Take to Heart Jesus' Parting Words!

6th Sunday of Easter, 5/9/10
John 14:23-29


Take to Heart Jesus’ Parting Words!
I. Obey his word.
II. Receive the Holy Spirit.
III. Live in his peace.


The last thing someone says to you is often the most important thing. For instance, a married couple can enjoy 6 decades of life together and during that time they shared countless words with one another, but it’s the last thing one of them said to the other before they died that the living spouse remembers.

Two friends enjoy an entire day together talking about all sorts of situations and laughing about many of them, but the day ends in a disagreement over something petty and that’s the one thing they remember.

Or how about this one? “Before I walked out the door on my way to work this morning she told me not to forget to do something before I came home. Now I’m on my way home at the end of the day and for the life of me I can’t remember it.” Trust me. That last thing she said to him was important.

Our sermon text for this morning is from John 14. It’s part of a longer discourse that Jesus had with his disciples on the night before his death. While Jesus would still have 40 more days to spend with his disciples after his resurrection, it’s apparent that he used this occasion just before his death to share some last words with them. And just as we would expect, these last things that he tells them are very important. He wants them to hang on every word. He wants them to receive his comfort and his confidence for the future they will face without his visible presence.

And he wants the same for you and me this morning. So listen to your Savior. Take to heart Jesus’ parting words! Let’s see what he has to say and may the Holy Spirit bring us his comfort and confidence as we take his words to heart this morning.

Part I.

Many of you have attended workshops or seminars or conferences that last an entire day and perhaps even stretch over two or three days. During that time you receive an awful lot of information and advice. What’s your response to all of those words? Well, we usually take to heart some of it and leave the rest. As we’re listening to the information we decide immediately what we can make use of and what we’ll disregard. After all, some of the information doesn’t fit our situation. Some of the advice we can’t agree with. So we take what we want and leave the rest.

People tend to do the same with Jesus. And because he’s the all-knowing Son of God, Jesus knew that would be the case. He had seen it happening already during his ministry over the past three years. The people loved to watch him perform miracles and they came by the thousands to hear him preach, but when he told them he was the only way to eternal life, when he refused to entertain their wishes for him, they turned on him. People today tend to do the same. They pick and choose what they want to hear, they follow what he says as long as it doesn’t cramp their lifestyle, they embrace him but only up until the point that they don’t have to make any sacrifices.

Jesus knew that would be the case. So he told his disciples to take these words to heart. “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Jesus asserted the authority of his words. He reminds his disciples that they were the words of his heavenly Father. That doesn’t mean that his own words weren’t important. What it does mean is that the words of Jesus and the words of the Father are the same because they are both God. Since these are the words of God, we need to pay attention and take them to heart.

What also makes these words so important is that they are the way our God has a relationship with us. We don’t have a relationship with the holy God because we’re related by blood or we’re neighbors or we’re business associates or we have the same interests. The only way we have a relationship with Jesus is through the truth of his word. That word calls us to faith in him and keeps us in the faith. I can’t know who Jesus is apart from his word. I can’t have a relationship with him apart from his word. Thus Jesus tells his followers of all time, “Obey my word.”

Take to heart Jesus’ parting words. Obey his word.

Your financial planner tells you take the information home and decide what you want to do with it and then let him know. Your new car comes with a maintenance schedule that’s very specific. You have to decide how much of it you’ll follow.

The words of Jesus are neither a financial plan nor a suggested maintenance schedule. They are the words of God himself and he says, “Obey my word.” The sad truth is, we don’t. Not a single one of us. Not a single day of our lives. The history of our lives is littered with impatience, judgmental attitudes, laziness, selfishness, pride and arrogance. To obey Jesus’ words means to confess it. And then, to obey his words means by God’s grace to believe in our forgiveness through the sacrifice of God himself on Calvary’s cross. Jesus wants us to believe that he is our Savior and that every one of his words is true. Jesus works that faith in us by sending us his Holy Spirit through his word. What a blessing! What he commands he also accomplishes in us! Take his parting words to heart and obey them!

Part II.

When a person has been visiting a loved one and it’s time to leave, they might present their host with a gift. Usually it’s something small but it makes the statement that the person has enjoyed their stay and especially their time with that loved one.

In a far higher way Jesus promised that when he left his disciples to ascend into heaven he would leave them with the greatest of gifts. He said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” What Jesus promised his disciples we’ll celebrate in two weeks. It’s the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in a special way, giving them what they needed in order to do their work as Jesus’ apostles. That Holy Spirit gave them many gifts for ministry.

But notice the one Jesus’ mentions in our text. “[He] will remind you of everything I have said to you.” I have trouble remembering things that were said a week later, let alone years later. Many have wondered how the apostles years later could remember what Jesus said or what he meant. Here you have the answer. The Holy Spirit enabled them to remember the exact words of Jesus. He was a tremendous blessing to them in their lives of faith.

And he’s been a tremendous blessing to us too. Without the Holy Spirit you wouldn’t be here this morning worshipping Jesus as your Savior. Without the Holy Spirit you’d still be in the darkness of unbelief and heading for an eternal death in hell. But as promised, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit and either through the Sacrament of Baptism or through instruction in his word, the Holy Spirit brought us to faith in Jesus. Of all the gifts Jesus has given us, indeed the Holy Spirit is the greatest.

But the Holy Spirit isn’t a one-time gift from your Savior. It’s something he wants to give you every day of your life here on earth. The Holy Spirit is the gift that keeps giving—but only as we continue to hear his word and receive the Lord’s Supper. Think about that. The greatest of gifts God can give us comes to us through his word and his Supper, but we tend to take those means of grace for granted. We allow the trinkets of this life to separate us from the priceless gem of our salvation. So take to heart Jesus’ parting words. Receive the Holy Spirit and through him the forgiveness Jesus won for you and the eternal life he guarantees you.

Once again, these words were some of Jesus’ parting words to his disciples. When a loved one is leaving, hearts are often heavy. We may even wonder if we’ll ever see the person again.

The disciples had the same thoughts, the same fears. And thus Jesus assured them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” What’s this peace that Jesus leaves with his followers? It’s the peace of knowing that all is well between us and the holy God. It’s the peace the angels sang about on the night of his birth and it’s the peace the angels would announce on the morning of his resurrection. Jesus came to this earth to remove the barrier of sin that destroys our relationship with God. He won that peace by living a perfect life and by dying an innocent death for us. His resurrection from the dead stamps the Father’s approval on that peace.

Therefore that peace is ours no matter what our outward circumstances. It’s real and lasting. It’s not like the peace our world strives for, which is here today but gone tomorrow. The peace of God rests on us no matter how troublesome or painful your personal life may be.

In fact, it’s a peace we do nothing to gain. While you may have to work hard to arrive at peace in your relationship with another person, you and I don’t have to do a single thing to enjoy the peace which Jesus won for us. That peace is entirely God’s gift to troubled sinners.

In a few minutes you’ll hear the encouragement to depart from the Lord’s Supper in peace knowing that your sins are forgiven. At the end of today’s worship you’ll hear the words of our loving and gracious God blessing you with his peace. As people whose lives are often in turmoil, as individuals who suffer from insecurities and struggle daily to measure up, as children of God who battle each day with a world bent on evil, we desperately need the peace of God. So take to heart Jesus’ parting words. Live in his peace, knowing that in the most important relationship in your life—your relationship with your God—all is well. Amen.