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John 14

1

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

2

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

1
4

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6

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

7

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

1
8

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

1
10

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.

11

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14

If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the 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.

18

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

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 manifest myself to him.

22

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

23

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

25

These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27

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.

1
28

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 greater than I.

29

And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

30

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

31

But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

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John 14

Jesus comforts the troubled disciples with the promise "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me," establishing his exclusive mediation and the unity of path, reality, and vitality in the incarnate Word. When Philip asks to see the Father, Jesus responds with astonishment that they have been with him so long without understanding: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father," asserting that complete knowledge of God is found in beholding and trusting Jesus himself. Jesus promises to send the Paraclete (Parakletos), the Spirit of truth, another Advocate after his departure, who will teach the disciples all things and remind them of everything Jesus has said. The Paraclete will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment: sin because they do not believe in Jesus, righteousness because Jesus goes to the Father and they see him no more, and judgment because the ruler of this world stands condemned. Jesus assures the disciples: "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," a peace rooted in the future reunion with the Father and the indwelling of the Spirit. The chapter emphasizes that the believers' obedience to Jesus' commandments becomes the expression of love (agapao) for him, and promises that those who believe in Jesus will do the works that he does, and greater works, because he is going to the Father and will grant what they ask in his name.

John 14:21

They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them — love is proven through obedience; those who claim to love Jesus but do not keep his commandments deceive themselves. Yet obedience is not servile but flowing from love, and it creates a reciprocal relationship: the disciples are loved by the Father and by Jesus himself, and to them Jesus reveals himself fully. The revelation (emphanizō—make visible, make plain) comes to those whose lives are aligned with Jesus through obedience and love.

John 14:1

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me — Jesus addresses the turmoil that has seized the disciples with the imminent knowledge of his departure; his command (mē tarassesthe—let not your hearts be troubled) is not to suppress emotion but to reorient trust away from circumstance toward the person of God and Jesus himself. The dual imperative—believe in God and believe in me—shows that faith in Jesus is inseparable from faith in God; to trust him is to trust the Father who sent him. This is the paradox of faith: in the face of abandonment and death, the disciples are called not to deny reality but to trust the transcendent reality that encompasses and transforms it.

John 14:2

In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you — the metaphor of the Father's house with many rooms (monai—dwelling places, permanent abodes, not merely rooms but homes) promises that the separation wrought by death is not permanent, that there is an ultimate destination where Jesus goes to prepare space for his beloved. The conditional "if it were not so, I would have told you" is a solemn oath-formula affirming the reality of this promise; Jesus would not deceive them about so fundamental a matter. The image of preparation speaks to Jesus' redemptive work: he goes before them to make the way, to sanctify it, to open it.

John 14:3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also — the promise is not merely of a distant hope but of Jesus' return (parousia) to gather his own into his presence; the separation is not final but penultimate. The phrase "take you to myself" suggests an intimate gathering, a bride-like union with the bridegroom; the disciples will not be orphaned but will dwell where Jesus dwells. This is the ultimate promise of John's Gospel: the communion begun in the incarnation will be consummated in resurrection and eternal dwelling together.

John 14:4

And you know the way to the place where I am going — the Johannine irony is sharp here: Jesus says the disciples know the way, yet the very next verse Peter will ask where Jesus is going; the disciples do not know, yet they know in a deeper sense through their abiding relationship with Jesus. The way is not a map but a person, not a route but a relationship; to know the way is to know Jesus, to follow him, to entrust oneself to his guidance. The disciples' knowledge is implicit in their faith, even if not yet explicit in their understanding.

John 14:5

Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' — Thomas, the doubter and realist, voices the disciples' honest confusion; they cannot follow Jesus to a destination they cannot locate or comprehend. His question is not skepticism alone but the cry of one who needs clarity, who cannot rest in vague assurances. Thomas becomes the voice of human bewilderment before the infinite mystery of God; his question is not rebuked but answered, transformed by Jesus' response into a revelation.

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' — the triple affirmation is the highest Christological statement in the Gospel: Jesus identifies himself not with doctrinal propositions about God but with the fundamental realities of human existence and divine reality. The way (hodos) is the path and the journey itself; the truth (alētheia) is reality revealed, the unveiling of what is hidden; the life (zōē) is existence transformed and eternal. These three encompass every human longing: for direction, for meaning, for vitality. The exclusive claim—"no one comes to the Father except through me"—is not triumphalism but the inevitable consequence of incarnation: if Jesus is God become flesh, then encounter with the divine must come through him.

John 14:7

If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him — Jesus shifts from future to present tense: knowledge of the Father is not merely prospective but available now, in the present reality of Jesus' presence. To know Jesus is to know the Father not as a separate achievement but as the inevitable consequence of genuine encounter with him; the two are inseparably united in person and purpose. The claim that they have "seen" the Father is astonishing; yet in seeing Jesus they have seen the Father's character, compassion, and commitment to redemptive love.

John 14:8

Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied' — Philip's request voices the deepest human longing: to see God directly, to have unmediated encounter with the divine. His plea "and we will be satisfied" reflects the Psalmist's yearning (as in Psalm 42:2, my soul thirsts for God) to be satisfied in God's presence. Yet Philip does not realize that the Father has been shown, that the request has already been answered in Jesus' very presence; Philip looks for God elsewhere when God stands before him.

John 14:9

Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"?' — the rebuke is gentle but firm: all the signs, all the teachings, all the intimate presence Jesus has offered have not penetrated to true knowing. The radical claim—"whoever has seen me has seen the Father"—is not merely mystical poetry but the fundamental assertion of Johannine Christology: in Jesus, the invisible God becomes visible; the eternal Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. To ask to see the Father while looking upon Jesus is the ultimate blindness, a refusal to see what stands before one's eyes.

John 14:10

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works through me — the mutual indwelling of Father and Son (en tō patri—in the Father, en emoi—in me) is the heart of Jesus' identity and mission; he is not a messenger reporting God's words but the very presence of God's creative and redemptive action in human form. The words Jesus speaks and the works he performs are not his own achievement but the Father's activity mediated through him; he is the transparent medium through which God's love operates in the world.

John 14:11

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or else believe me because of the works themselves — Jesus offers two grounds for faith: the mystical reality of mutual indwelling, and the empirical evidence of redemptive works (healings, resurrections, casting out of demons) that cannot be explained except through divine agency. Neither ground is merely rational; both require a leap of faith. Yet the works provide a kind of rational foothold for faith—they demonstrate that something transcendent is at work, that God's power flows through Jesus into the world.

John 14:12

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father — this is perhaps John's most stunning promise: believers will do Jesus' works, and even greater ones. The greatness of the works believers will do flows from Jesus' ascension (because I am going to the Father); once Jesus returns to the Father, he is no longer geographically localized but universally present through the Spirit in all believers. The works in view are not merely miracles but the gathering of disciples, the transformation of hearts, the building of communities of love that spread across the world.

John 14:13

Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son — the promise of prayer is vast and conditional: asked in Jesus' name means asked in accordance with his nature, character, and redemptive purpose; it is not a blank check but a transformation of desire itself such that what is asked mirrors what Jesus would ask. The purpose is clarified: all prayer, all fulfillment of requests, aims ultimately at the Father's glorification through the Son. Prayer in Jesus' name is prayer aligned with God's redemptive project in the world, prayer that becomes an instrument of God's glory.

John 14:14

If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it — the repetition and variation emphasize the reality and accessibility of this promise; prayer offered in Jesus' name is prayer heard and answered by Jesus himself. The intimacy is extraordinary: the disciples are invited to bring their deepest needs directly to the ascended Christ, to stake their lives on his promise to act. This is not a promise of magical wish-fulfillment but of participation in Jesus' ongoing work in the world.

John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commandments — Jesus grounds obedience not in fear or duty but in love; to keep his commandments is the expression and proof of love for him. The commandments (entolas) are not arbitrary rules but the expression of God's character and purpose; to obey them is to align oneself with the divine will. Love and obedience are inseparable; faith without works is dead, and works divorced from love are sterile.

John 14:16

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever — this is the first explicit promise of the Paraclete (paraklētos—advocate, helper, counselor, Spirit of truth). The word "another" (allos) indicates that this Advocate is a different person than Jesus but of the same type and function; just as Jesus has been advocate and paraclete to the disciples, so the Spirit will be their ongoing advocate after Jesus' departure. The promise "to be with you forever" transforms what might be permanent loss into permanent presence through the Spirit.

John 14:17

This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, because he abides with you and will be in you — the Paraclete is identified as the Spirit of truth, the one who leads into all truth and reveals the reality of God. The world cannot receive this Spirit because worldliness is fundamentally blind, unable to perceive transcendent reality; the world's perceptual apparatus is closed to truth. Yet the disciples already know the Spirit through Jesus' presence with them (abides with you—present tense) and will come to know him more deeply when the Spirit will be "in" them (future tense). The trajectory moves from external presence to internal indwelling.

John 14:18

I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you — the comfort here is profound: though Jesus departs in death, the disciples will not be left as orphans (orphanous—parentless, bereft, abandoned). The promise "I am coming to you" is multivalent: it refers to the resurrection appearances, to Jesus' return, and to his presence through the Spirit. No departure is truly departure; love creates a bond that death cannot sever.

John 14:19

In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live — Jesus speaks of two-sided seeing: the world loses him (crucifixion, ascension), but the disciples will continue to see him through resurrection appearances and through faith empowered by the Spirit. The ground of the disciples' future life ("you also will live") is Jesus' own resurrection life; they are not orphaned because they participate in the resurrection that conquers death. To see the risen Jesus is to enter into resurrection life.

John 14:20

On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you — the eschatological "that day" (referring to the post-resurrection appearances and ultimately to the full revelation at the end) brings complete mutual indwelling: Jesus is in the Father, the disciples are in Jesus, and Jesus is in the disciples. This is the consummation of union; the isolation created by death is overcome through a communion that encompasses all relationships—the disciples with Jesus, Jesus with the Father. This is the goal of salvation: not escape from the world but transformation into divine communion.

John 14:22

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, 'Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?' — this is Judas the son of James (or perhaps Jude), one of the twelve, distinct from Judas Iscariot who has departed. His question probes the selectivity of Jesus' self-revelation: why will Jesus reveal himself to the disciples but not to the world? The question assumes that a genuine revelation to Jesus would be universal and incontrovertible; yet John insists that revelation requires receptivity, faith, love—precisely what the world, locked in its opposition to God, cannot offer.

John 14:23

Jesus answered, 'Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will make our home with them' — the answer moves from the individual to the communal: those who love Jesus and keep his word become the dwelling place of Father and Son. The promise "we will make our home with them" (poiēsomen monēn) echoes the earlier promise that the Father's house has many rooms; now Jesus reveals that the disciples' hearts, kept and transformed by obedience and love, become the Father's dwelling. God's ultimate home is not a distant heaven but the hearts of those who love Jesus.

John 14:24

Those who do not love me do not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me — the contrast is stark: those who do not love Jesus do not keep his words, and thus do not receive the word of the Father. The disowning of Jesus' words is fundamentally a rejection of the Father's word; they cannot be separated. Yet those who receive Jesus' word receive it not as human teaching but as divine utterance, the very word of God.

John 14:25

I have said these things to you while I am still with you — Jesus marks a transition: the teaching he has given is all offered in his presence, while he still walks visibly with the disciples. This present moment of presence and instruction is temporary; it will end with the cross, yet the content of his teaching will remain and will be made more intelligible through the Spirit.

John 14:26

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you — the Spirit is described with three prepositional phrases: sent by the Father (from God), sent in Jesus' name (representing Jesus), and will teach all things (continuing Jesus' pedagogical work). The function of the Spirit is both teaching (didaskō—instruct, form) and reminding (hypomneō—bring to remembrance); the Spirit does not introduce new doctrines but deepens understanding of Jesus' words, making their meaning progressively more luminous and applicable to new situations.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid — Jesus bequeaths his peace (eirēnē), not as the world understands it (as absence of conflict) but as the fruit of reconciliation with God, of being rightly related to the divine. The peace Jesus gives transcends circumstance; even in persecution and death, this peace persists. The repetition of the command not to be troubled echoes the opening of the discourse; peace is not passive but a kind of active trust that persists through terror.

John 14:28

You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I — this is the hardest statement in the discourse: the Father is greater than Jesus. This appears to undermine Jesus' divinity, yet its meaning is precise: in his incarnate state, Jesus has freely chosen to limit his divine prerogatives and place himself in obedience to the Father's will. The disciples are called to rejoice in this subordination because it is the expression of Jesus' love—he goes to the Father to complete the work of redemption and to prepare the way for the disciples.

John 14:29

And now I have told you this before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe — Jesus' foreknowledge becomes the ground of post-resurrection faith: when the disciples recall these words after witnessing the crucifixion and resurrection, their faith will be strengthened by the realization that Jesus predicted all of this, that he was not surprised or defeated by events. The foreknowing Jesus reveals that history unfolds not by accident but according to divine purpose.

John 14:30

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me — Jesus announces that his time is running out; the ruler of this world (ho archōn tou kosmou—the Devil, Satan, the cosmic force opposed to God) is approaching. Yet the affirmation "he has no power over me" is startling: the devil cannot compel Jesus' actions; Jesus' death is not imposed but freely chosen, an act of love rather than a defeat. The cross does not represent Satan's victory but his ultimate exposure and limitation.

John 14:31

But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way — Jesus' final act of obedience is his crucifixion; in dying for the world, he obeys the Father and simultaneously manifests his love for the Father. The command "Rise, let us be on our way" indicates the movement toward the Passover meal's end and the journey to Gethsemane; the discourse continues through chapters 15 and 16, but this verse marks a thematic closing of chapter 14.