• 19 Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, Restorer of Monastic Life, 988 was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint.[3] His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church
• 20 Alcuin of York, Deacon, Abbot of Tours, 804 —also called Ealhwine, Alhwin or Alchoin—was an English scholar, clergyman, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York. At the invitation of Charlemagne, he became a leading scholar and teacher at the Carolingian court, where he remained a figure in the 780s and '90s
• 21 Helena, Protector of the Holy Places, 330 was an Empress of the Roman Empire, and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great.
• 24 John and Charles Wesley, Evangelists, Hymn Writers, 1791 and 1788
• 25 The Venerable Bede, Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian, 735
• 25 Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, 709


FIRST READING:  Acts 2: 1 - 21  (RCL)
                                 Acts 2: 1 - 11  (Roman Catholic)

Acts 2:1 (NRSV) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Par'thians, Medes, E'lamites, and residents of Mesopota'mia, Judea and Cappado'cia, Pon'tus and Asia, 10 Phryg'ia and Pamphyl'ia, Egypt and the parts of Lib'ya belonging to Cyre'ne, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cre'tans and A'rabs--in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Jo'el:
17 "In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;


and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

The day of Pentecost has come; it is now fifty days since Easter. The way Luke puts it shows that Pentecost is a milestone in the story of salvation: recall Luke 2:6, “the time came for her to deliver her child ...” and Luke 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up ...” These too are milestones, and the language is similar. Other translations have had been fulfilled for “had come” – the coming of the Holy Spirit is fulfilment.
Look at the manner in which the Holy Spirit comes: the sound is “like the rush of a violent wind” (v. 2); and then, “divided tongues, as of fire” (v. 3). Luke attempts to describe the event in human terms, but it is never possible to explain a divine mystery: all we can do is say what it is like. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the gift inaugurating the final stage of the salvation story (or history, chronology); this era leads up to the end of time. His arrival is in fulfilment of Christ's promise, recorded in 1:8 (“... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you ...”).
Acts is about mission, about speaking, proclaiming, the good news to people everywhere, in languages (and language) they can understand; Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit is the driving force behind this work, e.g. in the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch, we read “the Spirit said to Philip ...” (8:29). They spoke “in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (v. 4). Divided into nations in antiquity, now all humanity is one; now God is in our midst. The Spirit is the launching pad for this mission. The list in vv. 9-11 includes Jews from the whole of the known world.
The mission to Gentiles will begin later. “God's deeds of power” (v. 11), of which all spoke, are explained by Peter in vv. 14-36, based on a quotation from the book of Joel (vv. 17-18): as the end of the era in which we are living approaches, many people will prophesy, and many will “see” things beyond what we call concrete reality. And this will happen because God pours out the Holy Spirit. Prophecy here is probably enthusiastically sharing the faith, “speaking about God's deeds of power” (v. 11). The “portents” (v. 19, events that foreshadow the end of the era) are expressed in terms of primitive sciencebut we need to realize that things will happen which make no sense to our rational minds, things we cannot explain.


Ezekiel 37: 1 - 14  (alt. for RCL)

Ezek 37:1 (NRSV) The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD.

The fifty-day wait for the Holy Spirit is only found in Luke/Acts. In John 20:22, Jesus breathes on the disciples, and says “‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”. This raises the question: is Pentecost the same as Jesus’ gift of the Spirit? I present two possible answers:
• V. 4 reports that the disciples were speaking in different languages, without specifying which; v. 8 reports that members of the crowd were hearing in different languages. Perhaps the crowd were given a specific gift of the Holy Spirit, that of interpretation of the tongues, and simply reported hearing their own language, so that the message might reach everyone.
• In John 20:22, the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples, but in Acts he/she comes to (or is seen by) many.
Pentecost is the point where the true Israel starts to separate itself from unbelieving Jewry, to become the Church. Jews from greater Israel (the Diaspora) witness the event.
This story is reminiscent of Isaiah 66:15-20, especially the Septuagint translation. Isaiah 66:18-20 (NRSV) says, in part: “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. ... They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations ... just as the Israelites bring a grain offering ...”
Verse 1: The Feast of Weeks, celebrating the wheat harvest, was fifty days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover; hence the name Pentecost . Only from the second century AD on (notes JBC) was the giving of the law to Moses also celebrated as part of the Feast of Weeks. Leviticus 23:15-21 commands that this festival be celebrated, and how.
Verse 1: “had come”: NJBC has was fulfilled.
Verse 1: “all together”: These may be the 120 people of 1:15: “In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) ...”.
Verse 1: “in one place”: perhaps the house of 1:13: “When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying ...”. The scene changes to an arena or other public area in v. 5.
Verse 8: Here they speak in foreign tongues (or, in some cases, dialects), but in 1 Corinthians 14:1-33, their form of speech is incomprehensible. [ NOAB]
Verses 9-11: The list is generally from east to west, but Judea is out of place. This list is unlikely to be of Lucan origin, for Luke tells of missionary work in Syria, Cilicia, Macedonia and Achaia. Also, "Cretans and Arabs” (people of Jewish descent, from Arabia) seems to have been tacked on by a later hand. [ JBC]
Verse 11: “God’s deeds of power”: Peter tells of them in vv. 22-36. [ JBC]
Verses 12-13: This prefigures Israel’s general rejection of Jesus’ teaching, later in the book.
Verses 17-21: The citation from Joel 2:28-32 follows the Septuagint translation. A most important guide to Luke’s intentions is the series of alterations he (or his source) has made in the quoted text to produce a pertinent testimony:
• “In the last days”: This phrase replaces afterwards, making the prophecy more plainly the eschatological vision it already is. It is understood in the expanded sense of the time of the Church: see 1:6-8.
• “they shall prophesy” (v. 18): Luke has added this phrase. While Jesus’ status as a prophet is never more than obliquely affirmed in Luke-Acts, and neither is the risen Lord’s status as a prophet like Moses, yet it is an important ingredient of Luke’s theory of the necessity of the Passion and the nature of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Luke brings out that the fact that the apostolic mission is part of the eschatological prophecy of Jesus himself in the Temple sermon (3:22-26).
• “portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below” (v. 19): Luke has added “above”, “below” and “signs” for much the same reasons. [ NJBC]
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Ezekiel’s mission is to preach the word of God to bring new life to dead Israel. [ NJBC] It summarizes the prophet's mission to the exiles.
See also Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him”.
This passage never mentions the resurrection of individuals, but the concept is not far removed: see also Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”. [ NJBC]
Verses 1-28: Two vivid images depict the reconstitution of Israel, The second (vv. 15-28), the joining together of two sticks, is a symbol of the reuniting of the divided peoples of Israel (“Joseph”, vv. 16, 19, and “Ephraim”) and “Judah” (also vv. 16, 19). [ NJBC] There will a single Davidic ruler over the united kingdom, and the people will be joined in a “covenant of peace” (v. 26), worshipping their God at a single sanctuary. [ CAB]
Verse 1: “valley”: NOAB sees this as the same “valley” as in 3:22 (Ezekiel’s fifth commission from Yahweh) and in 8:4. The “valley” is the southern Tigris-Euphrates valley.
Verse 1: “bones”: The exiles have no more hope of resuscitating the kingdom of Israel than of putting flesh on a skeleton and calling it to life. Bones are often associated with the stamina a person needs to stand up to difficulties: see Job 4:14; Psalms 6:2; 102:5; Isaiah 38:13.
Verse 3: “‘Mortal, can these bones live?’”: A scholar says that because the resurrection of the nation was never in doubt, this vision must be about individuals. In 18:25ff, Ezekiel emphasizes individual responsibility as key to life with God, whose ways are fair.
Verse 9: The “four winds” may indicate God’s universal presence. [ NOAB]
Verses 12 -13: In later Judaism, when a person died, his soul was believed to rest, uneasily, in the grave. Either these verses are the source of that belief, or they were written later. Matthew 27:52 speaks of the bodies of godly people who have died being “raised” when Jesus dies, and in John 5:28-29 Jesus says that “those who are in their graves” will hear Christ and “come out”.
Verses 12b-13: These verses may be a later addition. [ NJBC]
Verse 14: This vision is indirectly an anticipation of the doctrine of resurrection. [ NOAB]
Verses 15-28: The Oracle of the Two Sticks envisions the reunification of the long-divided land and the establishment of a united Israel, ruled by one king. Then the situation predicted earlier ( 34:28) will prevail: law-abiding living ( 11:20) in the Promised Land ( 28:25) under a Davidic king ( 34:23-24), a covenant of peace ( 34:25), and re-establishment of the central sanctuary ( 45:1-8). See also Zechariah 11:7-14.
Verse 16: “Ephraim”: The two largest tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, were sons of Joseph. The area of the north left after the Assyrian attacks of 732 BC were known simply as Ephraim. Hosea also uses this name. [ NJBC]
Verses 23-28: These verses expand the implications in three areas:
• The people will be made ritually clean (vv. 23-24)
• They will once again be under one king in the Promised Land (vv. 24-25), and
• The covenant will be reaffirmed as eternal.
Verse 25: “Jacob”: References to the patriarchs, meaning Israel, are occasionally found elsewhere: see Hosea 12:2 and Ezekiel 39:25. [ NJBC]
Verse 25: “their prince”: i.e. the king. In 12:10, Yahweh says through the prophet: “‘... This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel in it’”. See also 34:24.
Verse 26: “an everlasting covenant”: 16:60 says “Yes, thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath, breaking the covenant; yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant”. In the Priestly (P) tradition, God made unconditional covenants with Noah and Abraham. [ NJBC]
Verses 27-28: “dwelling place ... the LORD sanctify Israel ... my sanctuary”: These expressions prepare for chapters 40-48, as does God sanctifying Israel. [ NJBC]



PSALM 104: 24 - 34, 35b (RCL)
Psalm 104: 1, 24, 29 - 31, 34   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 104:1 (NRSV) Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,

24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Levi'athan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works--
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!

Note: The verse numbering in your Psalter may differ from the above.


104   Benedic, anima mea   (ECUSA BCP)

25  O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
 in wisdom you have made them all;
 the earth is full of your creatures.

26  Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number, *
 creatures both small and great.

27  There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan, *
 which you have made for the sport of it.

28  All of them look to you *
 to give them their food in due season.

29  You give it to them; they gather it; *
 you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.

30  You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
 you take away their breath,
 and they die and return to their dust.

31  You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
 and so you renew the face of the earth.

32  May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *
 may the Lord rejoice in all his works.

33  He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
 he touches the mountains and they smoke.

34  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *
 I will praise my God while I have my being.

35  May these words of mine please him; *
 I will rejoice in the Lord.


37  Bless the Lord, O my soul. *
 Hallelujah!


SECOND READING:  Romans 8: 22 - 27  (RCL)

Roma 8:22 (NRSV) We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.


1 Corinthians 12: 3b - 7, 12 - 13   (Roman Catholic)

1Cor 12:3 (NRSV) 3 [N]o one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.


Galatians 5: 16 - 25   (alt. for Roman Catholic)

Gala 5:16 (NRSV) Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.


GOSPEL:  John 15: 26 - 27, 16: 4b - 15  (RCL)
                    John 15: 26 - 27, 16: 12 - 15   (alt. for Roman Catholic)

John 15:26 (NRSV) "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

16:4 "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, "Where are you going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.


After the Last Supper, Jesus continues to tell the disciples about the mission they are to undertake. The “Advocate” is the Holy Spirit; he is the “spirit of truth” ( 15:26, 16:13), and will be sent to the disciples, the Church, by Christ “from the Father” . The Church too is to witness, to work with the Holy Spirit, by living the life that Christ made possible, continuing Christ’s work in the world ( 15:27). Why does Jesus say: “yet none of you asks me ...”? ( 16:5) They have asked the question earlier ( 13:36, 14:5). Perhaps he is saying: preoccupied with “sorrow” ( 16:6), you are missing the main point: the coming of the Spirit. Then 16:7: by leaving them, Jesus is able to send the Spirit. One thing the Spirit will do is to show “the world” ( 16:8, possibly Jews) that they are wrong on three counts:
•  their idea of sin is incorrect ( 16:9);
•  the righteous who condemned Jesus are wrong: he is God's agent ( 16:10); and
•  he has defeated sin ( 16:11).
For example, to heal on the Sabbath is not sinful.
Then 16:12-13: the Spirit will tell them things Jesus has not. In his guidance, he will speak what comes to him from God (as Jesus has spoken what the Father has told him.) The Spirit will prophesy about events “to come”. The Spirit will reveal the essential nature of God, and show Christ’s essential nature and power (“glorify”, 16:14). Whether the word comes from the Father, the Son, or the Spirit it is the same.

15:18-27: The believer’s relationship to the world – to be separate from it. [ NOAB]
15:26-27: In Acts 1:21-22, after the Ascension, Peter says to the gathered followers of Jesus: “‘So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us – one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection’”. In Acts 5:32, Peter and the other apostles tell the high priest: “‘And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him’”. [ NOAB]
15:26: “Advocate”: The Greek word is parakletos. In 1 John it refers to Christ, but in the Gospel to the Holy Spirit. Parakletos is derived from a word that means call to one’s side, so it corresponds exactly to the Latin advocatus. But there is a difference between a Roman advocatus and a Hellenic parakletos: in a Roman court, an advocatus pleaded one’s case for one, but in a Greek court one had to plead one’s own case, but one brought along one’s friends as parakletoi to influence the court by their moral support and testimony to one’s value as a citizen. So Champion is a better translation. Note that the “Advocate” will testify, bear witness. This role is also ascribed to the Spirit in Matthew 10:20 and Mark 13:11. There are also other parallels (in vv. 18-20) to Matthew 10 and Mark 13. [ BlkJn]
15:27: In Acts 1:8, Jesus says: “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’”.
16:1-33: The Christian’s relationship to the world. [ NOAB]
16:1-4a: Forewarning of conflict. It is to be expected that the world, even the religious world, will persecute the followers of Christ. See Acts 22:3-5 and 26:9-11 for Paul’s description of his persecution of the Church. [ NOAB]
16:1: “these things”: i.e. the hatred by the world and the activity of the Spirit in 15:18-27. [ BlkJn]
16:1: “to keep you from stumbling”: BlkJn offers so that you should not be made to fall away. See also 13:19; 14:28; 15:11.
16:2: “put you out of the synagogues”: This is one word in Greek: aposynagogos. It (and the notion) is also found in 9:22and 12:42. That Jesus foretold such an event is likely. Note that relations with the synagogue were by no means cordial in the mid first century: for example, Paul seceded from the synagogue at Corinth (see Acts 18:5-7). The synoptic gospelsalso contain predictions of persecution and of death for the faith: see, for example, Mark 13:9, 12-13, 18-19; Matthew 5:10; 10:17-18, 21-23; 24:9; Luke 12:4, 11; 21:12, 16-17, 23-24. [ BlkJn]
16:3: “they have not known the Father or me”: For failure to know Christ or the Father, see also 1:10; 8:55; 17:25. This involves an inadequate apprehension of the true nature and activity of the Father and of Jesus, coupled with an inability to obey God’s will. [ BlkJn]
16:6-7: “sorrow” at Jesus’ departure is transformed by “the truth” that his death and resurrection make possible the Spirit’s work. [ NOAB]
16:7: “if I do not go away ...”: The Spirit could only be given after Jesus’ death (see 7:39), but is to remain with the disciples for ever (see 14:16) and will teach them things that they cannot grasp before the resurrection (see 16:12). As a result, a richer experience awaits the disciples. Here, as in 15:26, it is Jesus who sends the Spirit, not the Father, as in 14:16, 26. [ BlkJn]
16:8: “prove the world wrong about sin ...”: BlkJn offers convict the world of sin ... . The Greek verb, elegchein , is forceful. It is also used in 3:20 and 8:46.
16:9-11: ”because”: The subordinate clause in each verse is introduced by oti, which can mean either in that or because: it is perhaps more likely that the reasons for the conviction of the world are being given rather than that the terms “sin”, “righteousness” and “judgement” are being defined. [ BlkJn]
16:9: In 3:19-21, part of Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus is: “‘And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God’”.
16:11: “ruler of this world”: See also 12:31 (“the ruler of this world will be driven out”); 14:30 (“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me”); 1 Corinthians 2:8; Colossians 2:15. [ NOAB]
16:13: “Spirit of truth”: A term also found in 14:17 and 15:26. In 1 John 4:6, the “spirit of truth” is contrasted with the “spirit of error”. Similar contrasts are found in 1QS (*Qumran Rule of the Community) 3:13-4:26 and Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. John uses terminology current at the time he was writing. [ BlkJn]
16:13: “he will guide you into all the truth”: This expression probably comes from Psalms 25:5 (“Lead me in your truth”); 143:10 (“Let your good spirit lead me”) and Isaiah 63:14 – all in the Septuagint translation. [ BlkJn]
16:13: “he will not speak on his own”: Like Jesus, he will not speak on his own authority. In 5:30, Jesus says: “‘I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me’”. See also 7:17; 12:49; 14:10. [ BlkJn]
16:14: “he will take what is mine ...”: The Spirit will continue the work Jesus has begun but will not reveal completely fresh notions – in the light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. [ BlkJn]
16:15: Further indication of the close relationship that exists between Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit. [ BlkJn]