Famous Last Words

Reflection on John 16: 1-15

by Mike Hayes

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he willguide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

A quick search of “famous last words” shows that most last words that get memorialized are quite sad. Shouldn’t last words should be more weighty, more meaningful? This past spring I read a popular book entitled “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch” Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon. Many professors give a talk called "The Last Lecture" where they consider the end of their career and reflect on what is most important to them. And while they talk, you can't help but consider the same question: What would we impart if we knew it was our last chance? What would we want as our legacy? Randy Pausch was a young professor and father of three children who was dying of terminal cancer. His last lecture was poignant as he shared important life lessons with his children, his students and us. It was a book well worth reading.

John 16 is part of the teaching Jesus shared with his apostles at the last Supper. If you were sitting down with your followers and sharing your “Last Lecture” before everything in the world came unhinged and you were going to be crucified, you would choose your words carefully. Jesus did, and John 16 is part of his legacy to us.

Over and over in his last lecture, Jesus tells us that that he is going away, but he is not leaving us alone. He will send us the Holy Spirit. Like David Pausch, his words are meant to provide comfort and instruction.  Unlike Dr. Pausch, Jesus was able to promise that the presence and power of God would continue in the person of the Holy Spirit. I was struck by the word Jesus chose to describe the coming Holy Spirit. In John and elsewhere in this last discourse he describes the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete. Paraclete is a transliterated word from the Greek text that is recorded variously in John 14, 15 and 16 as Comforter, Counselor, and Advocate. Jesus wants his followers to know that the one he is sending to be with them in his absence, his legacy, is a person mysteriously and intimately part of the triune God, who will provide just what they need.

In verse 7 Jesus says it is to our advantage that he goes away because of he did not go Advocate would not come. The Advocate, the very presence of God intercedes on our behalf, understands our struggles, comforts and helps us, reminds us of our new identity in Christ, a gives us hope.

In the church world we have a word for the “Last Word.” It is "Benediction," Latin for last word. A benediction is God’s last word about us. Weekly at Oakland City Church we are reminded that God our Advocate’s last word for us is this, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24).

Tomorrow’s reading: Romans 8:1-11