Week 39: John 14:15-30; "It's better Jesus left."

Let's start today, again, by reading from John 13:31-14:14: (31) Then, when he had gone out, he says-- Jesus-- "Now the Son of Man was glorified, and God was glorified in him. If God was glorified in him, also, God will glorify him in himself, and immediately/at once He will glorify him. (33) Little children, yet a little time with you, I am. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Judeans, that where I am going, you aren't able to come, also to you I say now. (34) A new command I give you: that you love one another. Just as I loved you, that also you shall love one another. (35) By this all will know that my disciples you are: if love you have for one another. (36) He says to him-- Simon Peter-- "Lord, where are you going?" He answered-- Jesus-- "Where I am going, you aren't able, me now, to follow. Now, you will follow later." (37) He says to him-- Peter-- "Lord, why am I not able, you, to follow now? My life for you I will lay down." (38) He replied-- Jesus-- "Your life for me you will lay down? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will absolutely not crow until you have denied me three times." (14:1) They must not be troubled-- your hearts. [You] Give allegiance to God. Also, toward me, give allegiance. (2) In my Father's house, many rooms, there are. Now, if not, I would've told you, because I am going to make a place for you, and if I go and I make a place for you, again I am coming, and I will receive you toward myself, in order that, where I am, also you shall be, (4) and where I am going, you know the way." (5) He says to him-- Thomas-- "Lord, we don't know where you are going. How are we able, the way, to know?" (6) He says to him-- Jesus-- "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes toward the Father, except only through me. (7) If you had known me, also my Father, you would've known. From now on, you know him, and you have seen him." (8) He says to him-- Philip-- "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." (9) He says to him-- Jesus-- "For such a long time, with you, I am, and you haven't know me, Philip? The one having 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 The Father, in me, He is"? The words that I speak to you, from myself I don't speak. Now, the Father in me abiding, He does his works. (11) Believe me, that I [am] in the Father, and the Father [is] in me. Now, if not, because of the works themselves, believe. (12) Truly, truly, I say to you, the one "believing"/giving allegiance to me, the works that I do, also that one, he will do, and greater than these things, he will do, because I toward my Father am going, and whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, in order that the Father would be glorified in/through the son. (14) If, anything, you ask me in my name, I will do it. New stuff: Verses 15-17: (15) If you love me, my commands you will keep, (16) and I will ask the Father, and another Advocate/Helper He will give to you, in order that he may be with you forever-- (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world isn't able to receive because it doesn't see him, nor does it know [him]. You know him, because with you (plural) he abides, and in you (plural) he will be. When you come to Jesus, there is a cluster of discipleship verbs that are involved in that. It's not just about "believing in" Jesus, or "believing that" certain things are true about Jesus. It includes that, but it's more than that. It's also about "coming toward" Jesus, and "abiding in" Jesus, and "confessing" Jesus (12:42-43) and serving Jesus, and following Jesus (John 12:26). Here, we add to our cluster of discipleship verbs. Part of what it means to be Jesus' disciples, is to "love" Jesus. But how do you know if you love Jesus? What does it look like to love him? Jesus says, you can tell if you love him, because you keep his commands. Loving Jesus, and obeying Jesus, go hand in hand. And when we think about what Jesus has commanded in the gospel of John, it's not very complicated. Jesus' commands are straightforward: You die to yourself, and live for Jesus as his servant/disciple (John 12:25). And, second, you serve and love each other-- you serve the people in this room (John 13:14, 34-35). If you truly love Jesus, this is how you live. So all of you, hopefully, love Jesus. There are good reasons to do so. And if you love Jesus, Jesus says that two other things are also true (verses 16-17): (1) You will keep his commands. (2) Jesus will ask the Father, and the Father will give you another Advocate-- the Holy Spirit. Now, when Jesus calls the Spirit "another" Advocate, what does he mean? He means that the Spirit is not the disciples' first, or only, advocate. Jesus is himself an advocate, sent by his Father. So when you think about what the Spirit does for us, you should think about what Jesus did for his disciples. Somehow, they are closely related. But what is an "advocate"? English Bibles translate this word differently-- as "comforter," or "helper," or "advocate." Scholars are pretty much in agreement that an advocate is sort of like a lawyer, or lobbyist. An advocate is someone who has power, and influence, and speaks on your behalf, and works on your behalf. An advocate is someone who knows the right people, can walk through the right doors, has the right people on speed dial, and gets their phone calls answered. An advocate is a friend, and ally, in high places. Let me use another example: When a woman is married to someone who is abusive, and she runs from him, she goes to an abuse center. In that center, there are people who will protect her, and fight for her, and provide for her, and help her get police protection from the husband. The people helping that woman are called "advocates." An advocate is someone who gives you strength, and help. This is what Jesus has done throughout the gospel. And even though Jesus isn't physically here, he has asked that we-- the people who love Jesus, and keep his commands-- receive the Spirit as an advocate in his place. The Spirit is our advocate. Let's reread verses 15-17: (15) If you love me, my commands you will keep, (16) and I will ask the Father, and another Advocate/Helper He will give to you, in order that he may be with you forever-- (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world isn't able to receive because it doesn't see him, nor does it know [him]. You know him, because with you (plural) he abides, and in you (plural) he will be.1 Hopefully, when I talk to you about the Holy Spirit, you understand who I mean. Jesus says, "You know him." He abides here, among us, with us. And he lives inside each of us. So when we talk about the Holy Spirit, we aren't doing so in an academic, objective sense. We are talking about Someone we know, and rely on. And this is something the world doesn't understand. The world goes through life, only trusting its senses (verse 17)-- what it can see, and hear, and smell, and touch. If you can't inspect it under a microscope, or observe it in nature, it's not real. There is no fleshly organ that lets you receive the Spirit, or see the Spirit (H/T Schnackenburg, I think). And so the Spirit lives exclusively inside of us, and exclusively among us. We know the Spirit, in a way the world can't. With this, we come to verses 18-20. As I read these verses, ask yourselves two questions. First, a "when" question. Jesus is talking about a future time for his disciples. "When" is that time? Second, are Jesus' words addressed to us, or only to his first disciples? (Who is the "you"?) Verse 18-20: (18) I won't leave you orphans. I am coming toward you. [Who? When?] (19) Yet a small time and the world, me, will no longer see.2 Now, you3 will see me. [Who? When?] Because I live, also you will live. [Who? When?] (20) On that day, you will know [Who? When?] that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. It's possible, maybe, to read these verses as only being true for Jesus' first disciples. Maybe, he is describing to them how he will return to them after he rises from the dead. "On that day"-- on this side of Easter-- when they see Jesus physically standing in front of them, they will know who Jesus truly is, and who they truly are. But I find myself thinking that there is a higher level of truth here. I feel like Jesus is promising me, that I will see him, and I will receive some type of new life (v. 19), and I will know that Jesus is in the Father, and I'm in Jesus, and Jesus is in me. Let's keep reading, and see if I get my answer. Verse 21: (21) The one having my commandments and keeping them4-- that one5 is the one loving me. Now, the one loving me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest to him myself. Jesus had started this section by saying that if you love him, you will keep his commands. Now, in verse 21, he flips it around. You can tell if someone loves Jesus, because that person "has" Jesus' commands, and "keeps" them. And that person-- the one obeying Jesus-- is the one who "will be" loved by the Father, and loved by Jesus, and who Jesus "will" reveal/manifest himself to. Here again, I find myself thinking that Jesus isn't just talking about what will happen after Easter. I think Jesus is talking to me, about me. I'm someone who has Jesus' commands, and keeps them. I'm someone who loves Jesus. So since that's the case, I'm going to claim Jesus' words, as true for me. The Father loves me. Jesus loves me. And Jesus has revealed himself to me. If this is true, and I'm right, then I want to know "how" this all works. But Judas, hearing Jesus' words, has a different question-- a "why" question. Verse 22: (22) He says to him-- Judas, not the Iscariot-- "Lord, why is it, that to us you are about to manifest yourself, and not to the world?" Judas wants to know why Jesus is only going to reveal himself to his disciples, and not the world. (23) He answered-- Jesus-- and he said to him, "If anyone loves me, my word he will keep, and my Father will love him, and toward him we will come, and a room with him we will make.6 (24) The one not loving me, my words he doesn't keep, and the word that you hear isn't mine, but of the One Sending me-- the Father's. When Jesus reveals himself, it's not going to be on CNN. The whole world isn't going to be able to see him with their eyes. Instead, Jesus will reveal himself to people, from inside of them. If you love Jesus, and you obey him, then Jesus has made a room inside of you. He, and the Father, live inside of you. That's how Jesus reveals himself. He's inside of us. We can feel him. We are led by him. So Judas's question was, why doesn't Jesus reveal himself to the world? Why only to his disciples? And the answer is, this type of revealing is only possible for people who love Jesus, and obey him. Jesus, and the Father, will only make their home in people who love Jesus (verse 24) and who receive Jesus' words, as the Father's words. And who will Jesus do all of this for? Verse 23: "Anyone." If you love Jesus, and you obey him, the Father and the Son have made a room inside of you, and live in you. Jesus is talking to you. -------------------------------------- I was going to unpack the connections between this and John 14:2-4, but it killed the flow. (14:2) In my Father's house, many rooms, there are. Now, if not, I would've told you, because I am going to make a place for you,7 and if I go and I make a place for you, again I am coming, and I will receive you toward (πρός ) myself,8 in order that, where I am, also you shall be, (4) and where I am going, you know the way." (14:23) He answered-- Jesus-- and he said to him, "If anyone loves me, my word he will keep, and my Father will love him, and toward (πρός )him we will come, and a room with him we will make.9 There are two ways to understand these connections: (1) Jesus is speaking of two "rooms," and two "times." Right now, Jesus (and the Father) live inside of us, in a room they made inside of us. Later, we will go to live with Jesus in our Father's house. Whitacre, among others, takes this approach. (2) Jesus is speaking of one "room," and one "time," but he spins the language around and clarifies it in verse 23. It's the higher level of truth that we are supposed to reach for, instead of takings things at their face/literal/lower level (probably the majority take this approach). I think what Jesus is doing in verse 23, is clarifying verses 2-4 (and spinning the language around). Jesus isn't talking about a heavenly room waiting for you after you die, and a room inside of you now. There is one room, not two. Jesus is leaving the disciples, but he has made a room inside of each of us for himself, and the Father. -------------------------------------- Verses 25-26: (25) These things I have said to you, (while) with you abiding. (26) Now, the Advocate-- the Holy Spirit-- whom the Father will send in my name10-- that one11 will teach you all things. Let's pause here. Jesus has just said that the Father, and Jesus, will come to us, and live among us, and with us. And now, Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit being sent in Jesus' name. I think Jesus is still talking about the same thing. The Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of Jesus, and the Spirit of the Father. It's through the Holy Spirit entering us, that the Father and Jesus dwell inside of us. So Jesus is still teaching us. But he's doing so, not from behind a pulpit, not on the mountain top. Jesus teaches us, from inside of us. We just have to learn how to hear his voice, and heed him. Verse 27: (27) Peace, I leave with you.12 My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, I give to you. Your hearts must not be troubled, and they must not be cowardly.13 Let me just first read Whitacre's words here): "The peace Jesus is talking about is not the cessation of hostilities from enemies, but rather the gift of calmness and confidence that comes from union with God and faith in him and his purposes. The world's idea of peace is something that comes through destroying of enemies and consists of physical and emotional comfort. The peace that Jesus gives is grounded in God and not in circumstances. It is the peace that Jesus himself has exhibited in this Gospel and is exhibiting in this farewell discourse, even while he knows he is about to be killed. Soon he will speak of the continued trouble his disciples will experience in the world (15:18-16:4), but they will simply be living out what he himself has already been experiencing. They will share his troubles, but they will also have his peace, for they will share in his own relationship with the Father."14 Whitacre explains the peace Jesus offers, brilliantly. I think this is perfect. But let me add just one thing. Let's cheat (this is terribly bad form), and read Matthew 10:5-13 (NRSV). This is part of Jesus' instructions to his disciples, when he sends them out as missionaries: 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'[c] 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. The peace that we have, through our relationship with Jesus, and the Father, is something that we can share with other people. A lady I know has had a very difficult life. She's full of anger, and unforgiveness. The worst that people can do to others, has been done to her. She goes back and forth between being drawn toward God, and hating God (but I think she's inching in the right direction). My plan, in the very near future, is to try to give her out of my peace. If she will let me, I'll put my hand on hers, and pray for her, and say something like this: "In Jesus' name, I give you peace." There are parts of this that I don't understand, and I don't know where this even came from. But I have this picture of what will happen next. [And if you know someone who struggles with fear, or unforgiveness, or anything, and they seem paralyzed by it, it's worth trying this out. Sometimes, the only way to know what's possible-- what God will do-- is through experimenting/taking risks.] But, returning to the gospel of John, Jesus is working really hard here to help his disciples-- to help us-- understand that we don't need to be scared at Jesus' absence. Jesus isn't physically in this room. But he is here. He came back for us, and lives inside of us. So don't be troubled. And don't be cowards. Verse 28: (28) You heard that I said to you, "I am going away, and I am coming toward you." If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going toward the/my Father,15 because the Father, greater than me, He is, (29) and now I have told you before it happens, in order that when it happens, you shall believe. (30) No longer much I will speak with you, (For he is coming-- the ruler of the world, and in16 me, he has nothing,) but in order that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, thus I do.17 Rise! Let us go from here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Satan in these verses: Lenski: "The two thoughts are placed side by side: Satan is coming, and in me he has nothing. The emphasis is on ἐν ἐμοί and on οὑδέν. The Greek doubles and thus strengthens the negation: οὑκ ἔχει οὑδέν. The sense of "nothing" is made plain by the connection with ὁ ἄρχων: nothing that might justify this ruler in coming to strike at Jesus. That is why "in me" is so emphatic. Jesus differs from all other men. No link of any kind exists between him and Satan-only an impassable gulf."18 Westcott (I like this one): "There was in Christ nothing which the devil could claim as belonging to his sovereignty." 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jesus concludes his teaching here by saying this: The fact that Jesus isn't physically in this room, is a sign of his kindness and love toward you. You are far better off, as a result of Jesus returning to his Father. You are far better off, not having Jesus present on this stage. And the reason you are far better off, is because of who Jesus gave, and who the Father gave, in his place. If you love Jesus, and keep his commands, you have an Advocate-- a Helper-- living inside of you. The Spirit reveals Jesus and the Father to you. He teaches you all things. If you understand this, and if you truly love Jesus, you will rejoice at this. The Spirit is proof, that Jesus loves us to the uttermost (John 13:1). Translation: (15) If you love me, my commands you will keep, (16) and I will ask the Father, and another Advocate/Strengthener He will give to you, in order that he may be with you forever-- (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world isn't able to receive because it doesn't see him, nor does it know [him]. You know him, because with you (plural) he abides, and in you (plural) he will be. (18) I won't leave you orphans. I am coming toward you. (19) Yet a small time and the world, me, will no longer see.20 Now, you21 will see me. Because I live, also you will live. (20) On that day, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (21) The one having my commandments and keeping them22-- that one is the one loving me. Now, the one loving me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will manifest to him myself. (22) He says to him-- Judas, not the Iscariot-- "Lord, why is it, that to us you are about to manifest yourself, and not to the world?" (23) He answered-- Jesus-- and he said to him, "If anyone loves me, my word he will keep, and my Father will love him, and toward him we will come, and a room with him we will make.23 (24) The one not loving me, my words he doesn't keep, and the word that you hear isn't from me, but from the One Sending me-- the Father. (25) These things I have said to you, (while) with you abiding. (26) Now, the Advocate/Strengthener-- the Holy Spirit-- whom the Father will send in my name24-- that one will teach you all things. (27) Peace, I leave with you.25 My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, I give to you. Your hearts must not be troubled, and they must not be cowardly.26 (28) You heard that I said to you, "I am going away, and I am coming toward you." If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going toward the/my Father, because the Father, greater than me, He is, (29) and now I have told you before it happens, in order that when it happens, you shall believe. (30) No longer much I will speak with you, (For he is coming-- the ruler of the world, and in27 me, he has nothing,) but in order that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, thus I do.28 Rise! Let us go from here. 1 "will be"= Post-Easter. 2 Runge is probably right that the verb is delayed here to make it the focus. Otherwise it'd be "me." 3 Runge calls this focused, but it could also be argued that "you" is Position 1, topicalization, to mark the switch from "the world" to "you." 4 This is left-dislocation-- an introduction of something too complex for the main clause, summarized here by a far demonstrative ("that one") in order to not overburden the main clause (LDGNT glossary). 5 focused, or not? 6 This will be an internal manifestation-- Jesus will reveal/manifest himself to us, by making a room inside of us, and living inside of us. No celestial apartment building (clarifies John 14:2-4). 7 Here, Jesus explains where he is going, and why they can't follow him right now, but how they will follow later. 8 Moloney notes the work of (Get scholar), who suggests that the Father's house should be understood in terms of lineage, and relationship, rather than physical space. There is lots of space in God's family tree, and Jesus is making that space available for them. 9 This will be an internal manifestation-- Jesus will reveal/manifest himself to us, by making a room inside of us, and living inside of us. No celestial apartment building (clarifies John 14:2-4). 10 Another good example of left dislocation. "In my name"= on his behalf. The Spirit will act as his agent. 11 "that one" focused, or not? 12 See Matthew 10:13 for this idea of "peace." 13 Not the normal word for "fear." δειλιάω. BDAG glosses as "to lack courage, be cowardly/fearful." 14 Whitacre, R. A. (1999). John (Vol. 4, p. 365). Westmont, IL: IVP Academic. 15 My Greek is really bad on these type of constructions, but Westcott (followed by Moloney I think) says that this construction shows that the disciples don't actually love Jesus. It's not true, at the moment, that they love Jesus. But Jesus is helping them, so that on this side of Easter, they will believe, and they will love. So also Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel, 1019: "So he continues: If you loved me (present unreality, εἰ with the imperfect) you would have rejoiced (past unreality, the aorist with ἄν) that I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. 15 16 ἐν. the lexicons don't list "over" or "against" as a possible gloss. But some scholars point to a similar expression in Hebrew and Rabbinic literature, where it's legal language. Whitacre, 368: "This verse may reflect a Hebrew expression (ʿayin lô ʿālî) that was used in a legal sense of having no claim over a person (Beasley-Murray 1987:263)." I'd be happier with this if any of them actually gave examples, and I don't own Beasley-Murray. Or, maybe, the devil can't do to Jesus, what he did to Judas, because he has no place "in" him. 17 Verse 30-31 together, with the "but" point-counterpoint contrast: Not much longer he will be with them, but instead, he is doing what his Father wants. 18 Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The interpretation of St. John's gospel (pp. 1022-1023). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House. 19 Westcott, B. F., & Westcott, A. (Eds.). (1908). The Gospel according to St. John Introduction and notes on the Authorized version (p. 210). London: J. Murray. 20 Runge is probably right that the verb is delayed here to make it the focus. Otherwise it'd be "me." 21 Runge calls this focused, but it could also be argued that "you" is Position 1, topicalization, to mark the switch from "the world" to "you." 22 This is left-dislocation-- an introduction of something too complex for the main clause, summarized here by a far demonstrative ("that one") in order to not overburden the main clause (LDGNT glossary). 23 This will be an internal manifestation-- Jesus will reveal/manifest himself to us, by making a room inside of us, and living inside of us. No celestial apartment building. 24 Another good example of left dislocation. 25 See Matthew 10:13 for this idea of "peace." 26 Not the normal word for "fear." δειλιάω. BDAG glosses as "to lack courage, be cowardly/fearful." 27 ἐν. the lexicons don't list "over" or "against" as a possible gloss. I think the simple explanation, is that the devil can't do to Jesus, what he did to Judas. 28 Verse 30-31 together, with the "but" point-counterpoint contrast: Not much longer he will be with them, but instead, he is doing what his Father wants. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 14