Ezra-Nehemiah: The Lord of the Sabbath (Neh. 13:15-22)

The spiritual reality in which sorrow can turn into joy has everything to do with the presence of God. When we know the Father's loving presence, our joy is made full. This text assures us God can meet us in our confusion, distress, need, and even in our failure. 

When the disciples heard that Jesus was leaving, and that the world would hate them, their hearts were filled with sorrow.  But Jesus said it would be better because the Spirit is coming. How is it better? What would the Spirit do to help them bear witness about Jesus in a hostile world?

If we abide in Christ like branches in a vine, then we will inevitably share some of his experience in the world. Meaning we will face opposition (even hatred) from the world. But he also promises help in the midst of the hatred!

Jesus said the mark of his disciples is that they “bear much fruit.” We want to roll-up our sleeves and make it happen, but the kind of fruit Jesus is talking about comes from being connected to him. If we want to be truly fruitful, we must learn to abide in Christ.

In the Upper Room with Jesus, on their final night with him before his death, the disciples were filled with anxiety and fear. Jesus tells them (and us) that what they need, the comfort for their troubled hearts, is not a prescription but a person—a person who will come to dwell with them.

The disciples are deeply troubled by what is unfolding in the upper room. So, Jesus comforts them with words about the Father. He calls them to trust in the promises of the Father and the presence of the Father that they have in Jesus.

We have plans to build our own little kingdoms, and that makes it hard to understand the way of Jesus and his kingdom. Jesus sets before us a vision for life that is about the glory of God. We see it in the love of Christ, in our love for one another, and even in our weakness.

Betrayal is dark, one of the worst things we can imagine, a deliberate act of disloyalty. But even in the face of that darkness, the light of Jesus shines through.

The disciples often argued about who was the greatest among them. Jesus taught them over and over that true greatness is about humility, sacrifice, and service to others, but they never seemed to understand. It was by a shocking display of humility that shows us why Jesus is truly great, why we are not, and how we can be.

The Upper Room Discourse has been called “a window into the heart of Jesus.” Here in the first few verses, we get an inside look at the knowledge of Jesus and the love of Jesus. These two things not only establish the context of the upper room, they shape the entire discourse.