25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
In verses 25 and 26, Jesus left His response to Judas and returned to His own teaching. He now picked up the second of the five passages dealing with the Holy Spirit in the upper room discourse.
The task of the Spirit extended beyond what Jesus said in verses 16 and 17. His role was to remind the apostles about what Jesus had taught previously and also about the new economy about to begin.
25 “These things I have spoken to you [apostles]
“These things” refers to Jesus’ communication to the apostles about His departure and resurrection. The promise of verse 26 has to do with the apostles and not for all believers of all time.
while being present with you.
Jesus wanted to communicate with the apostles about the immediate events before them because He would be crucified in a matter of hours. The time of His presence among the apostles was drawing to a close and the era of the Holy Spirit was about to begin.
PRINCIPLE:
The Lord always prepares the heart for trouble.
APPLICATION:
It is dangerous to wait until a disaster comes to our lives before starting to learn precepts and principles of God’s Word. It will be too late; we will be in too much stress to learn and appropriate them properly.
Learning God’s Word before trouble comes is essential to prepare our souls properly. First Peter was written for believers under duress, with counsel to fortify their souls with the Word before trouble comes (1 Pe 1:10-12).
