Slices
Prepare
Bring your body to a place of stillness before God, breathing deeply in and out.
Bible passage
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me any more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.’
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, ‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’
23 Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 ‘All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 ‘You heard me say, “I am going away and I am coming back to you.” If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
Explore
As the disciples struggle to pin down where Jesus is going and how they will cope, he comforts them with the promise of the Holy Spirit (v 16). Jesus explains how the ‘Spirit of truth’ (v 17) is part of the relationship between the Father and the Son: together, they are offering life (v 19), love, presence (v 23) and peace (v 27). Verse 27 is well-known: how does reading it in the context of Jesus’ farewell discourse and promise of the Holy Spirit enrich your understanding?
What will this ‘Advocate’ – who already lives with them (v 17) – do? Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will: remind the disciples of Jesus’ teaching; teach them all things; be sent by the Father in Jesus’ name (v 26); help them; be in them (v 17); and be with them for ever (v 16). Wow! How do these words speak to you and the Christian community you are part of?
Alongside this fledgling but powerful theology, John still keeps us aware of the advancing drama and the characters involved (v 22). At the close of the passage, Jesus is both protagonist and director – ‘Come now; let us leave’ (v 31) – in a simple statement of both authority and vulnerability.
Respond
Have you ever felt that Jesus is far away from you? Respond to the invitation that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is offering you today.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 51,52; Psalm 119:73–96
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray that churches who are using our resources to share Jesus, the Light of the World, with children and young people across England and Wales this Halloween will be able to shine in dark places and share the love of Jesus.
