John 14 - NKJV Study Bible

14:1 After announcing Judas’s betrayal (13:21), His own imminent departure (13:33), and Peter’s denial (13:38), Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled, but to trust Him.

14:2 Mansions refers to dwelling places. Everybody has a longing for a permanent, secure place. Such places have already been set aside for all of God’s children.

14:3 I will come again and receive you: Peter may have failed Jesus (13:38), but Christ will not fail to return for Peter and for everyone else who has believed in Him (see 1 Thess. 4:16,17).

14:6 Through His death and resurrection, Jesus is the way to the Father. He is also the truth and the life. As truth, He is the revelation of God. As life, He is the communication of God to us.

14:7,8 known My Father also: Jesus came to reveal the Father (1:18). To know Jesus is to know the Father (see 1 John 2:23). show us the Father: Jesus had just said that to see Him is to see the Father. Yet Philip asked to see the Father. Like Thomas, Philip seems to have been slow to comprehend (v. 5).

14:9 The Lord rebuked Philip because he should have known the answer to the question he asked. He who has seen Me has seen the Father: The Lord patiently explained again that He was revealing God the Father to them (v. 7). It is impossible to escape the claim Jesus was making. Clearly, He was claiming to be God.

14:12 Jesus had accomplished the greatest works possible, including raising the dead. How could He say that believers would do greater works? The answer is seen in the extent of what the apostles did. Jesus’ work on earth was confined to Palestine; the apostles would preach everywhere and see the conversion of thousands. Peter’s message at Pentecost brought more followers to Jesus than did Jesus’ entire earthly ministry. The disciples were able to do this work because Christ would go to the Father and send the Holy Spirit to empower them.

14:16 All three members of the Trinity are mentioned here. Jesus prayed to the Father who would give the Holy Spirit.

14:17 The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth (see 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6) because He is truth and guides us into all truth (see 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:21). Neither sees Him nor knows Him does not mean merely that the world is not able to visually identify the Holy Spirit because He is spirit. Something more is meant: The Spirit of God is active in the world, but His acts go unnoticed by the world (see 1 Cor. 2:14).

14:18 orphans: Earlier, Jesus called the disciples “little children” (13:33). Here He told them He would not leave them fatherless; He would come to them. There are three suggested interpretations as to when that statement would be fulfilled: (1) after the Resurrection, (2) at Pentecost, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and (3) at the Second Coming.

14:19 you will see Me: Jesus would come to the disciples (v. 18), but not with the same kind of presence they experienced at that moment. The world saw Jesus only in the flesh; the disciples would see Him in a spiritual sense.

14:20,21 These two verses are the conclusion of Jesus’ answer to Philip’s request, “show us the Father” (v. 8). As the believer lovingly obeys Christ’s commandments, he or she will experience a more intimate knowledge of Him.

14:22 The disciples had expected the Messiah to come publicly and deliver Israel from Rome and the corrupt priesthood of the temple. Jesus had said that the disciples would see Him, but the world would not (v. 19). Judas (not Iscariot) wanted to know how that could be.

14:23 loves Me . . . keep My word: In response to Judas’s question (v. 22), Jesus explained that His manifestation to the disciples would be in response to their love and obedience. make Our home with him: If a believer loves and obeys the Lord, he or she will experience fellowship with God.

14:24 not love . . . not keep: If a person does not love Jesus, he or she will not obey Him. Disobedience is a serious matter, for Jesus’ words are the words of God.

14:25,26 Jesus told His disciples these things while He was with them, but when the Holy Spirit came, He would remind the disciples of all things that Jesus had said, and would teach . . . all things (see 1 Cor. 2:13). This promise was primarily fulfilled through the lives of the apostles in the writing of the NT. Matthew and John wrote down Jesus’ words. Peter wrote about the gospel in his two letters and may have dictated some of his memories of Jesus to Mark.

14:27 Peace: The customary good-bye among the Jews was to say shalom, meaning “peace.” The Lord was about to depart, so He added to this farewell by saying, My peace. The word My is emphatic. This is no conventional wish; this is Jesus’ personal, special grant of peace. The peace that Christ gives banishes fear and dread from the heart, for Jesus is in control of all circumstances.

14:28 My Father is greater than I: This does not mean that Jesus is less than deity. Greater indicates a difference in rank. As the humble, submissive Son, Jesus submitted Himself to the authority of His Father (1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28).

14:30 He has nothing in Me indicates Jesus’ sinlessness. Jesus’ yielding to what was about to happen did not mean that Satan had any power over Him. Jesus would soon voluntarily yield to the death of the Cross, in loving obedience to the Father (v. 31).