Jesus Was Leaving!

Jesus was leaving! Yet, not only was He leaving, but He had some very disturbing words for His disciples. The prince of this world was coming! What did that mean, and how would it affect them?

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
(John 14:28-31, King James Version)

Jesus Was Leaving!

When Jesus said, in these last four verses from John 14, I go away, I had a sense of discomfort, not unlike that feeling you get when the music changes in a movie, and you know something bad is about to happen.

For three years the disciples had been immersed in Jesus' teachings, and comforted by His presence, and now they heard the words, Hereafter I will not talk much with you.

How could they help but feel uncomfortable, to say the least. Jesus understood their reaction, yet even at this time, He offered them words that would later give them a great amount of peace.

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

It is a mixed blessing, is it not? When dear Christian loved ones go to be with the Lord, we feel that same mixture of grief and joy, do we not? We grieve for the loss of intimate contact with them, but we rejoice because we know they are in a better place, and we will see them again.

We know, the rest of the story; but, remember, the disciples did not! It would be some time before they truly understood all that was happening.

John 14 ends with Jesus, again, stating His purpose in all of these things.

But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Jesus resolved to do the will of the Father, and so must we, His children.

Oh, what love!

Next: I Am the Vine - John 15:1-4