Jesus was at the table giving final words of encouragement, instruction and preparation to His disciples. In our previous study, He told them to not be troubled or disturbed about what was going to happen. His words bring comfort and hope to every believer. As the meeting came to an end, Jesus made it clear that His time with them and His mission from the Father was almost over. Listen to these words from that meeting.
John 14:1-4 NKJV Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.
John 14:25-31 NKJV 25These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26But 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 things that I said to you. 27Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. 29“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
Knowing all things, Jesus knew how the events in the upper room and what was about to happen would affect them.
His knowledge about the future and His knowledge about how they would respond was beyond their ability to understand. They had trouble believing that Jesus was going away. He had been with them for nearly three years in all kinds of situations. They witnessed all kinds of miracles, healings and acts of power. All of them witnessed His glory, grace, and power. Although Jesus warned them that His time was short, they were not able to grasp the gravity of what He was saying. They had no idea what they were going to be facing.
Jesus’ warnings were hard for them to believe.
Have you ever thought you could handle what you were about to face and later you realized you were not as strong as you thought? Everything Jesus was saying was difficult to understand. He was going away, and they did not know where. He said they would turn away from Him, but they could not believe it. He said He was going back to the Father, but they did not know the way. It is apparent that they did not understand what He was saying, where He was going, or what was going to happen. Their doubts and questions indicated they were not as strong as they thought. Jesus spoke these words to prepare them for the future.
John 14:25-26 NKJV 25These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26But 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 things that I said to you.
The promise of the Holy Spirit will be dealt with more extensively in the next chapter. Jesus knew that very dark days and tremendous persecution had the potential of destroying their faith. Jesus knew He was headed to the cross. He knew that the disciples would face many dark days. He knew they would need another Helper.
Before their generation passed, the Emperor Titus would destroy Jerusalem and the temple, 70 AD. Following Titus’ death, his brother Domitian would persecute Christians and martyr many believers. They would be scattered throughout the world. John’s exile to Patmos was a result of Domitian’s persecution of Christians.
Knowing what was about to happen to Him and what was going to happen in their world spurred Jesus to speak these words. Jesus’ words are not only good to maintain steadfast faith and trust for first century believers and also for all believers. To help believers, Jesus promised to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit in His name. The gift of the Holy Spirit is necessary for the comfort, help, and instruct believers. Throughout the first generation of the church, the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit enabled believers to stand strong in the face of severe persecution. The same power of the Holy Spirit is available for believers today.
In John 14:12-18, Jesus informed His disciples of the major impact the Holy Spirit would have in their lives.
John 14:12-18 NKJV 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
He was telling them that what they had plainly seen in Him would be revealed in those who believe in Him.
From the days of John the Baptist, they had seen the impact of a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. The introduction of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives marks a major change. Jesus was telling them that they will receive the Holy Spirit and He will be with them and in them. According to Jesus’ instruction, for believers to be successful they must receive the Holy Spirit and tenderly yield to His instruction and guidance. When the Holy Spirit comes, they will receive power to be living witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Look closely at verse 18.
John 14:18 NKJV I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
The word “orphans” is significant for them and us. Jesus was saying, “I will not abandon you and leave you desolate and without protection.” The word “orphans” only occurs in this one verse. Jesus wants believers to know that in the hour of desperation and trial, He will not leave us abandoned and fatherless. Jesus said, “I will come to you.”
There are at least four possible meanings in this word.
- He would come to them after the resurrection.
- He would come to them through the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
- He would come again at the end of the age.
- There is also a practical and personal application of Christ’s intervention in our daily lives.
We know that the Holy Spirit plays an important role in the application of all of these things in believers’ lives.
John 14:19-20 NKJV “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Jesus is talking about an intimate relationship that believers will have with Him after His death and resurrection. This new life in Christ is made available by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” Notice the depth of “relationship” and “knowing” Jesus Christ.
John 14:21 NKJV He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
The disciples understood that Jesus was talking about a personal manifestation of Himself to believers. They were so accustomed to walking with Jesus in their present world, they could not understand how He would manifest Himself to them and not to everyone.
John 14:22-23 NKJV Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to 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.
Have you noticed that the world has difficulty with Jesus? These words explain it. Those who believe, keep His words, and loves the Lord have a real manifestation of Christ in their lives. Jesus said, “We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Jesus went further and explained how God would be manifest in believer’s lives.
John 14:25-26 NKJV These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 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 things that I said to you.
When the Holy Spirit comes, He is going to bring to life the things Jesus said. Jesus is laying a strong foundation for the absolute need of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
John 14:27 NKJV Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The Lord talks to our heart two times in this chapter.
In Verse 1 He said: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” Now in verse 27 He says: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The first time He said, trust in God and trust in Me. This second time He said, “don’t let your heart be afraid.”
Jesus was giving a prophetic word of encouragement to them and to all of us. The Lord knew what was coming upon them. He knows what each of us are going to face and is speaking these words to our heart.
John 14:27 NKJV Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Shalom is a customary good-bye among the Jews, but Jesus is saying more than “good-bye.” He wants them to abide in His peace, so, He “leaves” and “gives” peace. One of the first things that people lose in times of distress and severe testing is their peace. Jesus wants His peace to abide in us. Uncertainty about the future was griping their heart and soul and Jesus did not want them to be afraid. Even in uncertain times, we can remain strong in faith and have the peace of Christ that passes understanding.
Now Jesus brings the meeting to an end with these final words.
John 14:28-29 NKJV You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.
The disciples were sad that Jesus was going away. Jesus wanted them to rejoice because He was going back to the Father. Going back to the Father involved His suffering, the cross, death and resurrection. There would be much sorrow, but joy was coming. Jesus knew that the next hours and days would be difficult for all of them. Often in life, we face those times of great sorrow and suffering.
Jesus is giving good news. At the end of the journey is God. The Lord wants your faith to survive regardless of what happens. If tomorrow brings trouble, trial or even tribulation, He will give you strength. His peace can sustain you through it all. If tomorrow brings only good things, He will still be present with you. God is faithful and will not abandon you.
John 14:30-31 NKJV I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
Jesus going to the cross is not an indication that Satan had power over Him. Jesus knew that the end was coming and that Satan was going to do everything that he could to destroy Him and stop the Father’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
What Jesus was about to face is a sign of His love for the Father.
He was willing to surrender and submit Himself to everything that was necessary to fulfill the Father’s will.
These words take us back to John 3:14-17 and the Father’s command.
John 3:14-17 NKJV And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Jesus’ last words at the table were a sign that everything He had been saying to them in the last three years was about to happen. Judas Iscariot and the Jewish leaders are already making their final plan. Satan was already working to do whatever he could to destroy the Christ. Jesus knew that they were down to the final hours, so He said, “Arise, let us go from here.” His final words need to resonate in our heart and mind.
John 14:27 NKJV Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
