John 14:19-31 | More Departure Promises

John 14:19-31
More Departure Promises

I. Introduction

1. Jesus continues to highlight departing promises.
2. These promises cannot be understood and realized apart from the cross, His resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
3. The promises given in the following verses are all game changers.
4. They impact how life is to be lived and what the believer’s experience should be like.

II. v. 19a Promise of seeing Jesus.

¹⁹ “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.^[1]

1. Jesus’ earthly ministry is coming to an end, and the world will no longer have the privilege of seeing Him.
2. His disciples and a few hundred others would have the incredible privilege of seeing Him in His risen state.
3. In a much broader sense, all disciples can enjoy the privilege of communion with the risen Lord.
4. The writer of Hebrews speaks of having sight of the Lord.
   
   Hebrews 12:14 ¹⁴ Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
   
   1. Obedient living keeps our sight of the Lord in focus.
   2. Our clear vision of the Lord in our lives is obscured by carnal living.

III. v. 19b Promise of life.

¹⁹“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.

1. Jesus’ whole mission was to ransom mankind from its spiritually dead state.
2. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection assure us of this eternal life.
3. There is no hope of life outside of Jesus.
   
   Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
   
4. Are you living with the hope of life eternal?

IV. v. 20 Promise of unity.

²⁰At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

1. When Jesus rose from the dead, the unity between Jesus and the Father would be understood on a level that the disciples had previously found difficult to grasp.
2. The new life we have in Jesus is one of incredible unity.
   1. The unity of the Father and Son has a level of equality we can assign to that union that should never be inferred by the statement of unity given for the believer and Jesus.
3. This life is to be understood in the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives.
4. We are in Jesus as those who love and obey Him.
   1. We are in Jesus as the means of the one who justifies us.
   2. “The believer is in Christ in the sense that he stands before God in all the merit of the Person and work of Christ.”^[2]
   3. We are not finding our way; He is our way.
   4. We are not looking for a purpose to live for because He is the priority of our lives.
   5. What a joy it is to be in (all about) Jesus.

V. vv. 21-24 Promise of love and revelation.

²¹He 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.

1. v. 22 Judas inquires about such a revelation.
   
   ²²Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
   
   1. Manifest – ἐμφανίζω emphanízō.
      1. 1718. ἐμφανίζω emphanízō…of a person, to manifest oneself, meaning to let oneself be intimately known and understood (John 14:21, 22; Sept.: Ex. 33:13).^[3]
      2. Jesus is speaking about his self-revelation in believers when he and the Father come to reside in them.^[4]
      3. This verb means to cause something to be fully known by revealing it clearly and in some detail [LN]. It is used figuratively here to indicate what transpires within one’s soul [BAGD, Gdt].^[5]
   2. Judas was thinking in terms of an earthly kingdom being established.
      1. Jesus said it would be His disciples who would have a revelation of Him and His Father.
      2. This led Thomas to inquire about the promises in the Old Testament that declare the Messiah would be a well-known ruler over the world.
      3. This will happen at Christ’s Second Coming.
   3. Commentators are divided as to whether Jesus is referring to a manifestation after His resurrection (Köstenberger) or a disclosure by the Spirit after His ascension (Lenski, Hendriksen). Others (Carson) hold that both views are correct.
   4. It seems to me that Jesus was referring to the fellowship that would be enjoyed through an abiding relationship with God.
   5. The whole chapter is written about what will happen when the Spirit comes to minister to us.
2. v. 23 This fellowship is promised to those who love Him.
   
   ²³Jesus 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.
   
   1. Fellowship and revelation with Jesus and the Father are inseparably connected with obedience.
   2. Today, many speak of having fellowship with God, but they do not obey.
   3. They claim to have a superior revelation that allows them to disobey Scripture because He is all about love.
   4. God extended unconditional love to all of mankind by sending His Son. Yet, this love expressed in the gospel must be believed, and we must confess Him as Lord.
   5. Jesus made it plain that He is not our Lord if we live in decided rebellion.
      
      Luke 6:46–49 ⁴⁶ “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
      
3. v. 24 Love of God is measured by our obedience to His words.
   
   ²⁴ 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.
   
   1. John addresses this lie in his first letter.
      
      1 John 2:3–6 ³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
      
4. Obeying Jesus is to be like Jesus.
   1. Why would anyone not want to be like Jesus?
   2. Those who refuse to affirm the beauty of obedience and holiness are those who do not love Jesus.

VI. vv. 25-26 A promise of instruction.

²⁵“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. ²⁶But 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.

1. Some of what He was sharing with them now would not be fully realized until the events took place.
2. The Holy Spirit would help to bring this message and the truth to their understanding.
3. John would later write that the Holy Spirit teaches us everything.
   
   1 John 2:27 (NLT) ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
   
   
4. While we can benefit from gifted teachers, we must all learn to be taught by the Holy Spirit.
   1. An often-mentioned result of having been filled with the Holy Spirit is the hunger and insight into Scripture that the believer experiences.
   2. We must read the Word of God, asking the Lord to give us insight and direction.
   3. Far too often, Scripture is read for information or out of hollow devotion.
   4. What is needed is to read, looking for God to teach you and lead you.

VII. vv. 27-28 A promise of peace.

 ²⁷Peace 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. ²⁸ 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.

1. Jesus gives peace.
   1. Peace – εἰρήνη eirēnē
      1. This noun denotes a state of freedom from anxiety and inner turmoil [Gdt, LN].^[6]
      2. This word does not indicate the absence of warfare or inner emotional tension [AB, NICNT1, TH]. It is not cessation of hostilities with one’s enemies but the gift of calmness and trust that results from union with God [IVP].^[7]
      3. The world may offer peace in the sense of absence of conflict, but his peace was a quietness in their hearts despite persecution and outward circumstances [BECNT, NICNT2].^[8]
   2. Christ’s departure speaks of fellowship, love, and peace, NOT fear.
   3. The peace of Jesus is real and very tangible.
   4. However, our minds must rest on Him.
   5. Every believer has peace WITH God, but far too many do not know the peace OF God.
2. The disciples should have rejoiced at Jesus’ departing to the Father.

VIII. vv. 29-31 Jesus was committed to the work of redemption.

²⁹“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. ³⁰I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. ³¹But 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.

1. Even as Jesus informed them of the troubling circumstances that would arise, we should be aware that we were promised trials, persecution, and rejection. 
2. Today, we know that Jesus loves the Father by obeying the command to drink the cup of Calvary’s judgment.
3. Jesus was prepared for that difficulty and pressed forward with great determination as He says, “Arise, let us go from here.”

IX. Conclusion

1. Many of the promises we studied in this passage are the direct result of the Spirit’s work in our lives.
2. Fellowship, peace, and spiritual understanding are all works of the Holy Spirit.
3. The Lord has sent His Spirit to be in us and upon us.
4. The believer will never know the fullness and beauty of their salvation if they do not walk in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

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^[1] All Scripture quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

^[2] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1547.

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[4] Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985), 1246.

^[5] Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2018), 229.

^[6] Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2018), 235.

^[7] Ibid. 235.

^[8] Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, 237.