Read John 14:1-31.

Introduction⤒🔗

The opening words of John 14, “Let not your heart be troubled,” was not spoken in a vacuum. These words must be understood in light of all that has just preceded.

Jesus has announced that one of His disciples will betray Him: “[Jesus] was troubled in his spirit and testified, I tell you the truth, one of you shall betray me” (Jn. 13:21). Next, He reported that in the very near future He would be separated from His disciples, who are very dear to Him: “Little children, I will be with you for only a little while longer. You will miss me; but what I told the Jews, I now tell you, Where I am going, you cannot come” (Jn. 13:33). Now, He informs Peter that he is about to deny the Master whom he loves: “Before the rooster crows, you will have denied me three times” (Jn. 13:38b).

It is in this context that the Lord Jesus exhorts His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He not only issues His exhortation, He also supplies them and us with adequate reasons why we may have peace of heart.

Reason #1: Jesus Has Gone to Prepare a Place for Us (vs. 1-6)←⤒🔗

Our Lord Jesus Christ directs our attention to the house of God (i.e. the heavenly kingdom of God), and to the spaciousness of that house: “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” He assures us that there is ample accommodation in the kingdom of God for all who believe in Christ the Son. Furthermore, the reason He is about to depart from His disciples is for the express purpose of preparing a place for them in His Father's spacious house.

He then assures them: “I will come back and take you to be with me; so that where I am, you may be also.” The fact that He is departing for the express purpose of preparing a place for them is the proof that He will come again to bring us unto that place He has prepared for us in His Father's house. At the time of our Lord’s ascension into heaven, the angels testified to the disciples:

Men of Galilee...why do you stand here looking into the heavens? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:11

The Apostle Paul assures the Christian that our earthly death will prove to be nothing other than our entrance into the Father’s kingdom, to join Christ in the place He has prepared for those who love Him: “we are willing [i.e. desirous]...to be absent from the body, and to be at home with Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8)

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. #37) asks, What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? The answer: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, until the resurrection.

When the Lord Jesus assures His disciples that they “know the way” to the place He is going, Thomas protests: “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (vs. 5) Like the Jewish leaders, who on a previous occasion assumed Jesus was speaking about an excursion among the Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire (Jn. 7:35), so now His disciples make a similar conjecture. Their perspective is still very much limited to a worldly orientation; they fail to take into consideration what is spiritually transcendent. They fail to appreciate the fact that by Christ (and in Christ) the Christian has direct access to the heavenly kingdom of God.

Jesus now enlightens Thomas and the others by declaring: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except by me” (vs. 6). The Lord Jesus does not merely show men the way to God; for no man could walk that path of moral purity and absolute holiness. The Lord Jesus is the way to God: He is the Redeemer who personally escorts His people into His Father’s presence and there presents His shed blood as the full payment for all their sins, thereby granting them access to the Father’s kingdom. Indeed, He assures His disciples, “I will come back and take you to be with me.”

The Lord Jesus says, “Christian, do not let your heart be troubled; I have gone to prepare a place for you, and I will come to receive you unto Myself.” Jesus invites our simple and complete confidence in Him, because of His simple and complete honesty with us. He declares, “If it were not so, I would have told you, for I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2). Here is the straightforward honesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, the trustworthiness that invites our utmost confidence.

Reason #2: Jesus Gives Us Access to the Power of God (vs. 7-14)←⤒🔗

Jesus accuses His disciples of not truly knowing Him (vs. 7a). To some extent, they have recognized His divine identity. Nathanael has declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are King of Israel!” (Jn. 1:49) Peter has confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Nevertheless, at this point in time they have not yet fully grasped the awesome reality that the One with whom they have been fellowshipping over the course of the past several years is “Immanuel, God with us” (Matt. 1:23). It is after the resurrection that Thomas will proclaim, “My Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28). It is after the resurrection that the Apostle John will write the opening words of his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh, and dwelt [literally, tabernacle] among us; and we beheld his glory, his glory as the one and only [Son who came] from the Father” (Jn. 1:1,14).

Jesus indicates that if His disciples had known Him, they “would have known my Father also.” If they had truly known Christ, (if they had fully comprehended Christ’s identity), the disciples would have known His Father, (i.e. they would have been aware that they were holding communion with God Himself). But, “from now on,” Jesus continues, “you do know him.” As a result of the events that are now about to transpire, (i.e. the crucifixion, followed by the resurrection, and thereafter the ascension), the disciples will be confronted with the unveiled reality of Christ’s deity, and, consequently, they will also be confronted with the Father. With their own eyes they will comprehend the truth of Jesus’ assertion: “He who has seen me, has seen the Father” (vs. 9).

Although He is referring to an experience that shall occur in the near future, Jesus uses the present tense (“you do know him”) in order to emphasize the certainty of what He has promised. But at the end of His statement He employs the past tense: “you have seen him.” This creates confusion on the part of the disciples: When have they seen the Father?

At this point, Philip, on behalf of all the disciples, asks, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied” (vs. 8). Apparently, the disciples are asking for a theophany, a visible manifestation of God as had been given to Moses (cf. Ex. 33:17-34:8) and to Isaiah (cf. Isa. 6:1-5). They seem to think that one extraordinary encounter with God would be sufficient to strengthen their faith and give them assurance. (Note: Only Peter, James and John had witnessed Christ’s transfiguration, and they had been strictly charged to tell no one, cf. Mk. 9:9.)

In response to his request, Jesus declares, “I have been with you for such a long time, and you still do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me, has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father?” He goes on to ask, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Jesus testifies that He has been communicating the Father’s message (“the words that I speak to you I do not speak of my own accord”) and the Father has been confirming that message by “performing his works” as He dwells in Christ. Although they have been unaware of it, throughout the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry the Father has been revealing Himself behind the veil of Christ’s incarnate humanity. The Father is able to do so because of the essential unity between the Father and the Son, both in purpose and in being (“I and the Father are one,” Jn. 10:30).

Jesus urges His disciples to believe His testimony with regard to the relationship between Himself and the Father, if not on the basis of His testimony, then on the basis of the works the Father has been performing by Him: “Believe me [when I say] that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or else believe me on account of the works themselves.” He goes on to solemnly testify that the one who believes in Him, “shall do [even] greater [works] than these.” During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus has been performing works of physical healing and even bodily resurrection, but after Pentecost His disciples will perform the greater works of producing multitudes of conversions unto Christ (cf. Acts 2:41, etc.). What will make these “greater works” possible is the fact that Christ is “going to the Father,” and from the Father He will receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33) who will perform these “greater works” through the apostles and the church.

Our Lord invites us to access the power of God by means of prayer: “whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified by the Son. ¹⁴If you shall ask anything in my name, that will I do” (vs. 13-14). It is by means of prayer that we access the power of God: the power to live out the Christian life, the power to bear a faithful witness for Christ, the power to stand firm for Christ in the midst of even the most severe trial.

Reason #3: Jesus Supplies Us with the Holy Spirit (vs. 15-17, 25-26)←⤒🔗

The Lord Jesus has just promised access to the power of God. Now, lest that privilege be misunderstood or abused, He highlights the moral dimension that must characterize our relationship with Him, the One by whom we gain access to the power of God: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (vs. 15). True love for the Lord Jesus expresses itself in commitment to Him, and that commitment expresses itself in consistent obedience to His commandments, (keeping His commandments). Such commitment to Christ and His commandments will, in turn, inform our prayers and cause us to make requests that are in keeping with His holy will. The Psalmist declares, “Delight in the LORD; and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psl. 37:4). As the famous nineteenth-century British preacher Charles Spurgeon commented, “Men who delight in God desire or ask for nothing but what will please God...their will is subdued to God’s will, and now they may have what they will.”

On behalf of those who love Him, Jesus will request the Father to provide “another Counselor,” one who will “be with you forever.” Unlike the Lord Himself, who must depart and return to the Father, this Counselor will be ever-present with Christ’s disciples, “because he abides with you and will be in you” (vs. 17b).

The Greek term (παρακλrlτοs), translated, “Counselor,” refers to one who appears on another’s behalf as a mediator, intercessor, and helper. In Greek culture, this was not necessarily a profession legal attorney for the defense; it referred to any friend who stood ready to give assistance in time of legal need. Some English translations identify this person as a “Comforter.” However, such a translation is inadequate: Comforter has the connotation of someone who renders consolation; it suggests making the best of a difficult situation. The Greek term, παρακλrlτοs, has a more dynamic and positive connotation, it refers to one who provides the assistance that will deliver his friend from the difficult situation,¹ and direct him as to how to cope with that situation until the time of deliverance.

This Counselor whom the Lord Jesus will send is none other than the Holy Spirit, who is further identified as “the Spirit of truth.” As such, He will testify to the truth (“he will teach you all things”), and thereby guard the disciples from error and deceit. Furthermore, He will communicate the truth to them, doing so by bringing “to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” By means of the Holy Spirit’s ministry through the apostles, the Lord has provided us with the Holy Scriptures. The Apostle Peter assures us,

¹⁹...we have the absolutely reliable prophetic word. It is good for you to adhere to it as a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star arises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, be sure of this: No prophecy of Scripture is the prophet’s own interpretation of the divine will; ²¹for no prophecy was ever produced by [an act of the] human will. On the contrary, men spoke from God as they were led by the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet. 1:19-21

Note: When Peter speaks about “the prophetic word,” he uses the word “prophetic” in the broad sense of the term, a word communicated by God through His spokesman, (be it an O.T. prophet or N.T. apostle); he is not merely speaking of the divine foretelling of future events.

And the Apostle Paul warns us: “Do not go beyond what has been written” (1 Cor. 4:6).

When Christ promises to send “another Counselor,” the word that is used (αλλοs) refers to “another one of the same kind,” as opposed to “one that is of a different kind.” Thus, He indicates that the Holy Spirit will continue to carry on the work and fulfill the role of Christ Himself.

In John 17:11,15 we find Jesus carrying on His ministry of intercession on behalf of His disciples:

¹¹I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one... ¹⁵My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world but that you would protect them from the evil one.

In John 17:12 we hear Jesus testify of His work of preserving and guarding His disciples: “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, except the son of perdition, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

Now, on Jesus’ behalf, the Holy Spirit continues to carry on this work in the life of the Christian and for the sake of the Christian. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us before the Father’s throne of grace:

...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know for what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.Rom. 8:26-27

The Holy Spirit continues to keep us in Christ and will bring us safely unto God; He carries out on our behalf a work of holy guidance: “When you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isa. 30:21). Furthermore, He also carries on within the Christian’s heart and life a work of holy coercion: “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my ordinances and do them” (Ezek. 36:27). The petitions made by the hymn writer, Heinrich Held, rightly appeals to the preserving ministry of the Holy Spirit:

Show us, LORD, the path of
blessing, When we trespass on
our way. Cast, O LORD, our sins
behind Thee And be with us day by day.
Should we stray, O LORD, recall;
Work repentance when we fall.

Reason #4: Jesus Promises a Reunion with His Disciples (vs. 18-24, 27-31)←⤒🔗

The Lord Jesus gives His disciples the assurance, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Christ here is referring to His post-resurrection appearances, whereby He demonstrated Himself to be alive and was re-united with His disciples. This reassurance is very necessary in light of the events that are about to transpire.

Jesus continues: “After a little while the world will no longer see me.” Following the crucifixion, Christ’s public ministry would be concluded; consequently, “the world will no longer see me.” That is to say, the Lord would not resume His ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing throughout Judea and Galilee. Following His resurrection, He would enter into a wholly different phase of His ministry, seated at the right hand of God the Father. Although the world would no longer see Him, Jesus assures His disciples, “you will see me.” Jesus’ words are actually in the present tense, (“you see me;” or, “you continue to see me”), emphasizing that there will be no cessation of fellowship between Jesus and His disciples due to the crucifixion. Again, He is referring to the post-resurrection appearances. The further assurance, “Because I live, you shall live also,” is a reference to His own resurrection life, and the fact that, being united to Him by faith, His disciples share in that resurrection life.

When He speaks of “that day” on which His disciples “will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (vs. 20), the Lord Jesus is looking all the way into the future and the day of His return in glory, the day of final consummation, the day when the redeemed enter into the full experience of our spiritual union with Christ and communion with God. His resurrection and ascension prepare the way for the last great day, and His post-resurrection appearances to the disciples are a foretaste of that last great day.

Once again, Christ emphasizes that this relationship between Himself and His disciples is characterized by commitment: “The one who has my commandments and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (vs. 21a). It is with the one who is committed to Him that both the Son and the Father enter into deep and personal communion: “The one who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will reveal myself to him” (vs. 21b).

Based on what the Lord has said, (“after a little while the world will no longer see me; but you will see me”), Judas, (not Judas Iscariot), recognizes that from now on a different kind of relationship exists between Christ and the world, one in which the world is excluded from His fellowship, a fellowship that now has become the exclusive privilege of His disciples. So it is that he asks, “Lord, what has happened that you will reveal yourself to us, but not to the world?” (vs. 22) Jesus’ reply is basically the same as His previous statement (vs. 21), this time not only repeated in positive terms (vs. 23), but also stated in negative terms (vs. 24). At first it may appear that Christ has ignored Judas’ question, but actually in His reference to His disciples’ love and commitment to Him He has supplied the answer: The Lord Jesus Christ, together with God His Father, enter into communion with those who love Christ and are committed to Him. This is why the world is excluded from this divine fellowship, because it neither loves Christ nor is committed to Him. In contrast to the world, the man who truly loves Christ, however imperfectly that love is presently expressed in his life, will experience, at least in partial measure, the blessing of heaven on earth in his life and soul: Both the Son and the Father “will come to him and live with him.”

Now, as He prepares to depart for the cross, the Lord Jesus bequeaths His peace to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; I give my peace to you.” In writing his last will and testament, a man may bequeath his wealth, his house, his land, his possessions; who except the Lord Jesus Christ can bequeath his peace? It is Christ’s own peace that He gives to His church, the very peace that enabled Him to sleep in the midst of violent storms at sea; to calmly encounter the demon-possessed; to confidently confront His sworn enemies who were intent on His destruction; to allow Himself to be taken captive by those very enemies; to maintain His composure during the mockery of a trial; and then at the end, to commend Himself into His Father’s hands as He hung upon the cross of Calvary.

What is the essence of this peace Christ possessed, and that He graciously bequeaths to His church? It is the knowledge that God the Father is present with Him in this world; as He testifies, “But a time is coming, and has [already] come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will forsake me. Yet I am not forsaken, for my Father is with me” (Jn. 16:32). It is the knowledge that God the Father has bestowed upon Him divine authority; all is under the Father’s control and under Christ’s control: “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything into his hands” (Jn. 3:35). It is the knowledge that when He departs this world He will be received into the Father’s presence: “I came forth from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father” (Jn. 16:28). This is the peace Jesus possesses, by virtue of His righteousness and acceptance with God His Father, and this is the peace Jesus bequeaths to His church.

It is a genuine peace; Jesus declares, “I do not give it to you as the world gives” (vs. 27). “Peace to you” was a common form of greeting and farewell in that day, as it is today. But when the world utters those words it is uttering an empty, meaningless cliché; or at best a sincere hope expressed by one who is powerless to fulfill that hope. But when Jesus pronounces His blessing of peace, He is able to actually impart this blessed peace of God to our very soul.

In closing, Christ makes clear to His disciples the reason He is going to the cross, the place where criminals were executed. He first states it in negative terms: “The prince of the world...has nothing in me” (vs. 30). That is to say, because Christ is sinless, there is no accusation that the devil can bring against Him. Thus, in negative terms, Christ's going to the cross is not due to any act of disobedience.

Stated in positive terms, Christ is going to the cross as the ultimate act of obedience to His Father; the Father has commanded Him to go to the cross, and, therefore, out of love for the Father, He complies: “I love the Father, I will do just as the Father commanded me” (vs. 31).

This fact, stated both negatively and positively, is the assurance that the crucifixion and burial shall not be the final word. On the contrary, in compliance with His righteousness and justice, the Father must raise His faithful Son from the grave. Peter testifies on the day of Pentecost:

²⁴...[him] God raised up, having loosened the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it...²⁵for David says concerning him...²⁷You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. Acts 2:24-25a, 27

This is the assurance that there shall be a reunion between Christ and all His disciples, a reunion to be experienced when we leave this present world and are received into His presence, with the full extent of this glorious reunion to take place upon His return in glory. In the meantime, a reunion that the Christian experiences at present by means of the Holy Spirit's presence and witness on Christ's behalf.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What counsel, indeed, what exhortation, does the Lord Jesus give his disciples (cf. Jn. 14:1)? What was the context, and under what circumstances, did Jesus give this exhortation? Note Jn. 13:21; 13:33; 13:38b. Do we appreciate the fact that the words of Christ are not “greeting card clichés,” but are the living word of God addressed to His to disciples as we face even seemingly overwhelming challenges and trials?

Do not let your heart be troubled; trust in God, trust in me also. Jn. 14:1

After he had said this, [Jesus] was troubled in his spirit and testified, I tell you the truth, one of you shall betray me. Jn. 13:21

Little children, I will be with you for only a little while longer. You will miss me; but what I told the Jews, I now tell you, Where I am going, you cannot come. Jn. 13:33

Jesus replied [to Simon Peter], Will you lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, Before the rooster crows, you will have denied me three times.Jn. 13:38

2. What is the first word of consolation the Lord gives to His disciples, both those original disciples as well as we who are His disciples today? See Jn. 14:2-3. Does not our Lord’s complete honesty (cf. vs. 2b) inspire us to place our confidence completely in Him?

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me; so that where I am, you may be also. Jn. 14:2-3

3. What is the next word Christ gives to sustain our heart? See Jn. 14:13-15. What are the qualifications that limit and direct the seemingly unlimited scope of our requests? Note Jn. 14:13b; 15; also, Psl. 37:4,

And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified by the Son. ¹⁴If you shall ask anything in my name, that will I do. ¹⁵If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Jn. 14:13-15

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Psl. 37:4

4. What further word does Christ give His disciples to fortify our Christian life? See Jn. 14:16-17. How does Christ’s promise (cf. Jn. 14:18) relate to the Holy Spirit? Christian, do you realize that it is by means of the Holy Spirit that Christ dwells in our hearts and holds communion with us? What is one of the ministries His Holy Spirit performs (cf. Jn. 14:26); how does He carry out this ministry? Note Jn. 12:12-16. What does this indicate should be our acquaintance with the Scriptures? Note Psl. 119:11,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive him; because it does not see him, nor does it know him. [But] you know him; because he abides with you and will be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.Jn. 14:16-18

Christ’s spiritual presence is with His church and with every individual Christian by means of the person of the Holy Spirit.

But the Counselor whom the Father will send in my name, that is, the Holy Spirit, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Jn. 14:26

The next day, a great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³They cut branches from the palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD, the King of Israel! ¹⁴Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ¹⁵Fear not, O daughter of Zion. Behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt. ¹⁶At first, his disciples did not understand all this. But after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. Jn. 12:12-16

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psl. 119:11

5. What is one further word of encouragement our Lord gives to sustain us in our Christian life? See Jn. 14:19-20. When was this promise initially fulfilled? Note Jn. 20:19-20. When shall this promise be realized in all of its wonderful fullness? Note 2 Thess. 1:7b, 10. What prayer should this elicit from the very depths of our being? See Rev. 22:20,

After a little while the world will no longer see me; but you will see me. Because I live, you shall live also. ²⁰On that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Jn. 14:19-20

On the evening of that first [day] of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. ²⁰After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jn. 20:19-20

⁷...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels... ¹⁰when he comes, in that Day, to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at by all those who believe... 2 Thess. 1:7, 10

He [i.e. the Lord Jesus] who bears witness to these things says, 'Yes, indeed, I am coming without delay!' Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! Rev. 22:20