Where are you going?
John 16:5-15
May 10, 2020 anno Domini
Who wants to talk about coronavirus this morning? I look at the statistics almost every day. According to the Minnesota Department of Health if you are not living in a nursing home your chance of dying from Coronavirus is 1 in 100 (if you actually get the virus). According to the Center for Disease Control your chance of dying from injuries in a car accident is 1 in 77. There, do you feel better?
No you don’t because if you get coronavirus you’re not going to care about the statistics. You are going to be afraid. If you’ve lost your job, if your employer is shutting down, if you’re wondering what the future will look like, you don’t care about statistics. You want to know, “Where am I going? Bankruptcy? Suffering? Death?
Where are you going? Where is all this going? Jesus gives us the better question to ask, “Where is Jesus going?” That’s the question the Disciples should have asked when Jesus said He was going away. He is going back to His Father through the cross, through hell, through death, and through the grave.
Jesus is going away like the scape goat on the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament. On that day Moses’ brother Aaron would confess the sins of the people on the head of a goat and that goat would be led far out in into the wilderness. There, all alone, the goat would die with the sins of the people. Jesus is going all alone to the cross, to hell, carrying our sin, to take it away by shedding His precious blood and offering His life, the blood and the life of God Himself.
Jesus is going to His Father like the other goat on the Day of Atonement. The other goat would be killed and then Aaron would carry that goat’s blood into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, to cleanse the people of their sins, so they could stand in the presence of the most holy God. That’s what Jesus did after He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven carrying His blood into the most holy place and presenting His sacrifice to the Father for us. Now we can enter the Father’s presence – here in prayer, finally in person.
Where is Jesus going? He is going away into death for your sins and He is going to His Father with His blood. This is not for Himself, but it is, as Jesus says, “to your advantage.” “If I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
That helper is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. In some translations helper is translated with the actual Greek word – paraklete – para – beside, klete from kalew – to call. A helper is someone beside you who calls to you. One pastor said this should be translated not “helper” but “pesterer” – the Holy Spirit pesters you, nags you, keeps bringing God’s Word to you in the hope that you would know Jesus is for you.
If Jesus did not go to His Father, if His death did not take away sin, if He did not rise again, if He did not enter heaven to stand before the Father with His blood then the Holy Spirit would not have come, because there would be nothing to tell you. You would be stuck in your sins. Your life right now would be the best you could expect. You would have a few moments of happiness surrounded by a mess of sorrow, and then you will die not knowing what is next.
Thanks be to God Jesus went to His Father, because now the Spirit is at work, wherever the Word of God is preached, read, studied, heard. Whether it’s on paper, in the mouth of the preacher, recorded on YouTube, or held in your heart by memory the Spirit will use that word to nag and pester you.
He will convict you “concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;” When you hurt someone and ask, “Why did I do that?” When you wonder why a virus has struck the whole world or a 40 year old woman died of breast cancer or a child was killed by a drunk driver, the Holy Spirit gives one answer – you did not believe in God. Every sin flows from unbelief. In every sin you take God’s place to rule your life as you please. The Holy Spirit convicts you, “I know God and you are no god – you have no love, no power, and no desire to save others.” Look around, the Spirit says, and behold what the unbelief of man has done. Humanity rejected God, and chose to be god, but all of you fail at being god – politicians fail, science fails, laws fail, you fail.
Once the Spirit convicts you of sin then He convicts concerning righteousness, because Jesus goes to the Father, and you will see Him no longer.” God the Father set everything right in His Son. Christ Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. His resurrection is the declaration that God has made things right. Because Jesus has gone to the Father your sins are forgiven. He loves you and by faith you love Him. He will raise you from the dead. No trouble, sickness, no sin, not even death has power or hold over you. You and your heavenly Father are right in Christ Jesus, His Son.
Finally the Spirit convicts you concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. Covid-19 is God’s judgment on the world, just as universal death is God’s judgment, just as tyrannical governments, broken economies, faulty science and lost jobs are God’s judgment. Do you think the people in Noah’s day thought the rain was God’s judgment? Not at first, not until it was too late, not until they were banging on the door of the ark saying, “We believe you Noah, let us in.” This world is destined for judgment because of unbelief and the father of unbelief, our father below, the Devil gets his judgment first. He is judged the loser — He lost His power at the cross and over you when you believe. If your sin is forgiven what charge can the Devil bring against you? He can’t judge you because you’re righteous in Christ. The only people the Devil can rule are those who don’t believe they are sinners, who believe in their own righteousness. In the final judgment the Devil and all unbelievers will be cast off. If you refuse to believe you are your own god and the true God will let you have what you want – you are completely responsible for yourself and your sins.
What’s at the end of this pandemic (if it ever ends)? Where are we going? We are going where Jesus has gone. By faith in Him we will go through death to the resurrection. Away from this valley of sorrow to our Father in heaven because the blood of Christ is on us and in us by faith. We will go there because that pestering Holy Spirit convicted us of our sins, announced to us our righteousness, and judged us “not guilty” when He brought us to faith in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Such a good message pastor! So comforting to know that because Jesus died on the cross, I am atoned for my sins. He permits us to make our choices. I guess I never really thought too much about it in that way before, but it makes sense.
One more comment! I often wondered where the word scape goat came from. Thank you for making that clear
Hopefully we can soon be back to normal. I would have been there this morning, but it sounded like the weather was going to be much worse than I woke up to this morning and just thought it wouldn’t be possible to have it outdoors. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tune it in to the radio at home, but thankfully, was able to read your message.