John 14: 1~31 约翰福音 第十四章 第一至三十一节
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
FINAL WORDS AND DEEDS OF CHRIST (Part 2)
John 14:1-31
I. The Remedy for Anxiety (14:1-4)
A. The Anxiety of the Disciples
The disciples had troubled hearts for several reasons: Jesus had informed them that He would soon be leaving them, He had revealed that there was a traitor among them, and He had forecast that Peter would fail Him before all this was over.
In this chapter, Jesus takes time to encourage the disciples and quiet their hearts.
B. The Remedy of Belief
Jesus first encouraged them not to let their heart be troubled. The heart is the center of the physical, mental, and spiritual life of humans. As one scholar put it, the heart is the “seat of spiritual life…the center of feeling and faith.”
Jesus urged His disciples to continue in their belief in Him and not let their hearts be troubled by what He had shared with them up to that point, nor by what was to follow.
Such words from Jesus concerning His coming departure caused a feeling of depression for those who had shared the Passover meal with Him. Then came the words of comfort from Jesus: “Do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me” (v. 1). The word translated “believe” here and in other places in the New Testament meant more than merely having a head knowledge of God or Jesus. It meant placing one’s ultimate trust in Jesus and in God’s eternal plan.
Trust in God is the one true remedy for anxiety. Jesus completed the remedy for their concern by painting a beautiful portrait of the life that awaited them upon their reunion (vv. 2-4). The “many rooms,” or “many dwelling places” Jesus promised referred not only to the magnificence of our eternal dwelling place, but also of the permanency of the heavenly home of all believers.
It is significant that Jesus said He was going to “prepare a place” for us. The idea of heaven is not merely a make-believe or fantasy world; it will be a literal place.
II. The Way, Truth, and Life (14:5-14)
A. Jesus – the Only Way to the Father (vv. 5-6)
After Jesus told the disciples there that they knew the way He was going, Thomas declared, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?” (v. 5). There was much that the disciples would not understand until after Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers.
Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth, and the life is of great importance. He did not say that He was a way, but the way. Jesus is not one of many ways to God, but the only way.
The fact that Jesus embodies and proclaims the truth is a major theme throughout John’s Gospel.
Jesus also offers life itself, life through God the Father, the Creator and giver of all life. This is truly the key point. Without salvation through faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross, we all are spiritually dead. The path to God the Father is not merely a path laid out by religion or religious teachings. The path to God means we pass from death to life, as Jesus had said in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
B. “Show Us the Father”
In verse 7, Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip responded, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” The disciples had not yet understood that Jesus is God in the flesh, as Matthew recorded in Matthew 1:23: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name, Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us’.”
Jesus answered Peter by saying, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (v. 9). Jesus tried to teach His followers that He is God, as He already had said in John 10:31, “I and the Father are one.”
C. “Greater Works”
Jesus said in verse 12, “Truly, truly, 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 the Father.”
Jesus did not mean that His followers will do things greater in power or magnitude than He had done, for He is God and no one can do things of more power or magnitude than God. What Jesus meant is that after He ascended to be with the Father, the Holy Spirit would come and indwell all believers, thus having multitudes of witnesses all over the world from then on spreading the Gospel message and doing good works in His name.
D. “In My Name”
The last verse in this section has been widely debated as to its proper interpretation and application: “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (v. 14).
Was Jesus saying that we have unlimited power over God in determining what He will or will not do for us if we simply pray in Jesus’ name? Clearly not, for this would be out of accord with the rest of the teaching of Scripture. We need to remember that God is sovereign over all and subject to no one. We are to pray in accordance with the will of God – as exhibited in the life and teaching of Jesus. When Christians pray in that manner, their prayers will surely be answered. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in accord with His will and mission.
III. The Counselor (14:15-26)
A. The Promised Coming of the Holy Spirit
John’s Gospel pays much attention to the Holy Spirit. In fact, of the four Gospels, John’s Gospel has more to say about the activity of the Holy Spirit.
Here Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Helper” or “Counselor.” Note that Jesus called the Spirit “another” Helper, suggesting that the work of the Holy Spirit would take over Jesus’ roles in the lives of the disciples. The Greek word translated “Helper” is paraclete, which is a compound of two words: “called” and “to stand alongside.” The term is a legal term that goes beyond legal assistance to that of any aid given in time of need (1 John 2:1). Such a paraclete suggests an advisor, encourager, comforter, and intercessor. The idea is that the Holy Spirit will always stand alongside the people of God. The Greek language has two words translated as “another.” One means “another who is different.” The second means “another of the same kind.” In this verse the latter term is used.
The Holy Spirit is also the “Spirit of truth” (v. 17). The Spirit testifies to the truth of God in Christ and brings people toward that truth through conviction which leads to repentance and faith. Jesus’ bottom line here is that the Spirit will continue to bring the presence of Christ into the lives of the disciples (vv. 16-18).
Notice in verse 17 Jesus said that the Holy Spirt “abides with you and will be in you.” The Holy Spirit, as the third part of the Trinity, always has been at work in the world and with God’s people. However, Jesus states that after He is crucified and resurrected, the Holy Spirit would not merely be “with” His followers, but would literally live within them. The Bible teaches that all true Christians have the Holy Spirit living in them.
The role of the Holy Spirit as the one who reminds the disciples (v. 26) of what Jesus said and taught should not be overlooked as it relates: (1) to the writing of the New Testament and (2) to the ongoing life of the church. The church can expect this same ministry as it lives according to the teaching and encouragement of the Word of God.
B. Love and Obedience
Jesus also dealt in this passage with the relationship between love and obedience. To love Jesus is to obey Jesus (vv. 15, 23). If one does not obey Jesus, he doesn’t love Him (v. 24).
It’s easy to “say” we love Jesus, but something else altogether to “show” we love Him.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
How is Jesus “the way and the truth and the life”? (v. 6)
What does Jesus’ statement, “You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it” (v. 14) mean? How does this shape the prayers of believers?
Jesus told the disciples that He would send them the “Helper” who was also the “Spirit of Truth.” What do these titles mean?
When it comes to following Jesus, what is the relationship between love and obedience?
How does the Spirit’s ministry of “reminding” believers apply to believers today?