When Christ Leaves, the Comforter Comes

Christ reiterates the coming persecution of His people. The cause is, that the wicked have not known Christ or the Father.

Christ explains that He didn't tell His disciples these things earlier, because He was then with them. But now He is dying, and ascending to glory, so they will be without His personal, tangible, physical presence and comfort and protection.

Because Christ was protected from death during His ministry, for His hour had not yet come, the physical presence of Jesus shielded His people, and comforted them during His earthly ministry.

But when Christ dies, and rises again, and ascends to glory, a different condition will prevail – they will lose their comfort zone they had with Jesus there with them. They will lose their conception of safety and the stability of a physical kingdom, which is delayed until Christ's return.

What they receive in exchange is far better: salvation by the death of Christ, a perfect priest before God, peace with God, and everlasting life!

But Christ promises them something that He knows is better than His continued physical presence with them: the presence of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost of promise!

Indeed, Christ states that the Comforter cannot come to them, unless Christ first departs, or "goes away." But if Christ goes away, He will send the Comforter to His people!

So Christ is telling us that it is expedient that He die and ascend to Glory, so that the Comforter can dwell within all the Lord's people, all the time.

But more importantly, the Comforter cannot comfort us except the Son first die to save us! Without the completion of Christ's sacrifice at Calvary to save us, the Comforter has no comfort to give us!