The Mysterious Bond

“That which we have seen and heard we are showing you,

so that you may also have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship

is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

1John 1:3

Jesus often puzzled and/or angered men because of his enigmatic answers to their questions.  They did not know that his answers were coming from his heavenly Father, and if his Father did not give one to his heart, Jesus would not speak.  You will recall his silence when some elders demanded that he render a judgment on the poor woman caught in adultery (Jn. 8:1–11).  And you will recall the exasperation of Pontius Pilate when Jesus would not speak and defend himself against the false charges brought against him: “‘Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?’  And yet, he did not answer him with even one word, so that the governor was greatly amazed.  Therefore, Pilate said to him, ‘You do not speak to me?  Do you not understand that I have authority to crucify you, and I have authority to release you?’ ” (Mt. 27:13b–14; Jn. 19:10).

Jesus spoke to men only after the Father had spoken to him.  He saw much among his nation that would have profited from his wise advice, but he refused to offer it unless the Father, through the invisible bond He had with Jesus, moved him to do so.  Jesus once told the rulers of the Jews, “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent me is true, and the things I’ve heard from Him, these I speak to the world” (Jn. 8:26).  And John immediately adds that “They did not understand that he spoke of the Father to them” (Jn. 8:27).

No, men did not understand Jesus because they knew nothing of the mysterious bond that Jesus had with his Father.  They did not understand how he could say, when he was standing alone in their midst, “I’m not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me” (Jn. 8:16b).  And when they demanded of him, “‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus did not tell them, but only answered, ‘You don’t know me or my Father’ ” (Jn. 8:19).  If they had known about the sweet fellowship of the Father and the Son, they would have known that the Father was leading Jesus by the Spirit and that He was always with his Son, everywhere he went.

Jesus suffered and died so that we could receive the Spirit and share in his mysterious bond with the Father.  And even though he knew that in this world, a multitude of voices can be heard claiming to speak for his Father, he was not worried at all.  “My sheep”, he said, “hear my voice,” and “they will never follow a stranger” (Jn. 10:27, 5).  We can rejoice in that.  It is a promise from God, for Jesus would not have said it unless the Father had said it to him first.  If we walk faithfully in the sweet, holy Spirit that Jesus purchased for us, we will always recognize his voice when we hear it, even in the midst of a mad world, filled with voices clamoring for our attention.