👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾“I Have Not #Left You to Be #Children of the #Dead” (#John 14:18)
Grace and peace to you all in the Name of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, who by His passion and resurrection restored what was lost in Adam, and granted sonship to the forsaken. Today we reflect deeply on the mystery of His promise: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). This word, uttered on the eve of His passion, is not a mere comfort but a revelation of the divine plan of redemption, of resurrection, and of the restoration of true life in Christ. Let us now delve with awe into the treasure that is hidden in this sacred teaching.
1. “Children of the Dead”—Who Are They?
The Lord’s words “I have not left you to be children of the dead” pierce the veil that covers the true condition of fallen man. Who are the children of the dead, if not all those who live apart from the resurrection, who abide in sin and the dominion of death, who know not the power of the Cross?
When Christ was arrested, His disciples fled. Even Peter, the boldest among them, denied Him. And why? Because they still bore the fear of death, and they had not yet become partakers of the resurrection. In this state, they were as orphans bereft of the Father’s Spirit, scattered like sheep, their courage buried with their hope. As it is written: “Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26:56).
2. Christ Promises to Come Again Not Only at the End, But in the Resurrection
Our Lord did not say merely that He will return at the end of time. No. He assured them, “I am coming to you” that is, even within days. His return was fulfilled not merely at Pentecost or in His second coming, but in His resurrection from the dead. He came again in glory, but veiled in humility. Not with flaming chariots, but through locked doors, bearing wounds in His hands and feet.
He who had died appeared alive, not as a spirit, but in a body glorified no longer subject to hunger or fatigue or decay. “A little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). This is not poetry it is power. The disciples did live, not merely with biological breath, but with the Spirit of the living Christ breathed into them (John 20:22). He made them partakers of divine life.
3. The Apostles' Baptism Came After the Resurrection
Some think the apostles were already baptized before Christ’s death, perhaps when He washed their feet. But what says the Scripture? A child cannot be born without a father. The Spirit of adoption, the gift of divine sonship, was not yet given for the atonement had not yet been made.
Only after Christ had crushed the gates of hell and offered His blood upon the altar of the Cross did He give His apostles new birth through the Holy Spirit. This was their true baptism not a ceremonial washing, but a spiritual resurrection.
As written in the Book of the Covenant, “Thomas, Matthew, and John were baptized [after the resurrection]... and the Lord said to them, ‘You are the children of God by the Holy Spirit.’” The Church, therefore, rightly teaches that the apostles’ baptism was completed on the day of resurrection, for “Who would have said?” who could dare claim that the Spirit was given before Christ’s blood was poured out for the remission of sins?
Continues 👇🏾