Missing the Mark (John 16:5-15)
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (Jn 16:7–11).
Who Gets to Define Sin?
Jesus says the Spirit will come and prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. That’s the setup. It assumes that the world already has strong opinions on those things, and that most of them are wrong. So part of the Spirit’s job is to realign our understanding of what’s actually wrong, what’s truly right, and what justice really looks like.
When John talks about sin, he uses the word hamartia, which is originally an archery term, it means missing the mark. I often notice that Christians have much to say about what it means to miss the mark, but the rarely do we disrupt ourselves with asking questions about who decides where the mark is. A shot can neither hit nor miss the target until the target is agreed upon. And in our world, that is usually the work of those with power.
Every culture has its answer; its own mark. Rome said the sinners were the ones who didn’t honor the emperor or act Roman enough. 1930’s Germany said the sinners were Jewish people and anyone who refused to assimilate. Today, in our context, the list shifts depending on who’s in power or who’s shaping the conversation. Right now, it’s often the undocumented, the trans community, unhoused folks, people who need help, anyone who makes others feel uncomfortable or challenged. The common thread is always the same—we name as “sinner” whoever we think is the problem.
And the church? Too often, we let the culture around us make those calls for us. We “default to culture,” as David Fitch puts it. We take on someone else’s definition of sin, usually the one offered by empire. And before we know it, the church is just echoing the values of whatever country or system it’s sitting inside.
Sin According to The Bible
Scripture doesn’t give us one neat, clean definition of sin either. It gives us several angles. Matthew points to the failure of Israel’s leaders to live out justice and mercy. Paul talks about sin as a power that deceives and enslaves, something more than just wrong choices—it’s a force. James says if you know the good you ought to do and don’t do it, that’s sin. John says sin is choosing darkness over light. And Jesus is the light.
So sin isn’t just about breaking rules. It’s about resisting the presence of Christ. It’s about saying no to the light when the light is standing in front of you. It’s rejecting love. Rejecting mercy. Choosing self-protection or control over healing and wholeness.
Alvin Plantinga Jr. says, “Sin is the culpable disturbance of shalom.”
In simpler terms, it’s when you choose to contribute to the rot.
When you block the peace of God from breaking through in the world.
The real problem is this: you can’t even know what sin is unless you’ve seen Jesus. Judas says that the perfume which Mary gave to Jesus should have been sold and given to the poor, and that sounds like righteousness—but we know it wasn’t. It was sin. Not because it was incorrect, but because it was unloving. And the only reason we know that is because of Jesus. He is our filter.
The Spirits Role: To Remind the World of Jesus.
V12-14
But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you.
The Spirit’s role is to keep pointing us back to him. To keep the story of Jesus on repeat. To remind us of what he said, what he did, who he loved, who he challenged, how he walked, and what he gave up. The Spirit doesn’t give us new laws. The Spirit brings Jesus into focus.
And when we’re clear on Jesus, sin becomes easier to spot—not in others, but in ourselves, in our systems, in our culture. We don’t get to define the mark. That job belongs to the Spirit, and the Spirit keeps pointing at Jesus because Jesus is the mark. If our lives aren’t moving toward him, then something’s off.
Questions for Reflection and Conversation:
1. How has your definition of sin been shaped by your environment (family, culture, church, politics)? Can you think of a time when something you once considered “sinful” shifted in your understanding? What influenced that change, and how did it affect the way you engage with others?
2. Jesus defines sin as a rejection of light. What does “choosing the light” actually look like in real-life, complicated situations?
3. In what ways do you see the church defaulting to the values of empire today—either subtly or overtly? How can we become more aware of that drift in our own communities and spiritual habits?
4. When you picture Jesus confronting sin, what images or stories come to mind? How does his posture challenge or affirm how you respond to brokenness—in yourself, in others, or in systems around you?
5. If sin is a disturbance of shalom, how do we discern what contributes to peace and what contributes to rot? What practices can help a community discern sin and righteousness together, without collapsing into legalism or relativism?