Dear Christian friends:

Today we remember our mothers and honor them and thank God for them.

In the Bible God compares Himself with a mother to help us understand His love and care for us. God says,"I will comfort you---, as a mother comforts her little one." (Isaiah 66:13) And in our text Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is like a mother. Jesus says to His disciples, "The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that the Father will send in My name, He will teach you everything and remind you of everything I told you." (verse 26)

The Holy Spirit does for Christians what a mother does for her children; but the Holy Spirit does His work in a supernatural way while the mother does her work in a natural way. A mother's relationship with her children gives us a good picture of the various activities of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our "Mother" from God.

So let us attend to our text and consider the topic:


Like children need their mother, so we Christians need the Holy Spirit.

In this chapter from which our text is taken we read that Jesus told His disciples that He was leaving them and going back to the Father in heaven. (John 14:1-4) Jesus meant that He must suffer and die and on the third day arise from the grave and then later ascend into heaven. He would not be with them in the future like He had been with them in the past. So His disciples felt sad and worried. They were also afraid of Jesus' enemies, the Jewish leaders. So Jesus promises that the Father in heaven will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to then. (verse 26) And in verse 18 Jesus promised them, "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." Through the Holy Spirit Jesus would continue to be with them. They will not be left like orphans. The Holy Spirit, like a mother, will comfort them.

Like the disciples, we also need the Holy Spirit to comfort us. We often are sad and worried and afraid. Sometimes our sins blame us. We sometimes feel ashamed or afraid to witness about Jesus to unbelievers and the enemies of Jesus. When we witness about Jesus to others we must expect trouble and persecution. Jesus says,. "They have persecuted Me; they will also persecute you." (John 15:20) You who have been witnessing for Jesus to the deaf who do not believe, you have experienced their mocking and persecution. So we sometimes are afraid and not brave to witness. When sickness happens or a loved one dies or we ourselves begin to die, we are afraid and depressed. Only the Holy spirit can help us and comfort us. We need the Holy Spirit.

How does the Holy Spirit comfort us?

In our text Jesus explains, "The Comforter, the Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you." Like a mother teaches her children, so the Holy Spirit teaches us. Mothers do a lot of teaching and reminding. Mothers say, “Did you forget again? How many times must I tell you to close the door when you go out of the house? Did you brush your teeth?" etc.. Like a mother the Holy Spirit loves us and teaches us and reminds us about everything Jesus says in the Bible.

Through my preaching each Sunday the Holy Spirit teaches you and reminds you. When you sit home daily and read your Bible the Holy Spirit teaches you and reminds you. When we forget Jesus words or are proud and stubborn, the Holy Spirit reminds us: “Love one another. Forgive, as I have forgiven you. You shall be witnesses for Me. Preach the Gospel to everyone. Go make disciples in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you."

In this way the Holy Spirit gives us faith in Jesus our Savior and helps us to be sorry about our failures and sins and then to rededicate ourselves to do His work here in the world. By the Holy Spirit Jesus gives us peace in our hearts although we have many problems and persecutions. Jesus says here in our text, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (verse 27)

The Holy Spirit comforts us and gives us Jesus' peace in our hearts and helps us bravely confess our faith in Jesus. As a mother comforts her children and helps them to grow up to be brave and do what is right, so the Holy Spirit comforts us in our difficult work for the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches us everything about Jesus from the Bible and if we forget and become afraid He reminds us and corrects us and encourages us.

Today we honor mothers and we should. They are our most important teachers. Let us also honor the Holy Spirit, the teacher from God who comforts and teaches mothers and all of us in all troubles and needs.

Amen.