Keep Jesus' commands — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps 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.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered 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 home with him. 24 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.

So far in this discussion, Jesus has had with his disciples he has made it clear that he is going away. Yet, he will not leave them alone. He is going to send them the Holy Spirit who will be a helper and comforter. Furthermore, he tells them that they will do the works he has done and even greater ones. Also, they can ask anything in his name and he will do it. In other words, he will always be cognizant of their needs and be able to hear them and act upon their requests. He has also emphasized the importance of their need to obey his commands.

The encouragement continues as he promises them, “I will come to you . . . in a little while.” (vv. 18-19) People speculate on exactly when this will be. Will this be on Easter morning after the resurrection? Is it speaking of his second coming? Is it speaking of his presence through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Personally, I’m inclined to interpret this as his appearing to them shortly after his resurrection. Why? For one, he says, “a little while.” I suspect that he fully understands the shock and despair they are about to experience when he is hanged on the cross and laid in a grave. All sense of reason would extinguish any hope of seeing him again soon. He’s dead, right? The one person who had the ability to raise Lazarus from the dead is now dead himself. What hope would there be? I think Jesus tells them, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live” (v. 19) so that when he does appear to them, their hope will not only be restored, but their faith in his words and promises will be strengthened. This is part of Jesus preparing them for the mission he is assigning them. They will need to know and be convinced that he is alive and is with them all the way. This explains why he follows that up with, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (v. 20)

Again, Jesus repeats the importance of them obeying his commandments. Doing so is evidence of their love for him. The Father and the Son love those who keep Jesus’ commands and Jesus promises that he will manifest himself to those he loves.

This “other Judas” asks a great question. He asks, “How is it that Jesus will manifest himself to them but not to the world?” (v. 22 my paraphrase) Jesus’ response is that the Father and the Son will come to those who keep Jesus’ commands and make their home with him/her. (v. 23) There again is the theme that appears so frequently throughout the Scriptures: God actively moves to dwell with those He loves. God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle so God could dwell in the midst of His people. John wrote in John 1:14 “the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.” And John also wrote in the apocalyptic book Revelation that at the end of time the heaven and earth will be destroyed and a new heaven and earth will be created and it will be an eternal dwelling place for God with man. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3)

This section concludes with Jesus saying that those who don’t keep his words are revealing that they really don’t love him. He adds that this message (warning) is from the Father himself.

What do you think? Is it important to love one another? Is it critical that we humble ourselves to serve others? It is if we want to experience God’s fellowship. Is it not?