The farewell discourse has a lot of teachings from Christ, all of which are extremely important. In this article, we will go over the teachings of Christ as said in the farewell discourse. We will not go over every single detail, but we will understand Christ's very important teachings in this very important and powerful discourse, to the point that everyone will have a good understanding of the farewell discourse.

At the beginning of the Last Supper, Christ our Lord washes his disciples feet. Washing the feet of people was reserved only for the lowliest servant in the household, and yet Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God, takes on that role. He took upon the role of a lowly servant, and he began to wash his students' feet, something unheard of a teacher doing to his students. And yet Christ our Lord does it willingly. Christ is teaching us here to have humility. God looks upon the meek and humble with Grace and love. As Christ had the humility to take care of his disciples, so we as Christ's followers need to have the same humility as Christ had, never hesitating to be hospitable to anyone in need of hospitality, and always ready to serve one another in humilty and love, in the same way that Christ our Lord loved us with humility. Peter questioned this practice by Christ, and Christ responds with the words, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with me," which then teaches us a very important truth from Christ: Christ's cleansing, in the sacraments of Holy Baptism, and Holy Confession, indeed they are very powerful by Christ, in cleansing us from the stain of sin. It also teaches us the cleansing power of Christ's death and resurrection in defeating the powers of darkness, and it leads us to understand that the only way to be raised to life just like Christ is to participate in Christ's death.

The New commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you," is new because we are called to love in a Christ-like way. Christ himself said at this discourse, "Greater Love hath no one than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends." And as we know for sure that Christ is the greatest lover of mankind, so Christ then has the greatest love for us. And we Christians, followers of Christ, we are called to love in this way also, the same way that Christ loved the human race. All throughout Christ's ministry is this seen: he had compassion on the crowds and fed them; he healed the sick; he gave sight to the blind; he comforted those in agony; and he taught all of them the truth from God. He did so much more love than just this. So we are also commanded by Christ to love just as he loved us, even to the point that we become martyrs and continuous martyrs for each other, in great sacrificial love for each other, and great love for God.

The teaching, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me," shows and teaches us quite plainly that the only way we reach union and communion with God, and so therefore be with God forever and ever in the next life, is only through the narrow path of Jesus Christ. Only through Christ, Christ's Church that he established, Christ's Teachings, and Christ's Grace can we ever be given the wonderful gift of union and communion with God, both in this life and in the next life.

Christ also says in the farewell discourse, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Again, the only way we will truly love Christ, the only way that we will have intimate and deep love with the Triune God which includes Christ, is if we keep his commandments with faith in God and with love for God. This synergy of love, God's love and our love for God, it will grow and strengthen when we keep Christ's commandments with faith and love in God. This synergy will eventually become very intimate, and we will have peace in our lives, true peace knowing that we will be remaining in the love of God forever and ever, far away from sin forever and ever, and close to God forever and ever, which is truly the most wonderful reality.

Christ also tells us that he will not leave us here like orphans. He will return for us. Yes, for a time, he will be away from us. This was true for the Apostles, for they were very sad for the three days that Christ was dead. But Christ rose from the dead, and returned to the Apostles, fulfilling his promise, and showed with power that he will never ever leave the Apostles. This is also true in our lives as well. Christ right now is ruling the Kingdom of God from heaven, for he ascended into heaven. But, he will return to us, and he will come back for us, coming with great power and glory from heaven. And when he comes back for us who are waiting for him, we will have the same inexpressible and absolutely wonderful joy that the Apostles had when they realized that Christ rose from the dead. So let us keep this hope within us, and let it guide our lives with the Grace of the Holy Spirit.

Christ then proclaims to us that he is the true vine, and his Father is the gardener. There are branches within the vine that bear a lot of fruit, and the gardener, seeing that it is fruitful, he prunes more so that it may be even more fruitful. However, there are also some branches that bear no fruit, and so they are cut off from the vine, put into a pile, and then burned. Then Christ tells us an important truth: You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Abide in me, as I abide in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless if you abide in me. And right in these couple sentences, Christ invites us to have union and communion with himself. And he tells us how to have this union and communion. For Christ is about to establish the Holy Church, the Kingdom of God. So then, Christ teaches us that to abide in the true vine is to abide in Christ and his Church. Christ chooses this imagery to illustrate to us that our union with himself is intimate and truly real, abiding in Christ is living, dynamic, and vitalizing, and the fruit that we bear are good works and mission according to the will and nature of Christ.

Christ also gives us a warning, that the world will hate us, and despise us, even persecute us because we abide in Christ. As the world hated Christ, so we who follow Christ should expect the world's hatred also. So we should always watch and be prepared for this, so that it does not catch us off guard. We must abide in Christ always, for he is our strength in every battle. 

But Jesus Christ also tells us that he will send to us the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father. The Holy Spirit is our helper, our friend, our Lord. We receive him at Holy Confirmation, or Holy Chrismation. The Holy Spirit will be with us always, the Grace of the Holy Spirit is what turns our hearts to God, and it is the Holy Spirit that leads us closer to true union and communion with God. It is the Holy Spirit that protects the Church, protects those in the Church, and defends it from heresy, demons, and the remnants of the powers of darkness. We can always rely on the Holy Spirit, for he is trustworthy and true. And yes, the Holy Spirit, being fully God, also is loving and intimate, so we can always have his wonderful love as well. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift from God, who is fully God. 

Christ then tells his Holy Apostles about his coming death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, all of which came true. After this, he prays to the Father for himself, for the Apostles, and for all Christians, including you and me, showing the intimate love of God that he has for all of the human race. The goal of Christ's high priestly prayer at the end of the farewell discourse is for the Love of the Father to dwell truly within each and every person, so that all might be in intimate union and communion with him.

This is basically all of the teachings of Jesus Christ at the farewell discourse, all of which are true and trustworthy, for he is truly God. So let us keep these teachings in our hearts, and let us hold them to be true, and act with faith in God having these teachings from the Son of God himself. And let us always love the Triune God, who forever and ever will have love for the human race. Amen.