Why were the disciples’ hearts troubled? Christ had told them He was leaving them (13:33), that one of them was a traitor, and that Peter would fail Him (13:36–38). This undoubtedly disturbed them all, for they looked to Peter as their leader. Jesus Himself had revealed His own inward burden (13:21), although certainly His troubled spirit was in no way like their troubled hearts. In this chapter, Christ sought to comfort the Twelve and quiet their troubled hearts. He gave them five reasons why He had to leave them and go to the Father.

14 “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.” x

5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I. To Prepare a Place for Them (14:1–6)

Christ speaks of heaven as a real place, not merely as a state of mind. He pictured heaven as a loving home where the Father dwells. “Mansions” in the Gk. is actually “abiding places,” speaking of the permanency of our heavenly home. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Christ “the Carpenter” (Mark 6:3) is building a heavenly home for all who have trusted Him. And He will return to receive His own to Himself. Paul later amplified this promise in 1 Thes. 4:13–18. “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.” Had Christ remained on earth, He could not have prepared the heavenly home for His own.

How can sinners ever hope to get to heaven? Through Christ! Read Luke 15:11–24, the story of the Prodigal Son, in connection with John 14:6. Like the sinner, the boy was lost (15:24), ignorant (15:17—“came to himself”), and dead (15:24). But he came to the father! (15:20) He was lost, but Christ is the Way; he was ignorant, but Christ is the Truth; and he was dead (spiritually), but Christ is the Life! And he arrived at the Father’s house when he repented and returned.

Jesus Reveals the Father

7 “If you know Me, you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

II. To Reveal the Father to Them (14:7–11)

Philip seemed to have trouble with his eyes: he wanted to see. Almost his first words in 1:46 are, “Come and see!” He saw the great crowd in John 6 and decided that Christ could not feed them (6:7). The Greeks who came to Philip said, “We would see Jesus” (12:21). Jesus made it clear that seeing Him is seeing the Father. “From now on you know Him,” He promises in v. 7 (NKJV). It is by faith that we see the Father as we come to know Christ better.

Praying in Jesus’ Name

12 “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. t

Praying in Jesus’ Name

12 “I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. t

III. To Grant Them the Privilege of Prayer (14:12–14)

While He was with the disciples, Christ supplied their needs (see 16:22–24); now that He was returning to heaven, He gives them the privilege of prayer. He promises to answer prayer that the Father might be glorified. To pray in “His name” means to pray for His glory, asking for whatever He Himself would desire. The “greater works” spoken of in v. 12 refer to the wonderful miracles and blessings the disciples experienced as recorded in the Book of Acts (see Mark 16:20; Heb. 2:4). The works He does through us today are “greater” in the sense that we are mere human vessels, while He was God incarnate ministering on earth.

Another Counselor Promised

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

19 “In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.

25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

IV. To Send the Holy Spirit (14:15–26)

Christ has much to say about the Spirit in these next chapters. Here He calls Him “the Comforter,” literally, “The One standing alongside to help you.” The word “another” means “another of the same kind,” for the Spirit is God just as Christ is God. The Spirit living within the disciples would take the place of the Savior living beside the disciples. He is also called “the Spirit of Truth.” The Spirit uses the Word to convict sinners and to direct saints, and God’s Word is truth (17:17). The world cannot receive the Spirit because He comes in response to faith.

There is considerable discussion over what Christ means when He says, “I will come to you” (v. 18). Literally it reads, “I do [present tense] come to you.” This statement probably includes several things: Christ’s coming to the apostles after His resurrection; His coming to them in the Person of the Spirit; and His future coming to take them to heaven.

In vv. 21–26, Christ speaks of a deeper relationship the disciples will have with the Father and the Son through the Spirit. They thought they would be “orphans” (literal meaning of “comfortless” in v. 18), when actually Jesus’ going to the Father made possible a deeper relationship between the saint and his Savior. This relationship involves obedience to the Word (v. 21) and a love for the Word (v. 24). It involves too the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit (v. 26). The Christian who spends time learning the Word, then goes out to live the Word, will enjoy a close, satisfying communion with the Father and the Son. Love for Christ is not a shallow emotion to be talked about; it means loving and obeying His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. In 14:1–3, Jesus talked about the saint going to heaven to abide with the Father and Son; but here He talks about the Father and Son coming to abide with the saint.

Jesus’ Gift of Peace

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful. 28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over Me. w 31 On the contrary, I am going away so that the world may know that I love the Father. Just as the Father commanded Me, so I do.

“Get up; let’s leave this place.

V. To Grant His Peace (14:27–31)

How the disciples needed peace! The peace that Christ gives is not that of the world, nor does He give it the way the world gives. The world’s peace is shallow, unsatisfying, and temporary; while Christ’s peace rests deep in the heart, is always satisfying, and will abide forever. The world offers peace through outward means; Christ gives peace that dwells in the heart. Psychologists talk about “peace of mind,” but Christ, through His death, resurrection, and ascension, gives “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1). Philippians 4:4–9 outlines how the believer may have the peace of God.

“My Father is greater than I” (v. 28) refers to the days of His earthly life. As Son of God, He is equal with the Father; as Son of Man in a human body, He was obedient to the Father, who gave Christ His words and works (14:10, 24).

By dying on the cross and going back to heaven, Christ defeated Satan (v. 30), who is the author of confusion and unrest. Lest the disciples think that His death was a tragedy or a mistake, Christ assured them in v. 31 that the cross is proof of His love for the Father. He died because the Father commanded it, and Christ came to do the Father’s will.

As you review this chapter, see how tenderly Christ seeks to comfort His perplexed disciples. These comforting words are for us today, so claim them by faith.