Rabbis at the time, helps us to counter the assumption of liberal scholars regarding this particular verse? Jesus was not mistaken. His Father did not forsake him, nor did he forsake his disciples even though they must have thought that was the case, nor did he nor will he forsake you.
Now, in verse 33, Jesus revealed his real intention behind this discussion with his disciples. He had told them these things so that in him they might have peace. Many distresses and troubles lay ahead hidden from the present view. So, Jesus told them what was about to happen so that when the storm hit, they might be able to weather it by holding on to his promise that it would only be a little while before they would see him again. Yes, it would feel as if God himself had deserted them, but if they recalled and reflected on these words, they would be encouraged to anticipate a victorious outcome.
Jesus did not hide the fact that while we are in this world, we will struggle. But the world will never be able to overcome us because he has overcome it. That is why we can be at peace “in him”. It is like being in the eye of a hurricane. As long as we remain in that eye, we will not be swept away by the chaos in this fallen broken world. Even when we feel totally overwhelmed by trials and troubles, we can be at peace if our minds are fixed on the one who ensured by his substitutionary sacrifice that every promise of God toward us are yes and amen. (See Isaiah 26:3-4; 2 Corinthians 1:20)
In closing, allow me to tell you what I am told is a true story about a British missionary named Eric Barker. Eric served in Portugal during the Second Great War. As the war intensified, it became too dangerous for his family to remain with him in Europe. Therefore, he made the difficult decision to send his wife and their eight children (along with his sister and her three children) back to England for safety.
According to the story, Eric Barker was preaching on the Sunday after the ship had sailed. During the service he told the congregation that he had just received word that all his family had arrived safely home. He then proceeded with the service as usual. Only later did the meaning of his words become known to the congregation. He had received a telegram informing him that the ship had been torpedoed by a submarine, and all of the passengers had perished at sea. And yet, Eric was at peace, even amidst profound personal loss, because he knew that he and his family were in Jesus.
Life can hurl every conceivable trial against us…it can howl and batter us until we feel we can take it no longer…until we may even be tempted to think that God has abandoned us or that he is ruthlessly punishing us.
But what Jesus wanted his disciples to know then and what he wants you to know today is simply this. In Him you will always have peace.
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024
