“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” John 14:19-20.
Jesus’ generation is the only one in which men have actually physically rubbed shoulders with God the Son, seen His works and heard His voice. This will cease shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life…” 1 John 1:1.
“…but you will see Me”, after His resurrection the Lord was seen by over five hundred believers at one time; see 1 Corinthians 15:6. So this was literally true.
However, more importantly He meant by this that through the coming of the Holy Spirit that Christ would be revealed within the heart of all those who accept Him as their savior, including the disciples.
“Because I live, you will live also.” This is the Christian’s hope, Jesus rose from the dead; that means we will rise from the dead.
No other religion has a savior who rose from the dead. All of them fell into oblivion; death’s grasp is final and permanent.
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” Hebrews 9:27.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11.
“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” John 14:20.
The reference here is to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Through the teaching of the Spirit, the disciples will begin to more fully understand the relationship of Christ to the Father, revealing the mystery of the union between God the Father and God the Son.
“…you in Me, and I in you.” The disciples will at that time see that Jesus had not left them orphans but had come to dwell within their hearts, as He does with all believers.
The difference between Jesus being with them physically and in the Spirit, is that within every believer there is the presence of Christ at all times, rather than being separated from Him or having to wait their turn for His attention to their questions or anxieties.
While each of us may desire to talk to Jesus face to face, such thinking denies that we really believe that He dwells within us.
Jesus speaks to every one of His children. It is not He who needs to speak to us; it is we who need to learn how to listen.
“…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” John 14:21.
Like any child who loves their parents, they want to please them, and while their obedience may be imperfect, the desire is there and the feeling of remorse when they disobey is heartfelt.
Obedience to parents is driven by love for them, not fear. It is the same with the true Christian, following the commandments of Christ do not come by rote they come from the heart filled with love for Him.
Like anything though, our love for Christ may differ from Christian to Christian.
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47.
The woman spoken of here was a known sinner who came to where Jesus was dining and washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
So great was the knowledge of her sin and the depth of her despair that when she was forgiven, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her and her love for the One who did it filled her heart and her life.
Unfortunately there are many Christians who do not know how great was the stench of their sins and how close they came to an eternity in the lake of fire.
This lack of truly understanding the weight of sin does not create a strong love for the One who saved them. Still saved, but unproductive, much less so than they would be if they could peer into the abyss they were rescued from stepping into.
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” 1 John 2:3-5.
“And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest [show] Myself to him.” John 14:21b.
God loves all of us whether Christian or not, the Scriptures tell us that.
“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8.
However, there is a special relationship for those in Christ because we become children of God by adoption made possible by the shed blood of Christ.
So the child in relation to the stranger is given preference over him. We may love the stranger who comes to our door seeking food, but we are not likely to take our children’s food and give it to him. Nor would we be more likely to lend a stranger 200 dollars than we would be to give it to our children.
There is even less reason to expect special treatment for those who have trodden underfoot the blood of God’s precious Son. Love them, yes, special treatment for men in rebellion against God, no. Why reward evil?
“Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’” John 14:22.
The disciples are still unaware that the Lord is about to die and is speaking of the Holy Spirit whom they will receive on Pentecost, some fifty plus days away.
Notice that the Lord does not answer the question directly, but speaks of the Holy Spirit, which is what He has been talking about all along.
“Jesus 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 home with him.’” John 14:23.
Here again is the wonderful promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for those who love the Lord. Take particular notice of the fact that the Father and the Son make their home with the believer. The entire Godhead dwells in the believer through the Holy Spirit.
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:8-10.
The following verses give Jesus’ answer to Judas question, “…how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
“He 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.” John 14:24.
The Lord will show Himself to the disciples and all who are saved, through the Holy Spirit’s revelations to them. As you can see here, those who do not love the Lord do not keep His sayings, and as a result they are those who reject Christ as payment for their sin.
Since these words are not Christ’s but the Father’s words; they are rejecting the Father too. Let no one say, “I believe in God,” while rejecting Christ’s sacrifice for them, because they are rejecting both.
“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 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 things that I said to you.” John 14:25-26.
Here we can plainly see that Jesus is anticipating His imminent departure, “…while being present with you”, while the words are veiled to them now, they will become plain after the Lord’s resurrection from the dead.
Another reason He is telling them all these things at this time is given in verse 29, “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”
When the Lord was crucified there can be no doubt that the disciples fell into despair.
The Holy Spirit is referred to by many names such as the Helper, Comforter, Paraclete (One called alongside), Advocate, and Spirit of truth.
The Spirit has many functions, He testifies, teaches, reminds, guides, convinces, speaks, hears, and prophesies.
He will also, “…bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” showing us how the disciples could remember in such detail Christ’s words and confirming that the gospels were dictated by the Holy Spirit to the writers.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27.
Once more the Lord is preparing the disciples for the horrors that lay ahead, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Still, these words are not just for the disciples, they are for all of us, “My peace I give to you”, we make a mistake when we suffer alone without taking our troubles to the Lord in prayer, enabling our Advocate, our Comforter to take action to bring us through the dismal straits and back to a place of peace.
“You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father’, for My Father is greater than I.” John 14:28.
Cults like to grab onto this last phrase and say that this is proof that Jesus is inferior to God the Father. The only thing this proves is that they are not very good at reading Scripture.
It is true, as a man on earth the Father was greater than the Son, but that is true only of the position Jesus took on earth.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels…” Psalm 8:4-5a.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8.
“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:12-14.
“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world, is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.” John 14:29-31.
The ruler of this world is Satan and he had nothing with which to convict Christ with because He had led a sinless life. For this reason while the devil was allowed to kill Jesus he was not able to hold Him.
Jesus Christ’s resurrection is proof that God had accepted His sacrifice on the cross and that our sins would be wiped out through faith in Jesus.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15.
“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” 1 John 3:5.
“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:12-14.
Some commentators feel that Jesus and the disciples left the upper room after He said, “Arise, let us go from here.” After which the Lord’s words in John 15 through 18 were spoken as they walked through the city
It is possible that the words, “Arise, let us go from here.” were not immediately followed out because His instructions continue for three more chapters before it is stated.
“When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.” John 18:1.
The following account is similar in both Matthew and Mark and show part of the sequence of events before they left the upper room.
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’ And when they had sung a Hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Mark 14: 22-26.
See also Matthew 26:17-30, and Luke 22:13-39 for more information.
This last Passover, this solemn occasion happened without any of the disciples understanding the turmoil that was just hours away.
Because I Live, John 14:19-31 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 4-8-13, updated on 2-8-18.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.