John 14:12-31

John 14:12–31 ESV

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

12–21 Jesus’ reply, part 2 (cont’d). In reply to Philip, Jesus continues to outline the privileges of discipleship. As He broadens out His answer and begins to describe the privileges, He makes sure that the disciples understand who His real followers are (vv. 15ff). The word translated ‘obey’ is a key word in the passage (vv. 15, 21, 23 and 24). The same word was used in 8:51 where Jesus taught that the person who kept His word (literally observed, fulfilled, paid attention to), or persevered in His word, was the one who would see life. Here, in chapter 14, Jesus describes the person who loves Him as the person who ‘keeps His commands’. Jesus is not teaching that someone becomes a believer by obeying His commands (except the command to believe (3:36)), but He is teaching that someone cannot be a believer if they do not obey His commands. The implied command to love and obedience in v. 15 is sandwiched between promises of answered prayer and of the Holy Spirit's help for believers (vv. 13-17, cf. Luke 11:9-13). We must obey Jesus’ specific commands and His whole teaching, but (the ‘if...then...’ argument extends to v. 17a) we must not be reliant on our own efforts, or, like Peter, we will always fail. The Spirit is not a reward for our obedience but inseparable from it. Our responsibility is balanced by God’s sovereign work in us. These are the privileges of those who love Jesus:

They will receive the Spirit. They will live (v. 19b). They will be in relationship with the Son and the Father (v. 20).

It is important to identify what Jesus teaches His disciples about the Spirit:

The Spirit is the Paraclete.

The word ‘Paraclete’ is used of a legal friend (a formal legal Advocate) who fights the cause of the defendant. He is ‘another’, of the same sort as Jesus, who remains with His disciples and will dwell in the believer forever when Jesus is gone. The English word ‘counsellor’ doesn’t quite capture the sense of the one who comes alongside and pleads the cause of God in us. Like Jesus, He is a witness for Jesus and against the world (15:26; 16:8-11 cf. 8:14, 26). ‘Paraclete’ is definitely not ‘counsellor’ with the sense of ‘therapist’!

The Spirit is the Spirit of truth.

Jesus, who described Himself as ‘the truth’ (14:6), now describes the Spirit as the Spirit of truth. Truth has been a key and vital emphasis in John’s Gospel: Jesus reveals the truth (1:18), calls true worshippers who will worship ‘in truth’ (4:23), is Himself the truth (14:6). The Spirit will lead the apostles in all truth, when Jesus is gone, by reminding them of Jesus’ teaching (v. 26).

The Spirit is the Holy Spirit. His presence will change lives as well as minds, making us holy, as those set apart to belong to and be like God, obedient to as well as knowing Jesus’ commands (v. 21).

The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. Though the Spirit is a distinct person in the Trinity, He does not have His own unilateral agenda. He is the Spirit of the risen, living, life-giving Jesus who comes to be with Jesus’ disciples forever.

When Jesus says, ‘I am coming’, He means that His Spirit is coming – He uses the two phrases almost interchangeably. The Spirit is given by the Father at the request of the Son. He is personal, a ‘He’, like Jesus. He will never depart from Jesus’ words (v.26), but will use Jesus’ words to accomplish the Father’s agenda. Indeed, the more we read the New Testament, the more we see that the three persons of the Trinity, though distinct, are very much one God. Like Jesus, the Spirit cannot be ‘seen’ or understood or received by the world, by people in hostile rebellion against God.

(NB When Jesus says ‘I will come to you’, He cannot be referring simply to His resurrection appearances, for He promises that He will not abandon His disciples (v. 18) and also that He will come to ‘whoever’ (v. 21) and ‘anyone’ (v. 23) who loves Him and obeys Him.) By verse 21 it is clear that Jesus’ answer to Philip has broadened out to encompass a whole range of benefits that will be available to the believer following His departure. If only Philip will believe, he will realize just how privileged he is.

Judas’ anxiety about the failure of the world to see Jesus can best be explained by Isaiah 40:5 (see OT notes). In replying to Philip, Jesus has made it clear that, whereas His disciples will have a relationship of love with Himself and also with the Father, the world will not (v. 10). The messianic age, when the whole world will see and acknowledge the Messiah, will not come yet; there is to be a delay before this momentous era is fully ushered in. Judas cannot understand this. Jesus answers the question by first teaching the apostles what His departure will achieve for them. Having established this, He then answers the question with regard to the world.

Don’t be anxious.’ What Jesus’ departure will achieve for His disciples.

John 14:22–27

John 14:22–27 ESV

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

First, an intimate union with the Father and the Son (vv. 23–24).

The impact of this amazing prospect is reinforced when we realise that the word for ‘home’, that Jesus uses here, is the same word that He used when speaking to Peter in verse 2 – there it was translated as ‘rooms’. (Literally, the word means ‘dwelling place’, with the connotation of permanence.) At that point Peter was promised a dwelling place in heaven; now Judas is promised that he will become the dwelling place of God on earth. The sanctuary and the temple in the OT merely symbolised the presence of God with His covenant people (e.g. Ex. 25:8; 1 Ki. 8:12-13, 27). The reality, linked to the outpouring of the Spirit (e.g. Joel 2:27) and peace (e.g. Ezek 37:26-27), was still future (e.g. Zech. 2:10) – no longer! Note that the promise in verse 23 is sandwiched between two reminders, one positive and the other negative, about the link between loving Jesus and obeying Him: this promise is specifically for disciples who have responded rightly to Jesus’ revelation of the Father. Note too that Jesus underlines His promise by telling us that it comes from the Father. God’s presence is a sign of His covenant love (v. 23). There is an important sense in which God loves even those who hate Him (cf. 3:16) but the blessings of His love will only be enjoyed by those who respond in love and obedience.

Second, the sending of the Spirit will guarantee the accurate recalling of Jesus’ words by the apostles (vv. 25–26).

Note that the promise about teaching and reminding must apply initially to the apostles, for it is limited to ‘everything I have said to you’. Wherever the Spirit is at work minds will be changed. The assurance to us is therefore that the apostolic writings are reliable. We don’t depend on fallible human memory. This has major implications for us today when the accuracy and the authority of scripture are questioned. The ‘all things’ and ‘all’ of verse 26 show that the Spirit-inspired message of the apostles is both final and sufficient. The Spirit has no further words to add to the ‘all things’ He has taught Jesus’ apostles. To suggest that He has more to say is to question Jesus’ teaching in verse 26.

Third, Jesus’ departure achieves peace for His disciples – a unique peace with God their Father, which is established through their belief in the achievements of Jesus’ death (see OT ideas).

Don’t be sad.’ What Jesus’ departure will achieve for the world as well as for His disciples.

John 14:28–31

John 14:28–31 ESV

28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Jesus’ departure is not a tragedy for the disciples, whose love of Jesus is shown to be genuine by their perseverance in obeying His teaching. Following His departure:

- They will receive the Spirit. - They will be the dwelling place of the Father and the Son. - They will be reminded of all the things that Jesus taught them. - They will be loved by the Father. - They will receive Jesus’ peace. • Those in the world will not receive these blessings, for they are still ruled by Satan. - They are unable to receive, see or know the Spirit because they do not love or obey the Son. - They will not see Jesus after His death. - They will see Jesus’ love for His Father and His obedience to Him. They will either be judged or saved according to their reaction to this.

The world can, however, be brought into a relationship of loving obedience to God through the Spirit- inspired message of the apostles – the gospel.

First, the breadth of a disciple’s privileges. Replying to both Philip and Judas, Jesus promises that the one who loves Him will be able to continue to see the Father – more than that, that person will have the Father and the Son dwelling within him or her through the Spirit. This means, therefore, that a disciple now is in a position of even greater privilege than were the disciples themselves when Jesus was with them physically. Make sure you focus on the intimacy suggested by the words ‘in’, ‘with’, ‘within’ and ‘forever’. It will be important, also, to spend plenty of time on the matter of obeying Jesus’ word, and the fact that this is what indicates a person’s genuine love for Jesus. Take care, however, not to encourage salvation by works! Obedience to Jesus is the mark of someone who loves Him, not a condition for belonging to Him. Second, it will be well worth getting straight just who the Spirit is and who He is not! Don’t be surprised if there are some pretty strange ideas around. This is one of the key NT passages on the identity of the Holy Spirit, so spend plenty of time thinking through the teaching in these verses. He is the Spirit of Jesus, of His truth and of His word. He is not a materialistic Spirit who will give disciples the things that Jesus has so far refused to give them (note that the answered prayers of v.14 are followed by the expectation of v. 15!). The crowds, at various points in John’s narrative, attempted to force their own this-worldly agenda onto Jesus, and we must be aware of the danger of doing the same thing, trying to force our own ‘me-centred’ agenda onto the Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit has enabled the apostles to record ‘all things’ and ‘everything’ that Jesus taught. His words are final and sufficient. Third, Jesus’ answer to Judas should encourage us to ensure that the teaching about the cross is central to our evangelism. For Jesus says that it is as the world sees His loving obedience to the Father (in going to the cross), which he speaks about before He dies, that they will come to believe. The aim The aim of this study is to see that, far from being impoverished by the departure of Jesus, those who demonstrate their genuine love of Jesus by obedience will be privileged to have God dwelling in them.