John 14
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 My Father's house has plenty of room; 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."
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, all who have faith 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.
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. Anyone 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.
Note: I think it is important to note that from chapter 13 until Jesus' trial, in chapter 18, Jesus is no longer addressing the masses, he is speaking specifically to his disciples or God, the Father.
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 My Father's house has plenty of room; 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."
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, all who have faith 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.
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. Anyone 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.
Note: I think it is important to note that from chapter 13 until Jesus' trial, in chapter 18, Jesus is no longer addressing the masses, he is speaking specifically to his disciples or God, the Father.
John 14: 1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled (This is a response to Peter’s question in 13:36-38 - "Lord, where are you going?" Why were they troubled? Jesus had revealed to them that their hope was still misplaced - (1) Their hope was misplaced in the WRONG WAY - He just got finished telling them that their ability to keep or earn the way to the father was impotent, by predicting Peter's denial and Judas' betrayal. We must remember the Jewish people were founded in finding the way - Abraham was sent on a way; The Children of Israel were sent on a way, and the entire Judaic system was set up with rules, regulations, and priests to help people find their 'way' to God. (2) Their hope was misplaced in a wrong understanding of TRUTH - They had put their hope in the truth that this one man [Jesus]would deliver Israel from the iron clutches of Rome, and establish a secular military kingdom…if he leaves the world in the same materialistic, impoverished way in which he found it, their truth crumbles. (3) Their hope was placed in a formula for life rather than the person of Life - He told them of his own departure from them in the way of suffering...the Christ that they had loved, given up all to follow was now going to just leave them. So because of this Christ comforts them). Trust in God; trust also in me.
2 My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going (The place he is going is not heaven, but the cross) there to prepare a place for you (Luke 22:30, goes beyond the description of a house, it draws a more complete picture of what it means to reside with the father…Luke uses the example of a feast. This language is used to paint a picture of an eternal fullness of life in the father, a peace that we can’t imagine, a joy that doesn’t make sense, a place where pain and death do not rule, a place much fuller than our minds can even imagine - Jesus is talking about eternity, the here and now and tomorrow)? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you (Christ came to earth to set in motion a new covenant that would prepare a people for God, now he goes to prepare a place for us. In other words, for those I have chosen I am going, as an advocate, as a representative to take hold of, to secure, to take possession of and secure your eternity. You can’t do this for yourself, you can’t find the way, your truth is a little skewed, the life you have the ability to live is too weak, so I am going to do this for you…I am going to atone for you, I am going to be your propitiation for you, I am going in your place as your substitution…Jesus is pointing to the cross...), I will come back and take you (which ‘you’ is he talking about? The same you He is going to represent to the father, the same you he is substituting for! The same you he is going to prepare a place for! In other words, if I am going for you, then I am coming back for you no and's, ifs, or buts about it – Christ is saying, your trouble came from your own paradigm, your own inability to find the way, your own lack, but this isn’t about you, you didn’t choose me, I chose you, so you have no need to worry, because what I am going to do cannot be annulled, it cannot be voided, it can’t be forfeited, you didn’t do it, I did it for you… Here is what we must understand: That Jesus will NOT build, or prepare an eternal dwelling for us, and then let it remain empty. Philippians tells us that not only did He begin this good work, but he is going to finish it as well - If he has prepared the place for us, he will prepare us for it, and in his timing give us in possession of it. If the resurrection of Christ is the assurance of our resurrection, so his ascension, victory, and glory, are the assurance of ours) to be with me (to myself) that you also may be where I am (As often times Jesus says, "he is in the father, and we are in him, so we are where he is if we are in him" it is probable that this is not talking about the '2nd coming' as the Johannine community probably already viewed itself 'in' eternal life in the sense that they were already abiding in the Son both eternally and immediately – in other words, not only are we going to go where He is eternally, but we can be where He is now in the same state - Phil. 4:5; James 5:8, 2 Thess. 2:1; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:17). 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." (For Jesus the way back to the father was through the crucifixion, for the disciples, it was Jesus Himself...LET US NOTE, THAT VERSES 1-4 IS STATED IN RESPONSE TO PETER'S QUESTION AT THE END OF CHAPTER 13)
5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (What is interesting about this question from Thomas, is that John sees no reason to portray the disciples as people who had it all together, rather as people who walked with Jesus for three years and seemed no more spiritually perceptive than they were in the earlier parts of the Gospel...This question asked by Thomas is actually question number 2 in a 4 part series of questions from 4 different disciples [Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Judas] - 13:36 14:4; 14:8; 14:22) 6 Jesus answered, "I am (This is another “I am” saying that makes a claim to deity [John 6:35]. Here Jesus begins his response, Thomas is basically showing his ignorance or his paradigm or the fact that he was very well versed with Torah, probably all three. Thomas is basically saying, great, got the first answer, I got the result, the aim, the ‘promised land’ but what’s the way there, who or what can we trust to get us there? Jesus is saying, I am, I am the answer to the question…Paul in Romans 10:6-8 addresses this same idea, Paul basically says, it’s not all these mystical, extravagant or law entrenched ways; and it's not gonna take holy spirit gymnastics and four master’s degree in Christian doctrine, Paul says, it is Christ, that’s it) the way (John 1:14, 17; John 8:56; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; Hebrews 11:13,26; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 5:20 - The word 'way' literally means the journey, the road, the way of thinking, feeling, & deciding. Christ is the way, the highway (Isa. 35:8); the replacement of the curtain that stood between God and man (Hebrews 10:20); His own way (Hebrews 9:12). Jesus as the one way to the Father fulfills the OT symbols and teachings that show the exclusiveness of God's claim, such as the curtain in Exodus 26:33 prohibiting access to God's presence from all except the Levitical high priest [Leviticus 16], the rejection of human inventions as means to approach God [Leviticus 10:2], and the choice of Aaron alone to represent Israel before God in his sanctuary [Numbers 17:5]. According to Acts 4:12, Jesus is the only “way” to God, and he alone can provide access to God) and the truth (Jesus as 'the truth' fulfills the teaching of the OT [John 1:17] and reveals the true God [John 1:14,17; John 5:33; John 8:4-, 45-46; John 18:37; John 11:25]. He is also the true manna (John 6:32), and the true tabernacle, [Heb. 8:2]) and the life (Jesus alone is the life who fulfills the OT promises of “life” given by God [John 11:25-26], having life in himself [John 1:4; John 5:26], and he is thus able to confer eternal life to all those who believe in him [John 3:16]. He is the life - we are alive unto God only in and through Jesus Christ [Rom. 6:11]). 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 (Hebrews 1:3 and 1 John 2:3)."
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 (Jesus' point is not that they are the same person, but rather that he is the perfect likeness and expression of the very mind and Character of God the Father - Hebrews 1:3). 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 (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)? 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 (Jesus alone is the reveler of God to us). 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, all who have faith in me will do the works (This speaks of our obligation which is more literal a result that happens in and through us due to the Holy Spirit, to confront the world, serve (13:1-20) it faithfully, and to resist every temptation to abdicate from the responsibilities it rightfully expects God's people to bear in his world.) I have been doing, and they will do even greater (quantity not quality) things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name (the phrase, "ask in my name" is better understood, 'asking' in accord with the character and will of Jesus, this is what he answers.), 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.
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 spirit of truth here is also the Holy Spirit - Only the Elect, the members of the Church, have the Spirit of Truth bestowed upon them; it is this spirit which makes htem diffeent from others [1 Corinthians 2:12]. The Holy Spirit was bestowed upon all the elect, but not to the same degree [Hebrews 2:4].). 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 (This passage like John 7:39, does not mean that the Holy Spirit had'nt been at work up till now, or even residing 'in' people [Numbers 27:18; Deut 34:9; Exek. 2:2; Exek 3:24; Daniel 4:8-9; Daniel 4:18; Daniel 5:11; Micah 3:8]. The point of this verse like John 7:39, is that the more powerful, fuller work of the Holy Spirit that is characteristic of life after Pentecost had not yet begun in the lives of the disciples. The Holy spirit had not come within them in the way in which God had promised to put the Holy spirit within his people when the new covenant would come [Ezek. 36:26-27; 37:14], nor had the Holy Spirit been poured out in the great abundance and fullness that would characterize the new covenatn age [Joel 2:28-29]. In this powerful new covenant sense, the Holy Spirit was not yet at work within the disciples.). 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 (this is the proof that Jesus has 'come to us' and that we 'see him' - the proof that we are his children is that we obey, this is the proof that we truly love him). Anyone 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 (cross referenced with 15:26 shows the work of all three together), will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (Specifically, Jesus is pointing to the further writing of scripture. Jesus is promising his disciples, who after pentecost became the apostles, that the Holy Spirit would teach them "all things" and would cause them to remember 'all' that Jesus had said, and would guide them into "all truth." But we must also realize that the Holy Spirit's work did not cease with the compilation of the canon - rather, he continues to speak through scripture throughout the ages and continues to speak to succeeding generations through the Bible). 27 Peace (The expression peace or shalom had a much richer meaning than the English word does since it conveyed not merely the absence of conflict and turmoil but also the notion of positive blessing, especially in terms of a right relationship with God [Numbers 6:24-26; Psalm 29:11; Hag, 2:9]; it is a wholeness. This may be manifested most clearly in the midst of persecution and tribulation from the world [John 15:18-19; 16:33]) 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.' (This is probably a reference to his re-appearance to his disciples after his resurrection) 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 (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) 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.
2 My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going (The place he is going is not heaven, but the cross) there to prepare a place for you (Luke 22:30, goes beyond the description of a house, it draws a more complete picture of what it means to reside with the father…Luke uses the example of a feast. This language is used to paint a picture of an eternal fullness of life in the father, a peace that we can’t imagine, a joy that doesn’t make sense, a place where pain and death do not rule, a place much fuller than our minds can even imagine - Jesus is talking about eternity, the here and now and tomorrow)? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you (Christ came to earth to set in motion a new covenant that would prepare a people for God, now he goes to prepare a place for us. In other words, for those I have chosen I am going, as an advocate, as a representative to take hold of, to secure, to take possession of and secure your eternity. You can’t do this for yourself, you can’t find the way, your truth is a little skewed, the life you have the ability to live is too weak, so I am going to do this for you…I am going to atone for you, I am going to be your propitiation for you, I am going in your place as your substitution…Jesus is pointing to the cross...), I will come back and take you (which ‘you’ is he talking about? The same you He is going to represent to the father, the same you he is substituting for! The same you he is going to prepare a place for! In other words, if I am going for you, then I am coming back for you no and's, ifs, or buts about it – Christ is saying, your trouble came from your own paradigm, your own inability to find the way, your own lack, but this isn’t about you, you didn’t choose me, I chose you, so you have no need to worry, because what I am going to do cannot be annulled, it cannot be voided, it can’t be forfeited, you didn’t do it, I did it for you… Here is what we must understand: That Jesus will NOT build, or prepare an eternal dwelling for us, and then let it remain empty. Philippians tells us that not only did He begin this good work, but he is going to finish it as well - If he has prepared the place for us, he will prepare us for it, and in his timing give us in possession of it. If the resurrection of Christ is the assurance of our resurrection, so his ascension, victory, and glory, are the assurance of ours) to be with me (to myself) that you also may be where I am (As often times Jesus says, "he is in the father, and we are in him, so we are where he is if we are in him" it is probable that this is not talking about the '2nd coming' as the Johannine community probably already viewed itself 'in' eternal life in the sense that they were already abiding in the Son both eternally and immediately – in other words, not only are we going to go where He is eternally, but we can be where He is now in the same state - Phil. 4:5; James 5:8, 2 Thess. 2:1; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:17). 4 You know the way to the place where I am going." (For Jesus the way back to the father was through the crucifixion, for the disciples, it was Jesus Himself...LET US NOTE, THAT VERSES 1-4 IS STATED IN RESPONSE TO PETER'S QUESTION AT THE END OF CHAPTER 13)
5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (What is interesting about this question from Thomas, is that John sees no reason to portray the disciples as people who had it all together, rather as people who walked with Jesus for three years and seemed no more spiritually perceptive than they were in the earlier parts of the Gospel...This question asked by Thomas is actually question number 2 in a 4 part series of questions from 4 different disciples [Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Judas] - 13:36 14:4; 14:8; 14:22) 6 Jesus answered, "I am (This is another “I am” saying that makes a claim to deity [John 6:35]. Here Jesus begins his response, Thomas is basically showing his ignorance or his paradigm or the fact that he was very well versed with Torah, probably all three. Thomas is basically saying, great, got the first answer, I got the result, the aim, the ‘promised land’ but what’s the way there, who or what can we trust to get us there? Jesus is saying, I am, I am the answer to the question…Paul in Romans 10:6-8 addresses this same idea, Paul basically says, it’s not all these mystical, extravagant or law entrenched ways; and it's not gonna take holy spirit gymnastics and four master’s degree in Christian doctrine, Paul says, it is Christ, that’s it) the way (John 1:14, 17; John 8:56; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; Hebrews 11:13,26; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 5:20 - The word 'way' literally means the journey, the road, the way of thinking, feeling, & deciding. Christ is the way, the highway (Isa. 35:8); the replacement of the curtain that stood between God and man (Hebrews 10:20); His own way (Hebrews 9:12). Jesus as the one way to the Father fulfills the OT symbols and teachings that show the exclusiveness of God's claim, such as the curtain in Exodus 26:33 prohibiting access to God's presence from all except the Levitical high priest [Leviticus 16], the rejection of human inventions as means to approach God [Leviticus 10:2], and the choice of Aaron alone to represent Israel before God in his sanctuary [Numbers 17:5]. According to Acts 4:12, Jesus is the only “way” to God, and he alone can provide access to God) and the truth (Jesus as 'the truth' fulfills the teaching of the OT [John 1:17] and reveals the true God [John 1:14,17; John 5:33; John 8:4-, 45-46; John 18:37; John 11:25]. He is also the true manna (John 6:32), and the true tabernacle, [Heb. 8:2]) and the life (Jesus alone is the life who fulfills the OT promises of “life” given by God [John 11:25-26], having life in himself [John 1:4; John 5:26], and he is thus able to confer eternal life to all those who believe in him [John 3:16]. He is the life - we are alive unto God only in and through Jesus Christ [Rom. 6:11]). 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 (Hebrews 1:3 and 1 John 2:3)."
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 (Jesus' point is not that they are the same person, but rather that he is the perfect likeness and expression of the very mind and Character of God the Father - Hebrews 1:3). 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 (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)? 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 (Jesus alone is the reveler of God to us). 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, all who have faith in me will do the works (This speaks of our obligation which is more literal a result that happens in and through us due to the Holy Spirit, to confront the world, serve (13:1-20) it faithfully, and to resist every temptation to abdicate from the responsibilities it rightfully expects God's people to bear in his world.) I have been doing, and they will do even greater (quantity not quality) things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name (the phrase, "ask in my name" is better understood, 'asking' in accord with the character and will of Jesus, this is what he answers.), 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.
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 spirit of truth here is also the Holy Spirit - Only the Elect, the members of the Church, have the Spirit of Truth bestowed upon them; it is this spirit which makes htem diffeent from others [1 Corinthians 2:12]. The Holy Spirit was bestowed upon all the elect, but not to the same degree [Hebrews 2:4].). 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 (This passage like John 7:39, does not mean that the Holy Spirit had'nt been at work up till now, or even residing 'in' people [Numbers 27:18; Deut 34:9; Exek. 2:2; Exek 3:24; Daniel 4:8-9; Daniel 4:18; Daniel 5:11; Micah 3:8]. The point of this verse like John 7:39, is that the more powerful, fuller work of the Holy Spirit that is characteristic of life after Pentecost had not yet begun in the lives of the disciples. The Holy spirit had not come within them in the way in which God had promised to put the Holy spirit within his people when the new covenant would come [Ezek. 36:26-27; 37:14], nor had the Holy Spirit been poured out in the great abundance and fullness that would characterize the new covenatn age [Joel 2:28-29]. In this powerful new covenant sense, the Holy Spirit was not yet at work within the disciples.). 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 (this is the proof that Jesus has 'come to us' and that we 'see him' - the proof that we are his children is that we obey, this is the proof that we truly love him). Anyone 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 (cross referenced with 15:26 shows the work of all three together), will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (Specifically, Jesus is pointing to the further writing of scripture. Jesus is promising his disciples, who after pentecost became the apostles, that the Holy Spirit would teach them "all things" and would cause them to remember 'all' that Jesus had said, and would guide them into "all truth." But we must also realize that the Holy Spirit's work did not cease with the compilation of the canon - rather, he continues to speak through scripture throughout the ages and continues to speak to succeeding generations through the Bible). 27 Peace (The expression peace or shalom had a much richer meaning than the English word does since it conveyed not merely the absence of conflict and turmoil but also the notion of positive blessing, especially in terms of a right relationship with God [Numbers 6:24-26; Psalm 29:11; Hag, 2:9]; it is a wholeness. This may be manifested most clearly in the midst of persecution and tribulation from the world [John 15:18-19; 16:33]) 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.' (This is probably a reference to his re-appearance to his disciples after his resurrection) 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 (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2) 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment