In no place throughout Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, will the reader find, coming from the mouth of Jesus, such a focus of instruction pointed directly toward His Disciples than in John 16. In 33 verses, Jesus uses the words “you” and “your” 63 times! The concern of a parent sending off their child, the strain of a coach sending in his players, the bark of a general preparing his army for battle — Jesus’s tone is unmistakable. The entire chapter can be summed up in one key question: What will happen to Jesus’s Disciples once He is taken out of the world?

Imagine you are one of Jesus’s Disciples at this moment in history. You have spent 1,000 days with God in the flesh. You’ve witnessed thousands of miracles, heard hundreds of parables and seen countless lives transformed by simply encountering Jesus. Demons have obeyed your command as you’ve ventured on short-term trips that Jesus Himself has sent you on. You’ve watched Him multiply bread, calm storms and raise the dead. Now He is telling you that He is “going away.” What will life be like without the physical presence of Jesus? Imagine the soulish void!

Aristotle postulated that “nature abhors a vacuum.” Early European scientists like Galileo, Descartes, Pascale and Newton all contributed to our observation of the phenomena created by the theoretical concept of a “perfect vacuum” — could it even exist?! Consider the heart of Jesus’s Disciples. What kind of vacuum would be created in the hearts of 11 souls who had touched, handled, listened to and become familiar with the Incarnate God of the universe?

There would be 50 days of vacuum. Fifty days where Jesus would make brief “appearances” to encourage, instruct and prove His bodily resurrection. But it is hard to imagine existentially the soul-vacuum that must have been created in the hearts of these 11 men. How would this near-perfect void be filled?

In a very real sense, as you read John 16, recognize that all the warnings, realities and resources that Jesus offered to those Disciples within earshot, all apply to you and me in the 21st Century! In this world we will have trouble! We don’t have the physical Jesus, but we do have the presence of the Holy Spirit, just like the 11 Disciples. We have a perfect connection with God through prayer in Jesus’s name. We have the truth of His Word recorded for our consumption, which is reality from Jesus’s perspective, something Christian philosophers would identify as “true truth.” The Spirit and the Word are actively forming the character of Christ in us, teaching and relating every aspect of our lives to His purposes on the earth. This is, as Paul communicated to his Corinthian friends why “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give [you] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” That same writer would later pen, “we are for the praise of His glory.” Look into the face of Christ this week. John 16 is for you, to you and should be in you! Invite His Spirit to fill every void in your life, leaving no room for pet sins or vain pursuits. Glory will naturally pour from your life as He fulfills John 16:14 in your life.