Chapter 30

John 14:15–31

Literary Context

This pericope is the third of eight sections of the farewell discourse. Surrounded by a prologue (13:31–38) and an epilogue (16:25–33), the farewell discourse can be divided into six significant and developing thematic statements by Jesus, with each offering comfort and consolation for the disciples (and the reader) from Jesus, befitting the nature of a farewell discourse (see comments before 13:1). These six statements within the farewell discourse offer one long exhortation to stay the course and encouragement that their efforts will be matched by the Trinitarian God himself. After offering himself to the disciples in the previous pericope, in the second of these six statements Jesus offers the Holy Spirit. Jesus begins to articulate the Christian life after his departure and speaks about living in obedience to the commandments of God in a fallen world that opposes God and is ruled by a different ruler. The disciples—and the readers—are exhorted to begin living in Christ by the Spirit, participating in the mission of God after having received from Christ the peace of God.

1. VII. The Farewell Discourse (13:1–17:26)
   1. A. Introduction: The Love of Jesus (13:1–30)
      1. 1. Jesus and the Washing of His Disciples’ Feet (13:1–20)
      2. 2. Jesus Announces His Betrayal (13:21–30)
   2. B. The Farewell Discourse (13:31–16:33)
      1. 1. Prologue: Glory, Departure, and Love (13:31–38)
      2. 2. I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life (14:1–14)
      3. 3. I Will Give You the Paraclete (14:15–31)
      4. 4. I Am the True Vine (15:1–17)
      5. 5. I Have Also Experienced the Hate of the World (15:18–27)
      6. 6. I Will Empower You by the Paraclete (16:1–15)
      7. 7. I Will Turn Your Grief into Joy (16:16–24)
      8. 8. Epilogue: Speaking Plainly, Departure, and Peace (16:25–33)
   3. C. Conclusion: The Prayer of Jesus (17:1–26)

Main Idea

The Christian life is participation in God through Christ and in the Spirit, the Paraclete who guides the believer as the indwelling and eternal presence of God.

Translation

Structure and Literary Form

As the third of eight sections of the farewell discourse, this pericope is part of the fourth (and longest) substantial monologue in the narrative proper. A monologue (see Introduction) is similar to a dialogue in that it is set in the context of an engagement and conflict, but rather than engaging point-for-point it allows for a lengthy argument. A monologue can contain elements of rhetoric, challenge, and conflict, but it does so in a sustained presentation.

This pericope is the second of six statements by Jesus intending to exhort and encourage his disciples. While all of 14:1–31 works together (see comments on 14:27–29), the warrant for this section is not only the common subject matter throughout—the combination of love and obedience (vv. 15, 21, 23, 31)—but also the way in which the subject manner forms an inclusio that frames the entire section (vv. 15, 31). In this second statement, Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to his disciples and prepares them to participate in God and in their Christian vocation.

Exegetical Outline

1. 3. I Will Give You the Paraclete (14:15–31)
   1. a. An Introduction to “Another Paraclete” (vv. 15–21)
   2. b. Participation with the Father and the Son in the Spirit (vv. 22–24)
   3. c. The Peace of Christ in the Spirit (vv. 25–31)

Explanation of the Text

Since this entire section of the Gospel and “the farewell discourse” proper are replete with interpretive issues, we refer the reader to the first pericope of this section where we provided an overview of the nature (genre), literary structure, and function of the farewell discourse (see comments before 13:1).

14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτέ με, τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε). A new section in the farewell discourse begins as Jesus develops further what was introduced in the last section concerning the mutuality between God (Father and Son) and the disciples. In this first section of the pericope (vv. 15–21), Jesus introduces the common denominator in their mutuality, the promised Holy Spirit. But before introducing the Spirit, Jesus explains that the nature of the relationship between God and his children consists in love and obedience. The pericope starts and ends (v. 31) with this twofold expression of the disciple.

Fellowship and partnership with God is a relationship of love, not only God’s love for us, but also our love for God. But love according to this Gospel is never a sentiment or an emotion; it is always moral.1 Up to this point in the Gospel, the love of God for his people has been dominant; the disciple’s love for God has hardly been mentioned, and even then only implicitly (see 8:42). But from this point onward it becomes the explicit theme. The condition here is not intended to threaten the disciples to respond with love, but properly to define love.2 The person who loves God “will keep my commandments” (τὰς ἐντολὰς τὰς ἐμὰς τηρήσετε). The Greek emphasizes the pronoun “my” (“my commandments”) in a way that suggests that even in his physical absence Jesus is the standard for the life of the disciple, for he is the one who fulfilled the law (cf. 8:31). Love for God is always founded upon and directed toward Christ.

14:16 “And I will ask the Father and he will give to you another Paraclete in order that he will be with you forever” (κἀγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει ὑμῖν ἵνα μεθ’ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾖ). The obedience God requires goes beyond human achievement, so Jesus promises the believer divine assistance. The functional mutuality between the believer and God that results in prayer (see comments on 14:13–14) is similarly present between God the Son and God the Father. Jesus “will ask the Father” (ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα) and the Father “will give” (δώσει), befitting the perfect union between the Son’s desire and the Father’s will. The gift from the Father is “another Paraclete,” introduced here for the first time.

In Depth: The Paraclete

The title “Paraclete” (παράκλητος), often with a definite article (“the Paraclete”; see e.g., 14:26), is difficult to translate and define. Common translations include the following: “Comforter” (KJV), “Advocate” (NRSV; NEB; JB; NIV), “Counselor” (HCS), and “Helper” (NASB; ESV). The term only occurs five times in the NT, all in the Johannine literature (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1). Thus there is not much NT data with which to work. Even in the Greek corpus up to the first century but prior to the Fourth Gospel, the term only occurs in fifteen passages.3 And the search for an equivalent Hebrew term is a lost cause.

While the term is understood to have varied meanings, the traditional scholarly opinion has been that the word has a legal or forensic emphasis; thus the corresponding translation of “advocate.”4 While scholars will admit that the Fourth Gospel does “qualify and add to this particular meaning, advocate, so that helper and teacher are functions that provide a further dimension to this forensic one,” they are still forcing the term to have a single and determinable primary meaning.5 Other proposals like the various translations listed above prefer a different but still single and determinable meaning. Indeed, there is a growing push against the legal or forensic definition of the term (“advocate”); the argument is that the same data is better interpreted not for a forensic but a prophetic role or office.6 Quite simply, the term “has a general meaning which could appear in legal contexts,” but even when it did it was used “as a supporter or sponsor.”7

Translating the term therefore is quite difficult, for it will inevitably force the translator to choose one of the conceptual meanings discussed above as the primary meaning. However, the term has a general meaning that overlaps with several potential meanings and almost certainly encapsulates many of those meanings simultaneously, even if certain contexts tend to emphasize one meaning over another. For this reason we will not translate the term by giving it a more limited or selective English translation. Rather, we will simply translate (that is, transliterate) the term as “Paraclete” or “the Paraclete” (ὁ παράκλητος) to avoid limiting or muting aspects of the identity and multifaceted function of the Paraclete that are core to its (his) identity (on “impressions,” see Introduction).8 This approach also assumes that it is not a background that is best suited to determine the meaning of the word (e.g., religious-historical perspectives),9 but a foreground—the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (see v. 26). The figure and function of the Holy Spirit cannot be defined by the history of religions, for it requires not only sensitivity to the Gospel’s own multifaceted portrayal but also the foregrounding depiction from the rest of the biblical canon—the primary source for offering a conceptual interpretation of the Spirit’s person and work.10 While our analysis of the rest of the Gospel will continue to unpack the function of the Paraclete, a general summary of the Paraclete is needed here.

First, the Paraclete is still to come. Jesus will ask the Father and the Father “will send” the Paraclete to the disciples (v. 26). While the church has long wrestled with the procession of the Spirit (i.e., does he come from the Father and the Son?), this verse allows both to be included, even if they have different roles in the coming of the Spirit.11 This is not to say, however, that the Spirit had not been active up to this point. For if we include the analysis of Paul that “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3), then we must conclude that the Spirit had already been at work.12 It is significant that the Paraclete can only come when Jesus departs (16:7), for it suggests that his coming is a direct consequence of the saving work of Christ without which he could have no place or function at all. The Paraclete is therefore symptomatic of the era to come in the new covenant and the new life in Christ, the Spiritual life.

Second, the Paraclete has a special relationship to the disciples. Without exception, the functions ascribed to the Spirit are elsewhere in this Gospel assigned to Christ.13 The disciples (i.e., all believers) will be granted the ability to know and relate to the Paraclete just as they have the privilege of knowing Jesus (14:7, 9). The Paraclete will indwell the disciples and remain with them just as Jesus is to remain in and with the disciples (14:16–17, 20, 23; 15:4–5; 17:23, 26). The Paraclete as the Spirit of truth (14:17; 15:26; 16:13) will teach and guide the disciples into “all the truth” (16:13), just as Jesus is the truth (14:6; see also 1:14). The Spirit bears witness to Christ (15:26) and glorifies Christ (16:14), just as it is Christ from whom the Paraclete receives what he makes known to the disciples (16:14).

Third, the Paraclete has a unique role in the world to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (16:8). The world cannot see or accept the Paraclete, just as they could not accept or see Jesus (5:43; 12:48). It is in relation to the world that the Paraclete can be helped by the legal or forensic sense of the term. Not only does the Paraclete witness in relation to Jesus like a defending counsel (15:26; 16:14), but the Paraclete also has an advocacy role in relation to the disciples, aiding the disciples in their witness in the world, since his witness takes place through their own.14 Even more, the Paraclete or Spirit of truth (see v. 17) provides a grounding witness to reality for the disciples, directed at Jesus who is the truth (14:6). Thus, the Paraclete empowers the disciples in their witness to the world, continuing the mission of Jesus (20:21–22), who was sent by the Father (3:16).

These three aspects of the Paraclete point directly to a close relationship between the Paraclete and Jesus Christ. This conclusion is drawn not merely from the functional parallels mentioned above but from Jesus’s own qualification that the Paraclete is “another Paraclete” (ἄλλον παράκλητον). It should not be overlooked that this first occurrence of the title “Paraclete” in the Gospel carefully qualifies him in relation to Jesus. The adjective “another” (ἄλλον) signifies “another of the same kind” in contrast to the other adjective that could have been used, “other” (ἕτερον), which signifies “another of a different kind” (cf. the use of both adjectives in Gal 1:6–7).15 The implication is that Jesus was also a Paraclete, just a different Paraclete than the Spirit (see also 1 John 2:1).16

This qualification of the Paraclete demands not only that the Paraclete is the Spirit but also that the Paraclete is more than the Spirit. That is, this adjectival qualification directs us to undersand more fully the nature of the works and persons of God. In this verse the Trinity is not imposed upon the text but springs from it with clarity and force. For here we see how the Son and the Spirit can belong together (as God) and participate in the same work (the mission of God) and yet be different persons and have different assignments or functions, thus allowing for a distinction in purpose, a unity in function, and an equality in essence.17 And the relationship among the Trinity is gifted to us by means of the Spirit—the Paraclete, for at his departure (cross, resurrection, ascension) Jesus gives us “a share in his filial relationship with the Father by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”18 In this way Jesus is never replaced but incorporates into his work the work of the Spirit and shortly thereafter the work of his disciples (see comments on 14:12). As we will soon see, Jesus is not leaving his disciples but magnifying his presence and work among them (see v. 18).19

Our discussion above for the linguistic meaning of the title “Paraclete” has now become more complex, not in regard to definition but to expression. For the title not only refers to the Spirit of God but also to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The title “Paraclete” therefore expresses the intimate presence of God with his people, a presence that formally began with the incarnation and will carry on until the new creation. For this reason, the title “Paraclete” refers to the ministerial office of the Trinitarian God in the world, occupied by both the Son of God and the Spirit of God. First Jesus and now the Spirit witness to God, speak on behalf of God, console, guide, and teach in the way of God, and help in the work of God. This is why “Paraclete” cannot be translated into any one word or concept, nor can any language—English or otherwise—grasp its fullness. For “Paraclete” is the title of an office of God, the one from which he ministers to the world he loves. It is the term that guarantees that God is present and that nothing—neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation—can separate us from God and his love for us (Rom 8:38–39).

According to Jesus the Paraclete had always been the intention of God (“in order that he will be with you forever” [ἵνα μεθ’ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾖ]). God had always intended a multifaceted sending of himself, the first and second Paracletes, initiated and established by the work of the Son and appropriated and maintained by the work of the Spirit. Nothing here denies a future and even greater presence with God in “my Father’s house” (see 14:2–3), but it does mean that even in our present “dwellings” God is also dwelling intimately with his people, guaranteeing what has been officially inaugurated—eternal life (20:31).20

14:17 “The Spirit of truth, which the world is not able to receive, because it does not see or know him. You know him, because he remains beside you and is in you” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὃ ὁ κόσμος οὐ δύναται λαβεῖν, ὅτι οὐ θεωρεῖ αὐτὸ οὐδὲ γινώσκει· ὑμεῖς γινώσκετε αὐτό, ὅτι παρ’ ὑμῖν μένει καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν). After introducing the person of the (second) Paraclete, Jesus gives further details regarding his function. Jesus begins by describing the Paraclete as “the Spirit of truth” (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας), a phrase he will repeat later twice (15:26; 16:13). The genitive construction is likely an objective genitive (“the Spirit who communicates truth”).21

“Truth” is an important concept in the Gospel (1:14; 16:12–15) and especially in light of the recent occurrence of Jesus’s sixth formal “I am” statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). In light of its connection to Jesus, truth is more than a statement of fact or even a doctrine, for it speaks of the reality of God now accessed through Christ and in the Spirit. Just as Jesus is the standard for what is real in this world and true about God as the perfect expression of God (see comments on 14:6), the Spirit of truth is the incorporation of this reality, the substance of what is real in this world and true about God as the perfect provision of God. The Spirit of truth therefore serves as the instrument of God that gives “creational realities meaning and existence.”22 Truth finds its source in God, the God of truth (cf. Jer 10:10), and is returned to him in witness and expression through the death of Christ who is “the truth” and life in the Spirit of truth. Truth, therefore, is something to be received and obeyed, which is exactly the kind of help the Paraclete intends to offer the disciple.

The possession of this truth by the Spirit of truth according to Jesus is not something “the world” is able to receive (see comments on 1:10). The reason is that the Spirit is alien to the world, for “it does not see or know him” (οὐ θεωρεῖ αὐτὸ οὐδὲ γινώσκει). The Spirit has no personal relationship with the world. The terms “see” and “know” are not to be distinguished; they are referring to the experience of knowing and relating to God, the Spirit.23 The reality of God is mediated or experienced by the Spirit of truth in such a way that the believer knows and sees it.

How is this experience of the Spirit possible? According to Jesus, it is because “you know him” (ὑμεῖς γινώσκετε αὐτό), which in the Greek makes the subject (“you”) emphatic. And how is he known? “Because he remains beside you and is in you” (ὅτι παρ’ ὑμῖν μένει καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν). The prepositional phrase “beside you” (παρ’ ὑμῖν) is equivalent to “with you” (μεθ’ ὑμῶν) in v. 16. The prepositions are not to be played off each other but to be understood to be speaking with their own overlapping perspectives regarding the real presence of the Paraclete “with,” “beside,” and even “in” the believer. The last prepositional phrase, “in you” (ἐν ὑμῖν), emphasizes the agency of the Spirit in the life of the believer.24 Using language that expresses presence and agency, Jesus highlights the indwelling nature of the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete.25

14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you” (Οὐκ ἀφήσω ὑμᾶς ὀρφανούς, ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς). The coming of the Paraclete allows Jesus to state without hesitation that he will not leave his disciples as “orphans” (ὀρφανούς), a metaphor that can be used of a slave without a master but is best taken here as referring to children without a father (see 1:12). Moreover, Jesus declares that he—yes, Jesus himself—is “coming” (ἔρχομαι) to them. But about which coming does Jesus speak? Does he speak about a coming after his resurrection, or about his second coming, or about the coming of the Holy Spirit? The context of chapter 14 is important but exacerbates the problem. In 14:3 Jesus speaks of his own coming, the second coming, yet in the immediate and probably most determinative context (vv. 16–17) the coming of the Holy Spirit is in view. Is Jesus continuing the concept of the Paraclete’s presence or is he returning again to refer to his own coming? There is no reason to think that the developing context of chapter 14 should not be understood cumulatively to refer to the new reality of the new covenant era. The argument for this is the newly established ministerial office of the Paraclete, both the first (Jesus) and the second (Holy Spirit), who cumulatively incorporate the intimate presence of God in the world.

Therefore, all three “comings” can be defended and put into a fitting order. First, the resurrection seems to be in view in v. 20 where Jesus speaks of a knowledge or realization occurring “on that day” (ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ), with the specificity (“that day”) demanding that a particular day—the third day—be in view. Indeed, such an interpretation is essential to understanding v. 19 and therefore must be included as part of the “coming.” Second, the immediate context cannot have skipped past the Paraclete and the dramatic emphasis on his eternal and intimate presence, not only in vv. 16–17 but also in v. 23 where arguably the Father and Son dwell with believers by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Third, the second coming of Jesus is what Jesus began with in the discourse proper (14:2–3), and now after the promise of the Spirit he wanted to remind his disciples that he too would be with them, not merely the Holy Spirit (cf. v. 23).26 And as much as the immediate context is in reference to the Holy Spirit (vv. 16–17), Jesus does refer to himself in this verse twice in the first person: “I will not leave you . . . I am coming.” If Jesus had not linked himself to the Paraclete (the “another Paraclete” of v. 16), we would be forced to choose a single “coming.” But since “Paraclete” refers to the multifaceted presence of God with his people, Jesus speaks not merely of himself but of the Trinitarian God, so much so that Jesus will soon explain that the Father and Son will indwell (via the Spirit) the believer (see v. 23).

14:19 “After a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live you also will live” (ἔτι μικρὸν καὶ ὁ κόσμος με οὐκέτι θεωρεῖ, ὑμεῖς δὲ θεωρεῖτέ με, ὅτι ἐγὼ ζῶ καὶ ὑμεῖς ζήσετε). Jesus continues to address this new eschatological life and his own personal presence with his disciples by comparing the (eschatological) experience of the disciples to the world. The departure of Jesus changes his relationship to the world, but not to the disciples, who still “will see” (θεωρεῖτέ) him, with the emphatic pronoun reinforcing the vision experience of the disciples. Once Jesus leaves, the world will no longer see him in the flesh, and they have never known him by the Spirit.27 Jesus’s first remark to his earliest disciples, “Come and see” (cf. 1:39, 46), is now given even greater significance.

Jesus then explains the source of this difference in vision between the world and the disciples: “because I live you also will live” (ὅτι ἐγὼ ζῶ καὶ ὑμεῖς ζήσετε), with both subjects given emphasis in the Greek. When Jesus states, “I live,” he is clearly referring to his resurrection. Therefore the “life” the disciples experience is rooted in the new eschatological life only God can provide. This life is more than flesh and bones, for it is life in the cosmological reality of God. The resurrection of Christ does not merely guarantee that death is defeated but also means that life itself is new (see comments on 6:57).

14:20 “On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you” (ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ γνώσεσθε ὑμεῖς ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί μου καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν ὑμῖν). Jesus continues to root this new eschatological life founded upon his resurrection in the Trinitarian life of God. Jesus claims emphatically that “on that day” (ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ), that is, on the glorious third day after his death, Resurrection Day, “you will know” (γνώσεσθε ὑμεῖς). The verb translated as “know” (γνώσεσθε) is flexible enough to also mean to “realize,” “understand,” and even “perceive.” The focus is less on the experience of their confirmation and more on the source of it—the resurrection of Christ. It is important to note that the focus in vv. 19–20 on the resurrection does not intend to eclipse the Spirit. For not only is God appropriated by the indwelling Holy Spirit but even coming to “know” Christ requires an act “by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3; see comments on v. 16).

Using again language of mutual indwelling and interpenetration (see comments on 14:10–11), Jesus speaks of the new state that will exist between the Father, Son, (Spirit), and the disciples. This is not merely a depiction of life in the kingdom, for this is also a depiction of the kingdom in this life; the cosmological reality to which the Gospel has witnessed is coalescing through Christ and in the Spirit into the historical reality of created existence. The resurrection of Jesus inaugurates a new era, so much so that “the day of the resurrection is extended in the experience of all who love the Lord” (v. 15).28

14:21 “The one who has my commandments and keeps them, this the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and I will reveal myself to him” (ὁ ἔχων τὰς ἐντολάς μου καὶ τηρῶν αὐτὰς ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαπῶν με· ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν με ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου, κἀγὼ ἀγαπήσω αὐτὸν καὶ ἐμφανίσω αὐτῷ ἐμαυτόν). The first section of the pericope (vv. 15–21) concludes where it began, with love for Christ and obedience to his commandments. In many ways, this expected response matches well the “covenant-form” message of the farewell discourse (see comments before 13:1). As we noted earlier (see comments on v. 15), fellowship and partnership with God is a relationship of love that is expressed through obedience.

The final statement, “and I will reveal myself to him” (καὶ ἐμφανίσω αὐτῷ ἐμαυτόν) perhaps simply refers to the “comings” of Christ, the resurrection and later second coming, for the verb is often used to refer to something “being seen, visible”; yet in context the verb seems to express its other, less physical meaning as well: “Make clear, explain, inform.”29 In light of our interpretation of v. 18 above, it is best to understand the subject matter of the verb to be inclusive of the Spirit. Therefore, it is likely intended to interpret further the previous mutual indwelling and interpenetration language.30 For as much as this love is fleshly and rooted in this world, it is also beyond the world, rooted in an experience not obtained but by those who have the Holy Spirit. This love is rooted in the very meaning of life, in the person(s) of God. But as much as this involves the Father and the Spirit, Jesus is right to return to himself as the focal point of the revelation of God.31

14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you intend to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” (Λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰούδας, οὐχ ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης, Κύριε, [καὶ] τί γέγονεν ὅτι ἡμῖν μέλλεις ἐμφανίζειν σεαυτὸν καὶ οὐχὶ τῷ κόσμῳ;). A transition to the second section of the pericope (vv. 22–24) is provided and introduced by a reasonable question from one of Jesus’s disciples named Judas,32 whom the narrator makes certain the reader does not confuse with Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, who is no longer with the disciples (cf. 13:30). Although Judas is trying to understand the difference in vision between the disciples and the world, he asks a more specific question about its source. The phrase “what has happened” (τί γέγονεν) is looking for the thing or event that created a distinction between the disciples and the world.

Judas is not merely confused about what happened but also about the intentions of Jesus.33 Picking up on the verb Jesus used in v. 21 (“reveal” [ἐμφανίζειν]), Judas’s question probes further the distinction between the disciples and the world in relation to Jesus. How will his disciples see him but the world will not? Or more accurately, why would he intend for this to happen? The question may be rooted in the first-century assumption that the OT predicted a public self-disclosure of the Messiah (e.g., Isa 11; Dan 7; Hab 3:3–15; Zech 9).34 While the resurrection (and before it, the cross) will be a clear and unmistakably physical manifestation that will be seen by many (see 1 Cor 15:3–70), it will also inaugurate a revelatory experience in which the disciples will “see” God and be seen by God in a way that the world will not experience.

14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and we will make a dwelling place beside him” (ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει, καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα καὶ μονὴν παρ’ αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα). Jesus’s answer to Judas’ question (vv. 23–24) returns to the relationship of love already mentioned that is uniquely established between the Trinitarian God and his children. It is not love in a generic and abstract sense but love within personal relationship, entailing love and obedience on the part of the disciple (see comments on vv. 15, 21).

The relationship is also experienced not in an abstract sense but in a very tangible manner, for not only will the Trinitarian God (denoted by the first-person plural [“we”]) come to the disciple, but he will also take up residence with them. The noun translated as “dwelling place” (μονὴν) is the same noun used in 14:2 regarding “my Father’s house” (see comments on 14:2). While it could be translated as “room,” the term is used here to depict the indwelling presence of God in the individual believer. For this reason the “we” not only includes the explicitly mentioned Father and Son but must also imply the Spirit, about whom the rest of Scripture overtly describes as the “indwelling one” of God. Jesus’s statement intends to summarize life “in the realm of the Spirit” who “lives in you” (Rom 8:9).35 This powerful statement is not intended to eclipse or deny that this experience of the presence of God is only the inauguration of something even greater to come (see comments on 14:2–3). The interpreter must constantly maintain a distinction between the eschatological inauguration and the eschatological consummation.

14:24 “The one who does not love me will not keep my word. The word that you are hearing is not mine, but belongs to the one who sent me, the Father” (ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν με τοὺς λόγους μου οὐ τηρεῖ· καὶ ὁ λόγος ὃν ἀκούετε οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸς ἀλλὰ τοῦ πέμψαντός με πατρός). In light of the depth of the relationship that exists between God and a disciple, the difference Judas was pressing for is now made more manifest. The world has not known or seen God (in the Spirit of God) and therefore does not love or obey God. And to establish more firmly his answer and its authority, Jesus ends by saying that his answer is not his own but belongs to God the Father. The “sending” imagery reminds the reader that this is no chance occurrence but is a result of the mission of God and has been ordained by God. By this Jesus also gives the negative side of his answer—the grace of life with God is not for all but only for those who love and obey—that is, believe in Jesus Christ (cf. 20:30–31). In many ways, the difference in vision that Judas noted, the state of the blindness of the world, is itself the judgment it suffers (cf. 9:39).36

14:25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you” (Ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν παρ’ ὑμῖν μένων). The third and final section of the pericope (vv. 25–31) begins when Jesus transitions from answering the question of Judas to making a final statement of his own. Referring to what he has just spoken to his disciples (“these things” [Ταῦτα]), Jesus reminds his disciples that his presence with them and personal instruction to them is about to come to an end, befitting the function of a farewell discourse (see comments before 13:1). The ministerial “office” of the Paraclete is about to transition from the first Paraclete to “another Paraclete” (v. 16), who will continue to mediate God’s presence and personal instruction to the disciples.

14:26 “But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and remind you of all the things that I said to you” (ὁ δὲ παράκλητος, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὃ πέμψει ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα καὶ ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν [ἐγώ]). The departure of Jesus is not the departure of God, for Jesus mentions for a second time “the Paraclete” (ὁ παράκλητος), who will take his place and fulfill the role of teacher and God’s presence for the disciples. This is not to say, however, that the Spirit eclipses the Son but simply to say that the Spirit fills the office of the Paraclete first occupied by Jesus. In every way (and in an even greater way) Jesus is still ministering to his people as only the Son can do. The “transition” from the first to the second Paraclete is not therefore a transition from the ministry of the Son to the Spirit, for the first does not cease to minister when the second comes; rather, they serve their respective roles harmoniously together. The unity between the persons of the Trinity must be applied to their work.

The (second) Paraclete is described explicitly as “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον), the traditional title used for the third person of the Trinity. We have already introduced the figure and function of the Spirit/Paraclete (see comments on vv. 16–17); here Jesus gives further definition. Jesus adds three aspects here. First, the Spirit was sent by the Father. In the Gospel up until this point, it has been the Son who has been regularly described as being sent by the Father (cf. 3:16). Although we would be theologically negligent if we suggested the Spirit had not been working up to this point (see comments on v. 16), clearly the Spirit is now working in a new way, befitting the start of the newly inaugurated state of existence for the children of God.

Second, the Spirit was sent “in my name” (ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου). This is a significant phrase, for it explains that the ministry of the Spirit is not technically a replacement of the ministry of Jesus but a continuation, giving further insight into the use of the title “Paraclete” for both Jesus and the Spirit. “In my name” locates the work of the Spirit within the larger work of Christ, just as the work of Christ is located within the larger mission of the Father. It also demands that the work of the Spirit be understood as facilitating the same work. In this way Jesus never stopped working when he departs and the Spirit comes, for the Spirit’s work is also the work of Christ.37

Third, the Spirit “will teach” (διδάξει) and “will remind” (ὑπομνήσει) the disciples. One of the primary roles of the Spirit/Paraclete is to teach the disciples (cf. 15:26; 16:13–14) and to assist them in their own participation in the mission of God. When Jesus says the Spirit will teach the disciples “all things” (πάντα), he is simply saying “all” that they will need (see comments on 16:13). In a similar way, when Jesus says the Spirit will “remind” the disciples, he is simply referring to what they need to grasp from Christ. The two terms “teach” and “remind” are best understood as synonyms.38 For the word (message) of the Word was not lacking but fully sufficient, so that the Spirit is not adding to the Word but emboldening it. The Spirit is a living representation of all that Jesus had once spoken, a creative exposition of the gospel.39

14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful” (Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν· οὐ καθὼς ὁ κόσμος δίδωσιν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν. μὴ ταρασσέσθω ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία μηδὲ δειλιάτω). The work of God that is fully and finally expressed by the Spirit allows Jesus to offer his disciples “peace” (cf. 14:1). It is not surprising that a farewell speech would include language of assurance, but what Jesus offers is not mere human tranquility.40 The “peace” about which Jesus speaks is the peace of God through Christ and in the Spirit. That is, this newly inaugurated state of existence for the disciple involves receiving the peace of Christ, which is an unbroken union with the Father, even in a world filled with continuous strife, persecution, humiliation, and even death.41 Certainly this fits the OT concept of peace—shalom (Num 6:26; Ps 28:11; Isa 54:13; 57:19; Ezek 37:36), but what is being described here is its fulfillment.

Jesus offers peace to his disciples in the two related phrases “peace I leave with you” and “my peace I give to you.” While they are generally synonymous, these overlapping statements create a couple of items worthy of note. First, the peace given to the disciples is grounded in and belongs to Christ. It is the peace of Christ that the disciple receives, a peace rooted not merely in his person but also in his work on the cross. Second, the peace that Christ gives to his disciples may now be rightfully described as belonging also to them. The participation of the believer in the life of the Trinitarian God is inclusive of the peace of God. The world, which can neither see God nor relate to God, cannot provide this peace. This is why Christ must repeat what he said in 14:1, adding this time the equivalent addition “nor . . . be fearful” (μηδὲ δειλιάτω). The believer is to live by means of this peace.

14:28 “You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I” (ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν, Ὑπάγω καὶ ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. εἰ ἠγαπᾶτέ με ἐχάρητε ἄν, ὅτι πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν). Jesus restates a summary of his message thus far, “going and coming,” the inauguration and consummation of the mission of God through his person and work, in order to exhort his disciples to believe in him and his final speech to them. He just exhorted his disciples to trust him in relation to their worldly circumstances (v. 27); now he exhorts them to trust him in regard to his circumstances.

Jesus makes a final argument that “if you loved me you would have rejoiced” (εἰ ἠγαπᾶτέ με ἐχάρητε ἄν) in his departure. Rooting his argument in “love,” which has been defined throughout this pericope not as a sentimental expression but as a relational foundation (see comments on vv. 15, 21, 23), Jesus suggests that his departure to the Father should be viewed positively. The one reason Jesus gives for this is “because the Father is greater than I” (ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν). This statement asks the disciple to trust in the person and work of God. If God is greater than Christ who therefore submits himself to the will of God, how much greater is Christ than the disciples? This comparison is not to be interpreted like the ancient heretics, the Arians, who argued that the Son was less than equal to the Father, for from the Gospel’s first verse their ontological equality was stressed (1:1; cf. 1:18; 5:16–18; 10:30; 20:28).42 Rather, what is “greater” is the Father’s will, out of which Christ has been “sent” and to which he has continually been dependent and obedient (cf. 4:34; 5:19–30; 8:29; 12:48–49). Jesus is not trying to separate the Father from the Son according to their distinct persons but to join them together according to their united work. Jesus is also trying to show that he is returning from where he came for good reason, and that they should understand this by means of their faith-based relation of love with him, and by understanding (and accepting) his good and perfect purposes.

14:29 “And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe” (καὶ νῦν εἴρηκα ὑμῖν πρὶν γενέσθαι, ἵνα ὅταν γένηται πιστεύσητε). Jesus concludes his invitation to believe, which began at 14:1, with a statement similar to one he has made before (see 13:19). By understanding what is to come, the disciples should be firmly grounded in the only appropriate object of belief—God. It is interesting that Jesus does not give the converse response; he simply says that when it does happen, “you may believe” (πιστεύσητε). This is not to shame the disciples when later they would exhibit fear (e.g., 20:19) but to show them the “way” out of the fear and the more appropriate object to which they should direct their faith.

14:30 “I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing on me” (οὐκέτι πολλὰ λαλήσω μεθ’ ὑμῶν, ἔρχεται γὰρ ὁ τοῦ κόσμου ἄρχων· καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδέν). In v. 29 Jesus focused on the positive that “you may believe,” but here Jesus introduces the negative experience they are certain to encounter, the experience that will require them to “love” God and “rejoice” in his mission and purposes. The impending departure of Jesus not only sets the stage for the “coming” of the Spirit/Paraclete but also for “the ruler of this world” (ὁ τοῦ κόσμου ἄρχων).

This is the second use of this title in the Gospel (see comments on 12:31; cf. 16:11). In its first occurrence, the departure of Jesus was depicted as a cosmic battle in which Jesus defeats Satan, a battle fought and secured by the death of Jesus on the cross. In this context the emphasis is on the imminent initiation of this cosmic battle, one in which Satan, though defeated by the Son of God, will also become an opponent of the children of God (cf. Eph 6:10–17). Later in the discourse, Jesus will give further insight and instruction regarding this spiritual battle. His purpose here is not only to introduce this ruler’s more public entrance (not merely his personal “coming” to Judas in 13:27) but also to declare this cosmic opponent of God as defeated even before the battle has begun. Proof of this defeat is not only found in 12:31 where Christ is depicted as judging the world and casting outside “the ruler of the world” but also here in this further statement of Jesus translated “and he has nothing on me” (καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐκ ἔχει οὐδέν). This idiom often occurs in legal contexts and means something like “he has no claim on me” or “he has nothing over me.”43

14:31 “But in order that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded me, thus I do. Rise, let us go from here” (ἀλλ’ ἵνα γνῷ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι ἀγαπῶ τὸν πατέρα, καὶ καθὼς ἐνετείλατο μοι ὁ πατήρ, οὕτως ποιῶ. Ἐγείρεσθε, ἄγωμεν ἐντεῦθεν). Jesus makes a further statement related to “ruler of this world” and his inability to make a claim on Christ. Jesus explicitly explains to the disciples that he wants the world to know two things, both of which are directly related to the Father and his grand mission. He wants the world to know that “I love the Father” (ἀγαπῶ τὸν πατέρα) and that “I do” (ποιῶ) what the Father has commanded. These two things are best understood as synonyms and reflect the exact two things Jesus expects from the disciples: to love and obey (see comments on vv. 15, 21, 23).

By this statement Jesus urges the disciples to see that his death is actually for the purpose of victory and his departure is to provide an even more empowering presence. Even though he will shortly depart—in a dramatic and shameful manner—and even though the “ruler of this world” is about to “come,” “nothing” has a claim on the mission of God. This is commentary on the “unseen” things introduced by the prologue (see comments before 1:1). At the same time Jesus also exhorts the disciples to do what he himself is already doing (the present-tense verb is probably better translated as “I am doing”). Forming an inclusio that frames this pericope, the beginning (v. 15) and end of Jesus’s message in this pericope is to love and obey God. And Jesus is “doing” already what he is asking them to do; in fact, his “doing” is making the way for their “doing” (cf. 14:6). In this way Jesus ends this pericope by pointing again to the “way” so that the “truth” can be understood with the hope that “life” can be fully attained. This is what the world must know, and it serves as the mission statement of the church (see 20:21; cf. Matt 28:18–20).

The pericope concludes with a command by Jesus, “Rise, let us go from here” (Ἐγείρεσθε, ἄγωμεν ἐντεῦθεν), that has convinced modern scholarship that the farewell discourse is highly edited and an out-of-order collection of discourses. We argued earlier, however, that there is warrant for seeing the discourse as a unified whole (see comments before 13:1). While several solutions have been offered that might fit the theological context of the Gospel,44 few have offered a solution that might explain the literary nature of the statement. Rather than being a literary seam reflecting editorial activity, what appears to be an out-of-place statement is an intentional literary technique or dramatic device called a “delayed exit” that is common in literature similar to the Gospel of John.

According to Parsenios, the “exit device” would have the following characteristics.45 First, the argument for this “exit device” operates on a grand level, encompassing the whole narrative. Jesus’s exit to death in the Gospel is also “the culmination of thematic preparation.”46 The narrative’s development of “the hour” (see comments on 2:4) has been forged by the Gospel into one dramatic moment. Second, the “exit device” is designed to give emphasis to the speaker, offering a demonstration of his power and a focus on his person. “The ‘Big Speech’ gains its prominence in Greek tragedy very often from a suspension or displacement of the action, which makes the dramatic time in these interludes qualitatively different. . . .”47 The dramatic device creates something like a pause for the speaker in order to transport the speech to a state above the action. The “exit devices,” as summarized by Parsenios, “serve to focus attention on the speakers, lifting them beyond their immediate surroundings. . . . The delay of the exit need not be seen as a sloppy set of footprints left by people who did not know how to cover their tracks. It is a legitimate literary move.”48

In the developing flow of the farewell discourse, the pause created by the “exit device” not only gives greater focus to Jesus but also halts momentarily his progression toward death so that Jesus is given the opportunity to offer consolation to his disciples. Befitting the blended genre conventions of the Fourth Gospel’s farewell discourse, the “farewell speech” genre also includes these dramatic device of “exits” (13:30–31; 14:31; 18:1) not only to focus the discourse on Jesus but also to provide Jesus with the opportunity to include “consolatory discourse” that is both therapeutic and facilitates his presence (see comments before 13:1). With this literary technique the pericope ends, setting up for the disciples one of the most conciliatory and grace-filled pericopae in all of Scripture. The dramatic pause was not intended to separate Jesus from his disciples but to bring them closer, allowing Jesus to share with them one of his most intimate sections of his farewell discourse.

Theology in Application

In the third of eight sections of the farewell discourse, Jesus makes the second of six statements that explain, encourage, and exhort the disciples as they transition to the era of the new covenant, from life with Jesus to life “in Christ” and in the Spirit. Through this pericope the reader is introduced to the Paraclete and is invited to participate directly in the life of the Trinitarian God.

Love and Obedience

This pericope mentioned the combination of love and obedience four times (vv. 15, 21, 23, 31), establishing it as an inclusio that framed this entire section of the discourse. Love according to this pericope is not to be understood in a generic and abstract sense, but as that which facilitates the personal relationship between God and his children. In the same way, obedience is symptomatic of love, a sign of recognition and of dependence on God and participation in him—his person, his work, his will, and his ways.

This pericope revealed a shocking reality: God responded in love and obedience first! It was Jesus according to v. 31 who loved and obeyed his Father—and on our behalf. Scripture also describes the love of the Father in this way: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). In this way our love is made possible. Moreover, our love for and obedience to God participates in the love and obedience he already established by the sending and work of the Son, Jesus Christ. Such a message breathes life into a culture that tries to make love abstract and to separate love from obedience. It also makes sense of the Psalms’ description of the goodness and benefit of the law (e.g., “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul” [Ps 19:7; cf. Ps 119]). The Christian’s relationship to God is founded upon the intersection of love (affection) and obedience (dependence).

The Paraclete

In this pericope we are introduced to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who is defined not only as the Spirit of truth, but as “another Paraclete.” The theology of the Spirit provided by this pericope (and the rest of the farewell discourse) is sorely needed in our churches today. The Spirit is generally the most abused person of God, for he is either underemphasized for fear of abuse or overemphasized for fear of neglect. Yet the entire Christian life can rightly be described as life in the Spirit. To live in the Spirit is neither to neglect the Father nor to eclipse Christ but to serve, respond to, and participate in them both by means of this divine appropriation. To live in the Spirit is to be Trinitarian. But this is not a Spirit who only works in secret or in supernatural ways, but the Spirit indwelling in us. If the Paraclete is the manifestation of God’s presence, as this pericope explains, then the Christian life must be a Spirit-filled life, just as our churches must be Spirit-filled churches. The Spirit must stop being merely a debate over prayer languages and powerful healings and must become the constant reality (individual and corporate) of the Christian life and experience.49

Life in God and the Peace of God

The overall goal of this section of the farewell discourse is to invite the Christian into the life of God. The Christian life is participation in God through Christ and in the Spirit. Christ may be the way/truth/life, but he was sent on behalf of the Father and he is empowered by the Spirit. Thus, the Christian life is overtly Trinitarian, not only in its orthodoxy but also in its orthopraxy. The emphasis on the Spirit/Paraclete in this pericope simply brings to fruition the fullness of life promised in the prologue: “In the Word was life” (1:4), and this “life” is participation in the Trinitarian life of God, inaugurated now in the era of the new covenant and ultimately consummated at the new creation.

While we are right to speak of this life as a Spiritual life, for this life is expressed in the Spirit, it is not spiritual in a manner that is less than physical. This life requires real dependence, real obedience, and real suffering. It is not only grounded in the flesh, death, and resurrection of Christ, but it is incorporated amidst the difficulties of this world, even the conflict that is ensuing as part of the cosmic battles involving “the ruler of this world” (cf. Eph 6:10–17). Our Spiritual life is not best exemplified by some sort of monastic separation from the world but by the peace of God in the midst of suffering and persecution (see 1 Cor 15:55, 57). Peace is an overtly Christian trait. The world, which can neither see God nor relate to God, cannot provide this peace—nor have it. This peace was sent from the Father in the person of Jesus Christ and is applied by the Father and the Son in the person of the Holy Spirit. Life in the inaugurated new covenant is the peace of God. In this newly existing state of Christian existence, we are not defined by our circumstances alone but by our God and for his glory.