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.” (John 14:23-27 NIV)
“Do not be afraid.” That’s what Jesus commands us today. “Do not be afraid.” Don’t you want to say, “Really?” This past week gave us even more reasons to be afraid. “Can I go to the doctor? Is it safe to go to school?” There are fears all around us and in us. For you confirmands, you’re thinking, “I have to stand up in front of church today. How could I not be afraid?” I know. I have to do it every week. It’s awful! Everybody stares at you like they’re bored out of their minds. “Do not be afraid? Really, Jesus? How is that possible? There are so many reasons to be afraid.”
That makes me think of a story from Jesus’ life. Remember when Jesus and his disciples got caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee? The wind whipped, and the waves broke over the boat. They were about to sink! The disciples were terrified and said to Jesus, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38). Remember what Jesus did? With just two words, he stopped the storm, and it was completely calm. And then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Even in the middle of a storm, even as the wind whipped around them and the waves crashed into them, the disciples didn’t need to be afraid.
Why? Jesus gives you peace. That’s Jesus’ promise today: “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.” Jesus gives you peace. No matter the situation. No matter whom or what you’re up against. Jesus gives you peace. Notice that Jesus’ peace is not the same as the world’s peace. Jesus’ peace doesn’t mean that all the violence is going to end. It doesn’t mean that every relationship is going to be perfect. That’s the peace the world craves. Jesus’ peace is different.
It’s the peace that the three men had in the fiery furnace. Remember that story? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were captives in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar built a statue and commanded that everyone bow down to it or be thrown into the fiery furnace. I would have been afraid! But while everyone else bowed down to that idol, they stood tall. Then they told the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it…. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). They had peace, even in the face of violence and death. That’s what Jesus gives you: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
How? How do we get that peace? Jesus said, “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.” This peace was going to come from the Holy Spirit, our Advocate. What does that mean? In Greek, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Paraclete.” Have you heard that word before? Paraclete? It means, “Someone called to your side.” The Holy Spirit is Someone called to always be by your side. What would we call someone like that? A helper? A counselor? A friend?
The Holy Spirit is all of those things. Our translation chooses this word: Advocate. An advocate is someone who always speaks up for you. Who defends you and your cause. Who is always on your side. Who always has your back. That’s the Holy Spirit. Isn’t that great? You are not alone. You are never alone. You have the Holy Spirit in you. God himself! He is your Helper in time of need. Your Counselor when you don’t know what to do. Your Friend when you’re alone. Your Advocate at all times in all places. That’s why you can have peace. Do not be afraid!
Just think of what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus’ disciples. Remember where the disciples were on Easter evening? In a locked room. How did they feel? Afraid. They were afraid, even though no one was coming after them. Now on Pentecost, just fifty days later, Peter and the disciples are in front of an enormous crowd of thousands and thousands of people—a little like you standing before church today. If they had been afraid even when no one was chasing them, you’d think they’d be terrified of speaking in front of such a big crowd. But they weren’t. In fact, Peter preached a powerful sermon: “You crucified Jesus, but God raised him back to life.” How could they talk like that? What changed in them? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit took away their fear.
Maybe a little like my brother does for me. I have a brother who is in the special forces of the Marines. He looks like me, only he has way more muscles. When I’m with my brother, do you know how I feel? Not afraid! That’s not necessarily a good thing. My brother isn’t God. Lots of bad things could still happen. But being with him takes my fear away. One time, we were in a kayak on the ocean, and we got a lot farther away from shore than I was planning to go. But then I looked at him and realized he had been way farther in the ocean before, and I wasn’t afraid. If another person can do that for me, what about God for us? The Holy Spirit gives us peace.
Jesus tells us how. Some Christians today think the Holy Spirit is all about jumping around and doing crazy things. No! Listen to what the Holy Spirit does: “He will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is all about God’s Word. He teaches us God’s Word. That means that you’re not done. Confirmation is not a graduation from God’s Word. The Holy Spirit has so much more to teach you. And me. The disciples had spent three years with Jesus, but they still didn’t know everything. I once served with a pastor who had been a pastor for 40 years. That’s a long time! That pastor, even after 40 years of being a pastor, still took courses on the Bible. Why? He was never done learning. You’re not either!
But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just teach us new things. He reminds us of everything that Jesus has said to us. Because we want to remember everything! Like the Law and the Gospel. Remember those? The Law of God shows us our sins and how we can’t save ourselves. The Gospel shows us Jesus and how he saved us. Like sin and grace. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to remind us that we are way more sinful than we think. But then the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to remind us that God loves us way more than we think. That’s his grace—his undeserved love.
I hope the Holy Spirit reminds you of those things over and over again. When I became a pastor, I asked my dad, “What’s the most important part of catechism class?” He said, “My whole goal was for those kids to believe in Jesus as their Savior.” Does that sound easy? It’s not. We trust in ourselves. We think we’re so good we don’t need God. Or we think we’re so bad God could never love us. We need the Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). I pray the Holy Spirit remind you every day of your Savior Jesus. He loves you. We are saved by faith in Jesus.
That is where peace comes from. Jesus offers peace to you and you and every single person here. “My 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.” How can you and I have peace? Through the Holy Spirit. And what does the Holy Spirit use? God’s Word. God’s Word works in our hearts. God’s Word works in Baptism to give us new life. God’s Word works in Holy Communion to give us the forgiveness of sins. If all of this is true, how could we ever be afraid? You have God in you. You have the forgiveness of sins. You have eternal life. You have Jesus. Don’t be afraid!
But being a Christian isn’t just about knowing things. It’s not just about believing things. Jesus says, “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.” Loving Jesus means obeying Jesus’ teaching. That sounds so simple. But it’s so hard. Especially as you get older. Maybe right now, today, what Jesus says makes sense—about sexuality and marriage, about your identity, about respect and parents and friends. But one day, it’s not going to make sense. Temptations are going to get big. May the Holy Spirit always remind you: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.”
Because you have the power to turn away from all this. You have the ability to stop hearing God’s Word. To stop coming to church. You will have lots of opportunities to be too cool for Jesus. Too busy for Jesus. Too important for Jesus. If you’re thinking, “That will never happen to me!”, I hope you’re right. But do you know what the stats say? On average, only one out of three confirmation students continue to come to church by the time they finish college. One out of three. That’s sad. There’s three of you. It’s pretty easy math. I hope it’s not the case for you.
Do you know how people will be able to tell where your heart is? Jesus tells us: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching…. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” How you live your life shows what’s in your heart. Our world says you’re free to love whatever you want to love. That’s not what Jesus says. “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” Love for Jesus means obeying Jesus’ commands. About sex. About money. About you. You’re going to be tempted to turn away from Jesus. To run after the world’s peace. But if you do, here’s what will happen: Your heart will always be troubled and afraid. Sin never brings peace.
And when that happens, when your heart is troubled and afraid, when you realize your sin and your need for a Savior, remember this: You have an Advocate. Actually, you have two Advocates. You have the Holy Spirit! But there is someone else called an Advocate in the Bible. Do you know whom? Jesus. We heard that when we confessed our sins earlier today: “If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). Jesus died for you. To forgive you. To save you. Jesus loves you. No matter what happens in your life, you are never too far gone. You are never too sinful for Jesus. There’s a word for that: Grace. Undeserved love. Come back to Jesus. Always come back to Jesus.
And he will give you peace. That’s his promise! “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.” Jesus gives you peace. As you enter high school, “Do not be afraid,” you are never alone. When your faith is challenged, “Do not be afraid,” the Holy Spirit is always here in God’s Word to strengthen you. When you realize your sin, “Do not be afraid,” Jesus has already taken sin away on the cross. This is how you face life with confidence, even in the middle of the storm. You have an Advocate—actually two: Jesus and his Spirit. Always by your side. “Do not be afraid.”
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