Read John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
Go Deeper
In John 14, Jesus is still spending time with His disciples prior to His impending arrest. He knows what is to come and He is trying to explicitly communicate everything He wants them to know. Of the 31 verses in this chapter, 28 of them are recounting words from Jesus. There are only 3 verses that contain words from anyone else. If you noticed, each instance is characterized by confusion from the disciples. Here are the 3 verses:
- John 14:5: Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
- John 14:8: Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
- John 14:22: Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
All three times, Jesus would finish speaking and a disciple followed up with a question like they weren’t even listening! While it’s embarrassing for the disciples, it’s easy to understand where they are coming from. They are trying to understand the mystery of God and assumed it was difficult to grasp. But each time Jesus answered them, He gave them a simpler answer than they expected. Jesus told the disciples “I am the way,” and “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me,” and “Anyone who loves me… My Father will love them.”
In other words, Jesus is telling them “I am The Answer to your questions.” This chapter is a reminder to us that while we have hard questions about life, many times the answer is simply found in Jesus (despite our best efforts to look elsewhere). While the meaning of life was once a mystery, it is now clear through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is The Answer to your questions. And while that is a simple answer, we can spend our whole lives searching Him out and barely scratch the surface on the depth of His goodness.
Questions
- What stood out most to you about Jesus’s teaching?
- Why do you think the disciples were so confused by Jesus?
- Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Which one of those characteristics have you seen most in your life?
Did You Know?
The Judas (not Judas Iscariot) mentioned in John 14:22 is Judas the son (or brother) of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). He is likely also the same man as Thaddaeus (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19).
5 thoughts on “John 14”
What stood out to me most as I read this chapter was the compassion of Jesus to bring comfort to his inner circle for what was to come:
•He quieted their troubled minds with a promise of a future home where they would be together with him.
•Jesus empowered them to continue his work to bring glory to the Father.
•He promised those who love and obey his commandments an advocate, counselor, the Spirit of Truth—the Holy Spirit.
•Jesus left them with the gift of peace of mind and heart.
As we follow Jesus, he imparts the same treasures to us.
These are the verses that stood out to me today:
9 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.
Often folks (even Christians like me) subconsciously think of God the Father as a stern judge and Jesus as the merciful Son pleading our case. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Triune God’s essential nature is Love. The Father has the same heart as the Son and the Spirit. How comforting, especially that, as believers, we have the Spirit within us, helping us and being with us FOREVER!
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. This is what we need to do. Not just a little or with some things but 100% of the time with 100% of every thing in our lives. WHEW! If you have children then you know that when they do, obey, you do a happy dance. They get good rewards. So it goes for us.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
The rest of this is after Pentecost when Holy Spirit comes, our helper. Jesus told them what was to come so that they would believe and also so they would know how they would not be alone. He truly wasn’t abandoning them but going to make their and our way to be with the Father for ever and ever. Crazy times for them, He says, you going to get more and do more than me if you believe and obey all I have told you already by “keeping His word”. All of this goes for future generations as well. Jesus gave them a lot of information in a short amount of time to hear and understand but it ultimately comes down to “If you love me, keep my commands.
God thank You for helping me to 100% keep Your commands. Thank You for the times I stumble that You catch me and that when I repent, You are there to help me with getting it right. God I am so thankful for Your Word and how Your direct my path. Thank You for wisdom, knowledge and understanding; for doctrine, reproof and correction with instruction in righteousness. God I am so blessed, thankful, grateful and weird in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!
The title of this chapter is truth. I may have miscounted, but I noted 13 times Jesus speaks a message of assurance and comfort to us. Even after those three puzzled questions, Jesus speaks truth of comfort.
What a glorious day it will be when Jesus comes to us and says, “Come now; let us leave.” But in the meantime, we have these 13 promises to comfort us.
Simple truth, but magnified love.
* Compassion
* Promise
*Truth
* The greatest of these, love.