Wednesday 12 May 2010

Background

There was a limit to what Jesus could communicate to hisdisciples in the course of his short earthly ministry. Sometimesthey were unable to understand what he had told them (eg Mark9:32). There were also occasions when they were too overwhelmedby what Jesus had already said to take in any more (verse12).

Jesus assures his disciples that the Holy Spirit will continue therevelation which he has begun. Now they have an incompleteunderstanding of the truth, but the Holy Spirit will guide theminto "all the truth". Just as Jesus has declared what he has heardfrom the Father (John 8:26) so the Spirit "will not speak on hisown, but will speak whatever he hears".

The Spirit will also have a prophetic role, declaring "the thingsthat are to come". This vision of the future will help to inspirethe disciples as they struggle with the persecution which is tocome their way.

Another role of the Spirit will be to "glorify" Christ. The wordglorify is used frequently in John's Gospel and usually refers tothe suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross (eg 11:4, 12:16, 12:23,13:31). The Holy Spirit will come after Jesushas been glorified (John 7:39) but the glorification of Jesus willcontinue as the Spirit reveals and declares this glory toothers.

The trinitarian nature of God is clearly attested to in thispassage. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are revealed asthree persons in one - sharing a common message and purpose andauthority which are passed on from one to another and declared tothe world.

The repeated use of the word 'all' in affirming that "the Spiritwill guide you into all the truth" and that "all that the Fatherhas is mine" is a reminder that there is a completeness in theTrinity. The disciples have not yet fully experienced this but itwill continue to be revealed to them.

To Ponder

When have you heard words which were hard for youto bear?

What is your vision of the future? How does ithelp you in the present?

What do you think is meant by "all thetruth"?