JOHN 14 STUDY NOTES

1-7 Comfort/heaven/preparing a place/being with Christ/Knowing where Christ is going/Salvation/knowing God“Do not let your hearts be troubled” (V1) - Wow how we have needed this. Have you “let your heart be troubled this year?” Our hearts have definitely been troubled about a number of things. How can we not let (or keep) our hearts from being troubled? The Apostles were troubled about the things Jesus was saying (mainly that He was leaving them) and He knew it. He knows when our hearts our troubled. He cares about it deeply. He compassionately addressed their troubled hearts and what He said still applies to us and can bring us comfort. What has brought you comfort in your life? When times and situations and difficulties or disaster have happened to you, what did you turn to or lean on? (When you do not turn to Christ (who gives the greatest comfort/peace) we turn to other things (some that are destructive and others that are nowhere near as good. Any comfort that this world offers is not even in the same universe of what Jesus offers to get us through. Jesus’ gives in chapter 14 the reasons and promises that the disciple can have comfort and Help until they see Him again after His resurrection but more than that after He ascends to the Father. (The promise of heaven and His return Vv1-3, promise of God working through us and answering our prayers Vv12-13, the promise of the Helper the Holy Spirit, God dwelling with us Vv21-24, Vv15-16, The Holy Spirit helping us have what we need to know and giving us peace. Vv26-27) What Jesus was doing was going to do was going to allow Him to make a way and be the way for us to be with Him forever. “I am going to prepare a place for you” (V2) - If Jesus, through whom all things were created made this incredible world we live on with all its beauty, we cannot imagine what He is preparing for us! (1 Cor 2:9) “in my Father’s house there are many rooms” (V2) (I am going to get them ready for you) This about just how incredible this is that Jesus was going (to the cross so that) ahead to prepare a place for them (and us). That Christ wants us to to live with them forever. That His house never runs out of room but also that there is a special place there assigned for you (a room). The fact that He was leaving for that purpose let’s them know that He would bring us there and we would be together. (When our hearts are troubled remember that Christ may seem absent but His Spirit is not and we can look forward being with Him in the place He prepared. (When someone leaves its hard but knowing they are returning…) 8-14 Jesus’ works/teachings done by the Father who dwells in Him (just as His Spirit will dwell in them/us and does His work)- (Christ in God and God in Christ - Holy Spirit - connection to God dwelling in the Church…) Doing great works (because Jesus is going to the Father? (Because then the Holy Spirit would dwell in them…) (Powerful works done because we can ask for anything (so that the Father can be glorified) (Vv13-14) “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.” (V12) - This is an incredible statement that is a little hard to understand and believe. (How could greater works be done? Why because Jesus went to the Father? -----(Holy Spirit dwelling in - happened because Christ went to the Father - John 16:7) ----But what about the greater works? 15, 21, 23 Loving Christ equals keeping his commands/word (he says this three times) and the things that are directly related to this are prayer (v14) (Christ manifesting Himself to the person, [study this meaning] and the relationship and fellowship (indwelling…making their home with (v21) The love relationship/fellowship/dwelling with between God, Christ…(Keeping Christ words…doing His works…His answering our prayers/blessing us with the Holy Spirit, peace The Promise of the Holy Spirit: (v16, 26) connected to the truth and knowing/remembering word…and peace, Keeping Christ’s commands/obedience (where our motivation should come from…love and relationship depth…because of RELATIONSHIP…!) (It’s not about earning but also not about being lax…but giving our everything because we love God…and have a deep relationship…) V31 Jesus shows the connection between keeping God/His commandments - because we love them…and so the world can see we love Him, just as Jesus showed He loved the Father. “BECAUSE I LIVE, YOU ALSO WILL LIVE

John 14:19 ESVYet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

What did Jesus mean by this? The disciples would have likely not understood at this point exactly what Jesus meant. We know that they did not understand it before when Jesus said this to them earlier. In John 16 we find Jesus saying the same thing and the Apostles saying “What does he mean by ‘a little while?’ We do not know what He is talking about.” (Jn 16:18) This is what He tells them in John 16:20 and then verse 22.

John 16:20 ESVTruly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

John 16:22 ESVSo also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

They would weep and lament at Jesus death but in a little while (just a few days) but Jesus would rise from the dead and their sorrow would turn to joy, and their hearts would rejoice and no one would take their joy away because Jesus was alive to never die again. Jesus is preparing them and telling them that they would see Him again in just a little while. In saying “Because I live, you also will live” Jesus must be referring to the fact that because He will be resurrected and live, they (and we) could live eternally (and would be resurrected) to be with Him. Because He lives, we could be raised to life spiritually when as we are saved from sin, we could have abundant life and being raised being dead in our sins. We also will live eternally in heaven, in the Father’s house because Jesus after Jesus died He came to life! Because He lives now we have hope and can really live now because we know that we are alive in Christ and have a place prepared for us and a joy that cannot be taken away. (No amount of worldly trouble can take Jesus’ promise away! (Nothing in this world can change the fact that Jesus is alive never to die again.) As long as He lives we can live because we believe in His promises and the future He has in store for us! “SO THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT I...” What do you want others to know about you? Often what we tell others about ourselves or even do is a result of what we want others to know about us! (We may not admit it and sometimes we do not even mentally acknowledge it ourselves, until we start getting real with ourselves about our motives.) When we do things so that people will have a certain impression or belief about us. For example when we work extra hard on a project (for school or work) to do really good so others will know that we are smart or hardworking. Sometimes we do this because we want approval and sometimes we just feel like we have something to prove to others. ill: We may want people to respect us (or that we deserve respect) or we want people know that we are a good person, or that we deserve love and attention. Sometimes we do these things not really because we want others to know something about us but so that we can know it or prove it to ourselves. (If we can get others to believe it, we can believe it ourselves.) (We compare ourselves to others for this reason too.)

If you want proof of this just scroll through a social media feed for a little while and maybe your own…and you will see examples of posts and pictures that are there to get attention and likes and approval. (Now I’m not saying that this always the case but, if we are honest, some are and many of us have posted things (myself included) to show everyone something that says something about what we want others to know about us.)

(The likes or hearts or comments prove that “I am beautiful, successful, smart, generous, like-able loveable, etc.) (Do not get me wrong, sometimes we just want someone to share our rejoicing and victories with, and that’s good.) But other times, deep down we are trying to show the world something about ourselves. NOW, LOOK AT WHAT JESUS SAY HE DID BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WANTED THE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT HIM!

John 14:31 ESVbut 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.

Now, that’s real purpose; living (not the endless cycle of impressing people) but living to impress upon people that loving God is the most important goal and that loving Him taking obeying Him. Living one way promotes self, living the other way glorifies God through love and obedience. Nothing makes the statement more powerfully in your life that by your submission because living for God is loving God. This is an incredible statement considering what Jesus was about to do because He loved God and loved us! Just as Jesus said that His following of the Father’s commands showed that He loved the Father, Jesus also said if you love me, you will keep my commandments. If we keep His commandments we will show the world that we love Him! (Not for our glory but for His.)