Episode 102 - "Peace I leave with you" John 14:27-31

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

There are three things in this short text that I think need attention. The first is Jesus’ statement in verse 27 to his disciples. “Peace I leave with you . . . not as the world gives . . .” This is in the context of his communication to them that he is leaving them to return to the Father. He has repeatedly assured them that he will request the Father to send the Holy Spirit who will be their advocate or helper. Furthermore, he will be able to hear their requests and respond to whatever they need. Given what he has been telling them, it’s understandable they are disturbed and Jesus is fully aware of it. In fact, he is probably more aware than they are of what they will be going through and the events of his imminent arrest and crucifixion unfold. As we will see, it will be immensely stressful and fear inducing. So he is emphasizing that he will leave his peace with them. He qualifies what he means by this by saying, “Not as the world gives do I give to you.” What does he mean by that? Ask yourself how the world gives. Can the world give something that is eternal? Think of how many peace treaties between enemy countries have broken down over time. Does the world typically give without expecting something in return? Not usually. I think Jesus' promise to give them peace is an unconditional promise. He’s not saying that they won’t experience strife and concern and worry at times. But, I think his promise to give them his peace is something that will come upon them at times. They will sense it and they won’t be able to reason it away that they somehow overcame the emotions on their own. They would just be at peace and they would know it was Jesus who was looking after them and comforting them. Think of a child that is scared of a strong storm and the parent embraces them and tells them everything is going to be ok. It doesn’t immediately quiet them and cause them to not think of the storm. But, they feel safe in their parent’s embrace and assurance. This is how the peace that comes from Jesus works with us.

The next thing I want to address is Jesus’ statement in verse 28 that  “the Father is greater than I.” What? Is this Jesus’ own claim that he is not really God or equal with the Father? People who don’t want to believe that Jesus is divine will point to this verse to make that argument. But, why would John record this when he has gone to great lengths to assert the deity of Christ beginning in the first verse of this book. Scholars address this in different ways. But, I think what is happening is similar to a request that comes to me at work and I believe that it is the responsibility of my supervisor or even of someone above him, I might say, “You need to speak to someone greater than I.” That doesn’t mean I believe myself to be less capable of making the decision, less valuable, less intelligent, or less human. It speaks of the difference in our roles. It also doesn’t mean that I cannot be granted different responsibilities or authority either. Throughout this book and Jesus’ ministry he has affirmed that he does nothing on his own, but only what he sees and hears from the Father. Jesus has consistently affirmed that he is submitting to the Father’s will and this statement is just consistent with his message all along.

Finally, Jesus says in verse 30, “the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.” Who is that, Caesar? Nope. This is Satan. Jesus is telling them that Satan has a role in the events that are about to unfold. But, he is not in control. He has no say. He is not omniscient, knowing everything. He is not all powerful. He is not the equal, but opposite of God. 

Do you understand why that is important? If Jesus is promising to leave his peace with his disciples, send the Holy Spirit to be with us, listen and answer our prayers, and asserting that the “ruler of this world . . .has no claim on” him, then we can experience Jesus’ peace that no amount of evil in this world can have it’s ultimate claim on us.

Jesus is going to return to us as he promised his first disciples and will take us to be with him and the Father.