Wed 6/15 – John 14 – Lesson 1
I Go to Prepare a Place
John 14:1
(ESV) “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
Jesus
had just told them that He was not going to be there to teach or encourage them
anymore, at least not as the tangible touchable God-Man they had traveled with
for about three years. He had dropped the bombshell that one of them was going to
betray Him. So why wouldn’t they be troubled? However, Jesus told them not to
have troubled hearts but rather to continue to believe in God the Father and in Him.
John 14:2 In
my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that
I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4
And you know the way to where I am going.”
There
is a place in the Father’s house for everyone that knows and trusts Jesus as
the Son of God. Jesus reminded them that He was going to prepare that place and
would come back for them in the future. Jewish custom was that an engaged man would
begin building a house for himself and his bride usually on his father’s
property. Once the house was complete, the time of betrothal would be over, and he would come to
marry his bride and take her to their home. Jesus is our Bridegroom, and the church is His
bride. He is preparing our home in His father’s home. Those who have trusted
Jesus Christ and received Him as their Savior and Lord will ultimately be with
Him forever.
After
Jesus said He was going to prepare that home, He said the disciples already
knew the way to where He was going, but they were not so sure.
John 14:5
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know
the way?”
I
believe the disciples still did not understand that He was talking about going
back to the Father in Heaven. Perhaps they thought He was traveling somewhere
far away. Jesus
had repeatedly stated that He and the Father were one when talking to the
Jewish leaders, and the disciples were standing right there. They had traveled
with Jesus. They had spent more time with Him than with their own families.
Maybe it didn’t click because they didn’t want to think about Him leaving or
being without Him for any amount of time. The thought of being separated was
difficult. He had made friends out of a rag-tag group of fishermen and
tradesmen. They
certainly did not want to entertain the idea that the Messiah could die!
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.
This
is the sixth “I AM” statement of Jesus in the book of John. He declared, “I am
the way to God.” The way He stated it would mean that not only was He the way
to God but that He was God. Any other charlatan,
imposter, that comes to you espousing that he is the truth is lying because
Jesus is THE TRUTH. The disciples witnessed the anointing, the miraculous power
of God that worked through Him; so they should have confidence that Jesus was the
real deal, and anyone who comes after Him is an imitation, a false prophet, a
fake messiah. Jesus
also proclaimed Himself to be the Life, and He is the only one who can give us
eternal life with the Father. There is no other way to have a right relationship with the
Father besides trusting Jesus. People are teaching today that there are many paths that
lead to God, and that Jesus is not the only valid path. WRONG! Jesus Himself
stated that He is the only way. Each of the people who will be in Heaven had individual
experiences on their way to Jesus, but the bottom line is that they eventually
realized that Jesus was the ONLY way to escape the grip of sin and experience
the abundant life Jesus offers.
John 14:7 If
you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know
him and have seen him.”
To
know Jesus IS to know God because Jesus was God incarnate, in bodily form. The
disciples trusted that He was the Son of God and that He and the Father were
One. However, it did not compute that they communicated face to face with the
Lord of the universe over supper each night. They would understand this completely
after the resurrection and after witnessing Jesus returning to the Father in the
clouds.
John 14:8
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Poor
Philip! We laugh, but we would not have been any better. We would have been
just as clueless. He still did not realize he was staring God in the face!
John 14:9
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me,
Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’?
Jesus
was gracious enough to not call Philip and osmium head. As God, Jesus understood
their human confusion. The man part of Him may have been frustrated,
exasperated, and perhaps a bit hurt that the disciples had been with Him for over
three years and still had not internalized what He meant by “I and the Father
are One.” Jesus had been fulfilling His role in showing them the Father the
entire time He had walked with them.
John 14:10
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The
Father and the Son have a connection that is eternal and internal, but it is
more than that. Their unity is complete. Explaining the concept of the Trinity, the
Triune nature of God is complicated even with the entire word of God in our
hands, so I guess we should have some pity on the poor disciples trying to
understand how Jesus and God could be the same person but separate. And at this
point, Jesus had not even thrown the Holy Spirit into the mix!
John 14:10b The
words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who
dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
Jesus
never moved as a lone cowboy. All of His actions and words were in obedience to
God the Father and with His blessing. His meaning here was that He would not have had
the power to perform the works, the signs, the miracles they had witnessed if
He did not derive His authority from the Father. He was saying to let His
record speak for itself.
John 14:12
(ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the
works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to
the Father.
The
greater works were the spiritual transformations of people all over the world.
They could not be greater in power because Jesus was and is the greatest in
power – He is omnipotent (all-powerful). Jesus taught in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.
The disciples (and later us) would spread the gospel throughout the entire
world. People were healed in the name of Jesus during the apostles’ ministry,
but it was Jesus who did the actual healing. We are but His instrument when the
miraculous occurs in the course of meeting the needs of people. When Jesus went
to the Father, He sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to enable His followers
to serve God mightily. More on that later!
John 14:13
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
These
two verses do not mean we have carte blanche to demand whatever we want from
God, and He is somehow obligated to give it to us. What we ask must be in
accordance with God’s will and His purpose and plan for the life of person who
is praying. It must be that which will bring attention to God for His glory,
not the person praying. John MacArthur explained this well in his commentary:
The MacArthur Bible Commentary
“To ask in Jesus’ “name” does not
mean to frivolously attach such an expression on the end of a prayer as a mere
formula. It means: (1) the believer’s prayer should be for His purposes and
kingdom, not selfish reasons; (2) the believer’s prayer should be on the basis
of His merits and not any personal merit or worthiness; and (3) the believer’s
prayer should be in pursuit of His glory alone.”
Q
– Are you confident that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for YOU? If not,
please pray and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. If you have questions about
becoming a Christian, please ask us via the “Contact/Prayer Requests” tab on
this website. We will answer and will pray for you!
Fri 6/17 – John 14 – Lesson2
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
John 14:15 (ESV)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Wait! I thought it was all about
grace. What’s with the keeping commandments thing? Jesus was saying their
(and our) love for Him is demonstrated by our obedience to His word, to the things He
taught. In ways Jesus taught an obedience much harder than the basic ten
commandments. Things like even lusting is committing adultery in your heart,
and hatred is as bad as murder. Jesus taught that behavior did not begin with
the action but with the thought leading to the behavior. However, once we belong
to Jesus, His Holy Spirit enters us and enables us to say “no” to sin and “yes”
to Him. Our obedience does not
enable us to be saved (we can never be perfect), but our salvation enables us
to obey.
John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will
be in you.
The disciples had the benefit of
learning directly at the feet of the Master, but He was about to leave them.
However, they would not be alone. He told them He would ask the Father to send
them a Helper. Jesus introduced the concept of the Holy Spirit – the comforter,
teacher, helper, and friend – who would indwell all believers. Those who are in
the world, who have not trusted Jesus, do not have the benefit of the Holy
Spirit; they do not know or understand Him.
John 14:18
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and
the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also
will live.
Jesus
promised He would not leave them without a parent since He had been a mentor and parent to them. They would not be
fatherless because the Holy Spirit would keep them in constant relationship
with the Lord. The world would see
the incarnate Jesus no more, but the disciples would see Him after the
resurrection and be indwelt by His Holy Spirit from Pentecost on. We may not
see Jesus with our eyes, but we have an intimate relationship with Him through
prayer, the study of His word, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus said,
“Because I live, you also will live.” Jesus assured the disciples they (and we) had a
future with Him. He was saying this
prior to His resurrection. He had just explained that He was the only way to
eternal life, but soon they would see that demonstrated in His death and
resurrection. Jesus
knew He was going to overcome the grave in just a few days. He would be the
firstborn from the dead. He would become their sacrifice through His death on
the cross, but then He would be raised from dead. They (and we) could be
assured that because they believed in Him, they (and we) also would be raised
in time.
John 14:20
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Jesus
knew He would appear to the disciples many times after the resurrection, and
they would be convinced that He was God. They would finally understand that He and the
Father were one for real. They would also begin to understand that they, too, would be
unified with the Lord. We will see the Lord Jesus praying for this very thing
in chapter 17. Can hardly wait until we get there because there is some meaty,
good stuff in Jesus’ high priestly prayer!
Q
– God’s unmerited favor, His grace, is the key to entering into a relationship
with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Obedience is the proof that the door
has been unlocked. When we are saved, we enter into the presence of God; but
that door swings both ways as the presence of God enters us in the Person of
His Holy Spirit. That does not mean we will never sin again but that we are
given the power to resist temptation. Can others see evidence of your changed
life in your behavior? The old hymn says, “Let others see Jesus in me.” Do
others see Jesus in you?
Mon
6/20 – John 14 – Lesson 3
My Peace I Give to You
John 14:21
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to
him.”
A
person can have head knowledge, “know” God’s commandments and not obey them. If
we are not demonstrating the heart knowledge as defined by obedience, we are
not doing what Jesus commanded. As we said before, our obedience is the
evidence that we love Jesus. When we love and trust Jesus, He places the Holy
Spirit within us to enable us to obey. We do not obey in order to be clean
enough to come to Jesus. When we know Jesus, He cleanses us and creates a
desire to obey Him in our hearts. Our obedience is a heart action, not words on
our lips alone. Since He has changed our hearts from stone to flesh, we are
attuned to His will.
Ezekiel
36:26 (VOICE) I will plant a new heart and new spirit inside of you. I will
take out your stubborn, stony heart and give you a willing, tender heart of
flesh.
Because
Jesus loves us, we can return His love; and, therefore, we have the capacity to
love one another. Jesus said that is how people would know that we follow Him –
non-believers recognize that we belong to Jesus when they see us demonstrating
His love. Since
Jesus loves us, the Father certainly loves us because they are one and the
same. Disobedience in a believer’s life cannot undo that fact that he is saved,
chosen by God. However, it can put a road block in our communication with Him.
Conversely, the more completely we obey the Lord’s commands, the more clearly
He will make Himself and His will known to us. The more we willingly choose to obey,
the more the Lord, through our intimate relationship with Him, will reveal more
of who He is and how He wants to move in our lives. His purpose for our lives
will then be more easily discerned.
John 14:22
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest
yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Judas
wanted to know how Jesus would come exclusively to the disciples and not to
everyone else. I think the disciples still could not conceive the idea of the
Holy Spirit moving invisibly in their hearts and minds. Therefore, they could
not figure out how Jesus could be in communication with them and not everyone
else around them. Remember, they did not have phones or the internet! They could not wrap
their heads around Jesus dying either. So they could not understand that an invisible
Holy Spirit could be sent after He died, rose again, and returned to the Father. We are looking back in
history, but they were living it; so we must cut them some slack when they had
a hard time grasping the things Jesus was telling them.
John 14:23 Jesus
answered 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.
To
love Jesus is also to believe He is the Son of God which is the way to
salvation. Jesus said He and the Father would take up residence, make their
dwelling place, the place they reside within the believer. They will abide in
the believer, and the believer will abide in them. We will discuss that even
more in the next chapter. I am not sure the disciples were understanding this concept
of the Lord dwelling with them even after He was no longer on earth in bodily
form. However, this truth would become a mainstay of their faith after the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus as seen in the book of Acts. The Lord being
present in our lives is what carries Susan and I through each day.
John 14:24
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is
not mine but the Father's who sent me.
When
you reject Jesus, you are rejecting God the Father. God sent Jesus as His
representative to enlighten humanity about the Father’s attributes by seeing
Him in living, tangible color. Therefore, they could relate to and understand
Him as a man. Jesus
said many times that He spoke only that which the Father told Him. So to
discard Jesus’ words is to discard God’s words. To disobey Jesus is to disobey
Father God. If one does not love and trust Jesus, he is incapable of obeying
His word.
John 14:25
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 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 that I have said to you.
The
Holy Spirit serves the clarifier when we read scripture. It is the Holy Spirit
that helps us understand the word of God. The Holy Spirit is the part of the Trinity that
gives us insight into the thought processes of Jesus, to explain it in a way
that we can comprehend. The Holy Spirit is also who enabled the apostles to remember
everything Jesus had taught them in the course of over three years in order to
teach it to new believers. It was the Holy Spirit who inspired Matthew and John
to write their Gospels.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I
give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Jesus
left them with peace that passes any comprehension, supernatural peace that is not dependent
on circumstances, peace that cannot be up or down like a yo-yo.
Philippians 4:6-7 (HCSB) Don’t worry about anything, but
in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will
guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
In
Christ, we can be at peace even during troubling times. We do not need to fear
or fret when we remember that God is in control, and He loves us!
John 14:28
You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you
loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the
Father is greater than I.
Until
Jesus ascended back to His glory with the Father, the disciples could not get
on with the work He had ordained for them. When Jesus came to earth, allowing
Himself to be wrapped in human flesh, He willingly laid aside completely
exercising His power in order to function as a man. His power was still available to
Him since He was fully God, but He chose not to access it. When He returned to
the Father, the glory He had purposely laid aside was completely His again. The
Holy Spirit did not begin His work in and through the disciples until Jesus was
back at the throne of God.
John 14:29
And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place
you may believe.
By
dying and appearing to them after the resurrection, Jesus would greatly
increase their belief. It would surely increase my faith to see Jesus walk through a
closed door! It
would also beef up their faith when Jesus came upon them in the form of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). But in order to come to them in this manner,
He had to
go away. Jesus
told them about the Holy Spirit before He actually came upon them, so they
would recognize Him as coming from the Lord.
John 14:30 I
will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He
has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the
world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
Jesus
let them know Satan was about to show his ugly face through the betrayal, mock
trial, and execution. He also made it clear that Satan really had no control
over Him, that He was allowing these things to happen in order to fulfill the
Father’s will. The disciples must have been thinking that everything made sense
to Jesus, but it was not making sense to them yet. They needed help for their
finite brains set in human frailty. Which is exactly why Jesus was sending the Holy
Spirit! Then He just got up and urged them to leave with Him. The scripture
does not tell us where they went at this time – perhaps Jesus continued talking
with them on their way to the Mount of Olives.
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