We Love Jesus; Jesus Loves Us (John 14:15-31)
As a young child one of the things I fear most is losing my mum. The reason is because she was my source of comfort and security. The presence of a parent is very important to children especially when they are young. When they hurt themselves, as parents we not only treat their wounds, but we will often offer them comfort. We can kiss the child and hold her in our arms. And we can comfort them by saying, “There, there, now. It is not really too bad. Look, it is not bleeding. It is only bruised.” Or if it is serious, you get him to the hospital.
In some sense this is what Jesus is doing here in chapter 14, offering comfort and security to those who are His as His parting is near.
John 14:1-14, started with our Lord Jesus in anticipation of His departure comforting His disciples by encouraging them to trust in Him. He gave them four reasons why they should trust Him. First he assures them that He will give them a heavenly home. Secondly He assures them that He is the way to the Father and thirdly He will show them the Father. Finally, he encourages them to believe in Him so that they can do greater works and these are greater works in the sense that they will be done in His power as the risen Lord.
As we begin unpacking the rest of chapter 14I want us to keep in mind that it is still set within the context of Jesus comforting His disciples. Let that be the tone of our sermon this morning.
The disciples have shared an intimate relation with Jesus. They have been taught by Him, they have marvelled at His work, when they were trembling, He has comforted them with His presence and power. They have joined Him in His ministry but now their master is going to depart from them, and they fear they are going to be left alone. Like a young child, they probably wonder how they are going to fend for themselves. How are they going to perform the greater works than what they have done thus far, greater works Jesus has told them they can perform in His power?
Jesus has assured them in John 14:13-14, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Now they are probably wondering how does that look like?
Likewise for us morning, as followers of Jesus who share a love relationship with our Lord and we who yearn to walk in His ways, how does that look like for us?
True followers of Jesus will love and obey Him and Jesus will secure the Holy Spirit for His followers, from the Father.
The big picture for our sermon this morning is: True followers of Jesus will love and obey Him and Jesus will secure the Holy Spirit for His followers, from the Father.
Jesus’s true disciples will love Him and keep His commandments (Jn 14:15;21-24)
Love and commandment do not seem to belong together. Love and grace will go together, love and mercy works well, love and redemption that works too.
On the other hand commandment and rules belong together, commandments and regulations sound like a good combination, commandments and legalism works so does commandments and restrictions.
However here we have Jesus telling HIs disciples. If you love me you will keep my commandments. This certainly sounds rather legalistic. How are to understand this?
We begin by changing our tainted lenses with a pair of biblical glasses. Friends when Jesus says “If you love me you will keep my commandments” It is not meant to be imposing it is said with a loving and encouraging tone. He is offering His disciples words of assurance and comfort. He is telling them as true disciples they will love and obey Him.
Jesus is describing the kind of relationship that we have with Him. It is one that is based on love and obedience. What we must understand is this, love and obedience cannot be separated. Love is the foundation of obedience, and obedience is the sure outcome and result of love.
As followers of Jesus our obedience to Jesus is not transactional. We do not do it to get something out of it. It is always relational, it is our close and loving relationship with our Lord that makes us want to obey Him.
Love must be the motivation for us to obey the commands of Jesus.
Love must be the motivation for us to obey the commands of Jesus. Quoting from a commentary, “Obedience without love is nothing more than the pursuit of self-righteousness.” Friends if we ever struggle to obey Jesus it is not our disobedience that motivates us to obey, it is love. If we are not obeying Jesus out of love but obligation than what we are trying to gain from our obedience is to gain His favour. This is so flawed because there is nothing that we can do that will ever win us His favour. We are sinners we can never meet up to God’s standard.
God loves us while we still sinners, His love is not dependent upon our obedience, it solely rests on His love alone. We can’t truly obey Jesus if we don’t love Him. For what then would be the basis of our obedience, what then is the reason for us to obey. On the other hand, we cannot say we love Jesus if we don’t obey Him. We cannot love Jesus if we have been unfaithful to Him.
In John 14:21, Jesus expanded on the relational connection between obedience to him and love for him, this time adding that a result of this loving obedience his disciples will experience the Father’s love and know more of Jesus Himself, “Whoever has my commandments and keep them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him”
This does not mean our salvation is dependent upon our obedience and God’s love for us is contingent upon our love for Him. What it does mean is true believers will love Jesus and will get to experience and enjoy the love of God. And those who love Jesus will grow in their knowledge of Him because He will manifest Himself to them.
How does Jesus manifest Himself? How is Jesus real to you?
I confess that there are times when believing in Jesus is just an intellectual exercise and I do not experience His reality in my life. So how is Jesus real to us? Does He manifest Himself physically?
There are people who have claim to have seen Jesus in the flesh, but I am not certain how they know it is Jesus they saw.
Friends, Jesus is real. This reality is seen in a spiritual sense. We know Jesus through the revelation of Himself in the Bible and through the witness of the Holy Spirit within the hearts of believers. The Holy Spirit helps us understand the truth about Jesus and it convicts us of the truth about Jesus. For those who are not born again, this may sound a bit like some fantasy we cling to.
This is because those who are spiritually dead will not be able to be convicted of the truth about Jesus. But for us who have been made alive by the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Christ is more real than anything we can see physically, more real even than our own hands or feet.”
A true experience of the reality of Jesus in our lives will result in us walking in obedience to Jesus motivated by our love for Him. To truly experience the reality of Jesus in our life involves both loving Him and obeying Him.
To love Him involves more than an emotional display, Jesus has already made it clear, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. When we love Jesus and obey Him, He will manifest Himself to us. We will experience His presence in our life. He will be real to us. But we can only love Jesus and obey Him when we are made alive by the Holy Spirit.
In hearing that Jesus will manifest Himself to those who love and obey Him, Judas who is probably the son of James, may not have fully understood what Jesus is saying. Many first-century Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come and reveal Himself in power to the world. ). Like many of his fellow Jews, Judas I would think also longed for the manifestation of the Messiah to the world. Jesus’ promise to show Himself to His disciples was not enough for him, so he asked why He was not going to show Himself to the world as well.
While there will come a time when Jesus will reveal Himself to the world but his intent in this passage is focus on His followers and His aim is to encourage them. So, in answering Judas, He reiterated His earlier statement, ““If anyone loves me, he will keep my word” and He went on to assure them in John 14:23-24, “and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “
Here in this verse Jesus once again lay down the fact that those who love Him will be loved by the Father and not only will they be loved by the Father but both Jesus and God the Father will make their home with them. What this implies is God will dwell in those who love Jesus.
How can we understand this?
Jesus had earlier promise them a heavenly home and now He is telling them that what He promised, would be experienced (in part) in the present time. It would occur through the coming of the Spirit, whereby the Father and the Son would make their home with believers. This probably points to the indwelling the Holy Spirit. It is in reference to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in which He promised that the Spirit would come to live within each Christian (John 14:17).
Friends, can we love Jesus and not obey Him? The answer is an absolute no. Listen to what Jesus Himself said,”Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the father’s who sent me.”
In our natural sinful state we will naturally disobey God, that is our sinful human nature, we are all natural born rebels. But in Christ, we have a new and loving relationship. Because we love Jesus, we will have a growing desire to live a Christlike life, this is evidence of a divine and supernatural working in our lives. It is proof that God is present and that He has already begun a regenerative work in us.
Now that does not mean we will be able to completely obey Christ, no we still sin — “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But what it does mean is we will have a new desire to want to please God even amid our struggle with sin. We will grow in our longing for Jesus.
So what does obeying the commands of Jesus looks like? We need to look back to what John wrote earlier in John 13:34, ”A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
To obey His command involves loving one another. How do we do that?
First, we are to serve one another. Jesus has set the example for us. This is evident from the context in which the new commandment was given where we see Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.
Second, to love one another involves sacrifice. We are not called to serve out of convenience. Jesus washing of His disciples feet points to a greater sacrifice than just humble service. The true washing can only be accomplish when he had gone to the cross to make atonement for our sins.
Finally, the practice of love also means sharing, sharing of ourselves, on the one hand, and sharing the gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, on the other.
Beloved it is not easy for us to love Jesus, even if we are truly born again we will struggle to love Jesus.
So how can we truly love Jesus? Begin by thinking about His love. May I suggest that you do not start with how can I love Jesus rather start with how Jesus loves me. Think about how He died on the cross in our place. Who would do that for us, who can do that for us? Jesus and Jesus only. Think about His love daily and let His love overwhelm us. Let His love constrains us.
True disciples of Jesus will love Jesus and obey His commandments but true disciples of Jesus will still struggle to obey Him. However, Jesus will not leave them on the lurch. Jesus will secure for His followers the Holy Spirit from His Father
Jesus will secure for His true followers the Holy Spirit from His Father (Jn 14:16-17;25-26)
We all believe in the Holy Spirit but at the same time we are not clear about the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Helper whom the Father has sent to us.
Let me first address a broader truth, the Trinity. This is not a word you find in the Bible but it is fundamental to our faith. Thus far in the passage we see the Son and the Father at work and now we have the Holy Spirit coming down. Together we see the picture of the Triune God at work in caring for those whom He has called to salvation.
We believe there is One God and One Only. However, this One God exists in three Persons, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are equal and eternal and definitely worthy of praise and worship. Although distinct they act in unity pointing us to the One True God
The Holy Spirit is our helper to help us love Jesus and to help us walk in obedience to His commands.
So what is the role of the Holy Spirit? The Greek word used in the passage for the Holy Spirit is “parakletos”. Originally, in classical literature, it meant “called to one’s aid in a court of justice” it is primarily referring to a legal advocate. The Holy Spirit is our advocate for He pleads on our behalf. But the New Testament also often use the word to mean “helper” or “intercessor”. The Holy Spirit is our helper to help us love Jesus and to help us walk in obedience to His commands.
Another meaning for parakletos is counsellor. “Counsellor” means “one who is called alongside” and it carries with it the idea of someone who encourages and exhorts.
Another truth concerning the Helper is His presence with us is not temporal. He will be with us and He will dwell in us forever.
You know what that implies, it implies our salvation is eternal, we will forever be children of the living God, it implies even in our darkest moments, even when our prayers are not answered, even when God seems to be absent and even in death we will never walk alone. The Spirit will continue to dwell in us forever.
In addition, the Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17). What does it mean, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth? As the Spirit of truth, He guides believers into all truth and He testifies about Jesus meaning He is the divine witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.
There is a tendency for some to separate spiritual experiences and truth thinking that the Holy Spirit gives extra revelation, but it does not do that. The Holy Spirit and truth cannot be separated, the Holy Spirit works through the word of God. It guides believers to the truth, it convicts believers of the truth regarding sin, righteousness and judgment.
Without the work of the Holy Spirit we cannot come to faith. Jesus has made that very clear in John 3:5, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”
As the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit is our teacher. Listen to what John wrote in John 14:25-26, “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Before we look at what this means for us, let us examine what it meant for the disciples. They have been with Jesus for three years and He has spoken many truths to them but clearly they had not understood Him. Up to this point they had not yet really learned the great truths of the gospel. They were confused men who needed the Holy Spirit’s teaching. Hence we have John 14:26 where Jesus promises them the Holy Spirit to teach them. We will not be wrong to assume it is also special work of the Spirit to inspire the apostles to author the New Testament. What this mean for us is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles we now have the Bible.
What this also mean for us is the presence of the Holy Spirit as our Teacher helps us with understanding the Bible. If we are ever stuck in understanding something in the Bible, we can ask God by his Spirit to open our eyes that we may see wondrous things in His word—and be confident that all that we need to understand He will lead us to understand.
Jesus will secure for His true followers victory over death (Jn 14:18-20)
As we unpack this passage, we must first take into account that the disciples will soon be confronted with the cruel horror of Jesus’s death on the cross. Also keep in mind that up to this point they have yet to fully understand the nature of the cross.
Seeing Jesus on the cross would dash all hope for them. You can imagine their disappointment and disillusionment. They had placed their faith in Jesus believing He is the one who will bring salvation to the people and to then see Jesus hung on the cross, they will be drained of all hope.
However. Jesus words of comfort to them is “Death is not the end, not for me, not for you. Moreover, you do not even have to wait until the next life for the promise, for you will begin to enter into the reality of that life now.”
Soon they will come to fully understand that Jesus is fully divine. They will come to comprehend with clarity what Jesus had said earlier that “I and the Father are One.” And not only that but also that they are in Him and He is in them.
What this must mean for them is even though is not physically with them, He is not absent from them. He will always be with them.
What about us who are living in the post resurrection. We may not have witness the resurrection of Jesus but we know He is alive. What does that mean for us?
Nothing can separate from Jesus, not even death.
What it means for us is no matter what life throws at us, we have eternal security, a guaranteed security. It means that nothing can separate from Jesus, not even death. Yes death will come knocking in our lives unless the Lord returns before that but we need not fear death because we can rest in the hope of eternal glory.
But we do not need to wait to experience that security, for even right now we can rest in Christ, we can find peace for our troubled hearts, because He will give us peace.
Jesus gives to His true disciples His peace (Jn 14:27-31)
This brings us to our final point, Jesus gives to His true disciples His peace (Jn 14:27-31). The word for peace in Hebrew is shalom — a common term the Jews would often as a form of farewell blessings. But Jesus is not offering His disciples a farewell blessing, He is not merely wishing them peace, He is giving them peace. A peace that is not found in this world, a peace that the world cannot give. A peace that will soothe their hearts in a troubled world. It is a peace that is given through the defeating of life’s greatest enemies sin, death and Satan.
This is the peace that is also given to us who are in Christ. A peace that is entirely independent of our circumstances in life. A peace that rest on the knowledge that our lives belong to the God who is in absolute control of all things.
Friends, if you are in Christ this peace is already yours. What this means for us is when anxieties strike we can overcome because of the peace of Christ in us. It means when we worry about our tomorrows, we can find peace because it is in us. How do we do that? By shifting our focus. Shifting it away from worries and the anxieties and fixed our eyes on Jesus.
The passing of a dear one is always sorrowful because we often see it as losing a love one. The disciples are about to lose someone they love and trust. But here Jesus offers them the reasons they can rejoice in His parting (Jn 14:28-31).
First, He will come back to them. They probably do not understand what He is saying at this moment but they will time not grieve the passing of the Lord but rejoice in His victory over death and they will see Him in the flesh after His death on the cross.
The second reason why they can rejoice is if they truly love Him they will rejoice because He is going back to Hs Father because this would be better for Jesus and the reason is why is because God is greater than Him. What does that mean? Is Jesus saying He is lesser than God? Absolutely not! So what does it mean then? This is how James Boices puts it, “The key word is the conjunction “for.” Jesus has told the disciples that they should rejoice in view of his departure and in their love for him. He now gives the reason. “For,” he says [that is “because”], “my Father is greater than I.” In other words, in the days of his incarnation Jesus had been below the Father in terms of his outward glory and official position. But now he was returning to the Father to assume that great glory and position he had possessed originally.”
It makes sense that if they truly love Him they will rejoice. The reason why they should rejoice is because then they will believe. At this point they do not know that He will be resurrected. Most important of all is they did not understand this the means of salvation, the very foundation of the gospel. It is only in the death and resurrection of Jesus that they truly believed and be saved, It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that they can be justified by faith.
This must also mean a lot for us. It must change how we view the death of a child of God. It may not change how we feel, because in death we are separated for our love ones and it is always painful. We do not and must not hold back our tears when we a final farewell to someone we love. We will and must grieve.
But at the same, we an grieve with hope. We can rejoice in the midst of our sorrows. We can because Christ has secured the victory over death itself. If we truly love our loved ones who is in Christ we can and we must rejoice. We are sad to not see our loved one again on this side but we are happy is a much much better place. Their death will mean their exaltation and perfection. For us their passing is loss. We miss them and are poorer for their death.
On the other hand, we rejoice that they have completed their race and are now with Jesus, having been made like Him.
How should we understand the context of these verses in John 14:30-31. I believe it is still related to peace. This must be understood within the context of His coming arrest. The ruler of the world is with reference to the Satan. What Jesus is saying here is the devil will move Judas to betray Jesus and initiate His arrest and crucifixion. Jesus wants to assure His disciples that when the time comes, Satan does not have any valid charge against Him.
Now how we to understand this? Humanly, Jesus is defeated because He did not escape the cross. However, what Jesus is saying is Satan will have no hold over Him in the sense that there is no legitimate charge that can be rendered against Him. Satan can try his best to destroy Jesus but He will not succeed. Jesus death is not a victory for the devil it is a victory for Christ.
Beloved, we as His children share in His victory. What does all those mean to us present here this morning?
Friends, in the midst of the uncertainty of life, we can find security in Jesus. In the midst of a troubled world we can find peace in Christ. In the midst of the certainty of death, we can find victory in Jesus. The brokens lives and the broken world that we see around us is the result of our sin and rebellion against God. We are all condemned for all eternity and that is what we deserve.
But God in His love has given us His Son to pay the penalty for our sins. Our own sin has separated us and deprived us of a wonderful relationship with God. Jesus is the only way that we can ever be reconciled back to God. Come to Jesus, confess your sins before Him and believed in Him and surrender your life to Him and you will be saved.
Dear ones, I know we lived in a troubled world, there is no security in life, life is full of uncertainties. Some of us struggle more than others. Some of us are going pains and frustrations and we don’t seem to find respite.
The peace Jesus gives is real. The comforts and the promises that He has given us is real. His word is real.
Some of us face very real worries and wondering will be able to continue to pay our bills. These are all very real in life circumstances. But beloved as real as the hardship of life is, God the Father is real and He cares for us. God the Son, Jesus our Saviour is real and He loves us. God the Hlly Spirit is real and He is our helper. The peace Jesus gives is real. The comforts and the promises that He has given us is real. His word is real. Let us muster whatever little faith we have and place our trust. Our faith may be small but our God is not.
Beloved, if anyone of us struggle to obey Jesus, if any of us struggle to walk in a manner that is pleasing to God, fixed Your eyes on the cross where our Saviour, there is no greater display of love than the love that was poured on the cross. Let that motivate you to love Jesus and let your love for Jesus motivate you to serve and obey Him. Let us in closing raise our voices to declare our Love for Jesus.