The Spirit of Truth (John 14)

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” John 14:22

John chapter 14 opens up in the middle of a conversation taking place in the upper room. Jesus has just washed the feet of His disciples and is comforting them as He again emphasizes that He’s about to leave. Perplexed, they begin pressing Him for answers on their level, so they can see things from their perspective.

Of all the questions the disciples asked Jesus in this 14th chapter, verse 22 stood out to me as the most profound. At this point, they were still expecting Jesus to take His rightful place as King right then and there, in Jerusalem. But somewhere in the conversation this Judas was beginning to grasp that the triumphal entry we read about in John 12 was not going to be their new “norm”. He sensed something was different. He wanted to know what changed?

We too can find ourselves asking similar questions. What does this mean for us, here today? We are sometimes confounded by the fact that Jesus has not yet come again to rule and reign in His full glory. What’s holding Him back? Why can’t the world see Him as we see Him? If ever there was a time…!!

AI is changing our world faster than humanity is able to keep up, and is rapidly becoming for many the golden calf that has been fashioned to be a god among us. Many are embracing it and see it as a good thing – it’s just the latest and greatest technology, that’s all, nothing more. After all, learning to create fire was a technology, right? Just like learning to write, or having flushing toilets. Time and technology march on. This AI will make all of our lives easier. What could be the harm?

But there are also those of us who recognize the workings of a spiritual enemy taking us ever deeper into this dark, sinister place where we’re losing touch with humanity and replacing it with convenience and comfort. Some of us even long to go back to a simpler time, a simpler world. But there’s truth in the saying that, although we can draw from the past, we can never go back to the past. The “genie is out of the bottle”, so to speak. Scripture affirms to us that Jesus is the only answer. When Jesus comes again, He will bring order to all the chaos and set things right once and for all.

But where does that leave us in the waiting? If no one thing or person can immediately reset or fix the whole now, apart from Christ’s return, the question then becomes, how do we make it to the other side? How will we survive? Personally and collectively, there is coming a day when we may find ourselves drawing a line in the sand of advancing technology that says “here and no further, this is where I take my stand”. Some of us may have already experienced this frighteningly liberating event.

For those who haven’t yet… the answer to Judas’ question and ours can be found in verses 16 and 17, as Jesus invites His disciples to see from His perspective instead:

¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; ¹⁷ the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

All that is Jesus is revealed through the Spirit of Truth, of whom scripture affirms as the Holy Spirit – also known as our comforter, counselor, teacher, and guide. Where Jesus is, there is His power, there is His kingdom, there is His peace, there is His order – right in the midst of all the chaos – THERE, in us and in the midst of us.

And how is it that we, followers of *The Way, are so privileged to receive the Holy Spirit while others are not? Because we LOVE Jesus! We are moved to keep His commands not because we are forced, but because we love. As a result of that love, Jesus reveals Himself through the Spirit of Truth.

²¹ The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. ²⁴ The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. John 14:21-24

*(see verses 5 and 6)