Jesus Comforts the Disciples and Reveals the Father

John 14

Outline

1-6 | Jesus comforts the disciples (continuation of 13:36ff)
7 | Jesus reveals the Father
8-14 | The Father seen in Jesus’ works → Disciples can do the same and greater
15 | We shoe our love for Jesus by keeping His commandments
16-17 | Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit
18-24 | Disciples not to be left as orphans
25-31 | The Holy Spirit will help the disciples

Reflections

I’ll be focusing on John 14:1-7 in this article.

Jesus seeks to comfort the disciples after reminding them again that His death is eminent.  He promises that He will leave but only to go and prepare a place for them in His Father’s house and that He will return and receive them to return with Him.

Wiersbe1 offers this comment regarding Jesus’ view of heaven.

According to Jesus, heaven is a real place. It is not a product of religious imagination or the result of psyched-up mentality, looking for ‘pie in the sky by and by.’ Heaven is the place where God dwells and where Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father.

Thomas asked Jesus how they will know the way in which He is going.  Jesus’ response is one of the seven “I AM” statements in John: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (v6).  Thomas’ question is based on the physical world rather than the spiritual and is similar to Peter’s in chapter 13.

Jesus then explains how the disciples have come to know the Father through Jesus.  Consider these verses from John 1.

John 1:1 NASB In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NASB And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:17-18 NASB For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus’ whole purpose in coming to earth was to reveal the Father fully.  The Father had partially revealed Himself through the Mosiac Law but now the Son of God, God Himself in human form, had come to reveal the Father fully.

If we study the teaching of Jesus and concentrate on truly knowing Him, we will come to know the Father through Him, because Jesus is the only way to truly know the Father and to gain access to Him.  The Believer’s Bible Commentary2 provides this comment regarding Jesus’ “I AM” statement.

He is the way. Salvation is in a Person. Accept that Person as your own, and you have salvation. Christianity is Christ. The Lord Jesus is not just one of many ways. He is the only Way….Then the Lord is the truth. He is not just One who teaches the truth; He is the truth. He is the embodiment of Truth. Those who have Christ have the Truth. It is not found anywhere else….Christ Jesus is the life. He is the source of life, both spiritual and eternal. Those who receive Him have eternal life because He is the Life.

Consider the following verses regarding the relationship between the Father and the Son.

Matthew 11:27 NASB “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Acts 4:8-12 NASB Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 5:29-32 NASB But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. 31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Ephesians 2:13-22 NASB But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Hebrews 7:25 NASB Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

1 Peter 1:17-21 NASB If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to reveal Himself fully to us and to grant access forever to salvation through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection, a one-time sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.  If we know Jesus, we know the Father!

Lord. we know that you have revealed Yourself in the past through Moses and the Prophets and then fully through Your Son Jesus.  We pray that Your Spirit will help us to understand You better as we read and study Your word and the teachings of Jesus so that we can daily live to honor You.  Father thank You for sending Your Son, who willingly gave His life for the sins of the world, and for raising Him from the dead, conquering sin and death.  Thank You for offering us mercy, not giving us what we deserve, and grace, giving us what we don’t deserve, so that we can look forward to a place in heaven with You, Our Father.  May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in Jesus’ name. Amen.


1 – Wiersbe, Warren. The Bible Exposition Commentary: Matthew – Galatians. Vol. 5. 6 vols. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books; SP Publications, Inc., 1989. Print.

2 – MacDonald, William, and Arthur Farstad. Believer’s Bible Commentary: An Exposition of the Sacred Scriptures. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers; e-Sword, 1995.

John 14 - Jesus Comforts the Disciples and Reveals the Father
John 14 - Jesus Comforts the Disciples and Reveals the Father
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