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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 14:18 - 14:24
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_14:18-24
18"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?" 23Jesus answered and said to 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 abode with him. 24He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."
Joh_14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" Jesus fulfilled every promise He had made to the disciples on the Sunday evening after the Passover in His first post-resurrection appearance to them in the upper room (cf. Joh_20:19-31). Some commentators, however, see the context as referring to the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2) or the Second Coming (cf. Joh_14:3).
Joh_14:19 "After a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me" Joh_14:20 shows that this refers to the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. This is the statement which Judas picks up on in Joh_14:22 to ask Jesus another question. The disciples were still expecting Him to set up an earthly Messianic Kingdom (i.e., Mat_20:20-28; Mar_10:35-45) and were greatly confused when He said, "the world will not see Me." Jesus' answer to Judas' (not Iscariot) question in Joh_14:23-24 was that He will manifest Himself in the life of individual Christians and thereby the world will see Him through them!
▣ "because I live, you will live also" The resurrection of Jesus was God's demonstration of His power and willingness to give life (cf. Rom_8:9-11; 1Co_15:20-23; 1Co_15:50-58).
Joh_14:20 "In that day" This phrase is usually used in an eschatological sense (see Special Topic below), but here it may refer to the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus or to the coming of the fullness of the Spirit on Pentecost.
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▣ "you will know" Often "know" has the Hebrew connotation of personal fellowship, intimate relationship, but here it is followed by "that" (hoti), which clarifies the cognitive content. This word, like "believe," has a double meaning. John chooses these kinds of words to express the gospel. Believers know Him (believe in Him), but also know truths about Him (believe that). See Special Topic at Joh_2:23.
▣ "I am in my Father and you are in Me, and I in you" John often emphasizes the unity of Jesus and the Father (cf. Joh_10:38; Joh_14:10-11; Joh_17:21-23). He adds the truth that as the Father and Jesus are intimately linked, so too, Jesus and His followers (cf. John 17)!
Joh_14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them" These are two present participles. Obedience is crucial (see note at Joh_14:15). It is the evidence of true conversion (cf. Joh_14:23).
The Apostles were Jewish and often used Semitic idioms in their writings. The Jewish prayer that begins every worship time was Deu_6:4-5, called the shema, which meant to "hear so as to do"! This is the point of John's comment (cf. Jas_2:14-26).
▣ "and will disclose Myself to him" This refers to either (1) the post-resurrection appearances (cf. Act_10:40-41) or (2) the sending of the Holy Spirit to reveal and form Christ in believers (cf. Joh_14:26; Rom_8:29; Gal_4:19).
▣ Jesus believed and asserted that He (1) represented; (2) spoke for; and (3) revealed the Father. For believers this authoritative word spoken by Jesus recorded by Apostolic writers is the only source of clear information about God and His purposes. Believers affirm that the authority of Jesus and Scripture (properly interpreted) are the ultimate authority; reason, experience, and tradition are helpful, but not ultimate.
There is fluidity between the work of the Spirit and the Son. G. Campbell Morgan said the best name for the Spirit is "the other Jesus." See Special Topic at Joh_14:16.
Joh_14:22 See note on Joh_14:19.
▣ "Judas (not Iscariot)" This was another name for Thaddaeus (cf. Mat_10:3; Mar_3:18). See Special Topic at Joh_1:45.
Joh_14:23 "If" This is a third class conditional sentence which speaks of potential action. The disciples' love for Jesus will be seen in their love for one another (cf. Joh_14:15; Joh_14:21).
Joh_14:24 "you" The exegetical question is "To whom does this 'you' refer?" Grammatically the pronoun is in the verb, "hear" (present active indicative, second person plural). It could refer to
1. the people of the world who reject Jesus' message
2. the disciples as they accept Jesus' words as the very words of the Father (cf. Joh_14:10-11)