Jn 14:12-21

1 May 2005

6th Sunday of Easter

“In the Name”

            I’ve included the ending of last week’s gospel reading to go with today’s reading in John.  Something that runs through the chapters in this part of John’s gospel is the almost frantic concern the disciples have for Jesus and for themselves.  After all, what will become of them if their Lord and friend really does die?  They may be excused a bit of paranoia as they see the noose of Jesus’ enemies drawing ever tighter.

            I don’t think hearing him talk about going away to “prepare a place” for them and “going to the Father” does much to lessen their anxiety (vv. 3, 12)!  But Jesus wants to console them.  He says that they who believe will do the things he did, and in fact, will do even greater things.  And that’s still true today.

            When Jesus talks about asking for something “in my name,” what does he mean?  What does it mean to pray “in the name of Jesus”?  There’s a gospel chorus that we used to sing in the Assemblies of God that goes like this:

“In the name of Jesus / In the name of Jesus / We have the victory.
In the name of Jesus / In the name of Jesus / Demons will have to flee.
When we come in the name of Jesus / Tell me, who can stand against us?
In the name of Jesus, Jesus / We have the victory.”

            (Banu told me that during her time with Campus Crusade, she learned a different version of that song.)

            I think a lot of the time, we use that phrase “in the name of Jesus”—or some variation thereof—as a way of simply ending a prayer.  We don’t really think about what it means.  I know I’ve been guilty of that.  And if we’re really honest, we can see it as one way of using the Lord’s name in vain.  (That’s number 3 in the list of Ten Commandments.)  That is, it’s uttering the holy name in a careless, thoughtless fashion.

            Jesus says, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (v. 14).  That sounds like a pretty good deal!  So I guess…we can just dream up anything, pray for it “in the name of Jesus,” and it will come true!  Has anyone here ever tried that and discovered that it didn’t work?  Contrary to the teaching of some unscrupulous ministers, perhaps some on television, we can’t simply ask for a fortune and have it appear—as if by magic.  (Understand, I’m not including their income from the sale of items they claim will bless you “in the name of Jesus”!)

            The mystery is cleared up somewhat when we remember the verse right before that.  “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v. 13).  Now, we’re getting to what “in the name” means.  To act in the name of someone (or something) is to act in the authority of that person.  It means to act for that person, kind of like power of attorney.  In a way, it means to act as that person.

            So, asking “in the name of Jesus” means that God will be glorified.  That’s true just because of who Jesus is and what Jesus is all about.  Still, I realize that that doesn’t clear everything up.  But as we continue in today’s reading, the picture of what “in the name of Jesus” means will, I hope, become less muddy!

            John follows this with one of his favorite topics, which is love.  He immediately has Jesus say this:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (v. 15).  For Jesus, that’s the law of love.  That’s how we know we’re in sync with Jesus.

            A young Christian woman from Iraq has recently spoken of the suffering of her people.  Olga Yaqob, who was but a girl during Saddam’s war with Iran during the ‘80s, remembers hearing people ask, “How can God let this happen?”  She speaks of the horrors of the first Persian Gulf war and of the years following, during the UN-imposed economic sanctions.

            Yaqob especially mentions the misery of the children.  “Staring into my eyes with grief,” she says, “I heard the voices of each one of them asking, with hope, ‘Do you love me?’  Their looks and questions reminded me of Jesus’ look into [Simon Peter’s] eyes when he asked him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’…I began sailing with the ship of my service, from one shore to another, toward the depth to which Jesus is calling me.”[1]

Love really does call us into the depths.  So often, our reaction is to say, “Sorry, I can’t swim…and I don’t really want to learn how!”  Our sister Olga admits that, saying, “Sometimes, when I see the flame of our hope within the church dim, I remind myself that the Holy Spirit’s power today is the same as it was at Pentecost, and will be forever, keeping the church’s mission lit with God’s love, for those waiting to find it.”[2]

Something that has encouraged my faith is the study of church history, as strange as that may sound.  Over and over, there have been times when the church has done incredibly stupid and vicious things.  But, by the grace of God, there has always been a faithful, loving remnant.  “One of the biggest challenges facing Christians today is the challenge to live in such a way that God’s love, clearly reflected in our daily lives, can draw others to believe the Christian claim ‘God is love.’”[3]

Left to our own devices, that won’t happen.  But fortunately, we have help!  In verse 16, Jesus tells the disciples that another Advocate, another Helper, is on the way.  The word in Greek (paraklhto", paraklētos) literally means “one called along side.”  This is legal terminology; it’s used to describe a defense counselor.

Jesus has been their Paraclete, their Advocate.  Now the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell within them.  This Helper strengthens from within.  If we’re willing, this Helper gives us the desire and the courage to plunge into the depths of Christ.

The scripture says that “the world cannot receive [the Spirit of truth] because it neither sees him nor knows him” (v. 17).  The word “world” is used in different ways in the Bible.  John uses the word to indicate the all-pervasive system in which we exist—a system resistant to Christ.  This isn’t “world” as in:  God’s good creation.  This is “world” as in:  everything about us that ignores God.

The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, and it doesn’t much want to, either!  We ourselves are being worldly when we decide against plunging into the depths of Christ and just figure…hey, it’s enough to splash around in the kiddie pool!

            Because it resists the Spirit of truth, it is impossible for the world to act or pray or do anything “in the name” of Jesus.  The world doesn’t recognize his authority; it doesn’t obey him.  The world doesn’t love Jesus or the truth.

            I’m sure that I’m not the only one to notice something.  (I really hope I’m not, anyway!)  In recent years, there has increasingly developed a cynicism about the truth.  The tendency is to not really expect to hear the truth.  It seems that all we should expect is someone’s “spin” on whatever issue is at hand.  The so-called “news” networks only encourage this—especially with their “crossfire” type shows.

It’s even getting harder to believe what we see.  The movie “Forrest Gump,” which was released over ten years ago, won most of the major Academy Awards that year.  I found it interesting that it also won in the Visual Effects category, something that science fiction movies tend to do well in.  It was the use of computer-generated imagery that got the award.  Among other things, it was the way that Forrest was able to interact with real-life figures.

(My favorite example is the awards ceremony with President Lyndon Johnson when Forrest returned from Vietnam.  He thought Johnson wanted to see his wound, which was, as he put it, “in the but-tocks.”  So he basically moons the president while on stage.)

That kind of technology has become even more sophisticated in recent years.  Some have alleged that both the government and the media have produced false images that are convincingly real.

I’ve gone into some detail on this point.  Still, the world’s resistance to the Spirit of truth began long before computers were invented!

Hundreds of years before Jesus, Hebrew prophets described the situation.  Isaiah 59 says, “Justice is turned back…for truth stumbles in the public square…Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled” (vv. 14-15).

Jeremiah warned, “Beware of your neighbors, and put no trust in any of your kin…every neighbor goes around like a slanderer.  They all deceive their neighbors, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies” (9:4-5).

Truth is not made by TV news or by cynicism of people or even by the magic of televangelists.  Truth is personal; truth is Jesus Christ.  We know the truth by knowing and loving Jesus.  And in verse 21, Jesus says, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me…and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Near the start of my sermon, I sang the gospel chorus, “In the Name of Jesus.”  It’s been going through my head all week, and I want to end with it!

“In the name of Jesus / In the name of Jesus / We have the victory.”  Jesus offers us his name.  He wants us to act in the same spirit of love and truth that his name, his authority, grants to us.  We have the authority to be free in the name of Jesus.  We only have to claim it.  Claim it.  Say it is mine.

“In the name of Jesus / In the name of Jesus / Demons will have to flee.”  There is no lie or darkness that can withstand the healing light of Christ.  We’re in the midst of a world-system filled with lies and darkness.

“When we come in the name of Jesus / Tell me, who can stand against us?”  We can come in our own name, and just maybe that will mean something for a little while.  But tomorrow, we’ll be in the where-are-they-now file.  In the name of Jesus, no one can stand against us:  no one who peddles lies or darkness.

“In the name of Jesus, Jesus / We have the victory.”  In case we still haven’t gotten it:  “What we are called to do is not to be accomplished by our own power—individually or collectively—but by the power of God working in us, through our loving surrender to the glorious, blazing power, energy, and love of God.”[4]  Claim that.  And you shall be free.

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