John Chapter 14:1-14 by Mark Dunagan

The Gospel Of John Chapter 14:1-14

I. Outline: I. Jesus Is The Way: 14:1-11 II. Co-laborers With The Father: 14:12-15 III. Promise Of Another Comforter: 14:16-31

II. Introductory Comments: From the last verse in this chapter (14:31 ‘Arise, let us go from here’), we learn that this chapter occurred while Jesus was with the eleven in the upper room, where they had eaten the Passover and where He had instituted the Lord’s Supper. ‘The counsel of 14:1 was doubtless the outcome of the attitude of the ten as they listened to Jesus’ words of warning to Peter, and of the dismay that all of them felt when Jesus announced that He was about to leave them. If their leader and spokesman were soon to deny Jesus, how could they trust themselves? If Jesus were leaving them, would they not be helpless and friendless in the midst of a hostile city?’ (Tenney p. 212) ‘Jesus looks beyond the trouble the disciples are about to enter and reassures them.’ (Morris p. 636)

III. Commentary: John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” “Let not your heart be troubled”-‘Your mind must not be troubled’ (Gspd); ‘Set your troubled hearts at rest’ (NEB). ‘he exhorts them not any longer to be troubled, tempest-tossed, agitated, thrown into a state of confusion and perplexity…The hearts of the disciples were filled with a medley of emotions. They were sad because of the gloomy prospect of Christ’s departure; ashamed because of their own demonstrated selfishness and pride; perplexed because of the prediction that one of their own number would betray the Master, that another would deny him.’ (Hendriksen p. 263) ‘These words are to be taken in close connection with the preceding. Peter has been thrown into consternation at the prediction of the threefold denial..If Peter was to deny Jesus did not that mean that 1

some great trial was imminent? Moreover Jesus had spoken of His impending departure, a departure to a place where they could not follow. To men who have left everything for their Leader to be told that He is about to leave them is shattering. They are all very disturbed. And Jesus knows that within a few short hours they will be even more disturbed.’ (Morris pp. 636-637) Notice how Jesus is trying to comfort His disciples! Be impressed, that even though in a few hours He will be suffering greatly, His mind is upon the feelings of His disciples. He is concerned about His disciples, even though, He will suffer much more than they will suffer. Jesus realized that encouraging others, was a natural way of strengthening Himself. More of us need to practice this is our own lives. Instead of letting troubles remove us from being productive, we need to think about what others will need when we are going through a hardship, we need to realize that other people need a good example of how a Christian handles adversity—much more than we need temporary comfort.

“believe in God, believe also in Me”-The opposite of anxiety is trust! 1. The verse infers that faith in Jesus must be of the same quality as trust in the Father. 2. A clear statement which infers Jesus’ equality with the Father, He is deserving of equal trust. Faith in Jesus is equal with faith in God. ‘The words must have shocked them, since He bracketed Himself with God and asked that they believe Him equally with God. He required also by these words that they believe Him against all odds.’ (Tenney p. 213) ‘both verbs as imperative with the force of continuous presents. “Go on believing in God and go on believing in Me” (Tasker pp. 170-171) 3. ‘faith in the Father in any meaningful sense is impossible apart from faith in Him……It is one thing for the disciples to have faith in the God who acted in the days of old. It is another to have faith in the Jesus who stands before them, especially when He is about to be betrayed by one of His followers, denied three times…abandoned by the rest, and crucified by His enemies. To call for faith in these circumstances is not to utter a platitude.’ (Morris pp. 637-638) Point To Note: Which means that God expects us to believe in Him, even when circumstances may seem to suggest that He is non-existent, apathetic or powerless to intervene. The disciples were to continue to trust Jesus, even when He was hanging upon the cross. Faith that is dictated by circumstances isn’t faith at all.

John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” “In My Father’s house”-Two basic views exist concerning this statement: 1. Through He death and resurrection, Jesus would open up the way to eternal life (heaven). 2. Through His death Jesus would establish the Church (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28), which is spoken of as the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:2). Harkrider

notes, ‘Not that He was going in order to “build” heaven, but Jesus was going in order to prepare the way so that believers on Him could enter heaven (Heb. 9:24-28).’ (p. 97)

“are many dwelling places”-lit., abiding-places, a resting place, a dwelling. ‘The English “mansion” (King James Version), as it is connoted today does not represent what “monai” meant in New Testament times. The word originally meant a place to abide in, and was used of a resting place, a refuge.’ (Butler p. 240)

“I would have told you”-Jesus is telling them the truth, they are not being mislead. ‘I have never misled you, I have never lied, I have never been mistaken.’ (Butler p. 243)

“for I go to prepare a place for you” Points To Note: 1.

The verse infers that the disciples can make it! For it is pointless to prepare a place which is impossible for anyone to reach. 2. There is room enough in the Church and Heaven for all who want to serve God! 3. But the death of Jesus is absolutely necessary! ‘Without My death there would be no place for you.’ (Hendriksen p. 265) 4. Again, Jesus is trying to comfort His followers. His departure is a good thing for without it, the way to eternal life cannot be obtained. 5. There is a permanent home for the faithful! 6. We should note that the reward for the righteous has been prepared from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Hence, if we are talking about heaven, we are talking about the way to heaven that must be “prepared”, i.e. the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 6. Ancient writers such as Origen believed that this verse was teaching that there are many abodes on the way to heaven, i.e. the conception of heaven as a state of progress until the final goal is reached. And yet, we must reject this interpretation. The deceased faithful are not continually working towards a higher reward, rather they are pictured at rest (Hebrews 4:11; Luke 16:25).

John 14:3 “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.” “I will come again, and receive you to Myself”-Jesus’ departure thus becomes the assurance of His return. Again, two ideas may be in the above verse: 1. Following His death, Jesus would return for 40 days and be with the disciples physically, then leave, and be with them in a relationship known as “In Christ” as all other Christians would enjoy fellowship with Him in the body of Christ, or as Paul says, ‘and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ (Ephesians 2:6) 2. Jesus will eventually come again and take all believers home, at the Second Coming(1 Thess. 4:1318).

John 14:4 “And you know the way where I am going.”

“you know the way”-In fact, Peter had acknowledged the way, ‘You have words of eternal life’ (John 6:68). ‘Jesus is asserting that they know how to follow Him. He has been showing them the way in the whole body of His teaching. If they follow that way they will come where He is.’ (Morris p. 640) Jesus had previously revealed Himself as the way to eternal life (Matthew 11:28-29; John 8:31-32; 8:12; 10:7 ‘I am the door’; 12:26.)

John 14:5 ‘Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”’ “Lord, we do not know”-Thomas wants the position to be clear. He honestly admits his confusion and lack of understanding. ‘Yet this is not the ugly contradiction of unbelief but the pessimistic contradiction of discouraged faith when it looks forward and is still unable to see clearly….So Thomas grows downhearted like one who is lost in the dark; he heaves a great sigh and tells Jesus: You think we know, but really it all seems dark: this your going away and our knowing the road’ (Lenski p. 976-977). In addition, the disciples are still thinking that Jesus will rule over a physical kingdom. But how can Jesus be going away—when that project is so far from being accomplished?

John 14:6 ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”’ “I am the way”-This is much more than saying, ‘I know the way, or I know about the way.’ Jesus Himself is the way, for through His sacrifice, God could forgive the person who places their obedient trust in Him (Romans 3:26). Notice, there is only one way (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only Savior, Jesus is the only way to the Father.

“and the truth”-as with the Father, Jesus cannot lie (John 14:2; Titus 1:2). Morris notes, ‘the triple expression emphasizing the many-sidedness of the saving work. “Way” speaks of a connection between two, the link between God and man. “Truth” reminds us of the complete reliability of Jesus in all that He does and is. And “life” stresses the fact that mere physical existence matters little. The only life worthy of the name is that which Jesus brings.’ (p. 641) On various subjects, men can tell us some truth, but Jesus is the source of all essential truth. Jesus solves the dilemma we are all faced with, in view of our own finite nature, Who do we trust concerning those things which we can’t know for certain by our own efforts? Where do we set our sights, where do we place our energy? Should we spend our lives chasing UFO’s? Place our souls in the hands of higher education? Trust the findings of the scientific community? Place our bets that the vast middle section of mankind believes the truth? Or opt out and say that the truth cannot be known or that truth in the absolute sense doesn’t exist?

“and the life”-as Jesus had said previously, He is the way to abundant life (John 10:10). Barclay notes, ‘In the last analysis what man is always seeking for is life. His search is not for knowledge for its own sake. What men want is that which will make life worth living.’ (p. 184) Points To Note: 1.

Since there is only one way to the Father, only one Savior, there must also be only one body of the saved and only one consistent body of truth (Ephesians 4:4-6). 2. All faiths or believe systems cannot lead to the Father, if only one Savior exists. For Jesus didn’t teach falsehood and Jesus didn’t embrace everything and anything. 3. Jesus doesn’t stifle “life”, rather one doesn’t have life, in the fullest sense of the word until they become a Christian. 4. The above are claims that cannot be ignored! Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father, thus declaring invalid and worthless all other professed ways, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, the religions of the Native American Indians and so on. He claimed to be the complete truth, that all truth is found in Him (John 16:13). Hence, we must once again stress the point that Jesus is either the Son of God or the greatest liar who ever lived. There is no middle ground. 5. Also note that Jesus didn’t come to this earth and embrace all faiths, He didn’t say, ‘There are many ways to God’, neither did He say, ‘embrace all ways to God’.

“no one comes to the Father, but through Me” -‘no one’, including Jews and Gentiles. He claimed to be the one avenue to the Father, through whom all men and women of every race and culture must use, if they are going to be saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 4:12; John 3:16; Acts 17:30).

John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” “from now on”-‘In a sense, of course, they had known Jesus. They had known him well enough to leave their homes and friends and livelihood to follow him wherever He went. But they did not know Him in His full significance.’ (Morris p. 642) Despite their dedication to Him, the disciples really hadn’t fully realized the true nature of Jesus, that Jesus was equal with the Father, just as much God as the Father is God. A perfect representation of the Father’s nature, 100% Deity. But in the future they would understand these truths. This statement, ‘from now on’ looks forward in the near future when the Spirit will come upon the apostles and guide them into all truth (14:26). This statement is also designed to comfort and give assurance to the disciples that they would know the way (14:5).

John 14:8 ‘Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”’

“Lord us the Father”-Obviously, Philip didn’t deny the existence of God, but rather, ‘he was asking for a theophany: a visible manifestation of the Father’s glory, such as had been granted to Moses and other believers in the old dispensation (Ex. 24:9-11; 33:18). He did not seem to realize that a far greater privilege than that which Moses enjoyed while on earth, had been given to him!’ (Hendriksen p. 270) ‘Philip does not contradict, he only begs. On the one hand, note the great thing his faith regards Jesus as able to do: actually and visibly to show the Father to the disciples.’ (Lenski p. 983) Like Philip, we often fail to appreciate what is right in front of us. Philip wanted to see some appearance of God, without realizing that the greatest appearance thus far was in His immediate presence. Today, some want to see miracles, without realizing that something far greater and far more beneficial is available to every person, that is the complete and final revelation of the will of God.

John 14:9 ‘Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”’ “Have I been so long with you”-Since His first public appearance, more than three years had passed.

“and yet you have not come to know Me” -‘Philip’s feeling was that if the group could only have a physical manifestation of the Father this would resolve their problem of really knowing him. But Philip was wrong…this would (an actual appearance of the Father, or something like Moses had seen) have revealed little, or nothing, about the character of God or his attributes; to know the Father really it was necessary to see him in the revelation which his Son made to the world.’ (Woods pp. 306-307) There are many people today, who seem to think if God would only make some mysterious appearance in their life, that such an appearance would give them the motivation they need to change or serve Him.

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” Points To Note: 1.

Obviously, Jesus is not the same ‘person’ as the Father (John 1:1). Jesus and the Father are distinct individuals and yet they have identical qualities and attributes and are completely like-minded (John 10:30). 2. The statement demands that Jesus is Divine, for a created being could not fully reveal the Father. To completely reveal the Father to mankind would demand a Being who was identical in character and nature as the Father. ‘And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature’ (Hebrews 1:3) 3. ‘Philip wants to see the Father with his physical eyes, little realizing that such sight would profit him nothing.’ (Lenski p. 984) For, he is already seeing with his eyes One who is completely like the Father. 4. The above statement infers that the Father isn’t

more lenient than the Son or more strict. What Jesus said to people, how Jesus dealt with people, is exactly how the Father would deal with the same people. There is no difference between the disposition and attitude of the Father from that of the Son. 5. Therefore, we must reject the idea that Jesus came to this earth to appease an angry Father. Or, that Jesus is more lenient and forgiving than His Father. Or that Jesus is more accessible than the Father. 6. Barclay notes, ‘God was not ashamed to do a man’s work. It was as a working man that God entered into the world…God is not like a commander who leads from behind the lines; God too knows the fighting-line of life…It is easy to imagine a God who condemns men; it is still easier to imagine a God who blasts men, and who, if men oppose Him, wipes them out. No one would ever have dreamed of a God who in Jesus Christ chose the Cross for us men and for our salvation.’ (pp. 186-187) 7. See also John 1:18

John 14:10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me” -This verse would become confusing if we thought of a personal indwelling. But that’s not what is meant. Rather, Jesus is describing the unity which exists in this relationship. Compare with 14:20 ‘you in Me, and I in you.’ Point To Note: The above verses help us the realize that such language can be used of an intimate relationship, of those who are like-minded and in complete agreement. In like manner the Holy Spirit is in the Christian (1 Cor. 6:19-20), and yet a personal indwelling is not meant.

“The words…does His works”-Once again, Jesus brings two lines of evidence forward to prove His point. ‘In order to make this oneness of himself with the Father altogether clear and to correct any lingering doubt or misconception in the minds of the eleven, Jesus again points to the constant evidence and manifestation of this oneness which is ever open to the eyes of all who are not determined for ulterior reasons to reject Jesus.’ (Lenski p. 985)

“I do not speak on My own initiative”-Thus every time that Jesus opens His mouth, the Father is also speaking. Every word correctly expresses the Father’s feelings.

John 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves.” “otherwise believe on account of the works themselves” -Faith has an intellectual side, faith evaluates the evidence (John 5:36; 10:25,38). ‘if His person and His

words do not engender faith in His oneness with the Father, then let these disciples at least follow the reasonable consequences of the supernatural signs and wonders…The Christian religion is founded squarely upon the deity of Jesus Christ which has been proven by supernatural, miraculous deeds, performed in history witnessed by the eyes and ears of men. Having thus established empirical proof of His deity Jesus demands that all other truths and doctrines which He taught be believed, trusted and obeyed by Faith!’ (Butler p. 249) Note that Jesus never expected man to believe without any evidence.

John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” “because I go to the Father”-Jesus leaving wasn’t all bad, in fact, it was necessary. The apostles would also work miracles, even raising people from the dead, as Jesus had done (Acts 2:43; 5:12; 9:36-42). But Jesus must die for all this to take place. Such wonderful powers and blessings cannot profit until Jesus dies for the sins of mankind. Miracles are pointless if there is no redemption or salvation to which the miracle points.

“and greater works”-not greater miracles. For the apostles did not perform greater miracles than that which Jesus had performed. But the death of Christ and His resurrection would bring about greater results in the area of converting the lost. Morris notes, '‘On the day of Pentecost alone more believers were added to the little band of believers than throughout Christ’s entire earthly life…During His lifetime the Son of God was confined in His influence to a comparatively small sector of Palestine. After His departure His followers were able to work in widely scattered places and influence much larger numbers of men.’ (p. 646) But again, what made this all possible, was Jesus death, resurrection and return to the Father. The reader should note that Jesus isn’t promising the ability to work miracles to every believer, for even when the miraculous gifts were operational (1 Cor. 13:8-10), every Christian didn’t have these gifts (1 Cor. 12:28-30). The reader should also note that saving souls is a greater work than performing miracles. In fact the miracle points people to salvation (John 20:30-31), miracles were never meant to be an end in themselves.

John 14:13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” “whatever you ask”-Which is of course always modified by what is being asked is in harmony with the will of God (1 John 5:14).

“in My name”-This means more than just saying, ‘In Jesus’ name’. ‘It means that prayer is to be in accordance with all that the name stands for. It is prayer proceeding from faith in Christ, prayer that gives expression to a unity with all that Christ stands for, prayer which seeks to set forward Christ Himself.’ (Morris p. 646) ‘To pray “in His name” does not mean “on the basis of My name”, but it means “in union with My (name) person and revelation.’ (Butler pp. 249-250) It is clear that the expression “in the name of Jesus” is not some magical formula.

“that will I do”-Let us be impressed that Jesus answers prayer. Again, we see the close union between Father and Son. Prayer to the Father, in the name of Jesus, through Jesus as our mediator and High Priest (1 Tim. 2:5), brings a response from Jesus. I believe there is an important lesson for those who might wish to pray solely to Jesus. Lenski notes, ‘the one is always in the other’. (p. 993) We are missing the point with Deity when we try to pray exclusively to one member of the Godhead. One cannot pray to Jesus, without praying to the Father. This verse infers that Jesus, as with the Father has the power to grant requests for miraculous power (to the apostles/early Christians), and the power to answer prayers by working through circumstances, events and the laws of the natural world. Carefully note that Jesus never commands or recommends praying to some deceased Christian or to Mary. He doesn’t say to His disciples, ‘You shall pray to My mother.’