“In that day you
will not ask Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the
Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have
asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be
made full.
“These things I
have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no
longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the
Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I
will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because
you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father” (John
16:23 – 27). (See also John 14:13 – 13; 15:7, 16).
Since in
previous Upper Room reflections we pondered initial elements of asking in
prayer, we’ll consider additional facets of the diamond in our current passage,
for here we are transitioning into the Holy of Holies of Chapter 17.
“In that day” of
verse 23 points us to the birthing of verse 21 and the going to the Father of
verse 5. One reason it is vital to meditate on the entire Upper Room passage (chapters
13 – 17) is to retain, and hold in tension, the themes found throughout the
passage. We must not look at verses and paragraphs in isolation.
The Upper Room
begins with, “Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of
this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved
them to the end” (John 13:1). In 16:28 we have an inclusio when Jesus says, “I
came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world
again and gong to the Father.” While we will devote much more thought to this,
I point it out now to draw our attention to the unity of the Upper Room and the
importance of the theme of Jesus coming and going – not just in an immediate sense,
but in a cosmic missional sense.
Compare:
“After a little
while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you
will live also” (14:19).
“A little while,
and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while and you will see Me”
(16:16).
Then compare:
“In that day you
will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (14:20).
“In that day you
will not ask Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the
Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you…for the Father Himself
loves you” (16:23, 27).
The “day” that
Jesus speaks of will soon be upon the disciples, though this new reality will
take a while to dawn on them (isn’t that the way days come about?) On the Day
of His Resurrection Jesus will say, “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I
ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17).
Yet, the disciples will not immediately grasp the import of these words, even
though Jesus spent the entire Upper Room speaking to them about this glorious
New Day! Indeed, Jesus had spent His entire ministry revealing the Father
to His brothers and sisters, and yet they had not come to see this, or had
they? In some measure did they know more than they realized? We will look at
this in future reflections.
In John 16:23 –
27 Jesus speaks of the intimacy that His disciples will have with the Father “in
that day,” a Day which dawns on Easter morning. This is a penumbra to the Holy of
Holies of Chapter 17 in which the fulness of this intimacy comes into view.
Isn’t there a
sense in which Jesus has been teaching and modeling intimacy with the Father
throughout His ministry? Consider that the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
chapters 5 – 7) is Jesus’ first extended recorded teaching. How does the Son of
God teach us to approach His Father?
“Pray to your
Father…your Father knows what you seek before you ask Him…pray, then, in this
way: Our Father who is in heaven…” (see Matthew 6:6 – 9).
From the
beginning of His ministry to its earthly conclusion, Jesus Christ is bringing us
into a relationship with His Father and our Father, with His God and our God.
Paul teaches that
we cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). James reminds us that
our Father is the “Father of lights” (James 1:17). Peter writes that our Father
has chosen us and that we are to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:2 - 3, 14 –
16). John shares that he and his brethren have koinonia with the Father and Son
(1 John 1:3). Jude tells the recipients of his letter that they are “beloved in
God the Father” (Jude 1:1). The author of Hebrews writes that Jesus and His
brethren are all of one Father (Heb. 2:10 – 11).
And yet, so many
of us view God as distant and unapproachable. We pray “Our Father” not with a
sense of love, affection, security, and intimacy, but with a sense of distance.
In light of all that Jesus has taught and done, how can this be?
Well, many of us
have a lot of baggage to overcome when trying to see God as our Father. I can
think of no better healing ointment than the reassuring words of Jesus Christ.
I am convinced we can trust what Jesus says. I am convinced that the Father
loves you and me just as He loves Jesus (John 17:23). I think this is pretty
amazing!
What do you
think?
