SUMMARY
JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More tells his followers that the Father will send them the HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More Spirit. This “Advocate” will come to teach and remind people about Jesus, for it comes in Jesus’ name.
ANALYSIS
Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will be sent to them to teach and remind them. The context is the last night that Jesus has with his disciples, when Jesus is preparing his disciples for the time when he will no longer be with them in a physical sense. His disciples are troubled by what Jesus says, but Jesus assures them that he will not leave them on their own. The Holy Spirit will come to them and remain with them forever. Jesus also imagines that the Holy Spirit’s presence will be like what his own ministry was about. He will be sending them “another Advocate” (14:16). John uses a unique term for the Holy Spirit, paraclete, which means one who is called to come alongside. While it is typically translated as “Advocate” other viable options include Helper, Comforter, Aide, Assistant, Intercessor, Companion, Guide, and Teacher. In fact, the Holy Spirit will take on all these roles throughout the rest of the Farewell Discourse. The Spirit will also teach and remind them of what Jesus has said. The Spirit does this by keeping the memory of Jesus’ teachings alive within the Christian community and by disclosing new insights into the meaning of Jesus’ life and actions. For example, the Gospel of John says that after Easter the disciples not only remembered that Jesus cleansed the TempleThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More, but came to new insight about what that action meant (John 2:22). Similarly, they later remembered how Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and came to a new understanding of how that fulfilled Old Testament Scripture (John 12:16). The teaching work of the Spirit is anchored in the life and work of Jesus and involves showing the meaning of Jesus to each new generation.
