John 15:26,27 * May 27, 2007 * Pentecost * Pastor Pagels
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
What was the best sermon you ever heard? Maybe you have never been asked a question like that before. Maybe you are thinking to yourself that every sermon that clearly proclaims sin and grace qualifies as the best sermon you have ever heard. I wouldn’t argue with that point of view, but I still want you to consider the question. In your experience is there one sermon that has risen above all the others, and if so, what made it so memorable?
Was it a perfectly timed preaching of the law that hit you right between the eyes? Was it a much needed message of comfort after the death of a loved one? Was it an illustration that deepened your understanding of a difficult Bible truth? Or was it one of those “regular” Sunday morning sermons that was addressed to a church filled with people, but you felt like God was speaking directly to you?
What makes a sermon good (or maybe even great) is somewhat subjective, but there are some general guidelines that preachers try to follow. A good sermon will capture the attention of the listener with a thought provoking introduction. A good sermon will explain and illustrate and apply the text. And of course, every good sermon will let the love of Jesus shine through.
You have all heard some good sermons (as I’m sure you have heard some not-so-good sermons), but I am confident that no one present this morning has ever been on the listening end of a perfect sermon. There are no perfect sermons because there are no perfect preachers…except one.
His church was a rented upper room. His pulpit doubled as a dinner table. And his congregation barely made it into the
double digits. On Maundy Thursday Jesus
addressed his disciples as they sat down to eat the Passover meal. The purpose of this festival was to remember
Jesus’ words are part of a much longer discourse (the setting for John 13-17 is the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday), but they have no trouble standing on their own. Even without a stirring introduction, apart from any vivid illustrations, in spite of the fact that it can be read in fifteen seconds or less, the sermon text for today qualifies as…
THE PERFECT PENTECOST SERMON
I. It contains a beautiful
promise
II. It contains two bold
predictions
It’s hard to imagine how the disciples were feeling on Maundy Thursday. Jesus had predicted that one of them would betray him. Jesus had predicted that all of them would desert him. Jesus had abruptly announced that in a short time he would be leaving them. And in the verses that come right before our text Jesus declared that the world hated the disciples because of their allegiance to him.
The disciples were scared. The disciples were confused. The disciples needed to know that Jesus had no intention of abandoning them. And the Lord gave them the assurance they needed in the form of a beautiful promise: “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father” (26).
The Lord promised to send his disciples the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t refer to him by that name. Instead Jesus used two descriptive terms that help us understand exactly what it is that the Holy Spirit does.
A literal translation of the first title is “Paraclete,” a Greek word that is hard to bring over into English. The eight Bible versions I consulted suggested four different translations for the word: Counselor (the choice of the NIV), Advocate, Comforter and Helper.
Which of these words best captures the essence of the
Spirit’s work? In a way they all
do. The Holy Spirit is our
Counselor. He is our advocate before the
Father. For example, when we don’t know
what pray for “the Spirit intercedes for
us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).
The Holy Spirit is our Helper. Jesus told his disciples: “When you are brought before synagogues,
rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or
what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will
teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11,12).
The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, our Counselor, our Advocate, our Helper and “the Spirit of truth.” He is the source of all truth. He is the conveyer of truth. The Bible was written by approximately forty different men over a span of fifteen hundred years, but there was only one divine author (II Peter 1:21).
As if giving us the truth wasn’t enough, as if preserving the truth for us wasn’t enough, the Spirit also gives us the faith to believe it. We believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe through the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Bible is true…through the Spirit of truth. We believe that Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6)…through the Spirit of truth. We believe that a few words spoken together with a few drops of water have the power to wash away sins…through the Spirit of truth.
Jesus didn’t make big promises to his disciples just to make them feel better. He believed what he said. He knew that his promise would come true. He knew when that promise would come true. He knew how that promise would come true. And with the benefit of hindsight, with the ability to read Acts 2 for ourselves, so do we.
But the disciples didn’t know what we know. The eleven men who were the first to hear the perfect Pentecost sermon had to wait more than fifty days before Jesus’ promise became reality. And so for them, from their perspective, the Savior’s beautiful promise was accompanied by a bold prediction.
Jesus said: “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” (26). Serving as a witness or offering testimony about something is a theme that runs throughout John’s gospel. The concept can be found forty seven times in the book (that’s an average of more than twice per chapter).
And the list of those who offered their testimony is quite varied. John the Baptist testified about Jesus: “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me” (1:15). John the disciple believed that his gospel was an enduring testimony to the words and works of Jesus (21:24). Jesus himself declared that his Father (5:37) and the miracles he did in his Father’s name (10:25) gave a clear testimony about who he was and what he had come to do.
Even with all of that testimony, even with all those witnesses lined up behind him, Jesus was eager to give his disciples one more. He prophesied: “When the Holy Spirit comes, he will testify about me.” And on the day of Pentecost, on the day we celebrate today, that bold prediction came true.
How did the Holy Spirit testify about Jesus? We could point to the sound of the rushing wind that filled the house where the disciples were. We could identify the tongues of fire that came to rest on the disciples’ heads as evidence of the Spirit’s presence. The Holy Spirit made his presence known when he enabled the disciples to speak in different languages (Acts 2:4).
All of those signs were impressive. All of those signs were miraculous. But the wind and the fire and the foreign tongues anticipated an even greater miracle. Peter stood up and addressed the crowd, and here is a sampling of his inspired testimony:
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:32).
“Therefore let all
“Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Peter’s Pentecost sermon was a fulfillment of Jesus’ bold prediction. The Holy Spirit used Peter’s words to testify about Jesus. The Spirit worked through Peter’s preaching to bring thousands of people to faith in Jesus. But that wasn’t the only prediction that came true that day.
On Maundy Thursday Jesus announced that the Holy Spirit would testify about him, but he didn’t stop there. Jesus went on to tell his disciples: “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (27).
“You must testify.” I wonder if Peter remembered those words every time he stood up to preach. “You must testify.” I wonder if those words echoed in the ears of the disciples when the Jewish leaders ordered them to stop speaking about Jesus. “You must testify.” Those inspired words inspired the apostles to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.
And now Jesus comes to us. Jesus comes to us with the same command. Today Jesus looks you straight in the eye and says: “You must testify.” But I don’t know what to say. I don’t have the gifts. I don’t have the guts. And again Jesus says: “You must testify.” But I don’t want to put my friendship at risk. I don’t want to put myself on the line. And I certainly don’t want to say anything that will make me look like a fool.
“You must testify.” Those three little words have a way of making comfortable Christians feel uncomfortable, and they should. Those words bring back painful memories of missed opportunities. Those words shatter the illusion that we are “good Christians.” Those words expose our selfishness and laziness and apathy.
We haven’t obeyed that command. We have failed to testify. We have refused to testify. That’s the problem. That’s easy to identify. The more difficult question is: What do we do now? Do we hope that God didn’t notice? Should we pray that he will look the other way? Should we brace ourselves for the punishment we deserve?
The answer is actually quite simple. God’s solution to our sin can be found in the
very testimony Jesus asks us to give: “The Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He saved us, not because of righteous things
we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:5).
Before you can testify about Jesus to others, you need to apply the testimony of Jesus to yourself. The Son of Man came to earth to serve you. The Son of God gave up his life to save you. Because of Jesus your sins are forgiven. Because of God’s mercy you will live forever.
That is a message God’s people need to hear. That is a message God’s people need to share. With the Spirit’s guiding, that is a message we will want to share. With the Spirit’s help, that is a message we will share. And so if you are looking for a way to do that, if you are eager to initiate a spiritual conversation with someone, here is an idea.
When you see your unchurched neighbor later this afternoon, or when you talk with your co-worker on Tuesday morning, or the next time you run into your friend who hasn’t been in church for quite a while and you start talking about what you did over the Memorial Day weekend, you could say something like this: “You might not believe this, but if you give me a chance I will explain. I went to church on Sunday, and I heard a perfect sermon…” Amen.