OVERWHELMED BY HOPE

Jesus’ final sermon in John’s Gospel begins with this significant “Do not be afraid.” It was part of His earnest conversation with His disciples between their last meal together and His arrest, perhaps sometime past midnight. This context alone would render it an important discourse—but it is also the longest in all of the Gospels, stretching over four chapters in John’s Gospel, with the final chapter being a prayer with and for the disciples.

Jesus’ focus was on the future, from the immediate context of His imminent arrest to the completion of His kingdom, the many rooms available in His Father’s house, and His promise to “come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3). At times, Jesus was blunt about the challenges and trials His disciples would face, but He was even more adamant that the disciples need not be afraid and that He would send a Comforter who would be ever with them. With the disciples about to witness His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus wanted to give them hope that would be larger than their fears, sorrow, and doubts that would threaten to overwhelm them. It seemed that Jesus well understood that we cannot merely decide to feel less fear. “Quite the contrary, our overwhelming fears need, themselves, to be overwhelmed by bigger and better things, by a sense of adventure and fullness of life that comes from locating our fears and vulnerabilities within a larger story that is ultimately hopeful and not tragic.”* This was the invitation to continue to live with the indwelling presence of Jesus—by His Spirit, even after Jesus’ departure—in the fullness of life He offered and in the hope of His return.

* Scott Bader-Saye, Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2007), 60.