John 14 Bible Commentary

14:1 Let ¹ not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

(1) He believes in God who believes in Christ, and there is no other way to strengthen and encourage our minds during the greatest distresses.

14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], ^a I would have told you. I go to ^b prepare a place for you.

(a) That is, if it were not as I am telling you, that is, unless there was room enough not only for me, but also for you in my Father's house, I would not deceive you in this way with a vain hope, but I would have plainly told you so.
(b) This whole speech is an allegory, by which the Lord comforts his own, declaring to them his departure into heaven; and he departs not to reign there alone, but to go before and prepare a place for them.

14:3 ² And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will ^c come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

(2) Christ did not go away from us with the intent of forsaking us, but rather that he might eventually take us up with him into heaven.
(c) These words are to be understood as being said to the whole Church, and therefore the angels said to the disciples when they were astonished, "Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This Jesus will so come as you saw him go up", (Acts 1:11). And in all places of the Scripture the full comfort of the Church is considered to be that day when God will be all in all, and is therefore called the day of redemption.

14:4 ³ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

(3) Christ alone is the way to true and everlasting life, for it is he in whom the Father has revealed himself.

14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am ^d the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

(d) This saying shows unto us the nature, the will, and office of Christ.

14:7 ^e If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

(e) It is plain by this verse that to know God and to see God is the same thing. Now whereas he said before that no man saw God at any time, it is to be understood in this way: without Christ, or were it not through Christ, no man could ever see God, nor ever saw God, at any time: for as Chrysostom says, the Son is a very concise and plain setting forth of the Father's nature to us.

14:10 ⁴ Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

(4) The majesty of God shows itself most evidently both in Christ's doctrine and in his deeds.

14:12 ⁵ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and ^f greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

(5) Christ's power is not only shown within his own person, but it is spread through the body of his entire Church.
(f) That is, not only do them, but I can also give other men power to do greater.

14:15 ⁶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

(6) He loves Christ rightly who obeys his commandment: and because obedience to Christ is accompanied with an infinite type and amount of miseries, although he is absent in body, yet he comforts his own with the present power of the Holy Spirit, whom the world despises, because it does not know him.

14:17 [Even] the ^g Spirit of truth; whom the ^h world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

(g) The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth by reason of that which he does, because he inspires the truth into us, because he has the truth in himself.
(h) Worldly men.

14:20 At that day ye shall know that I [am] ⁱ in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

(i) The Son is in the Father in such a way that he is of one selfsame substance with the Father, but he is in his disciples in a different way, as an aider and helper of them.

14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will ^k manifest myself to him.

(k) I will show myself to him, and be known by him, as if he saw me with his eyes: but this showing of himself is not bodily, but spiritual, yet so plain that no other showing could be more evident.

14:22 ⁷ Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

(7) We must not ask why the gospel is revealed to some rather than to others, but we must rather take heed that we embrace Christ who is offered unto us, and that we truly love him, that is to say, that we give ourselves wholly to obeying him.

14:25 ⁸ These things have I spoken unto you, being [yet] present with you.

(8) It is the duty and responsibility of the Holy Spirit to imprint in the minds of the elect, in their times and seasons, that which Christ once said.

14:27 ⁹ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

(9) All true comfort and peace comes to us by Christ alone.

14:28 ¹⁰ Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come [again] unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is ^l greater than I.

(10) We should in no way be sorry for the departing of Christ from us according to the flesh, but rather we should rejoice in it, seeing that all the blessing of the body depends upon the glorifying of the head.
(l) This is spoken in that Christ is mediator, for in this regard the Father is greater than he, in as much as the person to whom request is made is greater than he that makes the request.

14:30 ¹¹ Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath ^m nothing in me.

(11) Christ goes to death not unwillingly, but willingly, not that he is yielding to the devil, but rather that he is obeying his Father's decree.
(m) As one would say, "Satan will eventually set upon me with all the might he can, but he has no power over me, neither will he find any such thing in me as he thinks he will."