![\"C](\"https:\/\/revtucher.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/C-59-Easter-6-1.png\" "\\"C-59")
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.<\/p>\n
Text: John 16:23-33<\/p>\n
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier.<\/p>\n
If you heard Jesus\u2019 words from last week\u2019s Gospel reading, then you\u2019re all set for part two of Jesus\u2019 diatribe. If you missed the first part of Jesus\u2019 diatribe or if you\u2019ve forgotten, Jesus is speaking of His impending departure, but before that happens, He needs to share more with them. In His absence, He will send forth the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, \u201cand he will declare to you the things that are to come.\u201d<\/span> Jesus then goes on to tell the disciples, \u201cA little while,\u00a0and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.\u201d<\/span> Following that, there is confusion among the disciples. In the end, there will a time of sorrow but that sorrow will turn into joy. He ends by saying, \u201cSo also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and\u00a0your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As Jesus continues His conversation with the disciples, He says, \u201cIn that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say\u00a0to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.\u00a0Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that\u00a0your joy may be full.\u201d<\/span> Jesus tells them that they have full access to God through Himself, something that they never enjoyed before. Prior to Jesus, access to the Father was always made through a mediator, through a sacrifice, through some sort of go-between. But with Jesus, that is no longer the case. Jesus is the bridge between God and man. Jesus is the sacrifice that is needed to make full atonement of man\u2019s sin.<\/p>\n Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, promises us that our needs will be met, though it may not be met according to our standards. He says, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you,\u00a0whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.\u201d<\/span> We learn that, even as the petitions that we pray are made in Jesus\u2019 name, so also the giving of what is asked is done in His name as well; it is made in connection with the revelation of Jesus as this is embraced by faith. That means for us that our prayers are indeed answered, though maybe not the way we would want them to be answered. God hears the prayers of His people and answers them according to His good and gracious will, meaning He will answer them as it benefits us in a God-pleasing way.<\/p>\n While Jesus has spoken much of His ministry in parables and other figures of speech, our Lord speaks plainly regarding the Father: \u201cIn that day you will ask in my\u00a0name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for\u00a0the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that\u00a0I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I\u00a0am leaving the world and going to the Father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Of all the things Jesus has said, the disciples hear one thing that resonates with them, and it\u2019s not something that they want to hear: Jesus was leaving them. They weren\u2019t quite sure how this would happen, but they knew that He would be leaving them. They could not imagine living in a world without Jesus, yet in a few hours that is just what they will experience. They will watch Jesus\u2019 arrest, trial, crucifixion, and death.<\/p>\n How does this come back to praying and asking in the Father\u2019s name? What is it that the disciples need right now with the pending crucifixion of Jesus? They need understanding, they need clarity. As Jesus speaks, we know what is going to happen. Following the events of Holy Week, following what takes place on Easter Sunday, following the Ascension, Jesus takes His place behind the Father and God the Father deals with us, just as lovingly and just as intimately as Jesus did with His inner circle of disciples.\u00a0He loves us because of the love of Jesus shown to us.<\/p>\n Christ is our Mediator and Advocate. We confess with John: \u201cwe have an advocate with the\u00a0Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and\u00a0not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.\u201d<\/span> Our Lord promises, \u201cI am with you always, to the end of the\u00a0age.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0At the end of our text for today, Jesus reassures the disciples by telling them, \u201cBut Think of what that means for you, the beloved and redeemed children of God. Because Christ has overcome the world, we can be confident of life in His name: the promise of becoming a child of God, forgiven through His life, death, and resurrection; forgiven by the waters of Holy Baptism; having a faith strengthened and nourished through Christ\u2019s body and blood given to us through His Holy Supper.<\/p>\n Our\u00a0Lord tells us, \u201cI have said these things to you, that\u00a0in me you may have peace.\u201d<\/span> This world will indeed pass away and all that is in it. Things will get worse, but we are not left without hope. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, \u201cwe have an advocate\u00a0with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.\u201d<\/span> Through His life, death, and resurrection, we have received the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. That means when this world seems to be falling apart around us, when things can\u2019t seem to get worse than what they already are but they do, there is hope for us. We as Christians continue to pray. We pray that God\u2019s will be done. We pray for God\u2019s blessings upon us. And we are certain that God will indeed hear our prayers, for He has promised to hear the prayers of His people. But not only does He hear them, He promises to answer them as well. Fortunately for us, God does not answer the way that we would like or the way that we think is best; rather, God answers them in the way the He knows to be best for us, granting to us all that is good. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we have been given direct access to the Father and God does indeed hear the prayers of His people. We know that He will indeed answer the prayers of His people according to His good and gracious will, \u201cFor the\u00a0Father himself love you, because you have loved me and have believed that I\u00a0came from God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n God hears your prayers prayed in Jesus\u2019 name. To pray in Jesus\u2019 name is to trust that the prayer will be answered because Christ has died for you. And to pray in Jesus\u2019 name is to trust that His will is best, rather than imposing our own sinful desires on Him. Rejoice, too, in this: after Jesus spoke of prayer in John 16, He then went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed for His disciples\u2014and prayed for you. Even now, He prays for you until He comes again. Therefore, rejoice: you can be sure that the Lord hears your prayers for Jesus\u2019 sake because you are forgiven for all of your sins.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all\u00a0understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Text: John 16:23-33 Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel, which was read earlier. If you heard Jesus\u2019 words from last week\u2019s Gospel reading, then you\u2019re all set for part two of Jesus\u2019 diatribe. 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take heart; I have overcome the world.\u201d<\/span> This is Christ\u2019s assurance to them and to us all that Christ has indeed won the victory over the world and has won for us everlasting life.<\/p>\n