In this moment of darkness, our Lord Jesus revealed one of the defining truths of the church age: the coming of the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell every believer.
On the night before the Lord went to the cross, He withdrew from the crowds and gathered together with His own one last time. The disciples understood it to be with the purpose of eating the Passover, but He knew it was much more than that. It was a time of remembrance, as they looked back to the first Passover. It was a time of fulfillment, for they were on the verge of the true Passover which all the others—even the original—anticipated. It was a time of beginning, for it was the institution of the New Covenant. But it was also a time of sorrow, and if the disciples weren’t aware of this at the beginning of that evening, they knew it by the end.
Of course, the Lord knew. So He used that night as a time of preparation: the prepared Passover; a prepared place in the Father’s house; and a few brief hours to prepare the disciples for the dreadful events that lay ahead.
He began with these words: “Let not your heart be troubled” (Jn. 14:1). How like the Lord! He was the One about to be mocked and abandoned. He was the One about to be beaten and whipped. He was the One about to suffer that most agonizing of deaths. He was the One about to bear the sin of the world, which His holy soul loathed. And yet His concern was for others, and He tenderly readied the Eleven for His departure.
To do so, Christ disclosed to them truth after truth. He told them where He is going. He assured them that He would prepare a place for them there. He promised to return for them and bring them home. He unfolded the great work and privileges in which they would share. But there was one wonderful truth in particular that He passed on for their comfort. For as long as they’d known Him, He had been their Comforter—encouraging them in every trial; consoling them in every fear; guiding them in every work; helping them in every task. Now He was leaving, and they would feel terribly, terribly alone. Who would comfort them then? The Lord revealed the glorious answer: He was going to send them another Comforter.
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth … I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (Jn. 14:16-18)
He cared too much to leave them as orphans. So, in this time of darkness, our Lord Jesus divulged one of the defining truths of the church age: the coming of the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell every believer. The Lord Jesus would no longer visibly accompany His disciples. But He would not leave them alone. Another Comforter—one just like Him—would take up residence within them.
The Lord knew the needs of His disciples then. And, looking down the long centuries of time, our Lord anticipated our needs today. He knew we would need help, because apart from Him we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). He knew we would need comfort, because the road home can be hard; so He gave us a Comforter; a Helper.
This Comforter performs countless works—these chapters in John tell us that He glorifies Christ, empowers believers, and convicts the world. And He has many names—John records that He is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and the Spirit of truth. But He has another name—a name that reminds us of the Lord’s words of solace in the upper room. Romans 8:9 calls Him “the Spirit of Christ.” No name could comfort us more, for it tells us that He is just like Him.