EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL NOTES
John 14:15. Keep My commandment.—“Ask in My name. Keep My,” etc. These go together. We can only truly pray in His name when we keep, etc.
John 14:16. ἐγὼ ἐρωτήσω.—The pronoun is emphatic. The verb ἐρωτᾶν is that especially used by our Lord in reference to His prayers to the Father (John 16:26; John 17:9; John 15:20). It expresses perhaps a greater degree of nearness and familiarity of approach than αἰτέω, I ask. ἄλλον Παράκλητον, κ.τ.λ. another Comforter.—The classical meaning of the word is certainly advocate. It is used of our Lord Himself in this sense in 1 John 2:1. “Its passive form by all analogous words will not justify here an active or transitive sense, but means ‘one called to the side of another,’ with the secondary sense of helping, consoling, counselling, or aiding him” (Dr. Reynolds). In this sense it was taken over in its legal, technical sense into Talmudic Hebrew (Watkins). But surely a term like this must be interpreted here in a large sense, and not confined to its strictly technical meaning. When He who is called to be the advocate of God’s people is Christ Himself or the Holy Spirit, His advocacy will have far-reaching consequences, subjective as well as objective. Therefore Bishop Wordsworth (Greek Testament) is justified in his contention that “The word is one of large acceptation. And it was probably chosen for that reason, as best signifying the manifold gifts and offices of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 12:3-10), as the Sanctifier, Teacher, Comforter, Exhorter, Remembrancer, Inspirer, Enlightener, Counsellor, Guide, Helper, and Advocate of the Church.”
John 14:17. Shall be in you.—Not it in you (ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστί). The meaning is, He abides now, and shall continue to abide. The Spirit of Truth.—In that He prepares the heart to receive the truth (John 3:6-8), and then makes known first of all that most important truth, Christ, and the things of Christ. The world cannot receive Him because of the want of this special preparation. “Worldly hearts desire what is visible, and the world does not rise to the love of what is invisible; therefore the world cannot receive Him” (Augustine in Wordsworth’s Greek Testament). Not seen Him, etc.—Neither recognise the external nor the internal manifestations of His power.
John 14:18. ὀρφανοὺς.—יתָוֹם fatherless, orphans. He had spoken of them (John 13:33) as little children (τεκνία). I return to you … ye see Me.—This refers not only to His appearance in resurrection glory, but to His coming spiritually in sending the Paraclete, and the whole chain of His comings until the parousia, when “every eye shall see Him.”
John 14:19. For I live, and ye shall live (ὅτι ἐγὼ ζῶ, καὶ ὑμεῖς ζήσεσθε).—The future here simply points out the effect of Christ conquering death (John 11:25-26; also 1 John 5:11-13).
John 14:22. Judas (Lebbæus, Thaddæus: Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18).— Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13. Thus carefully distinguished from Judas Iscariot. The question of Judas is founded on the words in John 14:21, ἐμφανίσω κ.τ.λ., “I shall manifest Myself unto him.” Judas is surprised. Was not Messiah to manifest His glory to the world?
John 14:23. Jesus shows that this manifestation is spiritual; and the condition on which it rests is the prepared heart filled with love to Him. We will come unto Him, etc.— Revelation 3:20.
John 14:27. Peace, etc.—This reminds us of the common Eastern greeting, שָׁלוֹם לָךְ—שָׁלוֹם לָכִם, Peace be with thee—you.
John 14:28. My Father is greater, etc.—In what sense are we to take these words? Surely, after the claim of the prologue (John 1:1-4), only in the sense of the voluntary humiliation of the Son—His emptying Himself, taking upon Him the form of a servant, etc. (Philippians 2:5-8). He subordinated Himself, became obedient unto death for the purposes of redemption. The words would be meaningless unless Jesus claimed to be God. “This has for its presupposition the essential divinity of the Son; for there would be no sense in speaking thus of a mere man” (Luthardt). Ye would rejoice that My humiliation is now well-nigh past, and that I am again to take My full glory, and to carry with Me the body of My humiliation into that glory, the pledge of your final glorification.
John 14:30. I will not continue to talk much with you.—The time for teaching was well-nigh past. A more awful duty and passion lay before Him. The prince of this world “was the regular rabbinic title for Satan, whom they regarded as the ruler of the Gentiles” (Watkins). See Ephesians 2:1-9 for the gospel view. But he is now to be conquered, for he can find nothing in Christ—no sin, no flaw, no weakness, etc.
John 14:31. Why then did our Lord submit so far as to die? “Death in Him was not the penalty of sin, but a gift of mercy to us, that He might free us from eternal death” (Augustine in Wordsworth). His action in submitting to the attack of the power of darkness for a time was entirely voluntary, and borne for the sake of men. But this voluntary obedience shows the world His love to the Father, who out of love to a perishing world sent Him to suffer and die. It is all the expression of eternal love. Arise, etc.—They prepared to take their way to the Mount of Olives.
John 14:8-21. The request of Philip and the response of Jesus.—Philip, catching at the word ἑωράκατε (seen), misapprehended its meaning, and thought of some theophany, some manifestation of the glory of God. This would suffice them, would remove their anxiety.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— John 14:15-31
John 14:15-17. Love and obedience.—What is the ruling power in the lives of too many professed disciples? What always determines the will and quickens the hand in the way of life? Is it love to Christ? or is it not too often some form of self-love? If it is love to Christ, then it will prove itself to be so by the test Christ here gives—those who love Him will keep His commandments.
I. How reasonable it is for Christians to love Christ.—
1. We love our friends because of some excellency or beauty of character or disposition which they display, or for some reason of gratitude because of what they have done for us. Many have friends whom to know better is to love more, as the character opens out and displays new excellencies and traits—deep springs of affection, beautiful blossoms of simplicity and goodness—the ripe fruit of wisdom and experience, the silent ministries of love.
2. So too the disinterested patriot, the pure, brave, unselfish deliverer of his people, the self-sacrificing pioneer of life, light, liberty, etc., to oppressed and degraded tribes, win the esteem and affection of all good men, who gladly aid them in their noble endeavours.
3. Now how infinitely more should we love the Redeemer when we remember what He is and what He has done! Who can be compared to Him, the “chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely”? Where else shall be found such loftiness, beauty, and sweetness of character as in the life on earth of Christ Jesus?
4. Then think of what He has done for His people. Not only has He loaded them with many good and precious gifts, even when they had strayed from Him, but He Himself came to seek and save them, to suffer and die for them. Then remember all He is still doing for them from His heavenly throne, of the gifts He so freely bestows, etc., and then say, Ought not He to be loved with an undying affection?
II. The test of the reality of love to Christ is keeping His commandments.—
1. It may be said that loving Christ and keeping His commandments are co-extensive in their meaning. They should be, and will be perfectly so in the glorified Church. As Augustine has said: “Whoever loves God has in him that spirit which will lead him to keep God’s commandments; and when he obeys these commands he is simply carrying out into action the principle that animates his mind.”
2. Thus also when we consider Christ’s regal position—“He hath made Him to be head over all things to the Church”; His power—“all power is given Him in heaven and earth”; His wisdom—“In Him are hid all the fulness of wisdom and knowledge,”—it is seen to be reasonable and wise that we should keep these commands of His. But apart from this, love to Him will and must lead to a spontaneous observance of them. For it will at once be recognised that these commands, though sometimes apparently hard for flesh and blood to bear, are yet for the soul’s health.
3. Love will give a full and joyful obedience: not like the obedience of a slave to his harsh owner; nor like that of one who serves with “eye service,” and will escape when it is possible; nor like that of one who will be glad to obey in great things, but neglects and despises lesser commands, minor duties. The love of Christ will dominate all; and His rule—Himself—will be the guide of all our life and all its activity. “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Thus speaks the true disciple.
III. How shall the disciples be fitted for this loving obedience?—
1. Human nature at its best is weak; and however good may be the resolutions which even Christian men and women make, yet how liable are they to fall from them in some onset of temptation! So it was, e.g., with Peter.
2. They need therefore a diviner strength than their own, which can inspire them and on which they can fall back in moments of weakness. So it was with the disciples. Hitherto Jesus had been with His disciples, cheering, strengthening, etc. But now He was to depart to go to the Father. True, they were to realise that He would still be near them to comfort and sustain, but they needed also the actual presence of One who would guide and direct them directly in the place of the ascended Redeemer.
3. Hence this promise of another Comforter. All that Jesus had been would this Paraclete be. And He would lead them in the way of obedience, for He is the Spirit of truth. And the way of Christ’s commandments is simply the way of truth, for Christ is the truth.
4. Nor were they even then without a dim knowledge of the presence of this Comforter, for He was with and in Christ. The world cannot know Him; its spiritual sense is too much dulled and blunted, so that higher and finer influences cannot touch it. But He dwells in blessed influence with believers in the Church, and in each faithful, loving, obedient disciple.
Lessons.—
1. The necessity of ever warmer love to Christ in view of all He is and has done.
2. The evidence of love to Christ should be unmistakable.
3. The need true disciples have of the Comforter to show them more of Christ, so that they may love Him more fervently and obey Him ever more spontaneously.
John 14:16-17. The promise of the Paraclete.—Why did not our Lord remain on earth after the conflict was past and the victory won? Why not after His resurrection take His great power and reign, and as a conqueror over sin and death rule with benign influence over our fallen race until all the earth acknowledged His sway? At first glance it might seem as if this had been best. The full reason why it was not so is hid in the mystery of the divine counsels. But one reason which seems probable from man’s point of view may be ventured reverently. God compels no man to believe by external force. Now the kingly glory of Jesus on earth would have been such a force. No room would apparently have been left for faith, or even for free choice, on the part of men. But salvation is not a state that can be produced by external force—human nature is not like some plastic substance that may be moulded by external pressure. Salvation is brought about not against but with the sinner’s will. The guilt of sin is removed by Christ’s death; but the power of sin is subdued by spiritual and moral influences appealing to mind and heart. It is in this way that the Spirit works within man, touches the inner being by His gracious influences, penetrating it with subtle though unseen power, quickening the new spiritual life, strengthening, comforting, guiding, aiding, etc. Jesus had hitherto been the Paraclete of the disciples; but now that He must depart He gives this blessed promise of another Paraclete who would dwell with them for ever.
I. The promised Paraclete is a divine person.—
1. The scriptural testimony to this truth is abundant and clear. From the period when we read of Him as brooding over the waters of the chaotic universe, till the time when in apocalyptic vision He issues with the Bride the invitation to men to take of the water of life (Revelation 22:17), He is represented as an intelligent agent.
2. He works in and through the moral and intellectual nature of man, irradiating the darkness of the carnal mind, working conviction in sinners, inspiring with strength to lead a heavenly life. All through the New Testament actions and functions are ascribed to Him that can only be applied to a person, e.g. in this very passage. He is spoken of as “willing,”—“distributing to every man severally as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11); making intercession (Romans 8:26); selecting agents for work (Acts 13:2), etc., etc.
3. Divine actions and attributes which can be ascribed to God only are applied to Him. The Spirit descended in visible form on Christ at baptism, and the Lord offered Himself … through the eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). These and other references point to the personality of the Holy Spirit. He is not a divine influence merely—a vague, indefinite, impersonal something whose true nature escapes observation.
4. This is the only conception of the nature of the Paraclete that will agree with this promise of Jesus. A spiritual influence could hardly be called a teacher, e.g. who could take of the things of Christ and show them to the disciples. All Scripture and Christ’s words show that the Spirit is a divine person, performing acts God alone can perform, and thus able to speak with divine authority and guide with unerring wisdom. Otherwise our Lord would surely not have said, “The Father shall give you another Paraclete.” etc.
II. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete of God’s people.—
1. This term (vide Notes, John 14:16) is pregnant with meaning. It not only implies the meaning of the term Comforter; it also includes the ideas of helper and advocate. It was, indeed, just an advocate and helper that the apostles needed in going forth to their arduous work—an advocate to be to them “a mouth and wisdom” in presence of their adversaries, and a helper in times of danger and trial. Thus in every way He would be a comforter.
2. To whom was this promise given? To a body of humble men, not infallible in any sense of that word. They were drawn together by a common bond of love to Christ, yet they were so weak that in their Master’s hour of trial they forsook Him, etc. Even after the Resurrection we find them gathering together timorously in secret “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). How differently they comported themselves after the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost! They preached Christ boldly in face of threatenings, stripes, imprisonment, death (Acts 3; Acts 4; Acts 12, etc.), declaring, when commanded to desist, they must obey God, etc. (Acts 5:29). See them as they stand before kings and rulers, speaking “not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth,” etc. (1 Corinthians 2:4). Scattered by the sword of persecution, and impelled by the gentle impulses of the Spirit (Acts 8:4; Acts 10:19, etc.), they went everywhere preaching the gospel. Is it necessary to point to the long roll of martyrs and heroic champions of the truth who have endured and suffered loss since that time in the Lord’s service—the man of substance losing all, and with the slave fleeing into exile, or suffering death for the truth; women, timorous and gentle in ordinary life, snapping asunder ties of affection, enduring untold hardships, standing firm in the hour of final trial to witness for the faith? It was no mere spirit of enthusiasm that inspired them; their hearts were touched with a heavenly affection, their enlightened spiritual vision looked beyond the gloom of the present, their minds and hearts were sustained by the Spirit’s comforting power.
III. Only Christ’s people can receive the Paraclete.—
1. The world cannot receive Him, i.e. men of the world cannot receive Him to dwell intimately with them. Their hearts have no shrine for Him, that they should become temples of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:10); they are filled with idols, their affections are set on things on the earth. The heart must be prepared for the reception of the Spirit; the unclean spirit must go forth (Matthew 12:43) ere the Spirit of Christ can take up His abode there. This is what Christ means when He prefaces this blessed promise with the words, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments,” and follows it with the same truth amplified (John 14:21). The Spirit cannot dwell in the heart where there is no love to Christ.
2. But into such prepared hearts the Spirit comes and finds an entrance for the truth. “The Spirit’s teaching … makes divine truth enter the soul, gives it entire reality within us, and makes it the truth to us. This is undoubtedly the meaning of the expression ‘the Spirit of truth’ ” (Godet). He thus casts out all error, showing us plainly the truth in Christ, witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16).
3. Thus believers see Him and know Him; they see the manifestations of His working, and realise His presence in their own souls. The world, because of its spiritual blindness, cannot see and know these spiritual facts. The manifestations of His working are to them mere enthusiasm, madness, as men said when Chalmers began to preach with spiritual power; “Come and hear mad Tom Chalmers.”
4. “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” He had been striving with them, as He does with all men; but now He was to assume a closer, nearer relationship. He was to be in them. At Pentecost a deeper, fuller, richer manifestation of Him was to be given, which would be permanent. He abides with the disciples for ever—a perpetual Paraclete.
IV. The blessedness of this indwelling.—
1. In hours of trial He upholds the fainting heart. As with our Lord, He is with the believer, teaching Him to oppose an “It is written” to the subtlest temptation of the adversary. In the hour of death He sustains the passing soul, recalls the divine promises, gives peace.
2. It is by making men “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) that He becomes our Paraclete, not by temporary accessions of power, but by making men new creatures, giving power to the faint, etc. So that as believers go forth on their way the spiritual eye sees ever more clearly, the spiritual armour sits more closely the more it is “proved,” the sword of the Spirit is wielded with greater power. Trials and cares that would once have weighed the Christian down he is now able to bear; doubts and difficulties clear away; and in the brunt of temptations, before which he would have fallen once, he passes on “invulnerable.” God grant to all of us “to be strengthened,” etc. (Ephesians 3:16-17; Ephesians 3:19).
John 14:18. “I will not leave you orphans.”—The experience of the disciples as Jesus spoke of His speedy departure was like that which children feel as they stand at the bedside of a dying parent. What had Christ not been to them during their three years’ intercourse? How they had learned to look to Him, to lean on Him, to follow Him! How joyful had been their intercourse! Each new day some further revelation of Christ’s power, wisdom, or love had dawned upon them, until He had become all in all to them. The months and years had fled on swift wings by His side. And now the end drew near, as He told them. Yet a brief space and they would be left alone, orphaned spiritual children in an unsympathetic and hostile world. But to their troubled minds came these words of comfort and promise, “I will not leave you orphans,” etc.
I. The disciples were not orphans, for they could rejoice in the heavenly Father’s care.—
1. All that the Lord had spoken should have filled the disciples with the assurance of the Father’s love and care. In the Father’s house a place was to be prepared for them, and prayer in Jesus’ name would bring down gifts from His full storehouse, in especial one highest gift, the Comforter, to guide and counsel, etc.
2. In view then of this they were not to be left orphans. But more than this, they had in Christ the assurance of the heavenly Father’s love. The sorrow in the lot of the fatherless is the deprivation of a father’s love and care. But the disciples were to lack neither.
II. They were not orphans, because Christ Himself would come to them.—
1. The disciples thought that Jesus was henceforth to be entirely separated from them, that they would not again see Him until death or the time of judgment.
2. But said our Lord, “Ye see Me.” The world could not see Him, for darkness had overtaken the world. The disciples would see Him in His resurrection glory, so that they could greet one another with the words, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared,” etc. (Luke 24:34-35).
3. But the presence and care of a loving father and friend may be vividly realised though they are not visibly present. The boy at school and the youth going out into life, children of Christian parents, experience this care. They see it in the gifts provided, in the loving letters; they know it follows in earnest prayer. So was it with the disciples. Thus Pentecost, the after-guidance of the Spirit, the inspiration and help in time of need, the power of doing mighty works in Christ’s name, were all tokens of His presence.
4. More than this, they would be conscious of the possession of that same life which was in Christ, would realise that they were bound up with Him by the indissoluble bond of a common spiritual life. “Because I live,” etc. His presence then was no imagination, no dream of fancy, but a great spiritual reality.
5. And this in turn leads to a clearer realisation of the disciples’ unity and fellowship with the Father in Christ as they go forward in the way of His commandments. And thus more and more Christ is manifested to them in the experiences of the Christian life, until that day when “they shall be like Him, seeing Him as He is.” Those who could appropriate such promises were not orphans.
III. The same promises remain to us.—
1. Only those who by faith live because Christ lives can appropriate these promises. They who cannot are orphans, with no promise of a place in the Father’s house, no hope because no capacity for receiving the Father’s spiritual gifts, no assurance because no desire for the Saviour’s blessed presence.
2. But when in living union with Christ they receive of His Spirit, then the sense of orphanhood passes for ever away, as they attain to the conception of their divine sonship and cry, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6).
John 14:22-28. The promise of divine manifestation to loving, obedient disciples.—These blessed words of promise were spoken in answer to an inquiry by Judas, not Iscariot, as to how Christ was to manifest Himself to the disciples, and yet not to the world. How could the world see Him no more, whilst they were to see Him? The simple-minded disciple was still wandering among materialities. He was thinking of visible appearances, which indeed, in a limited sense, did take place after the Resurrection. But Judas had no true conception of the spiritual manifestation which Christ more especially referred to. Our Lord proceeded to enlighten the disciple. Not that the latter would even then clearly understand; but when the Spirit was given, Christ’s words would become plain. Jesus pointed out that the prerequisite for this manifestation of Himself is love in the believer’s heart, that love which evidences itself in the keeping of His commandments. To those who thus obey Him He manifests Himself in glorious fashion.
I. In the consciousness of the Father’s love.—
1. What men have desired in all ages has been shelter from the wrath of the Deity, and for the manifestation of His mercy and favour. For these ends they raised their shrines and multiplied their sacrifices, etc.
2. But only in Christ and through fellowship with Him in His atoning work has this even been possible. Here Christ promises a higher blessedness. Through love to Him and being loved by Him disciples are bound by a close tie of affection to the Father, who loves those whom Christ loves.
3. And in this love all fear and terror of God and the future pass away, etc.
II. In the divine indwelling.—
1. With the manifestation of Christ to His disciples will be conjoined the indwelling of the Father and the Son; both will come and make their abode in the loving heart.
2. Think of what this means. How highly favoured do even the rich and noble esteem themselves to be when a great monarch or prince visits them, and sojourns with them perhaps but for a night in passing! How proudly, even in after-centuries, are the rooms where those great ones slept pointed out by the descendants as the king’s, the queen’s, the prince’s, etc., room! But here God the Father, says our Lord, will come with Him, and they will make their abode in the hearts of true disciples.
3. And this indwelling is not that common and universal presence of God, as He who rules over all and is everywhere present; who “comes near in judgment” to those who outrage His laws, and in the stings of an accusing conscience makes His presence felt; who comes to obstinate contemners of His commands, like Pharaoh (Exodus 4:21; Exodus 8:15), and in this very coming hardens or leads them to harden their hearts.
4. The indwelling of Father and Son here promised is the indwelling of love. To those who listen to and keep Christ’s words, His promise to the Laodicean Church endures (Revelation 3:20). And where He comes the Father will come.
III. Christ manifests Himself in the indwelling Comforter.—
1. All the fulness of the Godhead, indeed, is represented in this indwelling. Christ and the Father come and make their abode with the true disciple in the uniting Spirit of truth.
2. When the Spirit comes, sent from the Father in Christ’s name, He will teach all things, etc. The Comforter is the revelation of Christ and the Father. And by His indwelling the divine presence will become ever more manifest. He will bring to remembrance the words of Jesus, so that the heart will be led to love Him more perfectly the more He is known. And in loving Him and keeping His word, His presence will become a blessed reality.
3. The proof of this indwelling will be evident to all around. Taught and guided by the Spirit and words of Jesus, and showing an obedient walk in love toward the brethren, the true disciple will be conspicuous as one who has been with Jesus, one with whom God abides.
IV. The indwelling Christ gives peace.—
1. Not as on Sinai, with sound of trumpet and thunder-roll, nor in the earthquake or the fire, but in still and gentle breathings, a still small voice, the Spirit comes to dwell with Christ’s chosen.
2. And the divine abiding leads to peace. Where Christ comes living and loved, He brings His peace, a peace resulting from restful, undisturbed reliance on the Father. So will it be with those into whose hearts the Lord has come. They rest implicitly on the Father’s will.
3. He gives not as the world, for the world will often take more than it gives. He who takes the world into his heart takes also with it the world’s unrest, its gnawing, carking care, its strife of tongues, its angry passions, its jars and bitter enmities. But those who have opened their hearts to Christ, whose hearts have become temples of the Holy Ghost, shall be at rest, even though the storms beat around them.
4. And they may be fearless; for the citadel is safe with Christ within.
Is God abiding with us?—
1. In order to fit us for this close fellowship Jesus came to earth, died, rose again, and poured forth the Pentecostal gifts on the waiting Church. 2. The Church needs to send up earnest prayer for the continued renewal of these gifts. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates,” etc. (Psalms 24). Let God in all His fulness of blessing come and dwell with and in you, that He may be your God, that you may be His people.
John 14:23. Christ and His words.—
I. The connection between Christ and His words.—
1. Christ and His words are both very fully made known to us. This is not always the case with those whose names have gone far and wide among men as teachers of the race.
2. We may have great and noble words from a man, but we may know little of his personality. But in Christ both the personality and the words have been brought out into the clearest and fullest illumination.
3. And with the words God has been pleased to give us the life, as never a life was given, by these four [Gospels], each different, yet each the same, a separate mirror to take in the side presented to it, but all disclosing in lifelike harmony the one grand person, each so absorbed in his theme that he himself is forgotten, his personality lost in the object—all eye, all ear, all heart, for Christ alone.
4. As they are made known to us there is a perfect harmony between Christ and His words. A man should always be more than his expression. This is pre-eminently true of the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. The connection between loving Christ and keeping His words.—
1. The way in which our Lord states this brings before us the central truth of Christian doctrine, viz. that in some way there must be a change of heart before there is a change of life. We must begin to love Christ before we can keep His words. But here comes in a view which admits this, which dwells upon it very strongly and beautifully, and which has done much to bring out the value of the personality of Christ in its bearing on our service. It shows how He creates a new power in the soul, not by His example merely, but by His whole being—not simply by teaching us and moving before us, but by in a manner transfusing Himself into us.
2. The connection between loving Christ and keeping His words brings before us the Christian philosophy of morality. As Christians we believe that the morality of Christianity is superior to any other, in the kind of duties it gives prominence to, and the light in which it presents them; and candid men who profess to stand outside generally admit this. There would be a fatal objection to this if Christ were either less than He is, or if He had done less for man than He has done. There are only three conceivable ways in which morality can be thought of as springing up in man.
(1) The first is by something like an instinct, and that this does exist in man we are far from denying. If it were perfect in all its parts on any such principle, morality by instinct would be morality mechanical.
(2) The second way is by reason; and that reason can do much for morality must also be admitted; but it can never furnish it with sufficient motive power.
(3) The third and last way is an appeal to love, and love going forth to a person. It is this way that Christianity has chosen. It sets before men the person of Jesus Christ, noblest and most beautiful in itself, and infinitely attractive in its self-sacrifice for them. To love Him is an impulse of the heart, and this impulse is the spring of all morality. If, then, we would be partakers of this noble Christian morality, the true way, the only way, is to come closer to the person of Christ as set before us in God’s word, looking on Him and learning to love Him.—Dr. John Ker.
John 14:23-31. To what does the Holy Spirit lead believers?—The indwelling of the triune God in the believing and loving soul—the work of the Holy Spirit in those who desire to be Christ’s disciples, Christ’s peace—the conflict of Jesus with the prince of this world, and the certainty of victory in this conflict to which Jesus submitted in loving obedience to the Father,—these are the chief points in the passage.
Introduction.—“In Christ was life” (John 1:4); and the high purpose of the whole work of Christ is to impart His life to sin-sick humanity. The manner in which this life comes from God and becomes incarnate is unfolded in the Christmas story; the manner in which it overcomes death is shown in the resurrection festival; and the manner in which, through the Holy Spirit, it flows into our hearts, in the Christian community, and among the nations, is the object of the Pentecostal commemorative festival. Nature reawakened is an image of the stream of life, which surges in every branch and through every twig. The Holy Spirit as a wind of divine life penetrates the hearts of men, rests on them like cloven tongues of fire, and changes the unlearned apostles into eloquent preachers. He divides the multitudes, and leads a great number to believe. In those crowds should we also be included; and may the Holy Ghost come to-day into our hearts to fill them with faith and love. The Holy Spirit leads us to:—
I. Union with God.—
1. He shows forth to us the love of Jesus in God’s word, and thereby stirs us up to answering love, which manifests itself in our keeping the word of Jesus.
2. Thereby the Spirit brings us into a condition with which the Father is well pleased, so that He comes with the Son to rejoice and bless our hearts with the presence of His grace.
II. Comprehension of the words of Jesus.—
1. Although we search and examine the Scriptures, our own reflections lead us to no true understanding of this or that passage. But all at Once, in answer to prayer, the Holy Spirit will bring the meaning of such passages home to our souls with striking clearness. We may read over many sentences of deep meaning again and again; their connection with the whole, however, is not clear to us, until the Holy Spirit makes our glance more keen, so that it penetrates into the deeps of the thought, and is able also to survey the whole. Thus He teaches.
2. He also calls to remembrance. He impresses the words of Jesus not only on the understanding, but on the heart. At the proper moment He brings back to our remembrance those passages which are just fitted for the special conditions in which we find ourselves, and which are the most comforting and salutary in the circumstances. He brings it about that we inwardly experience the truth of the word, so that we may be satisfied with it.
III. The peace of sonship.—
1. Our heart finds no tranquillity either in itself or in the world; it is restless, fearful, despondent.
2. The Holy Spirit awakes in the soul a desire after the peace of Jesus; through repentance, to which He impels our hearts, He prepares us for the reception of this peace. He assures us of forgiveness of sins and our divine sonship. Thereby He stills our unrest and satisfies our hearts, so that we want for no gift, and experience only blessedness.
IV. Victory in tribulation.—
1. We do not see Jesus with the bodily eye, and hence doubts arise in the heart as to whether He is near. But the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus as the exalted one, who is ever near those who love Him till the end of the world.
2. Satan brings tribulation to us, because in our sins he finds a vantage-ground. But the Holy Spirit drives us to Jesus, beneath whose shield the arrows of the wicked one cannot harm us. He presses into our hand the word of God as the sword of the Spirit, with which we can rout the enemy.
3. Oftentimes we obey God’s will reluctantly and dejectedly; but the Holy Spirit shows us God’s leadings in such a glorious light that in all our ways we realise God’s goodness. He then awakes us to a joyful obedience, which we thenceforth show forth in reference to God’s commands and gracious leadings.—J. L. Sommer.
John 14:25-26. The Holy Ghost the teacher and Paraclete of believers.—Jesus had to depart, but He promised to send His Spirit in place of His own immediate presence. “I will not leave you orphans,” He had said (John 14:18). You shall not be left without a comforter to encounter what lies before you. Ye who have companied with Me through evil and good report, in dangers, toil, and weariness, who have brought Me the burden of your cares, confided to Me your difficulties, turned to Me in all your sorrows till My presence has become indispensable to you—ye shall not want a counsellor, a guide, an advocate. The Paraclete, which is the Holy Ghost, shall come and lead you to higher attainments than those you have yet reached, etc. He shall not only call to remembrance all things which I have spoken unto you, but shall teach you all things, lead you to understand what has been revealed. Therefore have My peace, etc.
I. We shall think especially of that part of the Spirit’s work to which the text refers. He is the teacher of the faithful. He is the divine teacher of the Church. “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,” etc. Those to whom the words were first spoken needed such a promise. For nigh three years they had been in the company of Christ, i.e. they had been learning of Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). They had had a training such as no university now can give to ministers of the word. And how had they profited by this training? Alas! not as they should or might have done. Had not the Lord after His resurrection to speak of some of them as fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken, etc. (Luke 24:25)? And did they not show on the very eve of His ascension how far they were from fully apprehending His teaching (Acts 1:6-8)? But see the same men after the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit. A mighty change had taken place in them. A flood of light seemed to have been poured on the sacred page and the sayings of Jesus. What was dark and mysterious before was now bright as noonday. Before, the lowly life, shameful cross, etc., had been stumbling-blocks to them. But after Pentecost the true meaning of that humiliation—humbled that men might be exalted—was clearly seen. The cross, instead of being a portent of shame, was seen to be a symbol of Christ’s glory, etc. And the result of this divine teaching was, as Christ foretold, a mouth and wisdom in the day of trial, which all their adversaries could not gainsay, etc. (Luke 21:15).
II. The Spirit still exercises the same enlightening influence in the hearts of believers.—Those not taught of Him, and who therefore cannot “discern” divine truth, see no beauty in the gospel, are not influenced by its promises or threatenings. And although they may admire the Saviour as a great moral teacher, etc., will see no beauty in Him as the Redeemer of men, etc. They do not, cannot understand spiritual religion; its source and manifestations seem to them too vague and uncertain to merit their deepest regard. How different the aspect those things wear to those who have been taught of the Spirit, etc.! Invisible and spiritual things become to them the highest realities. Their lives are thenceforth not governed by the seen and temporal, but by the unseen and eternal. This divine Teacher “makes even the simple wise” by revealing to them the will of Heaven. The simple and unlearned, knowing only the Scriptures, but taught in them by this heavenly Teacher, will be able to confute and confound those who, although wise in their own eyes, are fools in the sight of Heaven. And the possession of this heavenly learning brings with it a spirit of contentment, gladness, peace, such as those wise only in regard to earthly things never possess.
III. One other truth must be simply noted in regard to this aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work: He was to teach and bring to the remembrance of the disciples all things which Jesus had spoken to them. They had not fully understood all Christ’s teaching. Sometimes it seemed to them He spoke in enigmas. But after His resurrection and the descent of the Spirit sayings that had appeared dark and obscure became luminous (Luke 24:8; John 2:22; John 12:16; Acts 11:16). The heavenly Sower had scattered the seeds of divine truth into hearts prepared to receive it; but there was needed the outpouring of the Spirit, with heavenly influence, the dews and rains of grace, to awaken it to life, to cause it to spring forth and bloom into fuller fruitfulness. And a test of any teaching professing to be divine will be its accordance or non-accordance with the great principles of truth revealed in the teaching of Christ and amplified in the apostolic writings. Any Church or religious body that claims that its symbols (doctrinal) and decisions (ecclesiastical) have the same authority as Holy Writ, and should be as binding on the faithful, can only claim such authority for them by showing that they stand the test of the Holy Spirit’s teaching in Scripture. It must be the final court of appeal in matters of faith and doctrine. We are not told that the Spirit was to teach the apostles any new truth. He was to instruct in and call to remembrance what the Master Himself had taught.
IV. This experience of the Holy Spirit’s power as a teacher is not confined to the past.—It is a present reality. It is known in some measure by every one progressing in the narrow way. Not all at once does the full day of the Spirit’s enlightening power illuminate the soul. Here, as in all God’s works, there is a wise progression. The plants of grace are not ephemeral gourds, but palms and cedars. At the beginning of their course believers feel that to know God’s will and to serve Him aright is a task beyond their own powers. They feel the need of the Spirit’s help and teaching. But day by day as they look more earnestly into the divine oracles, and use with diligence the means of grace, what was dark will become light, “the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.”
John 14:27. A heavenly legacy.—Peace now reigned undisturbed in the upper chamber. Judas had gone out into the night to do the work for which he had received the wages of iniquity. The withdrawal of his presence removed a feeling of restraint perhaps. The Saviour’s discourse now flowed along a stream of blessing, which not only refreshed and cheered the disciples on that memorable night, but which has brought joy and comfort to many in every age since then. These are words of farewell, but also of hope. In all this history in St. John’s Gospel we cannot fail to notice a calmness and repose which are marvellous, when we think of the circumstances in which these words were uttered. The unutterable agony, the shameful trial, the bitter cross, lay before Jesus. Yet it was not of Himself He thought, but of His disciples. His mind was calm and tranquil Here the Redeemer showed the same lofty repose of spirit that characterised all His life on earth,
I. In unfolding the central thought of this verse, consider first that this gift of peace which Jesus bestows is what all men need, even when they know it not.—These words are not merely words of farewell. Luther says: “They are the parting words of One who is about to bid farewell to His friends, and gives them His good-night and His blessing.” True, the words might also bear this interpretation. The common Hebrew salutation has some resemblance to these words. How often do we meet such words as לֵךְ לְשָׁלזם, “Go in peace”; and also in the closing salutations in letters (1 Peter 5:14), and as a greeting to reassure those in fear (Genesis 43:23)! And viewed in this light, they are not like the world’s farewell greetings, often insincere, mere words signifying nothing. Not so the words of Jesus; they are heartfelt and real. But this is more than a mere leave-taking. The words themselves show that. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you.” It is the Lord’s legacy to His disciples, something real which He bestows on them, more precious than gold or jewels. It is what all men have been seeking since the Fall, and have never of themselves found. In their restless striving after satisfaction in pleasure, etc., they were in reality seeking peace, which cannot be found in the possessions of earth. It is sought for in vain apart from God. It may be described as a state of the spiritual nature of man resulting from a right relation between man and God. And this is brought about not by any change on the part of God—He is unchangeable—but by a renewing of man’s nature after the divine image.
II. How is this change brought about?—By God Himself, the author and giver of peace. When the new-created world arose at His command, no jarring element marred the unison of all things. Peace reigned in earth as in heaven. Nor was it God who banished peace from earth. It was sin. Sin came like a flood, covering all things with its noisome waters; and peace, like Noah’s dove, could find no resting-place. And as men sinned they lost peace (James 4:1). But God yearned over men in pity and love. He Himself sent the Son of His love to bring peace to men. “He is our peace.” And He was peculiarly fitted to undertake this work; for He is the “Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6). One of the chief blessings of His advent was proclaimed to be “peace on earth.” And it comes to men through His cross (Ephesians 2:15-16; Romans 5:1). Through faith in Him men become “new creatures,” made anew in the divine image; and thus harmony between the Creator and the creature is again restored. God is the author of peace.
III. The characteristics of this peace.—
1. It is Christ’s own peace.—“My peace.” Contemplate the story of the Redeemer’s life on earth. He was at peace alike when He was praying on the mountain top; or when, awakened from sleep in the sinking fisher-boat, He arose and said, “Peace, be still,” and the storm ceased to rage; when He taught the multitudes by the seashore, or was dragged to the brow of the hill above Nazareth; when He sat with the disciples in the upper chamber, or heard the crowds shout, “Crucify Him,” or prayed for His murderers on the cross. And the key to this characteristic of our Lord’s life on earth is to be found in the dose and intimate communion He had with the Father, and His unreserved submission to the Father’s will. Such communion and submission could exist only when there was complete harmony between the Father and the Son. But He was “one with the Father.” The rule of His life of humiliation was, “not My will, O Father, but Thine be done.” Here again we come in sight of the way of peace. We must, through Christ, enter into the same relation of submissive trust in God. The more we can attain to this spirit, the nearer shall we be to perfect peace.
2. This peace it not dependent on outward circumstances, whatever these may be.—The man of the world is most miserable when circumstances are adverse. Who so miserable when the props that upheld his happiness have fallen? It is not so with the man who has entered into fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. Trouble and sorrow indeed drive him nearer to God, and lead him, like the prophet, to say, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom,” etc. (Habakkuk 3). In the case of true disciples of our Master and Lord, the direst calamities have not been able to shake the firmness of their trust or overturn the foundations of their peace. It is an inner heritage; and no external circumstances, however untoward or unhappy, can deprive them of it or drive them to despair.
3. It is an abiding peace.—This follows from what has been said. It comes from trust in God, not in ourselves; and it is this that makes it abiding and eternal. It is in the eternal Jehovah that the believer’s hope lies. What need he fear who is one with Christ and thus with the Father? As the Rock of Ages stands firm and sure, so believers shall never be moved. In view of this well might the disciples be exhorted to be trustful and courageous! And to disciples now the realisation of this blessed truth should lead to the same steadfastness. “Let not your heart be troubled” when difficulties and trials meet you. Christ knows them all, and the way out of them. Be not over-anxious about the morrow. “God will provide.” “Neither let your heart be afraid.” All that is really opposed to you who are in Christ is opposed to Him; and therefore can even the gates of Hades prevail? Your life in Him should be a joyful service, and its latter end—peace.
John 14:29-31. Comfort for trial.—Our Lord knew the weakness of the disciples’ hearts, and what was needed to strengthen their faith, so that they might not utterly fail in trials just before them. He therefore repeated with wider reference what He had already said (John 13:19) as to His knowledge of what lay before Him. They were to learn that no blind fate, but a directing Providence, was overruling the events about to happen. Our Lord here showed—
I. His divine prescience.—
1. All through His public ministry He had shown His omniscient prevision regarding the course of events that should group themselves round His person and work, e.g. the action of the traitor, the manner of His death, etc.
2. This would prepare the disciples, in part at least, for what was to happen, and would tend to assure them of the certainty of His promise, “I will not leave you orphans.” Further, by this prediction—
II. Our Lord strengthened the disciples to endure.—
1. He called attention to the fact that the prince of this world was beginning his final onslaught. But He added, “and hath nothing in Me.”
2. The conflict was in reality already over. The will of Christ was one with the Father’s will; and thus in face of the coming foe He arose to meet and vanquish him as He said, “Arise, let us go hence.”
3. Therefore might the disciples realise that with Christ and the Father abiding with them they too would be secure.
III. The same truth remains for our comfort and strength.—
1. One part of what our Lord foretold has come to pass. Shall this not lead to faith that what remains shall likewise be fulfilled? The Father hath put all things under His feet: “He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet.” As He conquered before, so His people believe He will conquer in the end.
3. In later days the Church will again enter into conflict with the prince and forces of evil (2 Thessalonians 2, etc.). But those with whom the Father and Son abide, to whom the Comforter has come with enlightening and guiding power, need not fear. As in the past, the prince of this world shall have no real power over the people of God. With the Captain of salvation within, and the walls of salvation around, there is safety. No device of the enemy, no engine however cunning and strong, no weapon however vaunted, no fiery darts, can avail to move the heart in which God dwells.
HOMILETIC NOTES
John 14:23. Keeping Christ’s words.—His words mean all that is commanded and promised in them. Thus one who loves Jesus will not only possess or hear but will keep His words, in remembrance, in faith, in the midst of sorrow.
No fear when God dwells in the heart.—If the emperor could say to the boatman, Fear not, for Cæsar is in the vessel, why should I not say to my soul, Fear not, God is with thee?
The manner of the divine indwelling.—God will not dwell with us merely as a guest in an inn, who comes to-day and goes to-morrow; He will come as the Father of the family into His house, and will never forsake us.
John 14:24. The Christian’s love to God shown in his deeds.—It is a fatal self-deception when any one boasts of having love to God, and yet proves the contrary by his deeds (Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3-4).
In the offering of obedient service to God three things must be observed.—Obey God willingly (Psalms 110:3); obey God all through life (Luke 1:74-75); obey God before all else (Acts 5:29).
Figure of a loveless Christian.—A Christian without love is like a painted image; or a corpse wrapped in beautiful garments and covered with flowers; or, after the apostle’s similitude, like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).
John 14:26. He who teaches all things must know all things.—God alone knows all things. For this reason the Holy Spirit is appointed to be Doctor Doctorum; so that those who are set to teach others should first learn of Him.
John 14:27. What Christ’s peace comprehends.—It contains this assurance, that God is well pleased with us in Him.
The world’s peace.—The world often speaks peace with the lips, and cherishes discord in the heart; just as Joab spoke quietly with Abner (2 Samuel 3:27), and immediately stabbed him with the sword. Without peace with God men have no true peace on earth.
A peace-loving heart is a dwelling of the triune Jehovah, for the Father is the God of peace; the Son is the Prince of peace; the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace.
John 14:29. Experience is a powerful confirmation and assurance of our faith.
John 14:30. The prince of this world.—The devil is a prince of this world in conformity with—
1. His vain-glory.
2. His tyrannical rule.
3. The willing subjection of the impious.
4. The heathen idolatries.
John 14:31. The Christian’s pilgrimage.—What is the pilgrimage of a true Christian? A continual departing hence, and a continual going to the Father.
Genuine love exceeds words.—Love to God must not be merely an expression of the lips. To love in word only is the way of hypocrites. If we would be more than these, then we must love in deed.
Love perfects obedience.—Without love obedience is slavish, and cannot endure; but a loving obedience is in no way contrary to our freedom—on the contrary, it makes us joyful and blessed.—Translated from a collection by Weigel.
ILLUSTRATIONS
John 14:15. The proof of our love to Christ.—Christ promiseth His disciples—that is, such as believe in Him—that He will give them whatsoever they make petition for or desire; yea, if they love Him. For faith without love is dead, and hath no strength. Where there is faith in man, there followeth love. Many of us say, We believe in Christ, and we love Him, yet we keep not His commandments. Such men ought well to note the words that Christ here speaketh, “Whoso loveth Me keepeth My commandments” (John 14:15-24). The disciples thought that they loved Christ right because they were sorry for His departing; but Christ teacheth us that love consisteth in the keeping of His commandments. If we will declare our love toward God, it must not be done only with word and tongue, but with keeping of His precepts. “The eyes of the Lord behold the righteous, and His ears consider their prayers.” God will not that we, whom He through His grace hath admitted for His own children, and purified through faith, should go idle. Faith which God giveth us in our hearts standeth not idle; we have for this purpose received it, even to keep His commandments. Now is it His commandment that we deny and mortify ourselves, hate and despise the world, take up our cross upon us and follow Him, stoutly and manfully confessing and acknowledging Him before the wicked world, loving one another as He hath loved us, innocently and godly leading our lives, whereby we may daily receive the more gifts at His hand. For if we keep not His grace that He giveth us, if we do not continually and daily reform ourselves, and with all diligence fashion our lives after His life, it is but right that we lose again what we have received.—Bishop Coverdale.
John 14:27. Christian peace and unity.—“How good and pleasant it is,” as David saith, “for brethren” (and so we are all, at least by nature) “to live together in unity.” How that, as Solomon saith, “Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices and strife.” How delicious that conversation is which is accompanied with a mutual confidence, freedom, courtesy, and complacence: how calm the mind, how composed the affections, how serene the countenance, how melodious the voice, how sweet the sleep, how contented the whole life is of him that neither deviseth mischief against others nor suspects any to be contrived against himself; and contrariwise, how ingrateful and loathsome a thing it is to abide in a state of enmity, wrath, dissension; having the thoughts distracted with solicitous care, anxious suspicion, envious regret; the heart boiling with choler, the face overclouded with discontent, the tongue jarring and out of tune, the ears filled with discordant noises of contradiction, clamour, and reproach; the whole frame of body and soul distempered and disturbed with the worst of passions. How much more comfortable it is to walk in smooth and even paths than to wander in rugged ways overgrown with briers, obstructed with rubs, and beset with snares; to sail steadily in a quiet than to be tossed in a tempestuous sea; to behold the lovely face of heaven smiling with a cheerful serenity than to see it frowning with clouds or raging with storms; to hear harmonious consents than dissonant janglings; to see objects correspondent in graceful symmetry than lying disorderly in confused heaps; to be in health, and have the natural humours consent in moderate temper, than (as it happens in diseases) agitated with tumultuous commotions: how all senses and faculties of men unanimously rejoice in these emblems of peace, order, harmony, and proportion; yea, how nature universally delights in a quiet stability or undisturbed progress of motion; the beauty, strength, and vigour of everything requires a concurrence of force, co-operation, and contribution of help; all things thrive and flourish by communicating reciprocal aid, and the world consists by a friendly conspiracy of its parts; and especially that political society of men chiefly aims at peace as its end, depends on it as its cause, relies on it as its support. How much a peaceful state resembles heaven, into which neither “complaint, pain, nor clamour” (as it is in the Apocalypse) do ever enter, but blessed souls converse together in perfect love and in perpetual concord; and how a condition of enmity represents the state of hell.… How like a paradise the world would be, flourishing in joy and rest, if men would cheerfully conspire in affection and helpfully contribute to each other’s content; and how like a savage wilderness now it is, when, like wild beasts, they vex and persecute, worry, and devour each other. How not only philosophy hath placed the supreme pitch of happiness in a calmness of mind and tranquillity of life, void of care and trouble, of irregular passions and perturbations, but that Holy Scripture itself in that one term of “peace” most usually comprehends all joy and content, all felicity and prosperity; so that the heavenly consort of angels, when they agree most highly to bless and to wish the greatest happiness to mankind, could not better express their sense than by saying, “Be peace on earth,” etc.—Isaac Barrow.