October 5


Behold Me No More
John 14:19-26


In this short section, Christ says they will see him no more, for a while.  He then lays out a description of the Christian life in short bold strokes:

  • You will see me--though the world doesn't, you will.  You will have the spiritual sight necessary to see God.
  • You will live--all the promises of the resurrection are ours, because Jesus lives.  How shall this be?  Do you not recall that the righteous shall live by faith?
  • You will realize… the wording seems complicated, but it carries two great ideas.  First is the idea of the Trinity.  Next is that we are the church, for we are "in Christ."  If we are in Christ, we are new creatures, saved by his blood.
  • You will be loved by God--a privilege reserved for the noble few in the Old Testament, it is ours without limit now.  The natural corollary of this is that we will love God.
  • You will obey my teaching--which is the natural result of loving Him.  No longer need obedience be a painful struggle.
  • You will be taught all things--the Holy Spirit comes and reminds the Apostles of all that Christ had taught them.  The Spirit remains in the church today to correct her and turn her to righteousness.
  • The indwelling of the Holy Spirit--that each and every one of us carries around the Holy Spirit, both as guide and as a guarantee of the resurrection to come.
It is an awesome passage of Scripture, especially since it is so short.  It is not a list of rules or set of commandments but a description of how our lives will be--in Christ.
But it is also a test for each of us.  This is what our lives are supposed to be like, if we love Him.  Do you have the spiritual sight necessary to see Christ?  But who can have such sight, except the pure in heart?  Do you live by faith?  Who can have such faith, except the righteous?  Are you new in Christ?  Do you know the love of God?  Are you obeying his teaching?  Do you hear the Holy Spirit as he corrects you and guides you? 
If all these questions seem strange to you, and you wonder how others could ever see this as ordinary, you need to look at the only instance of the word "if" in this passage.  "If anyone loves me…."  There is the secret:  love God.  All else will fit in place.