John 14

John 14:15

[a] love] The notion of loving God in scripture, but especially in the New Testament, seems most fitly to be taken from one most eminent act and expression of love amongst all men, viz. that of doing those things which are esteemed most grateful and acceptable to the beloved, either as tending most to his good, or any other way most desirable to him. For this indeed is the one expression of loving one another, all other being effects of love to ourselves. But because God wants no contributions of ours to the advancing of his good or (indeed) of his glory, and our only way of doing grateful things to him is our performing what he commands, therefore it is consequent that our obedience to the will or commands of God in the highest and most perfect manner is styled the loving of him; being indeed the prime, if not only way of demonstrating our love to him. So here, If ye love me, keep my commandments; if ye are so affected to me as to desire to gratify me, obedience to all my precepts is the way of doing it. So ver. 21, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, &c., and I will love him, and (as the most grateful thing to him, that can be done from one lover to another) I will shew myself to him. So ver. 23, If any man love me, he will keep my word, and my Father shall love him, and we will (as the most grateful obliging thing again) come to him, and make our abode with him; and so ver. 24, and 1 John ii. 5, He that keeps my word, in him is the love of God made perfect; and ch. v. 3, This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And so saith Christ, Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. From whence it is, that as in some places compared together love is equivalent or parallel to keeping the commandments of God, as Exod. xx. 5, Deut. v. 9, and Gal. v. 6, compared with 1 Cor. vii. 19, (and disobedience to enmity, Rom. viii. 7, James iv. 4,) so the whole condition available to our acceptance with God, and salvation, is oft expressed by this style of love. And because those duties that are to be performed to God immediately are most acceptable and grateful to him, but especially that of confessing him, and, in despite of dangers and death itself, keeping close to him, therefore that is many times expressed by loving of Christ, 1 Cor. viii. 3, and xvi. 22, Ephes. vi. 24, James i. 12, Revel. ii. 4. Another notion there is of the love

John 14:16

[b] Comforter] The word Paraclete in the Greek comes from a word of a large, and so ambiguous signification; and consequently may be rendered advocate, exhorter, or comforter; and every one of these do fitly accord to the offices of the Holy Ghost among the apostles, (on whom he was to descend,) and ever since, in the church, and therefore ought not to be so rendered by any one of these, as to exclude the others, but to be left in the latitude of the signification which belongs to the Greek word: yet the truth is, one notion there is of the word which seems to be especially referred to, both here, when he is called Paraclete, and chap. xvi. 8, as shall there appear, and that is the first notion, that of an advocate or interlocutor, an advocate of the Christian’s cause with God, Rom. viii. 26, and so also with men, teaching the apostles what they shall say, when they are brought before kings, &c. Matt. x. 20, and an advocate, or actor of Christ’s cause against the world of unbelievers and crucifers, John xv. 26, and efficaciously convincing the adversaries, John xvi. 8, and this is the notion of the word retained among the Talmudists, who continue the Greek word without the termination, and set it in opposition to בְּשִׁבְחָה, אֶרְשָׁה, an accuser. And proportionably to what is here said of παράκλητος, must, I suppose, be resolved of παράκλησις τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, Acts ix. 31, not that it be restrained to note comfort particularly, but be taken in the latitude, for the whole work of the ministry, to which the apostles were set apart and consecrated, and enabled by the Holy Ghost’s coming down upon them; and so indeed the word is generally used in the Acts, to denote the preaching of the word, speaking to the people, as the apostles did in the synagogues, or elsewhere, to tell them their duty of all kinds. So Acts xi. 23, παρεκάλεε πάντας, the sum of his speech or sermon to them all was, that they should cleave unto the Lord. So Acts xiv. 2, παρακαλούντες ἐμμείνειν τῇ πίστει, preaching to, or interceding with them, to abide in the faith, and xv. 32, διὰ λόγου πολλοῦ παρεκάλεσαν, and λόγῳ πολλῷ, c. 22, with much speech they exhorted, or taught, or preached to the brethren. So ch. xvi. 4c, παρεκάλεσαν αὐτοὺς, they preached to, or exhorted them. So λόγος παρακλήσεως, Acts xiii. 15, a word of exhortation, according to their custom of saying something seasonably to the people at their public assemblies, after their reading of the law, &c. So Acts xv. 31, the whole message of the synod at Jerusalem, and their decision of the controversy, is called παράκλησις, exhortation.

John 14:18

Ye are my little children, ch. xiii. 33, and therefore when I leave you I will have more care of you than to leave you destitute, I will hasten to come unto you, as to so many young children deprived of their parents, though I am slain, and so depart from you, yet I will rise again, and give you the comfort of seeing me after my resurrection, see ver. 18.

John 14:19

After a little space I shall be taken from this earth, where now I move, and so taken, that the impenitent unbelieving Jews shall never see more of my miracles, which have hitherto been so uneffectual among them, never see me again, (so as to take comfort or reap benefit by seeing me) but it is not my death itself that shall separate me from you, I shall rise from death, and appear to you after my resurrection, and from thence ascend to heaven, there to live eternally; and as that shall be matter of great rejoicing to you, (see note on 1 Thess. iii. 6,) like the joy of one that hath a friend returned to life again, or like the woman’s joy after child-birth, ch. xvi. 21, 22, a wonderful reviving after your sorrow for my departure, so shall it be attended with all vital advantages to you, justification, Rom. v. 10, and eternal life hereafter.

John 14:20

And when I shall after my death thus appear unto you, and make good what I now promise, then shall ye be convinced, (more perfectly than yet ye have been,) first, that I have taught nothing but what is the will of my Father; second, that by your keeping close to that faith which I have taught you, my power and commission, which I have received from my Father, shall be communicated to you, Luke xxii. 28.

[c] and I in you] The word κᾶγω, in this writer especially, hath oft a peculiar elegancy in it, and is not fully understood but by adding the word so in the rendering of it; so also I; and then it hath an influence on the former part of the period, and makes that the first part of a similitude or comparison, as it is itself the ἀνταπόδοσις, or second. Thus it is oft in other places, see chap. vi. 56. ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει, κᾶγω ἐν αὐτῷ, as he remaineth in me, so also I in him. So καὶ αὐτὸς I John iv. 15. ὁ Θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, as God abides in him, so he also in God; and again ver. 16, and here in this verse, where two parts (not three) of conviction seem to be set down, as the effects of Christ’s resurrection, &c.: 1. They shall know that Christ is in his Father; that is, that he came truly with commission from him, and hath kept close to

John 14:21

And this I say to all obedient servants of mine, whosoever they are, not only to you apostles; every faithful lover of me, ver. 15, shall be loved of my Father, and from me receive that evidence of my love, I will effectually make myself known to him after my resurrection, either by appearing to him myself, or by the testimony of those to whom I will appear.

John 14:22

Upon this Judas, one of his disciples, still looking after a present shewing himself as a temporal Messias, asked him (see ch. vii. 4.) what was the reason that he would not manifest himself to the world as well as to them?

John 14:23

Jesus answered, The reason is, because the world doth not practise my precepts, which they that do, by that express their love to me, and have this reward from my Father, that he loves them again; and he and I reveal ourselves to such, and delight to dwell with such.

John 14:24

But this is not competible to the world, who neither love nor obey me, nor consequently my Father, whose word it is, and not mine own, which I preach unto you.

expound to you all the obscurities of my speeches as far as is useful to your office, (see note [i] 1 Cor. xiii.) and put you in mind of all which I have now said to you, how they are fulfilled, and what they meant: see Acts xi. 16.

John 14:27

I take my leave of you, and do it again heartily and affectionately; and that in a special peculiar way from that by which the world uses to do it: they in civility, when they salute you, or take their leave of you, use the like forms, Peace be to you, &c., but either do it formally and heartlessly, or else are not able to do any more than wish it; but I who cordially love, and am able to express my love, will effectually give it to you. Be not either troubled with grief (see note [a] ch. xi.) that I must be taken from you, nor fear what shall befall yourselves.

John 14:28

I told you, ver. 19, that I am to go away, and after a few days return to you again, (see note [c] Acts xv.) and then return to my Father, from whom I came. If ye were kind to me, ye would have looked upon it with joy, as on a means of dignifying me, for he that sent is, as such, greater than I who am sent by him: and so my returning to my Father must needs be the advancing me to an higher condition than that which now I am in.

John 14:29

I have not told you all this to afflict you, but to arm you for the expectation of it, by foretelling it, and withal that your seeing my prediction fulfilled may convince you that all which I have said to you is true, and so make you believe on me.

what is the matter, τί γέγονεν. I abide with you, παρ’ ὑμῖν μίνων. you, ὑμῖν. 10 observe my word, τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει. 12 Paraclete, the Holy, παράκλητος, τὸ Πν. 13 unto it, give I it to you, δίδωσιν, ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν.

F f 2