22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 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.” – John 14:22-31 ESV
The disciples were good men. They legitimately loved Jesus and, over the last three years of living with and listening to Him, they had come to believe that He was the Messiah. But their synagogue-sponsored religious education as boys had not prepared them for what they were hearing from the lips of Jesus. Their concept regarding the Messiah was being turned on its head. All of Jesus’ talk about His pending death at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders was disturbing because it made no sense. When the long-awaited Messiah finally appeared on the scene, He was supposed to be welcome as a King and the Savior of His downtrodden and oppressed people. And when Jesus had entered into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13 ESV), the disciples must have ecstatic. Their King had come. And they had assumed that, as His faithful disciples, they would be part of the Messiah’s royal retinue.
But within hours, their joy had turned to sorrow and confusion. At their celebration of the Passover, Jesus had announced the news that one of them would betray Him. Peter had been informed that he would end up denying Jesus. Their newly announced King had begun talking about being “lifted up” and even leaving them. And His repeated calls for them to believe in Him must have come across as an indictment of their faith. Was He questioning their commitment to Him? Did He doubt their love for Him?
And their growing confusion and concern are evident in the words of one of His lesser-known disciples, who was also named Judas.
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” – John 14:22 NLT
His question was in response to Jesus’ earlier statement: “Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me” (John 14:19 NLT). He was perplexed by Jesus’ words because he believed that when the Messiah came, He would reveal Himself to every nation on earth. The Messiah’s coming would have worldwide significance.
He was thoroughly confused by all of Jesus’ talk about leaving and appearing. He was hung up on all the references about going, coming, disappearing, and revealing. But rather than answer Judas’ question, Jesus returned to the subject of loving and obeying.
“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.” – John 14:23-24 NLT
Jesus is narrowing the playing field. While Judas is thinking globally and has an image in his mind of a Messianic Kingdom with worldwide implications, Jesus is focused on the flock that had been given to Him by God. In His role as the Good Shepherd, Jesus was committed to caring for those whom the Father had called and for whom He had come to die.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” – John 10:14-16 ESV
It is interesting to note that this question came from a man named Judas. The other disciple who shared that same name had just departed the upper room, under the direct influence of Satan himself, and was in the process of preparing to betray Jesus. But this Judas, while struggling with understanding all that was happening, was still by Jesus’ side. And like his fellow disciples, Judas was being called by Jesus to continue believing. Jesus was encouraging them to trust Him in spite of all the questions they wanted to ask Him. And He reminded them that His words were not His own. He was not making this stuff up, but everything He was telling them was directly from God the Father.
“And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.” – John 14:24 NLT
And while Jesus knew they were having a difficult time accepting what He had to say, He assured them that the day would come when it would all make sense to them.
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” – John 14:26 NLT
When the Holy Spirit came, He would clear up any remaining confusion by providing the disciples with a divine enablement to recall and comprehend all that Jesus had ever said to them. The “comforter” would become their instructor. And Jesus describes this coming ministry of the Holy Spirit as a “gift.”
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John 14:27 NLT
Yes, for the moment, Judas and his friends were wrestling doubt and fear. But if they would keep believing and trusting, they would eventually experience an overwhelming sense of peace when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in them and began to minister to them. Jesus was leaving, but He was not going to leave them alone or empty-handed. He was going to leave them with a parting gift – the Holy Spirit of God – who would come alongside them, providing them with power, insight, and the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
One of the most difficult things the disciples would have to do was to believe and wait. Jesus expected them to trust Him. But that was going to require that they remember all that He had said to them while their whole world seemed to collapse around them.
“Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.” – John 14:28-29 NLT
The day was coming when the proverbial light would come on and they would see with a new Spirit-induced clarity. All the pieces would come together. The clouds of confusion would pass away and be replaced with a faith-building, belief-stirring sense of understanding of everything. And as John penned the words of his gospel, he was doing so from the other side of the cross. He had experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. His eyes had been opened and all the cryptic-sounding, mind-numbing messages of Jesus had suddenly made sense. All the miracles and messages of Jesus had taken on a whole new meaning. As a result, John’s belief in Jesus had grown exponentially. And as John reflected back on all that He had seen and heard, He couldn’t help but tell others of the glories of Jesus, the Son of God.
We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. – 1 John 1:1-4 NLT
But Jesus, knowing that the time for His death was fast-approaching, abruptly ended His farewell discourse and set His mind on the task at hand.
“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.” – John 14:30-31 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
