John 14 - Jesus Comforts
Study Passage: John 14
Last week, we left off when Peter asked Jesus the question that must have been on each of the disciples minds, “where are you going?” (John 13:36). Remember, Jesus had just told His disciples that He was leaving. They had devoted their lives to Jesus for three years and now they were told they couldn’t even follow Him! Can you imagine having a seat at that table and feeling the confusion and hurt and hearing all the questions as the disciples wondered if this might be their final meal with their Lord? This week we’ll see how Jesus comforted the troubled hearts of His disciples and the assurances He gave them are still true today for all believers in Jesus Christ.
DAY 1 - READ AND REFLECT
READ John 14 all the way through. Now read John 14 again — preferably in a different Bible translation to get a clearer perspective of what the passage is saying. Get in the habit of asking good questions and taking notes!
What observations or questions come to mind?
What repetitive words or phrases do you notice?
What words stand out that are worth looking at in different Bible translation?
TIP: Notice how this chapter begins and ends with the same words from Jesus (vs. 1 & 27), which helps us know His heart and purpose in this passage.
DAY 2 - JESUS IS THE WAY (JOHN 14:1-6)
Even though Judas’ betrayal wasn’t a surprise to Jesus, He was still “troubled in spirit” (John 13:6). Add the weight of the cross He knowingly was to endure and you would think Jesus’ disciples would be comforting Him! Yet, we see Jesus comfort His disciples, knowing their world was about to be shattered and they would be confused, devastated, and afraid. The first thing Jesus said to console them was to believe. To believe is to trust and it comes from a personal relationship and knowledge of someone. The disciples may have had a close relationship with Jesus, but there’s another relationship Jesus wanted them to understand. Read John 14:1 and 12:44. What is the relationship between believing in God and believing in Jesus? Does it appear that you can believe in one and not the other? How might this have comforted Jesus’ disciples?
In John 14:2-3, Jesus answered Peter’s question — He is going to be with His Father. When you READ this passage, notice Jesus used a metaphor to describe heaven as a home — a home with many rooms. In other places in the Bible heaven is described as an inheritance, a kingdom, a country, and a city (1 Peter 1:4, 2 Peter 1:11, Hebrews 11:16). The Greek word translated as “mansions” (KJV) can also be translated as “rooms” (CSB, ESV, NIV) or dwelling place. Perhaps you’d rather picture a heavenly mansion awaiting for you instead of a room, but remember this is a metaphor. How big and how nice our heavenly real estate will be is not the point Jesus is making. He’s telling His disciples and all who believe in Christ there will be space for you! Read John 14:2-3 and 17:24 in a few Bible translations. What is Jesus’ desire? Who will be together in heaven?
Heaven is a real place, but did you notice in those verses that the essence of heaven shifts from a place to a person? Heaven is being in the presence of Jesus! That’s why Jesus told His disciples “you know the way to where I’m going,” (vs. 4, CSB) because they knew Him. But Thomas was confused and said, if we don’t even know where you’re going, how are we supposed to know how to get there? Thomas was looking for directions, but the way to the Father isn’t found in an instruction manual, it's found in a person. Read John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 to gain CONTEXT around heaven. What is God’s desire and what do you learn about “the way” to get there?
Jesus isn’t A way to heaven, He is THE way! If there were another way for Jesus to bring us to Himself do you suppose He would’ve been so determined to “go away and prepare a place for you,” — a statement He repeats twice? Jesus had to do what He came here to do — to prepare the way — He had to go to the cross. Something His disciples didn’t understand yet, but they would soon. As you go to APPLY today’s passage, what is your reaction to being told there is one way to heaven? Why is this?
We encourage you to give all your thoughts to God and pray that He would help you see His mercy in sending Jesus to make the one and only way available to you.
DAY 3 - KNOWING THE FATHER (JOHN 14:7-11)
The promise of a future eternal home in the very presence of Jesus is a great comfort when we face temporary troubles today. But don’t you love Philip for asking the question that many of us want to ask in the midst of our troubles — is there any hope for today? Can we just know the Father now? Read John 14:7-11. How does Jesus tell Philip that he already knows the Father? What do you learn about Jesus’ relationship with the Father?
When we look back in HISTORY the question we should ask ourselves is: how would the original hearers have heard and understood this message back then? Jesus referred to God as “Father” more than 50 times in John 13-17 alone. Although sometimes it appears the people didn’t fully understand the impact of His Words, other times it was clear. Read John 5:17-18. What did the Jews interpret Jesus’ words to mean?
In John 14:9-11, Jesus basically said the same thing over and over again, but used different words. He essentially repeated, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). This would’ve greatly encouraged Philip and the disciples, because it meant that even though they couldn’t be with God the Father yet, they could know Him because they knew Jesus. Read Jeremiah 9:23-24. What about us? Is it possible for us to know God? Does He want to be known?
What does it mean to know God? As we READ John’s gospel, the word know is found more than 140 times, but it doesn't alway mean the same thing. There are four different ways the word “know” can be used, ranging from factual and informational knowledge, to personal and relationshional knowledge. Why is it important to know God in both an informational and relational way? How can having one without the other lead us astray?
As you APPLY this passage to your life, take an honest assessment of where you are today and consider how you can better know God and grow in your relationship with Jesus.
DAY 4 - THE HOLY SPIRIT (JOHN 14:12-26)
When our hearts are troubled we should always turn to prayer. That’s exactly what Jesus told His disciples to do in John 14:12-15. It would be easy to read part of verse 12, “he will do even greater works than these,” (CSB) and think believers will do even more miraculous works than Jesus. But the “greater works” Jesus referred to was because the disciples would reach more people, they would be greater in scope (Acts 1:8, 5:14-16). The key to understanding how this is possible comes from simply reading the rest of the sentence, “because I am going to the Father.” Read John 14:16 & 16:7. When you look at CONTEXT surrounding these verses, what do you learn will happen when Jesus goes to the Father?
In John 14:16-26, before Jesus left, He comforted His disciples by promising them, “I will not leave you as orphans,” (vs.18). How could Jesus physically leave and yet not leave them alone? By giving them the greatest gift they could ever receive, the Holy Spirit! When we look at HISTORY, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would come on people to empower them to do God’s work and then leave them (e.g. King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:14, 18:12). This was about to change! According to verse 16 how long would the Spirit remain with Jesus’ disciples?
This was great news for the disciples, but what about God’s people today? When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost in Acts 2, He came to permanently be with all those who love Jesus and keep His word (John 14:15, 21, 23). Let’s take a closer look at two verses to gain a better understanding of what this looks like:
John 14:16 - The Greek word for “another” means “another of the same kind.” The Spirit shares in the same divine nature as Jesus, just as we learned yesterday that Jesus shares in the same divine nature as God the Father (vs. 7-11).
John 14:23 - The word translated here as “home” or “abode” is the same word we saw in verse 2 (mansions; rooms), which means dwelling place.
Together these verses tell us that to have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus Himself and the very presence of God dwelling within you! Read verses 17 and 23. Considering who lives within believers, how does this fulfill Jesus’ promise to never leave us? How would this have comforted the disciples back then and all believers today?
We’ll learn more about the Holy Spirit in chapter 16. For now let’s learn a bit more about the role of the Holy Spirit by READING verse 16 in a couple different Bible translations. Notice that the Spirit is described in a couple ways, each being an acceptable translation of the original Greek word. Use a dictionary to learn more about the following words.
Comforter (KJV)
Counselor (CSB)
Advocate (NIV)
Helper (ESV)
How does this help you understand the role of the Holy Spirit and how might this APPLY to your life as a believer in Christ?
Written by: Sarah West
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