John 16:32-33 * March 17, 2010 * Midweek Lent 5 * Prof. E. Allen Sorum

“Peace With God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ten gallon hat, no cattle. Do you get the meaning? It’s a Texan proverb that describes a cowboy who talks the talk but can’t walk the walk. He wears spurs but is afraid of ponies. Pretense without performance. A fake.

Tonight, brothers and sisters, Jesus will make outrageous claims, extreme statements with profound implications. Can he deliver? And if Jesus does deliver, if Jesus is all about what he says he is about, if he gets the job done, if we can count on him, what does this mean for us? Our text is John 16:32-33.

³²"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. ³³"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

These are the closing verses of Jesus’ final words of encouragement which he gave to his disciples on Maundy Thursday night. Luther called this sermon in chapters 14, 15, and 16 of John’s Gospel, “the best and most comforting sermon Jesus ever preached on earth.” Here is a jewel, Luther said, “so precious that not all the wealth in the world could purchase it.” Why is this sermon so powerfully important? One reason certainly is that in this sermon, Jesus is speaking to the most fundamental fears of his disciples and the most fundamental fears of all of his human brothers and sisters.

Jesus says to his disciples just before he goes into dark Gethsemane to wrestle with Satan and to pray to his Father, just before the armed guards arrive, just before his trials before false priests and weak governors, just before the beating and humiliation and the nailing of hands and feet to a cross, just before all this Jesus says to his disciples, “You will scatter and feel alone…for a time, but you will not be alone. “

As a man, Jesus knew the dread we feel about being alone. Jesus himself was comforted by the fact that he would not be alone when he was in the garden. His Father was there to support Jesus as Jesus struggled to shoulder his Father’s will and Satan’s temptations. But there came a time when Jesus had to be alone. Do you remember when Jesus had to be alone? “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani.” “My God, why have you forsaken me.” Yes, Jesus was alone in hell suffering punishment for our sins. Those were some very dark hours, but not for us. Jesus endured the darkness and lonely terror of our hell so that our sins might be expunged from our record. So that the blood of the innocent Son might cover our sins. So that we would never be left alone in the darkness of our hell.

In this sermon, Jesus says, “I am going away but only to be with you in a new way. I am going away after I rise from my grave but I go to the Father’s right hand to rule the universe for you, to watch over you, to be with you until you can come here and be with me. And do not worry. Until you come to be with me, I will leave my Holy Spirit with you to guide you and to comfort you. I am leaving you, but you will never be alone.” Who is Jesus talking to right now? “You don’t see me now, but you will never be alone. I have left my Holy Spirit with you to guide and comfort you now. You will never be alone.”

Jesus says to his disciples just before he goes into dark Gethsemane to wrestle with Satan and to pray to his Father, just before the guards show up with clubs and spears, and his trials and torment begins, just before all this Jesus says to his disciples, “You will have trouble in this world. But I have overcome the world.” Do you know what is so powerfully important about this outrageous claim of Jesus? What is so very comforting about this extreme statement, “I have overcome the world.” Just this: Jesus said to his disciples…and he says to us tonight, “You will not be defeated, because I have overcome.” “You won’t lose, you cannot lose, because I have already won.”

Well, won what, Jesus? That battle against Satan and his darkness, the war against death and defeat, the ultimate campaign against the awful grave. Jesus destroyed them all. He won. He overcame. He accomplished his mission. He suffered, and died, and rose again. He won. We win. And what is the result? What is this sermon all about. What is the result of the fact that we will never be left alone and that we will never suffer defeat. But that we shall reign forever? What is the result when we hear Jesus say, “Fear not little flock because I am with you?” The result? We have peace. We have rest for our souls. We can be calm in the storms and troubles of life. Jesus says, “I have come, I have won, I have conquered, I got my job done, I did everything I said I was going to do, I delivered, so you can have peace.”

There comes a moment when we each grasp fully the peace that Jesus won for us on the cross. My dad’s moment came shortly after his diagnosis that left him with only a short time. In one of my conversations with him he shared with me that he was—let’s say—unsettled about the days ahead. This moment of transparency gave me the opportunity to say, “You got this, Dad. The victory is won. Your victory is secure. You won’t go through this alone. Your Lord will meet you with your victor’s crown.” So then my dad asked, would it be wrong if we asked for this to come …sooner rather than later?”

Only one of God’s children who has the peace of Jesus can say, “Lord, take me home.” And you have to have the peace of Jesus to pray, “Jesus, let me stay.” But coming or leaving, we have peace, because for Jesus, it wasn’t a ten gallon hat and no cattle. For Jesus, it was perfect implementation. A job well done. A total success. He did what he said he was going to do. He overcame the world, Satan, death, defeat. And so, you have peace.