HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. “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.
The Helper that would be sent in Jesus’ absence is a recurring theme of Jesus’ words to His apostles in this, their last gathering before His death. This Helper, the Spirit of truth, would come to them from the Father to testify of Jesus and to guide them into all truth. But significant to this passage is the price that they would have to pay for testifying of Jesus. Jesus tells them that they would be cast out of the synagogue and in fact be killed for their belief in and proclaiming of Jesus. Considering these circumstances, Jesus does not want them to “be made to stumble.” He wants them to understand that, despite their hardships and suffering for the cause of Christ, they are not alone. God is with them. He will send His Spirit, the Helper, to them to comfort and guide them. By extension, we need to understand that the same is true for us. Whatever this life might hold, we are not alone. God, in His indescribable love, is always with us to comfort and help us in our trials, so that we also may never be made to stumble.
How does God strengthen and comfort us?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!