John
16:5-11 (NIV) "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me,
'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with
grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send
him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to
sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not
believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father,
where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the
prince of this world now stands condemned.
NOTE: Jesus' comment
is a little hard to understand. Both Peter and Thomas had asked similar
questions, and maybe Jesus expected a more fuller discussion. But I think his
point is that their grief had overtaken their rationality. They were so focused
on Jesus' leaving that they weren't thinking. Jesus tries to help them
understand that his leaving is a good thing. Most people, in times of grief, do
not recognize the good that can come out of a situation -- and rightly so. But
faith tells us that God is working good for us in every situation that life
presents. This of course is a special situation: Jesus' death, resurrection,
and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Still, the principle remains the same: God
promises to bring good out of every situation. Now "good" can be
subjective (at least to us, not to God). No one considers discipline a good
thing in the midst of the discipline. But time shows us the value. The key is
that God knows my situation and is at work for my best!
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