John 14:21-23

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ¹  them is the one who loves me. ²  The one ³  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ⁴  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ⁵  said, ⁶  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ⁷  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ⁸  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ⁹  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ¹⁰ 

John 14:1

Jesus’ Parting Words to His Disciples

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be distressed. ¹¹  You believe in God; ¹²  believe also in me.

John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ¹³  in Galilee. ¹⁴  Jesus’ mother ¹⁵  was there,

Proverbs 27:18

27:18 The one who tends a fig tree ¹⁶  will eat its fruit, ¹⁷ 

and whoever takes care of ¹⁸  his master will be honored.

[14:21]  ¹ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ² tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ³ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ⁴ tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ⁷ tn Or “disclose.”

[14:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ⁹ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[14:1]  ¹¹ sn The same verb is used to describe Jesus’ own state in John 11:33, 12:27, and 13:21. Jesus is looking ahead to the events of the evening and the next day, his arrest, trials, crucifixion, and death, which will cause his disciples extreme emotional distress.

[14:1]  ¹² tn Or “Believe in God.” The translation of the two uses of πιστεύετε (pisteuete) is difficult. Both may be either indicative or imperative, and as L. Morris points out (John [NICNT], 637), this results in a bewildering variety of possibilities. To complicate matters further, the first may be understood as a question: “Do you believe in God? Believe also in me.” Morris argues against the KJV translation which renders the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative on the grounds that for the writer of the Fourth Gospel, faith in Jesus is inseparable from faith in God. But this is precisely the point that Jesus is addressing in context. He is about to undergo rejection by his own people as their Messiah. The disciples’ faith in him as Messiah and Lord would be cast into extreme doubt by these events, which the author makes clear were not at this time foreseen by the disciples. After the resurrection it is this identification between Jesus and the Father which needs to be reaffirmed (cf. John 20:24-29). Thus it seems best to take the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative, producing the translation “You believe in God; believe also in me.”

[2:1]  ¹³ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn Cana in Galilee was not a very well-known place. It is mentioned only here, in 4:46, and 21:2, and nowhere else in the NT. Josephus (Life 16 [86]) says he once had his quarters there. The probable location is present day Khirbet Cana, 8 mi (14 km) north of Nazareth, or Khirbet Kenna, 4 mi (7 km) northeast of Nazareth.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”

[27:18]  ¹⁶ sn Tending fig trees requires closer attention than other plants; so the point here would be the diligent care that is required.

[27:18]  ¹⁷ sn The principle is established in the first line with the emblem: Those who faithfully serve will be rewarded in kind. The second half of the proverb makes the point from this illustration.

[27:18]  ¹⁸ sn The Hebrew participle translated “takes care of” (שֹׁמֵר, shomer) describes a careful watching over or looking after, a meticulous service, anticipating the needs and safeguarding the charge. Such a servant need not worry about his efforts going unrecognized and unrewarded (e.g., Prov 22:29; 2 Tim 2:6, 15).