“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father-the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father-he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

All of 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. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

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Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will reveal sin, righteousness, and judgment. If we, as followers of Jesus, would lean into the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, we will see with eyes that are not our own. Eyes that will reveal sinful desires and actions within us…eyes that will reveal righteousness from God and how to pursue it…and eyes to see that direction we are headed in judgment and how to adjust it. The Holy Spirit is our guide…and yet we too often decide to just wander through life blindly, hoping we will make it though. Use the gift of the Holy Spirit that God has given us out of love…allow Him to guide your life today.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

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The world will hate you on account of Jesus. How comfortable are you in this world? You see, Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat anything here. Jesus makes it a point to say that if you follow Him the world will hate you…just as it hated him. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life and live life to the fullest. What it means is that you know you don’t belong to this world and this world has no hold on you. It means if following Jesus is this world is easy…you may not be fully following him and should re-examine what that should look like. To be comfortable with the world is to be uncomfortable with Christ. I would rather be comfortable with Christ and uncomfortable with the world.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

As the Father had loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and so that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for ones’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”

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Jesus’ command? Love each other. In fact, Jesus says you are not his friend and you are not in him if you don’t follow his commands. So when Jesus says love each other…it’s not just a suggestion…it’s a command. It’s a choice to follow Jesus or not. How’s your love for one another? How about for the one who believes differently? How about for the one who is of a different race? How about the other side of politics? Jesus says to love one another as He has loved. There is no differences when it comes to Jesus’ love for us. It should be the same for all of us. Love one another…and gain friendship with Jesus.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

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. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

Come now; let us leave.”

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Jesus says I won’t leave you as orphans…the Holy Spirit will come. He is here to guide us and aid us through life. It’s interesting to me how little we refer to Him though. Jesus says it’s better for Him to leave so the Holy Spirit can come. We should acknowledge Him more in our lives. We should seek His guidance more in our lives. We should concentrate on the small whisper over the noise of this world. He is here to help and guide…so let Him! We have been given an amazing gift…let’s not waste it.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

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. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

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Jesus says he is the way. We all search for the way to heaven. What path do we take? What direction do we need to be going in? Jesus says He is the way to the Father. Following Him is the avenue we must take in reaching the Father. Jesus says he is the truth. We all search for the truth. What is right? What is wrong? If you want truth, start and end with Jesus. He is not just truth, but he is The Truth. Jesus says he is life. We all search for an abundant and happy life. The only way to truly find that is in Jesus. He can offer you life…a life you can live to the fullest. Bottom line…Jesus is the answer to what you’re seeking. Have you found Him? Have you lived by this truth? Does your life reflect this? Follow Jesus to get to the Father…to find the truth…and to have an abundance life.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

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Jesus is preparing a place for you and me. Can you imagine how great it is going to be? I think the fact that we can’t fully describe it makes it even more awesome. But the best part? The best part is that Jesus will be there…we will be in the presence of Almighty God…forever! No more struggles…only love and joy. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to receive what Jesus has been preparing to give? It starts and ends with Jesus. We must follow Him. There is no other way to the Father except through Him. Maybe it’s time you set down your pride…your addictions…your secret sin lives…etc so that you can truly and totally follow Him. Why? Because it will be so worth it in eternity.

When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

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BY THIS people know you are my disciples…what is the this? Church attendance…nope. By how big your church is…nope. By how modern and flashy your church is…nope. By how much money you give…nope. By how many classes and programs you are a part of…nope. They will know we are disciples by how we LOVE ONE ANOTHER. No wonder our world is so lost…it looks at the church and sees just as much dislike and division as what the word offers. You want to reach the lost? Love one another. It comes from the mouth of Jesus…the Son of God. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me’.

I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

Jesus answered, “It is the one whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, so quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

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When Jesus says that one of them will betray Him, they all begin to wonder. Could it be me? I think this question enters their mind because they all can still remember moments of betrayal in their lives already. Sin and shame they have once endured. Sometimes we do the same…and it makes our self-confidence almost disappear. Ok so we have messed up…that’s what all of this is about! It’s about grace and forgiveness. It’s about the sacrificial lamb taking our spot. We should have more confidence in ourselves…we are sons and daughters of God! Don’t allow your past to keep hold of your present or determine your future. Allow grace to have that position. Grace is greater…

It was just before the Passover festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were on this world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to was his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hand and my head as well!”

Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

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Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him…and yet he still washed his feet. We too often push others away and block others out of our life who we know did us wrong or who we feel strong dislike for. Jesus did the opposite. Jesus says to love your enemies. It’s hard to love someone you set out to dislike every day. We must have a servant mentality. Serving God to the best of our abilities and representing him in every area of our life…including loving those it’s hard to love. Let us start seeing people the way God sees them. It will help us become more like Jesus.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn-and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the Synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believed in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

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They were more concerned about human praise than praise from God. Doesn’t that just sound dumb almost? Why would anyone think that way? I think the majority of people do think that way though. We put on masks to cover up our flaws…why? We pretend to be solid followers of Jesus when on the inside we are rebelling…why? We act like we walk in truth when in reality our faith is full of doubt…why? It’s because we care too much about the praise of people. When we are locked in on God…we will focus on His goodness and faithfulness. When we are locked in on God we won’t be masked…but will live in the freedom of His love. Who are you trying to fool today? Who are you trying to impress? Let us seek praise from God over praise from men.