Peter's question was only the first of several that the disciples proceeded to ask Jesus. This shows their bewilderment and discouragement. They should have been comforting Him in view of what lay ahead of Him (12:27; 13:21), but instead Jesus graciously proceeded to comfort them by clarifying what lay ahead of them.
14:1 Jesus was troubled because of what lay before Him, and the Eleven were troubled (Gr. tarassestho) because they did not understand what lay before them. Jesus had just told them that He was going to leave them (13:33), but they had forsaken all to follow Him. Jesus had said that Peter would deny Him implying that some great trial was imminent (13:38).
God's revelations about the future should have a comforting and strengthening effect on His people (cf. 1 Thess. 4:18). This verse introduces a short section of revelation that has given much comfort to God's people as they think about the future (vv. 1-4). It is a favorite passage at funerals.
Jesus explained how to calm their troubled hearts. The verb "believe"or "trust"(Gr. pisteuo), which occurs twice, can be either in the indicative or the imperative mood in each case. The spelling of the words in both moods is identical in the Greek text. Probably in both clauses Jesus meant to give an imperative command: "Believe in God; believe also in me."This makes the most sense in the context, as most of the modern English translations have concluded. He meant, "Stop being troubled."Jesus was telling the disciples (plural "your") to trust in God and to trust in Him just as they trusted in God. This was a strong claim to deity and a great comfort. They could rely on what He was about to tell them as coming from God.
The NASB translates the singular "heart"(Gr. kardia) that Jesus used collectively whereas the NIV interpreted it to mean each of their hearts individually. The heart is metaphorically the center of personality.
14:2 Jesus next explained the reason the disciples should stop feeling troubled at the thought of His leaving them. He was departing to prepare a place for them, and He would return for them and take them there later (v. 3).
The Father's house is heaven. This is the most obvious and simple explanation, though some commentators understood it to mean the church. However the fourth Gospel never uses the house metaphor for the church elsewhere. Moreover the phrase "the Father's house"occurs nowhere else in Scripture as a figure of the church.
There are many dwelling places (Gr. mone, cognate with the verb meno, meaning "to abide"or "remain") in heaven. The Latin Vulgate translated the noun mansionesthat the AV transliterated as "mansions."The NIV "rooms"is an interpretation of mone. The picture that Jesus painted of heaven is a huge building with many rooms or suites of rooms in which people reside. The emphasis is not on the lavishness of the facility as much as its adequacy to accommodate all believers. Other revelation about heaven stresses its opulence (e.g., Rev. 21:1-22:5).
"The imagery of a dwelling place (rooms') is taken from the oriental house in which the sons and daughters have apartments under the same roof as their parents."451
Jesus assured His disciples that if heaven were otherwise He would have told them just how it was. This assurance recalls verse 1 where Jesus urged them to trust Him.
Jesus had previously spoken of His departure as including His death, His resurrection, and His ascension (13:31-32, 36). Consequently He probably had all of that in view when He spoke about going to prepare a place for believers. His death and resurrection, as well as His ascension and return to heaven, would prepare a place for them. The place, the Father's house or heaven, already existed when Jesus spoke these words. He would not go to heaven to create a place for believers there. Rather all that He would do from His death to His return to heaven would constitute preparation for believers to join Him there ultimately. The idea that Jesus is presently constructing dwelling places for believers in heaven and has been doing so for 2, 000 years is not what Jesus meant here. Jesus' going itself prepared the place.
14:3 The commentators noted that Jesus spoke of several returns for His own in this Gospel. Sometimes Jesus meant His return to the disciples following His resurrection and before His ascension (vv. 18-20; 21:1). Other times He meant His coming to them through the Holy Spirit after His ascension and before His bodily return (v. 23).452Still other times He meant His eschatological return at the end of the inter-advent age. Some interpreters view this return as the Rapture and others believe Jesus was referring to the Second Coming. Another view is that Jesus was really speaking about the believer's death figuratively.453Many interpreters believe some combination of the above views is most probable.454
Since Jesus spoke of returning from heaven to take believers there, the simplest explanation seems to be that He was referring to an eschatological bodily return (cf. Acts 1:11). Though these disciples undoubtedly did not realize it at the time, Jesus was evidently speaking of His return for them at the Rapture rather than His return at the Second Coming.
"John 14:3 is the only verse in the Gospels that is commonly accepted by contemporary pretribulationists and posttribulationists alike as a reference to the rapture."455
Other Scripture clarifies that when Jesus returns at the Rapture it will be to call His own to heaven immediately (1 Thess. 4:13-18).456In contrast, when He returns at the Second Coming it will be to remain on the earth and reign for 1, 000 years (Rev. 19:11-20:15).
". . . it is important to note that Jesus did not say that the purpose of this future coming to receive believers is so that He can be where they are--on the earth. Instead, He said that the purpose is so that they can be where He is--in heaven."457
". . . here in John xiv the Lord gives a new and unique revelation; He speaks of something which no prophet had promised, or even could promise. Where is it written that this Messiah would come and instead of gathering His saints into an earthly Jerusalem, would take them to the Father's house, to the very place where He is? It is something new. . . . He speaks then of a coming which is not for the deliverance of the Jewish remnant, not of a coming to establish His kingdom over the earth, not of a coming to judge the nations, but a coming which concerns only His own."458
The emphasis in this prediction is on the comfort that reunion with the departed Savior guarantees. Jesus will personally come for His own, and He will receive them to Himself. They will also be with Him where He has been (cf. 17:24). Jesus was stressing His personal concern for His disciples' welfare. His return would be as certain as His departure. The greatest blessing of heaven will be our ceaseless personal fellowship with the Lord Jesus there, not the splendor of the place.
14:4 Jesus could say that the Eleven knew the way to the place where He was going because He had revealed that faith in Him led to eternal life (3:14-15). This had been a major theme of His teaching throughout His ministry. However, they did not understand Him as they should have (v. 5).
These four verses answered Peter's initial question about where Jesus was going (13:36). They also brought the conversation back to the subject of the glorification of the Father and the Son (13:31-32).
14:5 Thomas voiced the disciples' continuing confusion about Jesus' destination. Apparently the "Father's house"did not clearly identify heaven to them. Without a clear understanding of the final destination they could not be sure of the route there. Thomas' question was a request for an unambiguous explanation of Jesus' and their destination and how He and they would get there.
14:6 Jesus again gave an enigmatic answer. He had already said plainly that He would die and rise again at least three times (cf. Mark 8:31-32; 9:30-32; 10:32-34). Nevertheless the disciples' preconceptions of Messiah's ministry did not allow them to interpret His words literally.
The words "way,""truth,"and "life"are all coordinate in Jesus' answer; Jesus described Himself as the way, the truth, and the life. The "way"is slightly more dominant in view of Thomas' question and its position in relation to the "truth"and the "life."Jesus is the way to God because He is the truth from God and the life from God. He is the truth because He embodies God's supreme revelation (1:18; 5:19; 8:29). He is the life because He contains and imparts divine life (1:4; 5:26; 11:25; cf. 1 John 5:20). Jesus was summarizing and connecting many of the revelations about Himself that He had previously given the Eleven.
"He not only shows people the way (i.e., by revealing it), but he isthe way (i.e., he redeems us). In this connection the truth' . . . will have saving significance. It will point to Jesus' utter dependability, but also to the saving truth of the gospel. The life' (see on 1:4) will likewise take its content from the gospel. Jesus is both life and the source of life to believers."459
Jesus was not saying that He was one way to God among many. He was not saying that He pointed the way to God either. He said that no one comes to God the Father but through faith in Himself. This means that religions that assign Jesus a role that is different from the one that the Bible gives Him do not bring people to God or eternal life. This was an exclusive claim to being the only way to heaven (cf. 10:9; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5). It is only because of Jesus Christ's work on the cross that anyone can enter heaven. Since He has come it is only through faith in the promise of God that His cross work satisfied the Father that anyone experiences regeneration (1:12; 3:16; 1 John 2:2; et al.). Since He has come, rejection of God's revelation through Him results in eternal damnation (3:36).
This is the sixth of Jesus "I am"claims (cf. 6:48; 8:12; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 15:1).
"We should not overlook the faith involved both in the utterance and in the acceptance of those words, spoken as they were on the eve of the crucifixion. I am the Way,' said one who would shortly hang impotent on a cross. I am the Truth,' when the lies of evil people were about to enjoy a spectacular triumph. I am the Life,' when within a matter of hours his corpse would be placed in a tomb."460
14:7 The construction of the first clause in the Greek text suggests that the condition was true for the sake of the argument. We could translate this "first class condition"as "Since . . ."The Eleven had come to know by experience (Gr. ginosko) who Jesus really was. This knowledge was the key to their coming to know God the Father as well.
Since they had come to know who Jesus really was, they had come to know God. Their knowledge of God virtually amounted to seeing God.461"From now on"(Gr. ap arti) also means "assuredly."Since the Eleven had come to know who Jesus really was, they had assuredly come to know the Father as well. Jesus was probably assuring the Eleven with this sentence rather than rebuking them, as some translations suggest.
14:8 The Eleven regarded Jesus very highly. Notwithstanding they did not yet realize that He was such an accurate and full revelation of God the Father that to see Jesus was to see the Father. Philip asked for a clear revelation of the Father that would satisfy the Eleven. He apparently wanted Jesus to give them a theophany (Exod. 24:9-10; Isa. 6:1). People throughout history have desired to see God as He really is (cf. Exod. 33:18). Jesus in His incarnation made that revelation of the Father as clearly, fully, and finally as no one else ever had (1:14, 18; 12:45).
14:9 Philip and the other disciples had not yet completely realized who Jesus was. They did not understand what John revealed in the prologue of this Gospel, namely that the Son is the exact representation of the Father (cf. 1:18). Long exposure to Jesus should have produced greater insight in these disciples. Still that insight is only the product of God's gracious enlightenment (cf. Matt. 16:17; 1 Cor. 2:6-16).
"No material image or likeness can adequately depict God. Only a person can give knowledge of him since personality cannot be represented by an impersonal object."462
This was another clear claim to deity.
14:10 Jesus repeated again that He and the Father were one (cf. 5:19; 8:28; 10:30, 38; 12:49). The mutual abiding terminology that Jesus used expressed this unity without destroying the individual identities of the Father and the Son. Jesus did not just represent God to humankind as an ambassador would. He did everything the Father gave Him to do, and He did everything the Father did (5:19). Moreover ambassadors do not refer to those who send them as their father or claim that whoever has seen them has seen the one they represent. They do not affirm mutual indwelling with the one who sent them either.
14:11 Jesus cited another proof of His union with the Father beside His words, namely His works (Gr. erga). Specifically He meant His miracles (cf. 5:36; 10:25, 37-38; 11:47; 12:37; 20:30-31). Jesus' miracles were signs that signified His divine identity (cf. 2:11). What we regard as a miracle was nothing more than a normal work for Jesus.463
14:12 Jesus prefaced another startling and important revelation with His customary phrase that John noted often in his Gospel. He stressed the importance of believing what He revealed about His divine identity by unveiling the consequences of believing that He was the divine Messiah.
The interpretation of the works that those who believe on Jesus would do, which commentators have found difficult, depends on how Jesus described them. He said that the basis for these and greater works would be His going to the Father. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer (Acts 2:3; cf. Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13). This divine enablement empowered believers to do miracles that only Jesus Himself could do previously. The Book of Acts records the apostles doing many of the same miracles that Jesus had done in the Gospels.
The disciples would do even greater works than Jesus in the sense that their works would have greater effects than His works had. During Jesus' earthly ministry relatively few people believed on Him, but after His ascension many more did. The miracle of regeneration multiplied after Jesus ascended to heaven and the Father sent the Holy Spirit. Three thousand people became believers in Jesus on the day of Pentecost alone (Acts 2:41). The church thoroughly permeated the Roman Empire during the apostolic age whereas Jesus' personal ministry did not extend beyond Palestine. The whole Book of Acts is proof that what Jesus predicted here happened (cf. Acts 1:1-2, 8). The mighty works of conversion are more in view here than a few miracles of healing.
Jesus probably did not mean that His disciples would do more stupendous miracles than He did. Feeding multitudes from a small lunch and raising people from the dead are hard miracles to supersede. We should not assume either that Jesus meant that these miracles would continue throughout church history as they existed in the apostolic era. Church history has shown that they died out almost entirely after the apostolic age, and the New Testament, while it does not specifically predict that, implies that they would (1 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 2:20; Heb. 2:3-4).
14:13-14 Jesus next extended His promise beyond miracles to anything that the disciples might desire. This apparently blank check type promise has a condition that we often overlook. It is "in my name."We overlook this condition because many Christians think it means simply making our request and then adding the phrase "in Jesus' name"at the end.
Praying in Jesus' name means coming to the Father in prayer as Jesus' representative. Jesus introduced the idea of representing Him in verse 12. When we pray in Jesus' name, we claim to be acting for Him. Someone who prays that way will always ask only what is God's will or what is subject to God's will since that is always how Jesus related to His Father. It is impossible to pray in Jesus' name and to ask something contrary to God's will. These two acts are mutually contradictory.
The purpose of our praying must always be God's glory (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31) as it always was and always will be the Son's purpose (5:41; 7:18; 8:50, 54; 12:28). Thus Jesus promised here to grant petitions prayed in His name that the Father might receive glory from the Son.
Jesus repeated this promise probably because it is so great that it is almost unbelievable (cf. 15:16; 16:23-24).464John expounded it in his first epistle where he clarified that "in my name"means "according to His (God's) will"(1 John 5:14-15).
The New Testament teaching on prayer is that believers normally address the Father in prayer in the Son's name with the Spirit's help. However this is not a rigid requirement. In view of the unity of the Godhead we can understand occasional instances of prayers addressed to the Son and to the Spirit in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 7:59). However these prayers are atypical.
At the end of His answer to Peter's question (13:36), Jesus moved the conversation back to the general theme of preparation for His departure (v. 4). He did the same thing after answering Philip's question (v. 8). Obedience to the will of God is not only a condition for getting answers to prayer. It is also an evidence of love for God. Love for God is the controlling idea in the following verses (vv. 15-21).
14:15 This is Jesus' first reference in this Gospel to the believer's love for Himself. Typically Jesus first reached out in love to others and then expected love as a reasonable response (cf. 13:1; Rom. 12:1-2). The conditional sentence in the Greek text is "third class,"which assumes neither a positive nor a negative response. Love for Jesus will motivate the believer to obey Him (cf. vv. 21, 23; 15:14; 1 John 5:3). In the context Jesus' commands are His total revelation viewed as components, not just His ethical injunctions (cf. 3:31-32; 12:47-49; 13:34-35; 17:6).
The greatness of our love for God is easy to test. It corresponds exactly to our conformity to all that He has revealed.
14:16 Love for Jesus would result in the disciples' obedience to His commands. It would also result in Jesus' requesting another (Gr. allon, another of the same kind) Helper to take His place in His absence from them (cf. v. 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1). The Greek word translated "Helper"or "Counselor"is parakletos.465In secular contexts it often referred to a legal assistant, an advocate, or simply a helper (e.g., a witness or a representative in court).466The verbal form of this word, parakaleo, literally means to call alongside and, therefore, to encourage or to strengthen.
Jesus spoke of the Trinity in the following relationships. The Son would request that the Father send the Spirit to take the Son's place as the believer's encourager and strengthener. It was hard for these Jewish believers who had grown up believing that there is but one God to grasp that Jesus was God. It must have been even more difficult for them to think of the Spirit of God as a person rather than as God's influence. Nevertheless New Testament revelation is clear that there are three Persons within the Godhead (e.g., 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Spirit of God had come on Old Testament believers temporarily to give them strength, but normally He did not remain with them (cf. Ps. 51:11). What Jesus spoke of here was an abiding relationship in which the Spirit remained with believers for the rest of their lives (cf. Rom. 8:9). This new relationship to the Holy Spirit is one of the distinctive differences between the church age and former dispensations. It is a blessing few Christians appreciate as we should.
14:17 Jesus now identified the Helper as the Spirit of truth (cf. 15:26; 16:13), that is the Spirit who would bear witness to and communicate the truth (cf. v. 6; 1:32-33; 3:5-8; 4:23-24; 6:63; 7:37-39).
"To be filled with the Spirit is the same as to be controlled by the Word. The Spirit of Truth uses the Word of truth to guide us into the will and the work of God."467
The unbelieving world cannot receive Him because it cannot see Him and knows nothing of Him. The disciples, on the other hand, knew Him because He empowered Jesus. He had been with them in this way as well as strengthening them occasionally as they needed help when they preached and performed miracles. However in the future, after Jesus returned to the Father, the Spirit would not just be withthem but inthem. This is another distinctive ministry of the Spirit in the present age. He indwells believers (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13). That ministry began on Pentecost when the church began (Acts 2:4; cf. Acts 1:5; 11:15).468The Spirit does have a ministry to the world, but Jesus explained that later (16:7-11).
14:18-19 Jesus changed the figure from the disciples being without a Helper to their being without a parent. He would not leave them in this traditionally destitute and vulnerable position. He would come to them. Which coming did He have in mind here (cf. v. 3)?
In view of the context that describes the Spirit's coming (vv. 16-17, 25-26), we might conclude that His coming in the Spirit is in view (cf. v. 23). However the passage seems to present Jesus as offering the disciples His personal presence. He had described the coming of the Spirit, but what about His personal return to them? This question, which would have been in the disciples' minds, is what Jesus appears to have been addressing here. He seems to have been referring to a post-resurrection appearance to the disciples (21:1-14). Support for this view is Jesus' assurance that His resurrection would be a pledge of their resurrection. Physical resurrections seem to be in view.
14:20 Jesus post-resurrection appearances would convince the Eleven of His deity. He described this condition as mutual abiding with the Father (cf. vv. 10-11). Moreover these appearances would also convince them of their union with Jesus. They would do so by confirming Jesus' promises of their union with Him (vv. 13-14). Jesus expounded both abidings later (vv. 23-24; ch. 17).
Some interpreters take the day in view as referring to Pentecost.469However because of the flow of the argument "that day"seems to refer to Easter rather than Pentecost.
14:21 Love for God makes the believer more obedient to God. Moreover obedience results in a more intimate relationship with God that God's love for the believer and His self-disclosure to the believer identify.
The believer's obedience does not make God love him or her more than He would otherwise. God's love for all people is essentially as great as it can be. However in the family relationship that Jesus was describing the believer's obedience allows God to express His love for him or her without restraint. When there is disobedience, God does not express His love as fully because He chooses to discipline the believer (cf. Heb. 12:4-13).
In the context (vv. 18-20), this was a promise that Jesus would disclose Himself to the Eleven after His resurrection and an encouragement for them to continue obeying Him and loving Him. However that disclosure was only typical of many others that would come to believers who obey and love Jesus, including the one that happened on Pentecost.
Some believers love Jesus more than other believers do. This results in some believers obeying Him more than others and enjoying a more intimate relationship and greater understanding of Him than others enjoy. The way to become a great lover of Jesus is by learning to appreciate the greatness of His love for us (cf. Matt. 18:21-35; 1 John 4:19).
14:22 There were two members of the Twelve named Judas. The one who voiced this question was Judas the son or brother of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). He is probably the same man as Thaddaeus (cf. Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19).
Judas' question reflects the disciples' understanding that as Messiah Jesus would manifest Himself publicly, which He had taught them (cf. Matt. 24:30). The disciples did not understand that Jesus would rise again bodily (20:9) much less that the Holy Spirit would come to indwell them. Therefore it is unlikely that Judas was asking Jesus to clarify the manner of His appearing. Judas wanted to know what Jesus meant when He said that He was not going to disclose Himself publicly but just privately to the Eleven. He and his fellow disciples failed to realized that Jesus would reveal Himself to them privately after His resurrection before He revealed Himself publicly at His second advent.
14:23 Jesus did not clear up Judas' misconception apparently because He wanted to stay on the subject of the importance of loving and obeying Him. He did not deny an eschatological return, but He restated what He had just said about His post-resurrection appearance to the Eleven. Jesus stressed the principle that loving obedience always results in intimate fellowship. He was speaking here about the relationship that believers could have following Pentecost. In the process He again stressed His union with the Father.
Jesus began this instruction by referring to abiding places (Gr. monai, plural) that He would prepare for His disciples in heaven (v. 2). He now revealed that He and His Father would make their home (Gr. monen, singular) in believing disciples on the earth first. These are the only two occurrences of this word in the New Testament. They bracket this section of Jesus' discourse and indicate its unity.
"Salvation means we are going to heaven, but submission means that heaven comes to us!
"This truth is illustrated in the experiences of Abraham and Lot, recorded in Genesis 18 and 19. When Jesus and the two angels visited Abraham's tent, they felt right at home. They even enjoyed a meal, and Jesus had a private talk with Abraham. But our Lord did not go to Sodom to visit Lot, because He did not feel at home there. Instead, He sent the two angels. . . .
"Charles Spurgeon said, Little faith will take your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.' Your heart can become a heaven on earth' as you commune with the Lord and worship Him."470
14:24 In conclusion, Jesus restated the ethical point He had made in verses 15 and 23a negatively. Lack of love for Jesus will result in lack of obedience to His teachings, which are the revelations of God the Father (cf. 12:49; 14:10).
In summary, Jesus revealed that He would depart from the Eleven shortly. He would do so to go and prepare a place for His believing disciples to dwell with Him eventually in heaven. He would prepare this place by going to the cross. Then He would return for them and take them to that place. However in the meantime He would dwell in them by His Spirit. He would also come to them before He departed for heaven.
