Let us turn again to God's Word
in that chapter that we read, John chapter 16, and I read for
our text the words of verse 32. In John chapter 16, verse 32,
Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be
scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone because
the Father is with me." Two things are quite evident in these words
spoken by the Lord Jesus. Here we have mention of Christ
being deserted by the disciples. They would be scattered from
Him. And yet At the same time, he was supported by the Father. And I want us simply to consider
that twofold division of the text. Behold, the hour cometh,
yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his
own, and shall leave me alone. Christ deserted. And yet, I am not alone, because
the Father is with me. That's gracious presence and
support of God that He still enjoys. But first of all, we
have the scattering of the disciples. It's not the only occasion, of
course, upon which the Lord Jesus utters such words on other occasions
he says something very similar back in chapter 26 of Matthew's
gospel And there at verse 31, then saith
Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this
night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep
of the flock shall be scattered abroad. The words of the Prophet
Zechariah there in chapter 13, and verse 7 then, Those words
spoken all those many years previously by the Prophet concerning the
scattering of the sheep, they had their fulfillment as Christ
came to the end of his earthly ministry. In the course of his
preaching, of course, he had called these men to be his followers. There were those twelve that
were called apostles, but one of them, of course, Judas Iscariot
was the one who should betray him. And remember how in the
course of his ministry there were those occasions when we
see Christ in his preaching sifting the multitudes? that great sixth
chapter of John where at the beginning we see Christ feeding
the 5,000 and how they were so impressed they desired to make
him a king but then as Christ preaches the content of the message
is such an offense to him and slowly the multitudes drift away
and it would appear that even The Twelve would then forsake
him. But there at the ends, Simon
Peter is the one who says, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. So, though
a great diminishing, still there are those faithful apostles.
But then the Lord answers, have not I chosen you twelve, and
one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot, the
son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one
of the Twelve." And then subsequently, how the Lord, as it were, points
His finger, draws out this man, Judas Iscariot, who would betray
Him. In chapter 13, Here is Christ observing His
final Passover with the disciples. And we're told how Christ was
troubled in spirit, verse 21, and testified and said, Verily,
verily, I sound to you, that one of you shall betray me. And the disciples looked one
on another, doubting of whom He spoke. And the Lord answers
in verse 26, It is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped
it. And when he had dipped the sop,
he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the
sop, Satan entered into him, then said, Jesus, unto him, That
thou doest, do quickly. And Judas goes out. And we're told it was nights
as he engaged to do this wicked, this dastardly deed. He was one of those very much
scattered from the Lord Jesus, one of those who so evidently
deserted him. And we see him in the next chapter,
in chapter, or rather the next but one chapter, chapter 18.
as Christ goes over the brook Cedron and enters into that familiar
spot that was so well known by the disciples, even the garden
of Gethsemane. And we're told Judas also, which
betrayed him, knew the place. And Judas, having received a
hand, a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all
things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto
them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he,
and Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. How he was not only deserted,
but so wickedly betrayed by one of those who were apostles, even
Judas Iscariot. But we're told in Mark's account,
in Mark 14, they all forsook him. They all forsook him and
fled, even Peter. Peter, who had uttered those
words at the end of chapter 6, We believe and are sure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God, even Simon
Peter. What did he do? He followed afar
off. He was afraid. And then what
does he do? He denies Christ. And he denies
Him on three occasions. No wonder the Lord utters such
words as we have in the text, Behold the hour is Yahweh cometh,
Yah is now come that ye shall be scattered every man to his
own and shall leave me alone." Even bold, impulsive, impetuous
Simon Peter so ready, so willing to follow his Lord and Master
to death. Or Simon you see, Simon Peter
was one who was put into the very sieve of Satan, was he not? Those words of Christ in Luke
22, when he says, Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not. How the devil desired to have
you, to have all of them, the plural pronoun. Satan hath desired
to have you, but here is this man Simon Peter, so very vulnerable,
I have prayed for thee. Christ uses the singular pronoun
as he addresses Simon Peter, how he needed to be prayed for.
They all needed to be prayed for. But how much this particular
man, or Peter, knew what it was then to experience the sieve
of Satan, to be tried, sorely tried. He knew so much of that
awful trial of faith. He writes of these things, does
he not? In his first epistle, the trial of your faith, he says,
being much more precious than the gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire to be found. praise and honor and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ the trying the trying of your
faith and isn't this something that the Lord is intimating here
in these words how these men were tried when he came to the
end of Christ's life and the trial is so sure behold he says
behold here's that that we need to consider here's that that
we should fix our eye upon, here is a truth you say in the world,
he goes on in the next verse, in the world ye shall have tribulation
all this cannot be avoided, the trial is so sure, so certain
doesn't the Apostle take up those very words of the Lord Jesus
when he says in the Acts of the Apostles We must, through much
tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God. There is no other way
of entrance into that Kingdom of God but by the way of trial
and trouble and tribulation. Yea, all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, says the Apostle
Paul. Behold, here is that that we
need to carefully fix our eye upon and to consider and to meditate
upon. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you. It's not strange. It's not strange
at all, these things have I spoken unto you, Christ says, that in
me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation.
It's not strange, it's what the Lord himself has declared, the
trial is so sure, so certain. And doesn't the Lord indicate
here to the disciples that this trial will be soon, even now? Behold, he says, The hour cometh,
yea, is now come. It's now come. They're going
to smite the shepherd, the sheep shall be scattered. What the
head suffers will also be experienced in the body. Remember the opening
words of the chapter that we read. These things have I spoken
unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you
out of the synagogues. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God's service. And these
things will they do unto you, because they have not known the
Father, nor me. Oh, if we are those who are truly
in Christ, We will know what it is to be
in that trial. The trial is seen to be so sure
it is even now. The hour cometh, says Christ,
yea, is now come. This is the power of darkness
that the Lord speaks of again there in that 22nd chapter of
Luke's Gospel. When I was daily with you in
the temple, you stretched forth no hands against me, says Christ,
but this is your hour and the power of darkness." This is when they come out against
the Lord Jesus Christ, you see. When they come to take Him in
the Garden of Gethsemane, And Christ describes it in those
terms, your hour and the power of darkness. This is that that
is the lot then of the people of God. The trial is sure, the
trial is soon, the trial is even now. But there is also a certain
comfort to be observed here because we see so clearly that the trial
is but short. It is a short period, really.
It is the hour. Behold the hour. Oh, it is a short period of time,
is it not? Now, says Peter, now for a season. If need be, you are in heaviness
through manifold temptations. It's just now. It's only for
a season, for a little while, for a short period of time, that's
all. And all of this is to try the
people of God, to try their profession. They had said that they did believe,
had they not? In verse 13, Now are we sure
that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man
should ask thee? By this we believe that thou
camest forth from God, Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Do ye now believe? Behold, the
hour cometh, you see, that profession of faith is sure to be tried
and tested. The hour cometh, yea, is now
come, that ye shall be offended. And they're going to be scattered.
They're not going to plead to Christ, they're going to desert
Christ. Do you now believe?" asks the Lord. You see what is
happening here, any dross of presumption must be exposed.
It must be destroyed, that presumptive faith. Is there the real faith? Why the trial? The trial will
establish the genuine nature of it. We know that with one,
with Judas Iscariot, there was nothing real about that man's
profession. Oh, thankfully the others, they
brought through that trial. The Lord rises from the dead,
the Lord appears to them, the Lord especially has a word time
and again for Simon Peter, who were denied him three times.
Here, at the end of this Gospel, we see how Christ asks him on
those three occasions, Simon son of Jonas, love us Omer. More
than these. Simon son of Jonas, love us Omer. And so again, Simon son of Jonas,
love us Omer. And how Peter was grieved, because
the Lord said to him the third time, Oh yes, there was restoration.
I have prayed for them, says Christ, that thy faith fail not. There is then here in the text,
first of all, this, in the experience of the disciples, how they were
scattered from Christ, how they forsook the Lord Jesus Christ.
But then we see also how the Christ is not alone. ye shall leave me alone says
Christ and yet I am not alone because the father is with me
he has the support of the father he has the support of the father
who is this that he speaks of or does he not remind us that
he is the son he is the son of the father we're directed, are we not, to
that precious truth of the unison that is in the Godhead? I am not alone, the Father is
with me. Is there really a division between
the persons of the Godhead? Here, O Israel, the Lord, our
God, is one Lord, On another occasion, Christ can
say, I and my Father are one. All the unity, God is one. God is undivided, God is indivisible. We believe in one God. We do
not believe in three Gods. Yes, we recognize the persons
of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but three persons. in one indivisible
Godhead. There are three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost, says John. And these three are one. Here we have the words then of
Him who is the eternal Son of God. We see here the unity of
the Godhead. What a precious truth is that,
friend. And how God is united, we're reminded of that in that
opening hymn that we sang, that great hymn of praise to the triune
God, in which there is an acknowledgement that all the persons in the Godhead
are involved in the salvation of sinners. The Father sends
the Son, the Son willingly obeys and comes into this world in
the fullness of the time to do that work that the Father had
committed to him. And of course what we read in
chapter 16 is part of the Valedictory Discourses. In these chapters
14, 15 and 16 Christ also speaks of the Holy Ghost whom he will
send in the Father's name and as the Son comes to accomplish
salvation so the Spirit is that one who is sent to apply that
blessed salvation. All true Christians this may
boast a truth from nature never learnt that Father, Son and Holy
Ghost to save our souls are all concerned. All that precious
truth then of the unity of the Godhead. Yet I am not alone,
he says, because the Father is with me. And as we see the unity
of the Godhead, so here we see the eternal sonship of the Son. He is the eternal Son of the
Father. This is why he can speak as he
does here, time and again, of the Father. Verse 28, I came
forth from the Father and am coming to the world again. I
leave the world and go to the Father. Why? He was with the
Father before ever the world was. He is the only begotten
Son of the Father. Remember the opening chapter
of John's Gospel. where we are introduced to Him
as the eternal Word of God. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And what does Django want to
say? We beheld His glory. The glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth, His eternal Sonship. And now Vital is that doctrine. If we deny it, we deny God. Remember the language of the
same Apostle John in his second epistle? And verse 9, Whosoever
transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath
not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. The Father and the
Son. I am not alone. because the Father
is with me. He is the Son of God. But then we observe this also,
do we not friends? He is the servant of God. That
is the mystery of godliness, that God was manifest in the
flesh. And how was God manifest in the
flesh? He was manifested as that one
who is God's servant in the eternal covenant. What does God say? Behold My servant whom I uphold. Here is Christ, you see, He is
forsaken by the disciples, by the apostles. They all forsook
Him and fled. But now He is supported by the
Father. Behold my servant whom I uphold."
Oh, how he was wonderfully upheld. Upheld by the Father throughout
his earthly ministry, living here upon earth the life of faith,
the life of dependence upon his Father. See how he speaks of
it previously in chapter 8? Verse 16, he says, Yet if I judge,
my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I and the Father
that sent me. How he is ever conscious of the
Father that sent him, that the Father is yet with him. Again, In verse 29 of that chapter,
He that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone
for I do always those things that please Him. He is living
the life of faith, He is living the life of obedience, He is
accomplishing all the goodwill and pleasure of the Father who
sent Him. He has not come to do His own
work. He has come to do the will of Him that has sent Him. This
is the life that Christ is living, the life of faith, and in that
life constantly supported by the Father. Again, in chapter
14, verse 10, he says, Believer so not that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me, the words that I speak unto you I speak
not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me doeth the
works. Believe me that I am in the Father
and the Father in me or else believe me for the very works
sake." Oh, what does he say previously in that chapter? when Philip says, show us the
Father and it suffices us. The Lord answers, have I been
so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?
He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. As sayest thou then,
show us the Father. He is that one who as the servant
of God He is ever conscious of the support of the Father in
all this work and ministry that He is undertaking. And not only
the support of the Father, but also that gracious gift of the
Holy Spirit. Remember the words that we have
there in chapter 3 and verse 34. The Father giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto Him. He has the Spirit without measure. He is the Christ. He is the Anointed. He is that One who is anointed
by God the Holy Ghost. He is not alone. He is not alone. The Father is with Him. The Holy
Ghost is with Him. Think of the various aspects
of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in relation
to the Holy Spirit and constantly His dependence upon the Spirit.
When we think of the manner of His coming into the world, how
is He conceived? He is not born by natural generation. He is born of a virgin. But how is it possible for a
virgin to conceive a child? Well, the angel says the Holy
Ghost shall come upon them. The power of the Highest shall
overshadow them. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. She is with child of the Holy
Ghost. That's Mary, you see. in his
coming into the world, in his conception we see the work of the blessed
spirit of God, God the Holy Ghost and then when he comes forward to receive John's baptism in
the river Jordan again the spirit is there as he comes out of the waters
of baptism Oh, the Spirit descends upon
him in bodily form as a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven,
this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. But the Spirit descended, the
Spirit descended, and oh, then he is led of the Spirit into
the world of the tempted. Forty days and forty nights of
Satan, and then he comes forth out of the wilderness in the
fullness of the Spirit, it seems. He's led of the Spirit into the
wilderness, he comes out of the wilderness in the fullness of
the Spirit. He goes into the synagogue in
Nazareth and he reads there in the book of the prophet Isaiah,
chapter 61, what does he read? You know the passage, the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach
the Gospel. Why? In every part of His ministry,
He is supported by God, the Holy Spirit. He is not alone. The
Father giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The miracles,
the miracles. How does He perform His miracles?
Well, He tells us. If I cast out devils by the Spirit
of God, then is the Kingdom of God come amongst you. His ministry is a spiritual ministry. He's a man, a real man, and He
knows that blessed unction of the Spirit in His ministry, in
His miracles. And then when He comes to die,
why the Spirit is yet there in His dying? You, through the Eternal
Spirit, offered Himself up to God, even in dying, you see. It's
a spiritual act on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He
makes that great sacrifice, and this is what He is speaking of
here, is it not? As the hour comes, what is the
hour? It is that hour that was ordained
from all eternity. On previous occasions they would
have sought to take him, those Jews. They were so offended.
They accused him of blasphemy. They would have stoned him, but
his hour was not yet come. They could not raise a finger
against him. But now the hour approaches.
The hour cometh. The eye is now calm. that ye shall be scattered, every
man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone,
because the Father is with me." And as I say, not only the Father,
but that blessed Spirit whom the Father had given to Him,
there to support Him, even as He comes to die. It's a spiritual
act that He is making through the Eternal Spirit, He offered
himself to God. And then, when he rises again from the
dead, is it not a work of the Blessed Spirit, being put to
death in the flesh, says Peter, but quickened by the Spirit. Christ, you see, is ever conscious of the promise. The promise that
had been given to him. He is living, I say, living a
life of faith. He is the great example of that
life of faith. And he knows he is not alone. Oh, what a comfort it is to those
who are in cross. Because what is true of him as
the head is true of all those who form his body. If we do but
live this life of faith we can say with him I am not alone because
the Father is with me. But how does Christ live this
life of faith? It is a life you see in which
he is very conscious of God's promise. He is living upon the
promise of God. He is living upon those words
that God had spoken. We can go back into the Old Testament. Look at the words that the Father
speaks to him in the 49th chapter of Isaiah. Verse 6. Clearly this word is
being spoken to Christ. He said, this is the Lord God
Himself speaking, He said, it is a light thing. that thou shouldest
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore
the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light
to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end
of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him
whom the nation abhorreth, Here is Christ, you see, despised
of men, forsaken by His own disciples and apostles, to Him whom man
despises, to Him whom the nation abhoreth, to a servant of rulers
kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship because
of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, and
He shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable
time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee, and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant
of the people to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritage." Oh, what a promise he's given to Christ
here. It is the day of salvation. God
says, I have helped them. I will preserve them. I will
give them for a covenant of the people. This is that word that
Christ is living upon. He can say then, yet I am not
alone, because the Father is with me. And He is with Christ
to help Christ. And we see how the Lord Jesus
Christ responds to that promise. We have the promise here in chapter
49, chapter 50. Verse 5, the Lord God hath opened
mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting, for the Lord will help me. Therefore shall I not
be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint. I know that I shall not be the
Lord will help me. Oh Christ you see lives on this
promise and ventures forth as one who believes the Word of
God. Now I know when he comes to his
crucifixion he makes that awful cry. Oh the mystery of his death
is a mystery of course in his birth, the mystery of the incarnation,
there's the miracle of a virgin conceiving, a virgin with child
by the Holy Ghost, but there's a mystery in His dying. Because
He's never anything less than true Almighty God. He never is anything less than
that. In all the days of His earthly
humiliation, is God's manifest in the flesh the eternal son
of the eternal father and as we said there is a blessed
unity in the Godhead I and my father are one God is undivided,
God is indivisible and yet all that cry My gods, my gods, why hast thou
forsaken me? We can never plumb it. We can
never fathom that, the wonder of it. He felt so derelict in his soul,
so forsaken. My gods, my god, he cries out. Why hast thou forsaken me? And yet, Even there, you see,
he still calls upon God as his own God. It's the language, always
the language of faith, the language of appropriation, my God, you
see. He's never anything less than
that. I'm not alone because the Father is with me. Gil makes a pertinent comment
He says, so God withdrew his gracious and comforting presence
but not his powerful and supporting presence. That's what Gil says,
God withdrew his gracious, comforting presence but not his powerful
and supporting presence. He was not alone in that sense. And is there not, friends, a
blessed lesson there for all those who are in Christ? Is there
not a truth that we can also learn? You see, God upholds his
people with one hand when he smites and chastens them with
the other hand. There are those occasions when
God does withdraw, as it were, that gracious and comforting
presence when we've grieved Him, when
we've sinned against Him and He takes vengeance on our inventions
and chastens us but God never withdraws that powerful supporting
hand He upholds His people just as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
was so graciously upheld Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ
as he comes to the end. It's the end now really of his
ministry. These discourses, valedictory
discourses, closing, concluding, final discourses we might say.
I know after his resurrection of course he's still ministering
to the disciples. But now he is closing that prophetic
aspect of his earthly ministry. He's about to enter more fully
into the priestly aspect of his work. Chapter 17, we have that
great prayer, the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the praying priest, and then we see him subsequently in chapter
18 following as the great sacrificing priest. but all friends that
we might learn from Christ and see him as that one who is to
us a pattern. Though we might feel at times
so forsaken, yet to know that the Lord never forsakes us. He says, Behold the hour cometh.
Yea, he's now come. that ye shall be scattered, every
man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And yes, I am not alone,
because the Father is with me. Amen. We shall sing hymn number 560
and the tune is Triumph 691. O Thou mighty God and Saviour,
give us faith, Thy works to trace. Heavenly Warrior, may we never
from Thee turn away our face. May we view Thee standing in
our wretched place.