Did the Disciples Know that Jesus Was from the Father?

Tom: We’re continuing with the gospel. We’re in the Gospel of John:16:28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
See All.... Dave, before we get rolling on this, I think it’s time for another encouragement to our listeners who have not read the Bible—not only have not read it, probably, through from Genesis to Revelation, but maybe haven’t even gotten started. And our encouragement is to begin and to begin with the Gospel of John. This program is titled Search the Scriptures Daily. We’re trying to present information from the Bible, but you need to—I’m speaking to our listeners—you need to check us out and make sure that we are being true to God’s Word. That we’re saying things according to God’s Word. And the best way to do that is to get into the Bible, read it verse by verse.

Dave: And why—I mean, we emphasize the Bible, because this is God’s Word. Why not go to the top? Why not find out what the Creator of the universe has said? He’s the one who makes the rules. He’s the one to whom we’re accountable, and one day we will stand before Him. Let’s find out what He says, not the opinions of men. Not what some church says, no matter how large it is, how old it is. But what has God said? That’s why we study His Word.

Tom: Dave, I’ve been a believer close to 30 years, and I get excited when I read the Bible, because the thought hits me: I’m hearing from God here! As you said, let’s go right to the top. If God has revealed Himself, and He has, and we can prove it from the Scriptures that this must be God’s Word, as you say, why not take advantage of it?

Dave: Amen.

Tom: So we’re in John:16:28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
See All...: “I came forth from the Father [this is Jesus speaking] I came forth from the Father and am come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father. His disciples said unto Him, Lo, Now speakest thou plainly and speakest no proverb. Now we are sure that thou knowest all things and needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.” Well, how convinced were they, Dave?
Dave: Well, Jesus goes on and raises that question. “Jesus answered them: Do you now believe? Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come that you shall be scattered, every man to his own shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

Well, they’re going to go out to the Mount of Olives, Jesus will be in prayer; Judas, of course, has already left—he’s gone to the chief priests. He’s going to bring them there, with an armed band of soldiers, and so forth. And they’re going to take Jesus. He will allow them to bind His hands and lead Him away. And all the disciples will forsake Him and flee, in spite of their vow of loyalty right now. “Oh, we understand!” No, they didn’t understand. And they won’t understand for some time. They will be bewildered. They will be in disarray. They’ll be in hiding, in fact. Luke 24 says, “This is where they were, gathered together behind closed doors for fear of the Jews.” It says, “Then suddenly comes Jesus…”

Tom: Of course, the Jews being the religious leaders, because they were Jews.

Dave: Right. Yeah, so He says, “I came forth from the Father, and I’ve come into the world, and now I’m going to leave the world.” He didn’t mean He was going to die and His body would be buried. No, He bodily left this world! He was raised from the dead, a new body, no blood in the veins—and a new kind of life because the life of the flesh is in the blood—that’s just sinful flesh that we have, and that was poured out upon the Cross, as the blood of animals was poured out on the altar in the tabernacle or with the temple, and He is going to leave this world bodily. His resurrected, glorified body. And the disciples will witness this. They don’t understand that, but they think they do. “Oh, now you’re speaking plainly and not a proverb. We’re sure that you know everything. You don’t need anyone to teach you. We believe you came forth from God.”

Jesus said, “Do you now believe?”

Tom: Dave, it’s amazing—and probably not a good idea sometimes—to try and get into the heads of the disciples. For example, earlier you said, “They came to take Jesus by force.” But He allowed them to do that. Somebody would say, “Where did you get that idea, that He allowed them to do that?”

Because they asked Him, “Art thou he?” And He said, “I am,” they fell backwards! They weren’t in control there. He was in control. But then He allowed them to take Him.

Dave: Of course, had He not allowed it, they couldn’t have done it.

Tom: So the disciples, they see this. They experience this, and so much of what they’d experienced, now it was all—it wasn’t making sense to them.

Dave: Well, here’s the miracle worker. Here’s the one who could walk on water, who could call Peter out of the boat, and when Peter began to sink, Jesus could reach out and lift him up and walk him on water into the boat. He could calm the storm with a word. He could raise the dead, open the eyes of the blind, even those blind from birth—suddenly, he seems weak! He’s meek. He’s submissive. They take Him and lead Him away.

Well, where is His power? “Were we dreaming? Have we been deceived? Is he a deceiver? Somehow did He deceive us about this?” It has been speculated, and it may very well be true, that Judas—he wanted some money; he thought he could get some money, betray Jesus. But Jesus, the miracle worker, they wouldn’t be able to take Him, so he would have his money in his pocket, and the rabbis wouldn’t have Jesus, because He would be too powerful for them. I don’t know.

But it must have—Tom, it’s hard to imagine the shock this was to the disciples. This is the miracle worker! This is the Messiah! And suddenly, He seems to be helpless. And the soldiers, the rabbis, whoever it is, they seemed to have power over Him. It doesn’t make sense, but it had to shatter them. It shocked them.

Tom: Right. But in one sense, it does, because what is our first reaction to most things? It’s self-preservation. They said, “They’re taking Him! What about us?” And they fled.

Dave: Right. They all—it says—they all forsook Him and fled. That includes John. That includes everyone. We often focus on Peter because he denied Him. But no, they all forsook him and fled. And Jesus said, “The hour is coming, in fact, now is. You’re going to be scattered.” And it says, “Every man ran to his own house,” to, you know, hide. Then they do get back together, and “You’re going to leave me alone.” What…They have been with Him for several years now, and they have sworn their devotion to Him, and they have been, in fact, imagining that they were going to take the kingdom with Him. He was going to take over as the Messiah, this is the false view that many Jews have to this day. And this is one of the reasons why they reject Jesus as the Messiah. “Well, He didn’t set up the kingdom.”

But He had to come as the Lamb to be slain, to pay the penalty for our sins, and only then would He come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. So they are…

Tom:  He’s supposed to…Dave, I just want to interject this—He’s supposed to bring peace, what we were talking about in our first segment. The Jews are looking for peace.

Dave: Well, Jesus said—we read it back in chapter 5: “I come in my Father’s name. You don’t receive me. Another is going to come in His own name. Him you will receive.” They will receive the Antichrist; they will be deceived.

Well, this was a shock to them. I think it went right over their heads; they didn’t understand it because in Luke, you remember, the two on the road to Emmaus, they’re really upset. They’re discouraged, and Jesus says, “What’s your problem?”

“Don’t you know? Are you a stranger?”

“Well, what’s going on?”

“Well, Jesus of Nazareth, we were sure He was the Messiah—the miracles that He did, and so forth. But now, they crucified Him—He couldn’t have been the Messiah, and we don’t even know where they buried Him. Somebody stole His body.”

So they are not prepared, and Jesus has tried to prepare them. But He says, “These things have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. In the world, you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

And Christ has gone away; He’s going to come back, and He’s the one who paid the penalty for our sins, and He’s the one who He is our peace, in fact. And He has overcome the world.  And we have committed ourselves to Him, no matter what the world does to us. And we’re not looking to gain anything out of this world, success or wealth or whatever. But our hope is in Him.

But at this point, the disciples didn’t understand that.

Tom: Dave, I want to go back to a point related to our first segment. Evangelicals preach the gospel. We preach personal salvation. But we don’t preach Jesus, the Prince of Peace, as the solution to the world’s problems—the only solution.

Dave:  Yeah, well, because perhaps it isn’t understood, or it’s not politically correct, or you would be interfering. You can’t bring God into the marketplace—into the real world out there. Let that be in the church. Don’t let God interfere with our real lives! But that’s what it means if Christ is really the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and He’s the one who alone can bring peace to this earth. That’s a different message, Tom, that men don’t want to hear.

Tom: Even though Jesus said “that in me ye might have peace.”