Patiently Jesus answers their questions about his identity, his mission, his future. Jesus explains to them about the coming Holy Spirit, the upcoming crucifixion, and God's will for everything. Finally, the disciples cry out that they get it, the grasp what Jesus is saying. Jesus shocks them with this question: Do you finally believe?
At this point Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how they will abandon him. But then Jesus prays for them. And so it is with us today - we struggle to understand who Jesus is and what he has done and is doing in the world. When we get close to grasping it, we still get challenged by Jesus himself: do you finally believe?
Jesus challenges us like he did his disciples then - reminding us that we can't believe in Him apart from His Spirit. We need Jesus to pray for us, to help us keep believing - and obeying. And that's what Jesus' prayer is all about - spelling out the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Son and the Disciples, the Disciple and Disciples, and the Disciples and the Father. Love. Unity. Mission.
It was one thing for the disciples to declare their faith and trust in Jesus while praying in the Garden. It was severely tested there in Gethsemane when the soldiers and priests showed up with clubs and swords. The light had seemed to dawn for the disciples earlier, only to have it chased away in the dark of night. And so it goes for us still - we have moments where we finally get it... and then it's overwhelmed by the forces at work in the world.
The religious leaders did not believe Jesus. Some did, and more would after the resurrection. The Roman bureaucrats and soldiers did not believe Jesus. A few did, but not enough to intervene and stop the condemnation to torture. Crowds of people had been fed by Jesus, healed by Jesus, loved by Jesus, taught by Jesus - but they did not believe Jesus. They were willing to let him be silenced.
Where are you at with Jesus? Do you struggle to hear and obey his words? Do you have a hard time making sense of his life and teachings? Is it difficult for you to believe? Can you see in your own life where you've denied or even betrayed Jesus? When we come to Jesus and let him know that we finally believe, he's probably going to push back a bit. Not to be mean, but but because he wants to give us the truth in love.
Jesus wants us to believe him. He prays for the Spirit to help us believe him. But we should be aware that our declarations of belief may get challenged by Jesus himself. That's his gift to us. Belief shouldn't be easy. Which is why faith is a gift of God to us. And we must rely on Jesus' Spirit to help us keep trusting him. We don't have to do it all by ourselves.
Do you finally believe?
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