Jesus Sends the Counselor
John 16:5-11 shows us that Jesus Sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to convict us of sin, to convince us that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness, and to confirm that we are free to live for Jesus. May 11, 2008.
What is a counselor? What does a counselor do? I suppose it depends on what kind of counselor we’re talking about. Camp counselor? Business consultant? Professional therapist?
On the first Maundy Thursday, Jesus had gathered his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem to eat the Passover meal for the last time. He told them in no uncertain terms that their ministry on his behalf would not be easy. They would get flack and be persecuted. He hadn’t spent a lot of time on that subject before, and he told them why, “I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.” But the time had come for him to complete his work. On more than one occasion he told them he was going to Jerusalem to die and that he would rise from the dead to prove that the payment for all sins of all people was real and complete. But he had not filled in “the rest of the story.” What would happen after that? What would happen to him and to them after Easter? He answered those questions in this way, “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ” This is a very significant statement. When he said, “I am going to him who sent me,”they knew he would be going to be with his heavenly Father. Where is that? God is everywhere. So, if Jesus said, “I am going to him to sent me,” that must mean he is going to be everywhere, and the only way that would be possible is if he would be invisible.
And that’s what made them feel so sad. They really enjoyed seeing him, listening to him, learning from him. Even though they kind of understood that he would be with them invisibly, they only kind of understood that, and the change from hanging out with him to him being invisible made them feel like he was not around any more. Jesus knew that. So he said, “Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” The word that Jesus used for “Counselor” is very descriptive and tells us exactly what this Counselor does. This Counselor comes alongside us to say whatever we need to hear most at any given time, all for our comfort so that we know that God is engaged in our lives every moment and on into eternity. That’s why we revel in these words because they assure us that Jesus Sends the Counselor to convict us of sin, to convince us or righteousness, and to confirm judgment on Satan.
To Convict us of Sin
Sam never saw it coming. He tried to stay clean in high school and college, hanging with a decent crowd, no drugs or alcohol. He was not a great athlete, but he tried to stay in shape. He was thirty-nine and feeling fine. But the cough and cold seemed to linger. Finally, he took his wife’s advice and went to the medical clinic. The doc on call wasn’t satisfied with just listening to Sam’s wheezing chest and ordered x-rays. That’s when Sam heard the news. The big “C” word – cancer – and the prognosis was not good. Sam couldn’t believe it. He went to a specialist. That doctor was a nationally known, veteran oncologist with a wonderful bedside manner. He came alongside Sam, put his arm around Sam’s shoulder, and told him the truth, “The type of cancer you have is terminal. You’re going to die – soon.” I imagine that oncologist had a conversation like that with other patients, and I imagine it killed him every time. He was in the business of healing people, but sometimes he had to unload bad news. Keeping it a secret would do no good for the patient or his family. They had to know in order to prepare for decisions they would have to make, in order to prepare for death.
The Holy Spirit is the doctor who comes alongside us. He is the Counselor who would much prefer to bring us only good news. But he knows that there is no way we would ever appreciate the cure if we didn’t know first of all that we were sick. We would take the cure lightly or ignore it if we didn’t realize how sick we were. So, Jesus said, “I will send [the Counselor] to you. When he comes, he will convict the world … in regard to sin because people do not believe in me.” We might object, “But I believe in Jesus. I don’t need the Spirit as a Counselor to come alongside, put his arm around my shoulder, and tell me bad news. Ah! But right there we demonstrate how much we need the Counselor to tell us the honest truth. Certainly, we are believers in Jesus, but buried deep inside is the devil’s hit man who needs to be shot down every day because if we merely try to repress our mundane, every-day sins but don’t deal with our sinful nature, we’ll be treating the symptoms of spiritual cancer and not radiating the spiritual cancer itself.
Jesus Sends the Counselor to convict us to sin – both the symptoms (“You’ve got a spiritual cough”) and the root cause (“There’s spiritual cancer inside”). How does he do that? He does that when you read a passage from Scripture or hear a sermon and go, “Oh-oh!” He does that when a friend comes alongside and says, “You hurt my feelings by what you said.” Maybe you never saw it coming. Maybe you didn’t expect to get hit with such bad news this morning. It’s Pentecost, the Festival of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t this festival supposed to be all joy and gladness? Besides, it’s Mothers’ Day, and aren’t we all supposed to get along so our mothers aren’t disappointed? But it’s the honest truth. Jesus Sends the Counselor to convict us of sin.
To Convince us of Righteousness
Sam never saw it coming. The cancer had progressed and was eating him up. He was lying on his death bed in hospice care. He was praying for Jesus to send the holy angels to take him home. He was barely able to keep his thoughts together, what with all the meds to keep him partly sedated and comfortable as death approached. But one day the expert oncologist came in and announced that research had uncovered a cure for Sam’s cancer. He administered an injection and within hours Sam began to feel better. Within days he gained back five pounds of the twenty he had lost. His hair was coming back and, of all things, filling in the bald spot he had even before cancer. Within a week he was home, and a week later he was back at work. This was truly a miracle, plain and simple. When he met with the oncologist for a follow-up, the doctor came alongside him, put his arm on Sam’s shoulder, and told him the truth, “You are cancer free! Enjoy your new life!”
The Holy Spirit is the doctor who comes alongside us. He administers a miracle cure to our spiritually sick hearts. He imparts to us a coating of Jesus’ righteousness that makes us not only look right in God’s eyes but also penetrates in our souls and leads us to whole new way of living for God. Jesus said, “I will send [the Counselor] to you. When he comes, he will convict the world … in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.” In other words, “Dear disciples, right now you see me with your physical eyes while we are sitting in this room in Jerusalem. But I am going to complete my work. I’m going to the cross, to the tomb, and then I’m going to remove my visible presence so I can be with you invisibly. You will no longer see me visibly as you have for the last three years, but you will see me again in heaven, and you will see me come again in glory. That’s possible because the heavenly Father is counting my righteousness to your account, and the Holy Spirit is going to convince you that it’s true.”
Jesus Sends the Counselor to convince us of his gift of righteousness. How does he do that? He does that when you read a passage from Scripture or hear a sermon and sing, “Thanks be to God!” If you believe that your sins are paid for and that you’re going to heaven, then a miracle has happened. God the Holy Spirit has come alongside, put his arm around you, and convinced you that you are righteous in God’s sight in spite of all your sins. It’s Pentecost, the Festival of the Holy Spirit, and it is a festival of joy and gladness. We also thank God today for the gift of Christian mothers who taught us, “I am Jesus’ little lamb,” which means I’m right in God’s sight. Jesus Sends the Counselor to convince us that Jesus’ righteousness is ours.
To Confirm Judgment on Satan
Sam rejoiced at the doctor’s announcement of a miracle cure, at the administration of that medicine, at the working of that medicine in his body. He rejoiced that he could go home. But he realized in short order that there were plenty of other cancer patients around. He wanted to help them. He wanted them to enjoy the cure. So, he asked the oncologist how the medicine could be shared with others. The doctor came alongside Sam, put his arm around Sam’s shoulder, and said, “The medicine does not prevent cancer from happening, but what it does do is cure people who get cancer. Cancer might still be around, but we can beat it by having more people distribute and apply the medicine. If you receive the training, Sam, you can apply the cure to others.”
The Holy Spirit is the doctor who comes alongside us. He makes it clear that our archenemy, Satan, has been defeated, but he’s still around. He still does damage. When he does, people need to hear about the cure. Jesus said, “I will send [the Counselor] to you. When he comes, he will convict the world … in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
Jesus Sends the Counselor to convince us that Satan stands condemned but he still is dangerous – like a pit-bull on a leash. How does the Counselor do that? He does that when you read a passage from Scripture or hear a sermon and say, “As scared as I may be sometimes, at least the worst enemy has been destroyed. He stands condemned now!” God the Holy Spirit comes alongside us, put his arm around us, and says, “Don’t forget! You are free, and you have power. You don’t need to hang on to past hurts or to be burdened by guilt. If you are dealing with physical pain, go see a doctor but also keep praying. If you are dealing with mental pain, go talk to a friend or see a therapist but also keep on praying. But whether physical or mental pain, keep in mind that Jesus Sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit to remind you that you are free of Satan’s plan to keep you in sin-pain, and you are free to live for Jesus.”
The camp counselor sits alongside a homesick camper and assures her, “It will be OK.” A business consultant comes alongside a project manager and says, “Follow this plan, and you’ll get through this economic down-turn just fine.” A professional therapist sits across from a client and enables that person to deal his or her fears and own his or her recovery. Each one is a counselor with specific training and a specific role to play, coming alongside to say whatever is necessary at that time in that setting. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit as the ultimate spiritual and eternal Counselor who comes alongside us to give us whatever we need so that we have the comfort that God is engaged in our lives and so that we can be spiritual counselors for others. “Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful people, and kindle in us the fire of your love.” Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on May 11, 2008
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