The Notes

This Wednesday night, April 30, 2025, we are looking at how the disciples spent the first weeks after Jesus' resurrection - behind locked doors.   We can discover truth to guide our own lives in their story.  Join us for an uplifting and encouraging Bible study and some mid-week encouragement for the soul!

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This past Wednesday night, April 16, 2025, we looked at the 4 concerns of Jesus on His last night with the disciples.  These 4 things were the focus of His discussion with them after the Last Supper. It's much like “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, where you pass on the wisdom you want to be sure people know.

Well . . . Jesus did it first at the Last Supper.

Jesus told them many things that night – in particular, things that would happen in the future;  He told them before they happened for 4 reasons, which show us His 4 concerns.

For example, Jesus predicted that one of them (Judas) would betray Him.  He predicted Peter’s Betrayal.

Then He told them He was going away.  He said they will be expelled from the synagogue.  He said they will be scattered, leaving Jesus all alone.

Why did He say these things?  1st Reason:  Jesus wanted to be sure they believed in Him.

John 13:19 - “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.”

Strangely, they still struggled; some of the disciples were still doubting.  

Look at John 14, verses 8-11:

"Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves."

First and foremost, Jesus is concerned with their faith.  He want to be sure they believe in Him.  If they don't believe, they will not be with witnesses Jesus chose them to be after His resurrection.

Look also at John 14:28-29:

 “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.  I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.”

For us, living in this time, we need to remember that our achievements in life are meaningless if we don’t believe in Jesus.  Nothing else will matter if we get through this life without Jesus.

2nd reason:  Jesus wants to be sure they will not abandon their faith.

John 16:1 - “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.” 

In the tough times of our lives, we sometimes blame God for not removing the mountain; we get discouraged that prayers were not answered in the way we want … we walk away from Him.

But consider this - at the very moment when the disciples don’t understand what’s happening - when the future seems frightening and unknown, it's then that Jesus tells them: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:13.  Why?  Because they, like us, need to always remember that just because life has problems … there are challenges … we have sorrow … it is not a sign that God doesn’t love us.  God is not a genie in the bottle who makes things appear or disappear.  God is present with us for the tough times, and Jesus warned the disciples - and us - that life will have problems.  But He also said, He is greater than the problems we will see.  He said in John 16:33 - "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”   

And in all of those trials, keep Romans 8:28 in mind; it says: "ALL things work together for good.”  Your problems will be for the best; you just have to get over the mountain to see it.  And God will give you the strength you need to get over that mountain in your life.

At the Last Supper, Jesus shares another important truth:  people will hate us, but – “keep in mind that it hated me first” – John 15:18.

Quit expecting everyone to love you; it won’t happen.

Jesus never said God is love so everyone will love us.  Know when to shake the dust from your feet & move on.  And don’t lose who you are in Jesus trying to fit in with other people.  We belong to Jesus, not to the world.  That matters most.

Quit expecting everyone to do what’s right.  That's not going to happen either.  Consider this from John 16:1-4:

 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away.  They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.  They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.  I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them."

People do things contrary to what’s right; they go against God's Word.   They will be led by pride, greed, envy, wrath . . . some of those 7 deadly sins.  But in those times, don’t abandon faith in Jesus because of life’s problems.

3rd reason:  Jesus wants us to not worry, to live in peace.

John 16:33  - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We let problems steal our joy.  We worry too much.  But truth is - what is unknown to us is not unknown to God.

Worry is the opposite of peace.  Worry is the opposite of trust.

When you face problems, remember:  “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:37.  And we are victorious not because of us, but because of Jesus.

Peace is not the absence of problems, it is in the complete surrender of our problems to Jesus.

You take a car to a garage… you trust the mechanic to fix it.  You have your house repaired… you trust the contractor to rebuild.  On a plane, you trust the pilot to fly it and get you safely to your destination.   And when you go on a cruise, nobody stands behind the captain and tells him what to do.  You trust the captain to pilot your ship.  Trust Jesus more.

4th reason:  Jesus wanted the Disciples – and us – to live with Hope.

Jesus had told them in a little while, they would see Him no more.  Pay attention to John 16:19-22:

 “Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?  Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” 

Jesus didn’t say we’d never grieve; He said grief will turn to joy.  He was saying to us, don't get stuck in the problems of today because joy comes in the morning.  There is a tomorrow for you; look for it with hope.  We have assurance of that because Jesus was crucified, but then resurrected. 

Remember that when Jesus returned to His hometown, he opened Isaiah 61 and read this:

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, to console the mourners in Zion to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair."

If we give Him our grief, He will restore joy.  The ashes of today are not the end of the story.  To receive this comfort, stay near to the cross.  There is a tomorrow for you.  And joy comes in the morning.