Cited from 2 psalms about the traitor (Psa 55:2,12-14;
109:22,28).
Joh 14:2
IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE: God's house, on earth (2Sa 7; Mic
4:1,2; Isa 66:1,2; Joh 2:16; 1Pe 2:3-5; Eph 2:19-22; 1Co 3:9; Heb 8:2; Rev
3:12). Also, Joh 2:19-22 refs the "house" of Christ's body -- where "sons" (cp
Joh 8:35) remain forever. Thus the "dwelling place" is "in" Jesus himself,
wherever he is!
ROOMS: Cp the rooms for priests on duty in God's house,
the Temple. The "rooms" where God and Christ will "abide" (vv 16,17,23) with
believers.
Joh 14:3
I go (to Golgotha: cp Joh 13:36) to prepare for you a place of
sacrifice, a place (like the mercy-seat) where man might meet with
God.
I WILL COME BACK: As the High Priest came back to the
congregation with a special blessing on the Day of Atonement (Lev 9:23; Heb
9:28).
WHERE I AM: That is, 'in my Father's house'. More
specifically, sitting on David's throne (2Sa 7:13,14) in Jerusalem (Isa 2:2-4;
9:6,7; Luk 1:32,33).
THE WAY: (In first century) = "the Truth" (in 20th
century): Act 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:22; Heb 9:8; 10:20.
A missionary lost his way in an African jungle. He could find
no landmarks and the trail vanished. Eventually, stumbling on a small hut, he
asked the native living there if he could lead him out. The native nodded.
Rising to his feet, he walked directly into the bush. The missionary followed on
his heels. For more than an hour they hacked their way through a dense wall of
vines and grasses. The missionary became worried: "Are you sure this is the way?
I don't see any path." The African chuckled and said over his shoulder, "Sir, in
this place there is no path. I AM the path."
And so it can be for us with our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
"path". We have been lost in a trackless wilderness. For us there is no way out
except death. Thus there is no salvation for us except to follow, implicitly and
obediently, the one man who knows the way -- the one man who, in fact, IS the
"way" -- no matter how hard that way might seem, or how uninviting. There is NO
other way!
And the way IS hard and uninviting. It is the way of the
cross!
How can this be said? Whereas most versions render John 14:6
as though there were three distinct "things" -- "way" and "truth" and "life" --
there may be good reason to see the three as fused or blended together: the NET
suggests: "the way -- even the truth and the life", that is, the true way of
life. "The way to the TREE of life" has been known since the garden of Eden (Gen
3:24). It is the way of obedience and sacrifice. The (true) way to the (true)
tree of life -- that is, the REAL and SUBSTANTIAL way to the REAL and
SUBSTANTIAL tree of life -- of which the one in Genesis was a symbol and a
shadow -- is the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ is called a "tree" in Gal
3:13; 1Pe 2:4; Rev 2:7; 22:2,14,19). This corresponds to Heb 10:19-22, which
speaks of the most holy, the blood of Jesus, the new and living way (the way of
life!), the priest, and the house of God.
The blood of Christ, shed on the cross, or "tree" of life, has
opened the way into the presence of the Heavenly Father, who will confer life on
those who approach Him in the proper way. There is no comfortable, and easy, and
smooth road that conveys us there, without effort or pain. It is only by taking
up the cross of our crucified Lord, and following him, through the trackless
wilderness, that we may gain access to the Father.
But it is a journey well worth the taking.
Seven "I am's" of John: "the bread of life" (Joh 6:35); "the
light of the world" (Joh 9:5); "the door" (Joh 10:9); "the good shepherd" (Joh
10:11); "the way" (Joh 14:6); "the resurrection and the life" (Joh 11:25); and
"the vine" (Joh 15:1).
Joh 14:7
To know Christ = to know God, since the Son reveals the
Father's character: Joh 1:14; 17:3; Col 1:15; 2:9; Heb 1:3. Christ's words and
works are from God: Heb 1:8,9; Joh 5:36; 9:33; 12:49,50.
Joh 14:9
ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER: Jesus was
the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation (karacter) of his being
(Heb 1:3). "For in him all the fulness of God dwelt" (Col 1:19).
Joh 14:10
"The words of Jesus, the works of Jesus, the life of Christ,
the teaching of Christ... they are the reflection of God; and as we read the
record given to us in the Gospel narratives can we not see the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ [2Co 4:6]? Do we still
ask, 'Shew us the Father and it sufficeth us' (v 8)? Or do we, like Moses of old
need special manifestations on our behalf to teach us that God exists, and that
His glory fills the earth? 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father' [John
14:9], and the glory of God in Christ will commend itself to our reverence, to
our love, to our service, to our certain acceptation. He is the highest
expression of the creative work of God. The Word made flesh no longer manifests
itself in the glory of Christ or in the framing of the ages, but embodying
itself, identifying itself with the human flesh for the benefit of mankind and
for the glory of God. Behold then the glory of God in Christ! What shall we look
at? Look at his holiness. He did no sin. Simple words, but how much is expressed
therein. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Rom 3:23]. 'If we
say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us' [1Jo 1:8],
and your heart and my heart know the truth of that judgment But his sinlessness
was not the quality of his nature. Do not seek to honour Christ by speaking of
his nature as immaculate.
"Rather do him the greater honour of testifying that his
victory was over human flesh. He was tempted in all points like we are yet
without sin. He was obedient unto death. And for what purpose? That he might
save sinners. 'This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners' [1Ti 1:15]. His sinlessness
was an essential condition for the forgiveness of sins. Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world [John 1:29]" (FWT).
Joh 14:12
GREATER: The apostles' greater scope in preaching the
gospel to Gentiles, after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension.
Joh 14:14
"In my name" is not a magic charm. Rather, it sig 'because you
bear my name' and/or 'according to my purpose' (cp Joh 15:7,16).
Joh 14:15
"Love" = agape, ie obedience. And obedience = love (Joh 13:34;
15:10,12).
Joh 14:16
COUNSELOR: Paraklete: Used 5 times, all in John's
writings: here; v 26; Joh 15:26; 16:7; 1Jo 2:1. The one who is called to stand
alongside, as a legal counselor ("Advocate") or personal "Comforter". The Holy
Spirit = "another Counselor", because Christ is the first. The Counselor/Holy
Spirit is personified ("he") because it is implemented by an angel.
Joh 14:18
ORPHANS: In ct "little children" of Joh
13:33.
Joh 14:19
Joh 14:19.
The resurrected Christ would reveal himself only to believers,
and no longer to the "world".
Joh 14:23
MAKE OUR HOME WITH HIM: Further allusion to the
Tabernacle (Exo 25:8). This "dwelling" must be two-fold: God in us, and we in
God. This involves keeping His commandments (Joh 14:10). If we enter God's
"house" through Christ (the "way": v 6), then God will enter us, and we will be
His "house"!
Holy Spirit, means of inspiration: Joh 2:22; 12:16; 13:7;
16:4.
"These words are specially valuable because they give us a
firm assurance that the four gospels are true, accurate and dependable records
of what our Lord said and did. Those who wrote had the special help of perfect
memories and a better understanding of everything concerning Christ, in just the
same way that Old Testament prophets were 'moved by the Holy Spirit' "
(WGHS).
Joh 14:27
Peace: made (Col 1:20), preached (Eph 2:17), enjoyed (Rom
5:1), filling hearts (Rom 15:13), given (John 14:27), keeping (Phi 4:7), and
ruling (Col 3:15).
PEACE: Not the absence of conflict, but the ability to
cope with it spiritually. See Gal 5:22; Rom 5:1.
AS THE WORLD GIVES: That is, "Peace", or "Shalom" as a
common (and perhaps thoughtless) greeting among Jews.
DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED: "There is comfort
in the confident words of a strong man: and there is assurance in the counsel,
'Let not your hearts be troubled.' But Jesus goes further and tells them how
they might overcome their troubled thoughts. There was a foundation for peace in
human lives, away from which there is only unrest and disquiet. The foundation
was faith; faith in God, and then faith in him. The disciples had faith -- but
it needed to be fostered and strengthened. Belief in God must be accompanied by
belief in him, the coupling together of God and himself as the objects of faith
carrying an implicit claim that his words and his counsel had divine authority.
The words had great value then, but their importance would increase as the days
passed by and they took his gospel to the world and found opposition and
difficulty such as he had encountered. The memory of his words, spoken during
the crisis of his life, would nerve them to endure with fortitude and courage.
They have not lost their value yet. In the midst of difficulty, and in a world
that has ceased to believe, when doubt and despair stalk hand in hand, the man
of faith can still hear the words of Jesus, and believing find heart's ease"
(CJo 153,154).
Joh 14:30
THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD: Ref religious leaders of
Israel -- "archon" in Joh 3:1; 7:26,48; 12:31,42; 14:30; 16:11 -- whose offices
would be effectively ended by the sacrifice/resur of Christ (Joh 12:32).
Caiaphas, the pseudo-high-priest -- and the entire corrupt system over which he
presided! Was Caiaphas (or his agent) also the "Satan" of the wilderness
temptation (Mat 4:1-11; Mar 1:13; Luk 4:1-13)? Cp also the "devil" of Joh 13:2
and the "Satan" of Joh 13:27.
NO HOLD ON ME: Or "no power over me": cp Jesus' words
to Pilate in Joh 19:11.
Joh 14:31
...Now they leave the Upper Room and make their way, through
the dark streets of Jerusalem, to Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives... (Joh
18:1).