Restoration Reveals the Glory of God
“Restoration Reveals the Glory of God” (Gospel of John) – February 22nd, 2026
In May 1981, journalist Henry Tanner published an article, “Restoration Reveals Michelangelo’s Gifts,” describing the cleaning of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Only a few months into what would become a 14-year project, evidence was produced that “Vatican scholars triumphantly contend makes possible a new evaluation of the master artist as a painter.” Tanner described the initial results as “startling,” “bursting with colors,” with figures becoming “so three-dimensional they fairly jump out of the wall.” The restorer in charge, Prof. Giancarlo Colalucci, said, “Up until now nobody knew anything, really, about Michelangelo as a painter” who was formerly regarded as “a painter of twilight colors.” “He has to be rediscovered entirely.” This restoration is widely considered the most astonishing, revealing vivid, jewel-toned colors beneath centuries of grime and transforming art history. Today, as we continue our journey through the Gospel of John, we are focusing on someone whose primary task is restoration.
Jesus has come back to Jerusalem and is now having the Last Supper with his disciples. Even though they’ve been following Jesus day in, day out, for three years, they are still trying to grasp what is going on. Judas has just left to go and betray Jesus. In the conversation that follows, four of the disciples ask questions. Jesus’ answers form a large part of what has become known as Jesus’ “farewell discourse.” Let’s drop in on their conversation.
John 13:31-35 – “Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’”
Jesus had just told his disciples that same week that “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). After Jesus then prayed, “Father, glorify your name,” John tells us that “a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’” (John 12:28). Theologian Sinclair B. Ferguson describes the glory of God as “the ultimate goal of all things.” But Jesus is concerned about the disciples because the time has come for him to go. And they still understand so little of what Jesus has been doing among them. How will they cope without him? So, Jesus boils everything down to what theologian N. T. Wright calls “the simplest, clearest, and hardest command of all: Love one another. Jesus calls this “a new commandment.” But God had told his people “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” way back in Leviticus. So, this commandment wasn’t a “we’ve never heard anything like this before” kind of new. It was how this kind of love was put into practice that made it new: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Wright explains that Jesus’ disciples are “to look back at his whole life, his whole way and manner of life, and to find in it a pattern, a shape, an example, a power … Love is all about the other person. It overflows into service … This is to be the badge that the Christian community wears before the watching world.” Jesus’ words challenged the disciples that day and continue to challenge all who follow him today: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Peter poses the first questions.
John 13:36-14:4 – “Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’”
Peter’s noble intentions and authentic devotion show that he is beginning to at least understand that where Jesus is going involves death. But Peter, like all of us, is too weak and his devotion too limited to be able to fulfill those good intentions on his own.
Next, Thomas voices his confusion.
John 14:5-7 – “Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’”
John makes three things abundantly clear: Jesus embodies life, truth, and the way to God! When Jesus said these things, his Jewish disciples would have immediately recognized that Jesus is the embodiment and fulfillment of the Word, Wisdom, and Torah. To know and see Jesus is to know and see God.
Now, Philip makes a simple request of Jesus.
John 14:8-29 – “Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’”
Wright describes these verses as presenting “a wonderful circle of promises that are ours because of Jesus’ being with us by the spirit. We will ‘see’ him, plain to the eye of faith. We will live with his new life. We will know the deepest theological knowledge of all: that he and the father are ‘in’ each other, and that we are ‘in’ him and he ‘in’ us. And we will be joined to Jesus and the father by an unbreakable bond of love. This, in turn, leads back where the sequence began.” Jesus points to the works he’s been doing as being God’s works: his miraculous signs, and his mission as a whole (proclaiming and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom of God). Jesus goes on to say that those who believe in him will do these same works. Theologian Craig Keener says of this that John is calling his audience “to look not only backward but also to the present, where Christ continues to remain active through his presence by the Paraclete and his proclaimed word.” We’ll come back to Paraclete in a minute.
Then Jesus makes a remarkable promise, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” When my children were young, I started keeping a lambskin by my side of the bed. After they outgrew their cribs, they always began their nighttime sleep in their own beds. But if they needed me during the night, they could come to the lambie and ask for what they needed, either with words or by climbing into bed with us. Whenever our bed got too crowded, I would roll one or more children onto the soft lambie to hopefully increase the chances of everyone getting a restful night’s sleep. The main thing is that I wanted our children to be confident that they had access to us, his or her parents, to ask for what they needed. Some requests were immediately satisfied, like a cuddle, a kiss, or a drink of water. Yet others were deferred or denied (“can I go ride my tricycle in the garage now?).
Jesus promises to give us direct access to God, to make requests day or night! What does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name? Asking in Jesus’ name is not a magic invocation or ritualistic formula, repeated so we can claim whatever we want. Asking in Jesus’ name is not about using the word “Jesus” as a mystical key demanding that doors be unlocked. Asking in Jesus’ name simply means to ask, in humility, on the basis of Jesus’ status before God. Just as Jesus came in his Father’s name, when we ask in Jesus’ name, it is asking as his representative, while we are going about Jesus’ business.
As remarkable as that promise is, Jesus follows his statement that he’s about to go away with the best news ever. In a way that is not yet clear, Jesus will be able to be present with the Father and with the disciples. How? Let’s come back to this.
In the last section, Judas (not Iscariot) asks Jesus for clarification.
John 14:22-29 – “Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.’”
John again tells us Jesus is going away and promises to come and stay. So, how is it that Jesus will be able to be present with the Father and with the disciples?
The answer lies in someone whom John describes as “another paraklétos,” which is variously translated Advocate, Helper, Comforter, or Paraclete. Let’s look at each of these in turn, to better understand who God the Father was sending to be with us forever.
An Advocate in first century Galilee was quite different from a legal advocate today. Ferguson points out that in the cultural context of Jesus’ day, “trials were conducted not by lawyers acting for the prosecution and the defense, but by a judge eliciting the truth from witnesses who came forward with evidence … In such a context the ‘advocate’ … sought by an accused person was not a highly-trained professional, but … an eye-witness and / or a character-witness … someone whose relationship to the accused enabled him to speak with authority; an intimate friend rather than a person professionally trained in the law.”
A Helper is someone who comes alongside to lend a hand, for sure. Yet this helper to be sent from God would empower us, Jesus’ followers, with all that we need to be able to do what Jesus commanded us, to love God with all that we’ve got and to love others as well as we love ourselves.
A Comforter is someone who is present with another in deep distress who changes their ability to cope. You may have experienced this in times of grief and loss, whether you were the one comforting or the one being comforted. The tragic circumstances remain unchanged; the lost loved one won’t be coming back. But just being present with another in their pain, offering a supportive hug, an “I’m sorry for your loss,” weeping with those who weep – these seemingly small things can impart remarkable strength for the next moment, the next breath.
We really don’t have one word in English to capture the full meaning of the Greek here. Paraklétos literally means “one who is called to one’s side” and includes aspects of Advocate, Helper, and Comforter. For this reason, I will use the word Paraclete, to help us to keep all of these things in mind. John describes the function of the Paraclete and the function of Jesus in almost identical words: separate and distinct identities, yet very closely related to one another. It is very important to remember that Paraclete is not a what but a who – the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity who is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. Ferguson notes that “the Spirit is ideally suited to be the chief witness for Christ because he was the intimate companion of Jesus throughout his ministry … from womb to tomb to throne, the Spirit was the constant companion of the Son.”
John points to three witnesses that attest to who Jesus really is. The first witness is his book, the Gospel of John, which would serve as a kind of affidavit to Jesus Christ’s identity. The second witness is us, his followers! On this night before his crucifixion, Jesus calls us to be his witnesses who continue Jesus’ mission, proclaiming and demonstrating the good news. The third and most important witness is the “other” Paraclete. Jesus was the first Paraclete who defended, instructed, and encouraged his disciples and who was fully present with them. Now Jesus promises that the Father will send another Paraclete to continue his ministry. Mary L. Coloe says that “the Paraclete will be the means of the community’s ongoing experience of Jesus. The Jesus who becomes the absent-one in the post-Easter time can still be a presence in the lives of believers through the mediation of the Spirit. In one sense, the Spirit is the ‘glue’ maintaining the interpersonal relationship between Jesus and believers.” This other Paraclete is the Holy Spirit.
What about us? How do we understand and relate to the Holy Spirit today?
Our Vineyard statement of faith invites us to consider specific ways in which the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus and now empowers us: “Jesus was anointed as God’s Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, inaugurating God’s kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Gathering His disciples, He reconstituted God’s people as His Church to be the instrument of His kingdom … We believe that the Spirit distributes His gifts to us resulting in prophecy, prayer languages, healing, miracles and many other gifts as we joyfully experience His presence.”
Keener celebrates that “the Spirit is given to the community not only to keep them aware of the continuing presence of Jesus among them but to enable them to continually reapply the teaching of Jesus to ever new situations without becoming dependent upon a system of communal halakah [the comprehensive body of Jewish religious laws, traditions, and practices that governed every aspect of daily life].”
Ferguson names the Holy Spirit’s primary task: “to restore glory to a fallen creation.” The world was stunned by the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. We cannot even imagine how glorious will be God’s restoration of all things, which God desires for all people and all creation! Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus “is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” In Jesus Christ, God’s glory has been restored! And now, God sends his Spirit, the constant companion of Jesus the incarnate one, in order to recover glory in us. John had earlier written, “[Jesus] cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive” (John 7:37-39). To believe in Jesus Christ is to receive the Holy Spirit. And we are invited to drink deeply of the living water the Spirit provides.
The work of the Holy Spirit in us is described beautifully in 2 Corinthians 3:18 – “all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” Ferguson says the purpose for which the Holy Spirit is given is “nothing less than the reproduction of the image of God.” He adds that this transformation “is expressed in Christ’s humanity, so that believers become progressively more truly and fully human.” As this happens to a believer, just as in Michelangelo’s case, that person has to be rediscovered entirely! Don’t miss the “from one degree of glory to another.” In a 2D circle, there are 360 degrees. In a 3D sphere, there are 41,253 degrees. Who even knows how many degrees we’re talking about in attempting to describe the glory of God? In other words, it takes a while for this transformation to take place. One degree at a time, one thought at a time, one breath at a time, one choice at a time, one act of love at a time … our transformation takes more than a lifetime! And keep on getting to know yourself and getting to know others – please don’t freeze yourself or someone else as they once were. Authentic love both knows and loves self and others authentically! Miguel Echevarría notes that “one of the most important expressions of the Spirit indwelling God’s people is that he will enable us to love one another.”
How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to participate in his work of restoration today, to reveal the glory of God?
How does the Holy Spirit want to recover glory in a person or a part of God’s creation through you today?
