Wouldn’t it be great to sit and talk with Jesus? What questions would you want to ask? 

John 13-17 records the most intimate picture of Jesus interacting with his disciples. Described by theologians as the Upper Room Discourse, this is unique to the Gospel of John and recounts the details of the dinner conversation at what is referred to as The Last Supper: Jesus partaking of the Passover meal before his betrayal and arrest later that night. It is both intimate and dramatic. Jesus washes the disciples' feet (to the consternation of a typically bombastic Simon Peter). John reclines against Jesus as they eat. Following Jesus’s command, Judas slips away (in the dark of night) to betray him to the religious leaders. And Jesus concludes his teaching with a prayer for the ages (known as the High Priestly Prayer).

In this final conversation before the cross, Jesus explains many things about himself, what it means to follow him, and (perhaps most importantly!) the promise of his coming Spirit. Christians throughout the ages would not be left alone; Jesus will come to them by his Spirit. So, he can truly say, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). This portion of Scripture contains Jesus’s most important teaching on the gift of the Spirit, the One given to be our Comforter and Helper, to lead us into all truth. At a time when truth is relative, lies are normal, and loneliness is rampant, the Church needs to learn afresh the great hope of Jesus’s presence with his people through his Spirit.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33