Well, good morning, my friends, and welcome to the Heritage Hour. I’m Mark Gonzales, your pastoral encourager here in Southwest Florida, and I’m so delighted to be with you on air, online, and in media ministry for 35 years now.

And so thank you for sitting with me at the feet of the Lord to listen for his heart to touch our hearts. Well, if you’ve been with us the last couple of weeks, you know that I intended this to be a two-week little mini-series. It is no way I’m going to be able to do that, my friends. We’re talking about the Passion Week Portraits of God.

And my heart was, hey, I want April, which was an early date for Easter this year. Let’s just extend it and talk about Easter all month. Well, let me tell you, as I’ve unpacked this and really did a deep dive into this, we’re going to be all spring in Easter, Passion Week leading up to Easter, because there’s so many powerful portraits that we get to walk through. And the Lord just put on my heart, son, let’s not rush through this.

Let’s savor. every portrait that was revealed to us through the scriptures as Passion Week unfolded to the point that we get our Easter Sunday celebration.

And so if you have your Bibles, they’re actually going to be in John 14 today. And I’ll give you just a brief review of where we’ve been. Passion Week starts with Palm Sunday.

And so we looked at the portraits of God that I saw. It’s the coming king. We know that he’s entering Jerusalem on a donkey. He’s seeing the sheep and all.

He’s coming in as the king and they’re crying out, Hosanna, Hosanna.

But here’s the thing that we saw. He is our humble king to some. We see the fact he’s coming on a donkey instead of a white stallion as he’s a servant king here, a humble king. And then we see him as our celebrated king.

As many, his adoring followers, his miracle watchers, the Messiah waiters even who were waiting for Messiah, they celebrated the coming king.

But others saw him in this kind of a portrait, the rejected king by the outraged Pharisees, the fearful rulers, the scheming killers. And we also saw this king anguished. He the humble king the celebrated king the rejected king but the anguished king when he saw the Jerusalem hordes he saw the blinded souls he even saw the outraged Pharisees and the fearful rulers and the scheming killers and it just anguished the heartbreak of how they didn get it which leads us to the cleansing of the temple on Monday, which I see not as the angry Savior at all. The sellers were mocking the temple, the sacrificial system that was foreshadowing the coming crucifixion and sacrificial death of Christ.

And he cleansed the temple, not in anger, but in anguish. What are you doing? And we look at that thoroughly. And then we get to Teachers Tuesday, where he spends the day as a thorough teacher providing parables and insights, woes and blessings, prophecies and promises as we read the scripture.

Then Woeful Wednesday is the day when Judas cuts a deal with the religious leaders to have Jesus taken and ultimately killed, the betrayed Messiahs who we see there. Then last time we were covering Maundy Thursday. That’s what we traditionally call Thursday. This is when we see how the Lord is our Lord’s Supper.

Of course, the bread and the cup, his body and blood, his call and hope. And then he did a stunning thing. He washed the disciples’ feet. This is our foot-washing Messiah.

And we spend a lot of time here looking at this stunning act, this humble service, this God-style leadership.

So I hope you’ll check that one out. Last time we talked about how he’s our portrayed lover. He was betrayed by friends. How do we deal with pain when we’re betrayed by friends, you know, and we’re called to love in the midst of it.

And yet there are consequences as well. Well, now that brings us to where we’re going today. The portrait that I want to unfold for us today is in John chapter 14, having just left John 13 with the Lord’s Supper and the foot washing. I want to share with you a portrait that the Lord put in my heart, how he is our comforting betrothed.

He is our comforting betrothed. And it’s going to unfold for us actually at the end of chapter 13 and then chapter 14 of the Gospel of John, if you want to make your way there. And by the way, as you are making your way there, just a quick reminder that all of these messages, these 27-minute broadcasts are archived on my website at markpg.org. I call it Helping You Hear God because on the landing page you see several tools articles and guides and videos and broadcasts Click on broadcasts and then the next page click on portraits of God and then you have a list of all of these broadcasts that you can listen to again or catch up if you missed one or share with others So that markpg helping you hear God And I hope you’ll check it out.

Well, as is our custom, as we get ready to do the deep dive and take a nice slow walk through this, uh, the love letters of the Lord, as he gives us his portraits throughout the entire scripture so we can know his heart, his character, his ways. Let’s just go before the Lord and ask him to speak, shall we? Lord, I love sitting at your feet. I love going through your love letters just to see all the portraits that you give us of yourself there.

And as we’re going through Passion Week and seeing so many powerful portraits, and today how you are our comforting betrothed, and maybe we’ll have time to get to how you are our fruitful vine in John 15. I’m just so grateful for the privilege to be able to come together with my brothers and sisters in your very presence and listen for your heart to touch our hearts.

So thank you, Lord, especially with this particular portrait, because you are indeed our comforting betrothed. We pray this in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by your precious cleansing and healing, transforming, empowering, and forgiving blood. Amen, amen, and amen. All right, my friends.

Well, as we continue our journey through Passion Week and looking at these portraits of God And as we’re going through the Lord’s Supper, as it’s unfolding in the Gospel of John, we just saw, as I mentioned a moment ago, how he was washing their feet. And then he was telling them at the end of John 13 that, well, let’s just pick it up in verse 31. He says, when he had gone out, Jesus said, now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. and if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. And talk about, that’d be a great sermon on the glory of the Lord right there.

One of these days I’ll have to do that one. He’s the glorified son. That’s a great portrait.

But look at verse 33.

Now he says this and this sets up how he is our comforting betrothed that unfolds in chapter 14.

But look at this setup in verse 33. Children I am with you a little while longer and you will look for me And just as I told the Jews where I am going you cannot come so now I tell you I give you a new commandment love one another just as I have loved you you must also love one another And by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And boy, that’s another great message, maybe even a series just in that passage alone. as the Lord gives us this new commandment, that the greatest commandment, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, all our strength. And then the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself.

Well, he highlights it again right here in this way, even more personally, a direct exhortation to love one another.

But then in verse 36, Simon Peter does this. Here we go. Lord, Simon Peter said to him, where are you going? And Jesus answered, where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me later.

Lord, Peter asked, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. And Jesus replied, will you lay down your life for me? I assure you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.

Okay, just stop right there. because all of that sets up what he says next in chapter 14 verse 1. Let not your heart be troubled. Why did he say that?

Because their hearts were very troubled. Look at all the things that he’s revealing to them. I’m going away. I’m not going to be with you much longer at all.

You’re going to look for me, but where I’m going, you cannot follow me.

Now think about what that’s saying. Think about how that’s being received. They had been following him for three plus years, day in, day out, watching all kinds of things. And he’s saying, well, I’m going to leave and you can’t follow me anymore.

Where I’m going, you can’t. What do you mean we can’t follow you? No, no, no. Don’t say anything. What?

And then Peter said, look, I’m going to lay down my life for you. No, no, no. I’ll go whatever it is. And he said, Peter, actually, you know, before the crow, before the rooster crows, I mean, you will have denied me three times.

Now, think about that. The disciples are hearing all this. They’re watching Peter, their leader, the strong guy, the guy who walked on water saying, no, Lord, I’ll live down my life. You’re going to betray me.

I mean, are you going to deny me three times before sunup? Can you imagine how dumbfounded and crestfallen and overwhelmed they were? we’re feeling you’re leaving we can’t follow you even peter you’re saying he’s going to deny what what is this is this a meltdown hello well they were having a meltdown jesus sees it and that’s why chapter 14 is so profound and jesus says let not your heart be troubled and then he starts walking them through how he comforts them. Actually, in language that most of us don’t realize is totally related to the betrothal covenant that a young man and a young woman would enter into in that culture, in that time. Hence, the portrait title.

He is our comforting betrothed. He had very troubled disciples. He’d just given them shocking demonstrations of washing their feet and humble leadership. Talking about going away.

He’s already been telling them about, yeah, I’m going to do more than just go away. Yeah, I’m going to be betrayed. He talked about that. And they’re going, what in the world is going on?

Okay, okay. He says, let not your heart be troubled. And he says this, believe in God. Believe also in me.

Let me rephrase that. We kind of see believe and sometimes think it’s an intellectual exercise to believe, to agree to the facts, to assent to the data I’ve given you.

Now, believing is more than this. It’s trust. Believe and trust are simultaneous terms. It says trust God.

Trust also in me. Do you trust us? do you believe that what’s unfolding is part of the plan do you believe that it’s for the good do you believe that I’m in control here or not you cannot see it and even if I were to explain it to you you still could not understand it so it all comes down to hey do you trust me or not listen trust in God trust also in me And then he says this, and it doesn’t seem to fit, but I’ll explain how it does in a few moments. He says, in my father’s house are many dwelling places or abiding places. If not, I would have told you.

I’m going away to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you I will come back and receive you to myself so that where I am you may be also You know the way where I going okay let stop right there because this just is nonsensical to us if we don’t know the history because in one place he’s saying where I’m going you may not go and you don’t know where I’m going but then he says this little thing here to them to comfort them and then he says now you know where I’m going after he told this little story about going to prepare a place for you.

So typically when we hear this, you know, we talk about, you know, mansions in glory.

Some of the King James versions have mansions instead of dwelling places. You know, you’re going to go away to heaven. There’ll be mansions in glory. We’ll be celebrating.

Woohoo and all that.

Okay. Well, there is some application there to be sure, but there’s something far more intimate going on here. And here’s the reason why. he’s using classic very well known betrothal covenant language right here here’s what’s happening he’s seeing them very very troubled and he’s telling okay don’t let not your heart be troubled look trust me trust the father and then he illustrates it by using this very familiar betrothal language in my father’s house are many abiding places and i go to prepare a place for you and if i go to prepare a place for you i will come again and bring you to myself that where i am there you may be also this is how this phrasing very familiar to them unfolds when a young man has gone to a young lady’s father and made a marriage proposal. And in that day, let me just set it up for you.

Let me give you the picture. In that day, the custom was that he would go to the home, ask to speak to the father, sit down with the father. There’d be a cup of wine on the table. And the young man would then make his marriage proposal.

Sir, I’m interested in your daughter. I want to make her my wife and take care of her for the rest of their life. And the proposal was, this is my trade. This is how I’m going to provide for her.

These are my intentions. This is what I’m going to do. And if that father accepted that proposal, the way he showed it was by taking that cup of wine and taking a sip and then handing the cup to the young man who would take a sip and they would be in agreement that this is a good thing but it not over because the young lady and of course her mother who probably were around the corner listening and watching for the whole thing were then invited to come into the room. And the young man would go through the entire proposal once again, but this time to the young woman that she might have an opportunity to accept the marriage proposal or not. and if she does accept it and takes a sip from that wine cup and then the young man takes a sip from the wine cup then he would put it down and enjoy he would say oh and i go to prepare a place for you and have i go to prepare a place for you i will come again and bring you to myself that where I am there you will be also.

That is when they would get marriage.

Now what can get confusing for us is that in our culture we have engagement and then we have the marriage ceremony to be married and become a husband and wife. Betrothal is kind of halfway between engagement and marriage and the way it happened in that culture was just like I described and once the cup was passed from one to the other and he declares that I go to prepare a place for you at that moment they are considered not just engaged in our culture it’s an agreement hey it’s an intention an agreement and even some plans to get married and then they work toward that and this day it was stronger than that it was not just an agreement a great idea a hopeful ending it was an actual covenant they were ending into a betrothal covenant agreement of a degree of oneness but not the final oneness that will happen on their wedding day so the betrothal is a binding agreement covenant agreement betrothed this is by the way what the storyline is with Mary and Joseph when Jesus was coming to this earth and she was found to be with child. It was during this betrothal period and it was scandalous if a woman got pregnant during the betrothal period because she had relations with her betrothed as opposed to waiting to be actually married and then coming together and consummating the marriage and maybe becoming pregnant with a child so that’s that’s another story for another day about mary and joseph but why joseph was struggling he wanted to divorce her with a divorce they were just betrothed well that because we thinking betrothal is engagement they just need to say no in an engagement Not in a betrothal You had to do a divorce It’s a betrothal covenant.

So, Jesus here is saying as assuredly as a young man says to a now fiancé or betrothed fiancé, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I’ll come again. He’s saying as assuredly as that takes place, as assuredly a deep commitment and covenant that that is, so I’m saying to you now, I will prepare a place for you and come. Even though I’m going away, I’m going to come and I’m going to bring you to myself.

And then we’ll be together forever. Let not your heart be troubled, he’s saying. as a young man becomes betrothed to a young woman i will go to prepare a place for you and the custom of that day was it after that cup and wine ceremony entering into that covenant he would go off and start building a place under the auspices of his father his father would say okay let’s start building a place for you to get your bride someday and it could take months it could take a year. He had to make them get the money. He had to do the work, not just making a lean two of sticks against the wall somewhere and saying, that’s it.

That’s my abiding place. No, no, no. His father said, no, you’re going to do this right. And it’s the father who would say, this is the time. This is the place.

It is ready. Go get your bride. And when the father said that, that’s when then the custom was, and it was very well known that the shofar, the ram’s horn would be blown in the evening. And that was the sound throughout the village.

And everybody know who was patrolled to whom and who was about time. And it would get around. And when that ram horn was blown, the bride’s groom and the groomsmen friends would gather and they’d process down the street. and the bride who had been being trained by the mother all this time to be a good wife would be brought out and her attendants, other virgins with their lamps would come out and there’d be a procession and a great celebration and a great marriage ceremony. I won’t get into all of those.

And they would become one and consummate the marriage and now they are one with each other. What a picture! The Lord is giving to his disciples here. He is our comforting patrols.

He’s comforting them. When he’s just told them he’s going to be going away. And then in verse 5. Lord, Thomas said, we don’t know where you are going.

How can we know the way? And Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except by me. I’m it, guys.

I’m the way trust me you don’t have to know all the nuts and bolts you don’t have to know the next steps in detail just do what I tell you to do and trust me and I will keep bringing you to myself and then he goes on later in verse in chapter 14 verse 15 he says actually let’s go to 12 I assure you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. He will do even greater works than these because I’m going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son If you ask me anything in my name I will do it And if you love me you will keep my commandments By the way that verse sometimes out of context, we kind of hear it this way. Jesus said, hey, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And the implication is, and if you don’t keep commandments, well, hey, you know, then forget about you. No, it’s like, listen, if you really love me, you’re going to keep my commandments. It’s going to flow. It’s going to come.

And he goes on to say, I will ask the Father. he will give you another counselor or comforter to be with you forever. He is our comforting betrothed and it will continue in the way of the Holy Spirit.

Now he is the spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him, but you know him because he remains or abides in you and will be in you. Is that powerful or what? And then verse 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.

I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful. You have heard me tell you I’m going away and I’m coming to you. If you love me you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father because the Father is greater than I And I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe A comforting betrothed.

Well, my friend, this came at a very timely time for us and our family. My wife’s been in the hospital for about a week. And we just got home a couple of days ago. It’s been a touch-and-go time. and facing more doctor’s appointments and procedures down the road, home health care for now.

We don’t understand all the ins and outs of these illness things. There’s a lot of stuff we don’t understand in our lives. Geopolitically, in family, with kids, the whole nine yards. Hey, it’s okay.

Trust God. Trust the Lord Jesus. They got you. They got me.

They got our loved ones. they got the situation. Look at the big picture. The big, big picture. Not just what’s right in front of you.

Jesus said you will have tribulation in this world but take heart for I have overcome the world. And to the degree we abide in him which we going to see next time as we look at how he is our fruitful vine to the degree we abide in him hang with him, hang around with him, get rooted in him, no matter what we face. And it’s been a tough couple of weeks for us, I’ll be honest with you.

But diving deeper into the Lord and sensing him as our comforting betrothed gets us through. That’s the portrait that we have today of our comforting betrothed, my friend. Whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re facing, whatever uncertainties you’re really disheartened about, it’s okay. It’s okay.

He’s got you. He’s got that situation or situations because He is our comforting betrothed. And He loves you more than you can possibly imagine. Lord, we thank You for this. incredibly important portrait.

Thank you for your comfort. Lord, Lord, we receive it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Well, I’m Mark Gonzales, and I hope you’ll check out my website for more, markpg.org. Until next time, fall in love with Jesus, our comforting betrothed.