John 14

John 14:1

John tells the Good News about Jesus An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Gospel of John www.easyenglish.info Marion Adams This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 14 Jesus is the way to God the *Father 14:1-14 v1 Jesus said to his *disciples, ‘Do not worry! Trust God. And trust me, too. v2 There are many rooms in my *Father’s house. I would not tell this to you unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. v3 After I have done this, I will return. And I will take you with me. Then we will all be together in the place where I am. v4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’

v5 Thomas said, ‘But *Lord! We do not know where you are going. Therefore we cannot know the way.’

v6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the *life! Nobody can come to the *Father unless that person comes by means of me. v7 If you really knew me, you would also know my *Father. But now, you do know him. You will know him always. You have seen him!’

v8 Philip said, ‘*Lord, show the *Father to us. That will satisfy us.’

v9 Jesus answered, ‘I have been with you all for a long time. But you do not seem to know me, Philip! If you have seen me, then you have seen the *Father, too. But you are asking to see him! v10 I am in the *Father and the *Father is in me. But you do not seem to believe this. The words that I say to you are not just my own words.

The *Father lives in me. It is the *Father who is doing his work, by means of me. v11 I am in the *Father and the *Father is in me. Believe me when I tell this to you. Or otherwise, believe me because of the *miracles that I do. v12 I am telling you the truth. The people who *believe in me will do great things. They will do the same things as I do.

And they will do even greater things, because I am going to the *Father. v13 I will do anything that you ask in my name [see note below]. In this way, the Son will bring *glory to the *Father. v14 Ask for anything in my name and I will do it.’

Verses 1-3 There are only a few verses in the Bible that describe life after death. We do not know all the details about *eternal life. But these verses contain wonderful promises about heaven. There will be room for everybody who *believes in Jesus. And he will prepare a place for each one of us.

*Christians do not need to be afraid of death. This is because it will be the beginning of a wonderful new *life with Jesus. We know that this is true. He has told us that it is true. We just have to believe him and to trust him. That is all that we need to do.

Verses 4-5 Thomas said the same thing that many people say. Thomas did not know the exact nature of the place where Jesus was going. So Thomas did not understand how he could get there. But Jesus was not referring to a physical journey. He was referring to a *spiritual journey which leads to God.

Verse 6 Jesus himself is the way that we follow to reach God. In other words, he is the only way that we can come to God. There is no other way. Some people say that other religions lead to God, too. This is not true. People cannot come to God by means of a religion, anyway. The only way to God is by means of a person: God’s Son, the *Lord Jesus *Christ. When we *believe in him, we are following the way to *eternal life with God. This way is available to every person on the earth. But each person is free to choose it or to *reject it.

Jesus called himself ‘the truth’ because he does more than just to tell us the truth about God. He actually is that truth! ‘The truth’ is not an idea. It is a person: Jesus *Christ, God’s Son.

Jesus is also ‘the *life’. He does not just give us *life. He shares his *life, which is God’s *life, with us. When we follow Jesus, we join our human lives with the *eternal life of God’s Son.

These words of Jesus are very important. Jesus was not like any other leader of the world’s major religions. He was much more than a great moral teacher. He did not just point towards God. Jesus was ‘the way, the truth and the *life’. And Jesus is still ‘the way, the truth and the *life’ today.

Verses 7-11 The *disciples had lived with Jesus for three years. They had heard him teach in public many times. Also he had taught them many things in private. They had seen him do many *miracles. They had seen his power over death, when Lazarus became alive again. But still Philip asked to see God the *Father.

God the *Father is invisible. (‘Invisible’ means someone or something that people cannot see with their eyes.) But Jesus showed us *exactly what God the *Father is really like. This does not mean in a physical way, because God is *Spirit. But Jesus showed us what God’s character is like. Everything about Jesus was like his *Father. Jesus’ words and his acts were God the *Father’s own words and acts. If the *disciples could not believe Jesus’ words, they had the evidence of the *miracles. Only God’s power could do such *miracles.

Anybody who wants to know God just has to look at Jesus. When we know Jesus, we know God.

Verse 12 Jesus had made dead people become alive again. No *miracle is greater than that. But Jesus did these *miracles during a short period of three years. While he was a man on the earth, his body could be only in one place at a particular time. But after he had returned to heaven, he would send the *Holy Spirit to his *disciples. Then they would all be able to do the same things that Jesus himself had done. And all *Christians, from that time to today, would be able to do these things, too. So ‘greater things’ refers to the quantity, not the quality, of the things that *Christians would do. And the good news about Jesus would spread across the whole world.

Verses 13-14 Jesus promised to do anything that *Christians ask. But he would do it only if it was in his name. We need to understand what ‘in his name’ really means. It means to know what Jesus wants us to do in a situation. So then we can ask for what Jesus would want to happen in that situation. Then we are asking with Jesus’ authority, as if we were Jesus himself. God will not grant our selfish requests. Jesus never made selfish requests. He asked only for what his *Father wanted.

We need to know Jesus better. Then we will know what he wants us to pray for. Then, if we ask, God will grant our requests. He will grant our requests even if they seem to be difficult or impossible! But he wants us to ask him. And as we see answers to our prayers, our *faith will increase.

This is a wonderful promise. And it is true. The only way to know this is to try it! Jesus promises to send the *Holy Spirit 14:15-31 v15 Jesus continued to speak to the *disciples.

‘If you love me, you will obey my commands. v16 And I will ask the *Father to send another helper to you: the *Holy Spirit. The *Holy Spirit will never leave you. v17 The *Holy Spirit will show you what is true. The people in this world are not able to receive him because they do not see him. And they do not know him. But you know him because he lives with you now. And later, he will actually live in you.

v18 I will not leave you alone, like orphans (children whose parents have died). I will come back to you. v19 Soon, the people in this world will not be able to see me. But you will see me. And because I live, you will live, too. v20 On that day, you will know that I am in my *Father. And you will know that you are in me. And I am in you.

v21 The people who love me will obey my commands. Because they love me, my *Father will love them. And I will love them. I will show myself to them.’

Verses 15-16 It is easy to say that we love Jesus. But there is only one way to prove that we love him. We must obey his commands. This is not always easy. For example, it can be very difficult to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). But we do not have to use only our own strength because God sent the *Holy Spirit to help us.

The word that we have translated as ‘helper’ has several meanings. It means more than somebody who assists us to do God’s work. The *Holy Spirit actually gives us the strength and the power to do things that we could not do alone.

The word means also ‘somebody who comforts’. The *Holy Spirit gives us the strength that we need in bad or difficult situations. The word had another meaning, too. It referred to a helper who acted as a lawyer in a court of law. This ‘helper’ helped the person whom people were accusing. The ‘helper’ explained what that person wanted to say about the situation. The ‘helper’ was on that person’s side, against the people who accused the person. So that person did not have to say anything. Instead, the ‘helper’ spoke on that person’s behalf. He persuaded the judge to let the person go free.

Jesus warned his *followers that they would have trouble because of their *faith in him. The leaders would oppose them and even arrest them. But the *Holy Spirit would help them (Mark 13:11).

When he was on the earth, Jesus spoke on behalf of his *disciples. For example, he prayed on behalf of Simon Peter. Jesus asked that Peter would not lose his *faith completely (Luke 22:32). And Jesus argued with the *Pharisees when they accused his *disciples because of the *Jewish law (Mark 2:23-28). When Jesus returned to heaven, the *Holy Spirit would do this. The *Holy Spirit would help the *disciples to know what to say in difficult situations. And the *Holy Spirit would remain with them always.

The *Holy Spirit always helps everybody who *believes in Jesus. All the promises that Jesus made about the *Holy Spirit were for all *Christians, past and present.

Verses 17-18 In this chapter and the next two chapters, Jesus taught more about the *Holy Spirit. After Jesus had returned to heaven, he sent the *Holy Spirit to live in all *Christians (Acts chapter 2). But many people do not know Jesus, so they do not know the *Holy Spirit either. They do not *believe in Jesus, so they do not have the power of the *Holy Spirit in their lives. But *Christians have this power, because the *Holy Spirit lives in them. The *Holy Spirit changes a person to become more like Jesus. And then that person can do the things that Jesus did, too.

‘The people in this world are not able to receive him’ (verse 17). In John’s *Gospel, the word ‘world’ often refers to everybody and everything that opposes God.

Although Jesus left the earth, he did not leave his *followers alone. He gave us the *Holy Spirit, who lives in us. And because the *Holy Spirit lives in us, we have Jesus with us always.

Verses 19-20 ‘On that day, you will know that I am in my *Father’ (verse 20). After Jesus’ *resurrection, the *disciples would really understand what this meant. And Jesus added something else. He said that ‘you are in me’. And he said that ‘I am in you’. These phrases mean that all *Christians are united with Jesus and therefore with the *Father, too.

The *Father, the Son and the *Holy Spirit join with us. And therefore we join with God. We live in him by means of our *faith. We know his love and we love him. We want to obey him. And he helps us to do this by means of the *Holy Spirit.

We live in him because he lives in us. This may be difficult for us to understand. This is because words cannot really explain such a wonderful mystery. But Jesus said that this would happen. So we can be confident that it is true. It happens when we *believe in him.

Verse 21 Again, Jesus emphasised how to prove that our love for him is real. If we love somebody, we want to please that person. So if we really love Jesus, we will want to please him. So we will want to obey him. We do not obey him because we are afraid of him. We obey him because we love him. And he gave to us the most wonderful promise. He will love us. And because we love him, his *Father will love us also.

v22 Then the other *disciple called Judas (not Judas Iscariot) spoke. He said, ‘But *Lord, why will you show yourself only to us? Why will you not show yourself to the people in this world?’

v23 Jesus answered him, ‘The people who love me, they will obey me. Then my *Father will love them. We will come to them. And we will live with them. v24 But the people who do not love me, they will not obey me. The words that I speak are not my own words. These words come from the *Father, who sent me. v25 I am telling you these things now, while I am still with you. v26 But the *Father will send the helper, the *Holy Spirit, to take my place with you. The *Holy Spirit will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have said.

v27 I am leaving a gift with you. That gift is *peace. Only I can give this kind of *peace to you. It is not like the kind of *peace that this world offers. So do not be worried or afraid. v28 I have told you already that I am going away. I also said that I will return to you. If you really love me, you should be happy about this. You should be happy because I am returning to the *Father. He is greater than I am.

v29 I have told you all this before I leave. Then when it happens, you will *believe in me.

v30 I can talk to you only for a short time now, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me. v31 But I will do what the *Father wants. Then everybody in the world will know that I love the *Father.

Come now. We must leave.’

Verses 22-23 The *disciples knew that Jesus was the *Messiah. And, like the other *Jews, they expected the *Messiah to free them from the authority of the *Roman rulers. Then everybody in the world would know who the *Messiah was. So the other *disciple called Judas (not Judas Iscariot) could not understand why Jesus would show his power to only a few people. However, after his death and *resurrection, the *disciples understood what Jesus meant.

But Jesus was not the kind of *Messiah that people expected. So, many people *rejected him. They chose not to know him. During 2000 years since, many people have heard the good news about Jesus. But some people have refused to *believe in him. They have *rejected him, too. So he does not show himself to them. He shows himself to those people who *believe in him.

This does not mean that we see him physically. But he shows himself by means of his words in the Bible. When we pray, we become more and more aware of him. And because of Jesus, we can pray to God the *Father, too. Jesus is living in us by means of the *Holy Spirit. We can know Jesus as our friend and we can talk to him about anything. He is real and he is alive!

Verse 24 We prove our love for Jesus when we obey him. And then we are also doing what God the *Father wants. We can be sure about this because Jesus’ commands are God’s commands. The *Father and the Son want *exactly the same things. Jesus’ message is God’s message.

Verses 25-26 Jesus promised that the *Holy Spirit would remind the *disciples of Jesus’ own words. The *disciples had lived with Jesus during three years. He had taught them many things. And we know much about what he taught. We can read Jesus’ own words in the *Gospels. This is because of the *Holy Spirit’s help. He helped the *disciples (and other people who were with Jesus) to remember. The *Holy Spirit then helped the authors of the *Gospels to record only what was true.

The *Holy Spirit can help us, too. When we read the Bible, he will help us. He will help us to understand it. In our daily lives, he will remind us of the things that we have learnt.

Verse 27 The *peace that Jesus gives to all *Christians is the only real *peace. To have this *peace does not mean that we will not have trouble. But we have this *peace even when bad things happen. We have this *peace when we are ill or in pain. We have this *peace when people *reject us. This *peace comforts us. It makes us remain calm when we have problems. We know that God is looking after us. So this *peace will stop our fears. God controls our lives, in the present and in the future. Nothing and nobody else in the world can give this *peace to us. Only Jesus can give it to us. He offers it to everybody who *believes in him. But we have to want it. And we have to receive it from him. We must not put our trust just in ourselves when we are in difficulties.

Verses 28-29 When Jesus was on the earth, he was unable to do many things because of his physical body. For example, although he was God’s Son, Jesus could be in only one place at one particular time. But the *Father does not have limits of time and space. So, in this way, the *Father was greater than Jesus was.

But Jesus would soon be with his *Father again. And then Jesus would not have physical limits. He was very happy to go back to his *Father. And Jesus wanted his *disciples to be happy on his behalf.

Verses 30-31 ‘The ruler of this world’ means the devil. He has some authority in the world because of Adam’s *sin (see note for John 12:31). But the devil has no authority over Jesus, because Jesus has never *sinned. And the devil has no authority over *Christians. Because we *believe in Jesus, his *righteousness becomes our *righteousness. Still the devil will try to make us do wrong things. He may attack us in different ways. But we must continue to trust and to obey Jesus. Then the devil will have no power over us.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

November 2006

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