With Dale Ratzlaff
John 14:18-24
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 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 make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”
In the verses preceding our passage, Jesus had told His disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for them and would come again. These words made them feel like orphans in that their Master would be going away, and He would longer be with them. Jesus is quick to tell them, however, that He would come to them again and they would “see” Him.
The phrase, “I will come to you,” may have three fulfillments. The first, and primary fulfillment, is the revelation of the Risen Christ. After His resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to the apostles several times, and they saw Him with their very eyes.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you” (Jn. 20:19).
Jesus appeared to His disciples when they least expected Him. Two disciples hiked with Jesus on their way to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday (Lk 24:13). We also have the record in John 21 of Jesus making breakfast for the disciples, which we will discuss in more detail when we deal with that passage.
A second application is when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples on the day of Pentecost. They “saw” the evidence in the tongues of fire.
A third understanding would be that Jesus would come to believers at the Second Coming of Christ.
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11).
After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me.
There is no record of where unbelievers saw the Risen Christ. The closest thing to such a situation might be the travelers with Paul on the road to Damascus:
The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one (Act 9:7).
It is true that the light of truth is available to every man.
There was the true Light, which, coming into the world, enlightens every man (Jn. 1:9).
It is also true that those who seek the truth regarding God will find it, but those not interested in the truth will seek and not find Him. To the disciples Jesus said,
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Lk. 11:9-10).
To the Pharisees who were not seeking Christ for truth, but in order to trap Him, Jesus said,
Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come (Jn. 7:33-34).
We now come to one of a number of incredible promises.
Because I live, you will live also.
Because Jesus lived, even though He died, we who believe will live after we die—a promise worth contemplating and joyously grasping, not only for ourselves, but for others. What a joyous reunion there will be when we meet on the other shore of life and meet those who have gone before! This is exactly what Jesus promised Martha, a promise worth repeating.
Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” (Jn. 11:24-27).
Here is another fantastic promise.
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
The promise of mutual indwelling is one that is too big to get our minds around. In John 14-17 we see a pattern, the relationship between Christ and the Father becomes one that is similar to the connection we can have with Christ. For example, in John 14:1-3, which we studied earlier, we have this promise.
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Now in our present passage instead of believers going to be with Christ, Christ and the Father are coming to dwell with us!
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.
The meaning appears to be to make the commandments one’s own, to take them into one’s inner being. Jesus speaks not only of “having” the commandments, but also of “keeping” them, i.e., to observe them in daily life is more than to have a firm intellectual grasp of their content. Obedience is the mark of true love. The man who truly loves Christ in this way will be loved of the Father. It might be possible to understand from this that the Father’s love is thus merited. But this is not the thought of the passage. Jesus is saying in the first place that loving Him is not a thing of words. If it is real, it is shown in deeds. The lover keeps the commandments of the loved one. He is also saying that the Father is not indifferent to the attitude men take to the Son. This does not mean that He hands out rewards on the basis of merit. It means rather that love calls to love. Not only will the Father love such a man, but Jesus also will love Him. He further says that He will “manifest” Himself to the man who loves Him ( Leon Morris, The Gospel of John, p. 653).
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 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 make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”
This conversation lays the foundation for further development in mutual indwelling that will be revealed in John 17. Here we get a glimpse of the unbelievable “oneness” that is available to the Christian.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me (Jn. 17:20-23).
Application
- The promise, “I will come to you,” is to be forever treasured in our hearts. Sometimes in the midst of trial, we may feel so alone, much like the disciples did on Resurrection Sunday. Even though they had the promises of Jesus spoken just days before, they felt like orphans. Let us never forget, He has and will come to us in our hour of need, as well as in the hours of joy and rejoicing.
- We would do well to search our hearts and ask ourselves just why we seek God. Do we seek Him for the truth of Who He is or to answer our selfish prayer? Do we seek to know God’s will with a willingness to follow His will when discovered? Following the will of God is not always a “cakewalk” and may involve activities we would in ourselves rather not do.
- The simple statement, “because I live, you will live” is indeed a precious promise. This promise increases in value as we age. More and more of our family members and friends have passed to the other shore. As the years go by we, in faith, look forward with increasing eagerness for that blessed reunion. Praise God for the truth, “because I live, you will live.”
- The promise of mutual indwelling is one that defies full explanation. Nevertheless, it is probably the one concept that overrides all the promises Jesus left to His disciples, and in turn to us, in John 14-17. Christ went to prepare mansions for us in the Father’s house. Christ and the Father and Holy Spirit as well, will come and dwell in our homes too. Truly, as Christ said, “I will not leave you as orphans” should comfort our hearts all along the way to eternity.
Prayer
Father, I pray that you will reveal yourself to me in ways that I can understand. I love you, teach me to love others. I want to do your will. Help me to do what you have made clear in your Word. I look forward to living in the mansions, or rooms, you have prepared for me in the Father’s house. Please come and dwell in my “house” as you promised. More than that, may I sense your presence, your guiding presence of love.
In Jesus name.
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