I claim that much of Jesus' encouragement in the gospel of John is related to resurrection (life). This will show that salvation for John is described in terms of life and not in terms of forgiveness of sins though the latter is included in the former.
The Goal
The goal of Jesus is described by himself to be the return to the Father (see my last post: 13:1 [cf. Lk 9:51], 3; 14:12, 28; 16:5, 17, 28; 17:11, 13; 20:17). I suggest that the reason for this is that the Father possesses life and gives that life to the Son (5:26, see also 14:19 where Jesus is said to have life). That Jesus is resurrected and ascends to the Father is important for it makes possible the gift of the Spirit (7:39; 16:7). I think the logic here is that Jesus makes possible the template (the "way") for the disciples to follow.
The Spirit and Life
It is the Spirit that begets eternal life (6:63: "the Spirit is the thing making alive...the words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life."). Earlier Jesus had claimed that unless one be born of water and spirit one cannot enter the kingdom of God (3:5). The reason is that the Spirit gives life (see Gen. 2:7 where God's breath (= spirit) enlivens). Death results when God's breath is removed (Gen. 6:3).
Trouble vs. Peace and Joy
I now turn to Jesus' words of encouragement with the purpose of arguing that they are related to the resurrected life. Early in his last discourse Jesus tells the disciples not to be troubled (14:1). It is interesting that the word "trouble" appears elsewhere in John in relation to death (11:33 in relation to Lazarus and in 13:21 in relation to Jesus). Jesus immediately talks about the afterlife of the disciples (14:2-4), so the consolation of 14:1 seems to mean that the disciples are not to worry because life will follow any death. This is why he says that they ought to trust in God and Jesus (14:1) because they grant life (5:21: "for just as the Father raises the dead and makes alive, so also the Son...makes alive.").
In 14:27, Jesus says that his peace is his gift to the disciples, but it is not as the world gives peace. A similar saying occurs in 16:33, which I think helps interpret 16:27. For in 16:33, Jesus says that the disciples will find suffering in this world but not to fear because he has conquered the world. I take it as given that the suffering in this world pertains to death. But Jesus has conquered death precisely by raising from the dead. In Revelation the martyrs are described as "conquerors" in part because they too will escape the evil of death. Another similarity between 14:27 and 16:33 is that they both are referenced to Satan and his realm of death. 14:27 is followed by 14:30 where Jesus says the prince of this world has no hold over him. I think the thought is clear: Jesus, by raising from the dead has dealt a death-blow (if you will) to the Satanic realm of death.
Jesus' gift of peace is worded very similarly to the gift of eternal life in 10:28 ("and I give to them eternal life").
Jesus' peace is related to Jesus' joy, which is also related to resurrected life. Joy in the gospel is often related to eternal life:
- 4:36 the reaper is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together.
- 8:56 Abraham rejoiced at seeing Jesus' day; this is said in the context of talk of Abraham and death.
- 9:15 Jesus rejoiced that he was not there when Lazarus died so that the disciple would believe (that he was a life giver?).
A clearer link between joy and resurrection occurs in 16. There, Jesus says that the disciples' sadness at Jesus' death will turn to joy (16:20). He then compares the situation to the pain of a woman in labor who rejoices at the birth of her child (16:21). The pain corresponds to Jesus' death, but the joy corresponds to Jesus' resurrection. In Revelation 12:5 (or so it can be argued) Jesus' resurrection is compared to birth (in Rev. 1:5 Jesus is called the first born from the dead). Interestingly, in 16:16 Jesus uses a phrase (in a little while) that may come from Isaiah 26 and it is in Isaiah 26 where there is arguably one of the few mentions of resurrection in the Old Testament! This is not a stretch because 16:21 also uses imagery from Isaiah 26.
Conclusion
This exercise has shown that the resurrected life in John is the essence of the gospel message. We are given encouragement because as Bob Dylan would say "death is not the end"! There are few more powerful verses in the New Testament than John 16:33:
I have said these things to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will find suffering, but be cheerful, I have conquered the world.Amen!
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