“Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” (v. 30).
I’d like to go back to the question asked at the end of our first session in this topic (See Post, The 12 Finally Got It).
I’ve often wondered what was it about this evening’s conversation that helped the disciples ‘get it’? Were they listening to Jesus in a different way? Or, is it possible they could have heard him say something different? Did Jesus say something he hadn’t said before; something that, literally, opened their ears of their heart?
In an earlier session, we considered that the disciples may have been guilty of misapplying their belief in Jesus. The verse we’re focusing on now contains a declaration that I’ve always interpreted as their belief that Jesus was the Son of God. But what if their statement of belief was something different….? Or, more to the heart of my question, what if their statement of belief included something else?
Consider carefully what you hear…
In the earlier part of this passage Jesus told the disciples that soon would come a day when they would no longer ask him anything and the Father will give them whatever they ask in Jesus’ name (Jn 16.23).
Is it possible this was the statement that triggered the disciples’ belief?
Consider carefully what you hear…
Jesus continued by telling them it wouldn’t be long before he would no longer speak in figures of speech, but would tell them plainly about his Father (v. 25). He then tells them they will ask in his name, and goes on to tell them the Father loves them because they loved Jesus and believed he came from God (v. 27). At this point in the text is when the disciples excitedly relay their belief.
“Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” (v. 30).
They could finally hear it clearly. Jesus spoke in simple, clear, plain terms; and not in figures of speech. They do not need to ask Jesus any questions – they can go directly to the Father.
Consider carefully what you hear….
I always wondered why, in verse 30, the disciples said Jesus didn’t need people to ask him questions. I always thought this was some kind of recognition that Jesus knows all things and, because he knows, he shouldn’t be subjected to the constant questioning of those who reject him and attempt to trap him. This is a true statement; but I’m no longer as sure this is the whole of what the disciples were declaring in this verse.
“In that day you will no longer ask me anything…my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” “…you do not even need to have anyone ask you any questions.”
What if the disciples grasped, at the same time, Jesus’ nature as the Son of God and their nature as children of God? What if this exclamation is a result of them realising their own relationship with the Father? …of realising their role? And, in this moment, they have caught a glimpse of the magnitudinous implications of WHO the Father is, WHO Jesus is and who they are in this relationship?
Consider carefully what you hear….