Ask the Pastor – Can you please explain the last two verses of John 14?

Question:

Can you please explain the last two verses of John 14?

Answer:

John 14 was the last effort Jesus put forth to explain to His disciples what was going to take place to finalize the plan of salvation. These last two verses unfold the deep commitment of Jesus and express the surety of victory over the devil who had brought so much woe, misery, and death to God’s creation.

The context of these verses centers in the promise of the Holy Spirit, who would be sent by the Father to teach them right and those things they did not understand and to instruct them continually in what was essential for their salvation and victory. (Verses 25, 26.)

In addition to the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus also promised them peace—a peace which would far surpass anything that the world was capable of giving. (Verses 27, 28.) The two promises Jesus had just spoken to them, of the Holy Spirit and of peace, are followed by a command of not being troubled or being afraid. If we somehow could just grasp these truths, then obeying this command would be a very simple matter.

Jesus then repeats to them what He had already told them earlier in the chapter about going away. The reason for this was to establish the truth of His word prophetically. Once the prophetic word has been established in the heart, the mind is set on fire to tell others what is true.

Coming now to the last two verses, Jesus says that He is not going to speak much longer with them, because the prince of this world is coming. Here Jesus is saying that He has already given them all the information necessary to make it through to the end. Nothing more, essentially, can be added at this point. The devil is on his way to bring the final test. What the important question now is, Have they learned the lessons that He has taught them? Jesus has learned and is able to go through, because He has been obedient to His Father.

His obedience has come because He loves His Father. This is the only place in Scripture where Jesus declares His love for the Father. The Father has stated in other texts that He loves the Son, but this is the only one where Jesus says this. Love produces obedience to the Father. If there is no love, there will be no will to do the Father’s wishes. Jesus is saying that He has done exactly what the Father has asked of Him, because He loves the Father.

This is an important aspect that many people do not learn. They may say that they love God or that they love their parents, but they do not do what is asked of them. As a result, they are always falling into trouble, which the devil brings, and have no defense, because they are not obedient to God or to their parents. This text spells out for us just how important it is to learn obedience, first to our parents’ wishes and then to God’s wishes, as we grow and mature in life. If we fail in this, then our whole life will end up in chaos. We may think everything is okay, but if we are not obedient to the Father, we will suffer loss. That is the point Jesus is making as He closes this section of Scripture.

Pastor Mike Baugher is a retired minister of the gospel. If you have a question you would like Pastor Mike to answer, e-mail it to: landmarks@stepstolife.org, or mail it to: LandMarks, Steps to Life, P. O. Box 782828, Wichita, KS 67278.