Very few of us will be called upon to literally lay down our lives for the faith. But Jesus calls all of us to lay down our lives for the faithful.

Jesus is not concerned primarily with you and I being able to persuade other people into the Christian faith through arguments and eloquence, though we should be passionate witnesses and able to speak articulately about our faith. And He’s not concerned primarily that others see us as kind, generous, patient or peace-loving people. As important as these and other traits are, of all the good impressions we might make on non-Christian people, the impression He most wants others to have when they encounter a Christian is, ‘Man, this person really loves Jesus.’

If John’s gospel were a symphony, John 16 would be in the middle of the great crescendo, the building of events in volume and intensity from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey colt to carrying on His back a Roman cross. As the God-man fully knowing and controlling every event and eventuality leading to His bearing…