John 14:1-14

Sermon Transcript

Beginning in verse 1 Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,”—there’s this promise to come back, and notice verse 3—“and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

We know that when the Bible was written, it wasn’t written with chapter-verse breaks, and sometimes it does an injustice where the chapter begins or an old chapter stops. In a second, I’m going to have you turn back into John 13, and we want to read verses 36-38. Let me mention the fact that Jesus is telling them in verse 1, “Let not your heart be troubled.” They indeed had troubled hearts.

From time to time, even God’s children walk in the darkness, and sometimes our hearts are heavy, sometimes we get discouraged, sometimes we get disappointed and we get downcast. Paul the apostle even talked about times when he was discouraged and downcast. Read 2 Corinthians, it’s the most autobiographical book of Paul’s letters, and so many times he talks about being down but not forsaken, down but not cast out.

Jesus is speaking to them to “Let not your heart be troubled,” and He wouldn’t have said that if that weren’t true. Turn back with me to John 13:36, and I’m going to tell you why their hearts were troubled. “Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?” Notice the question that Peter asked. This is going to lead into John 14 where there’s going to be a series of about four questions. The first question is asked by Peter, which is the reason Jesus said what He said in John 14, “ . . . whither goest thou?” The second question is in John 14:5 asked by Thomas, “We don’t know where You’re going, and how can we know the way?” The third question is asked by Philip in John 14:8, when he said, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” The fourth, and last, question is asked in John 14:22 by Judas, not Iscariot, so we’re going to look at those questions as we go through.

Peter says, “ . . . whither goest thou?” and “ . . . why cannot I follow thee now?” “Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.” Peter says, “Where are you going?” He says, “Where I’m going, you can’t follow Me, but you’ll follow me afterwards.” “Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. 38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily”—truly, truly—“I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou has denied me thrice.” Go back to John 14:1. Without skipping a beat, without any break, without taking even a breath Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” One of the reasons why their hearts were troubled, and our hearts get troubled as well, was that Peter had asked, “Where are You going,” and Jesus said, “Where I’m going you cannot come now. I’m going to go away. I’m going to be leaving you.” It’s always hard to say goodbye to someone you love. It’s always hard to lose a loved one in death.

Now, Jesus wasn’t saying, “I’m going to die,” but that is indeed what was going to happen, and they weren’t understanding that the Messiah needed to suffer and die even though Jesus had told them that was the situation. Jesus is going to die, He’s going to be resurrected, and He’s going back to heaven, so reason one their hearts were troubled was that Jesus was leaving them. The second reason their hearts were troubled is that Peter would deny Him. Jesus was leaving them, that’s a bummer and they were sad. They thought He was the Messiah, which He is and was, and that He would set up His Kingdom right then and there. Secondly, that Peter would deny Him. Now, if Peter’s going to deny Him, what’s going to happen to me? they’re thinking. Peter’s our spokesman. He’s our leader. He’s the head apostle, so how are we going to survive if Peter denies You.

Here’s the third reason that their hearts were troubled, that was because He said, “One of you shall betray Me.” Judas Iscariot, the traitor, would actually betray the Lord. Peter denied Him; Judas would betray Him. Peter’s going to deny Him, Jesus is going to leave, and Judas is going to betray Him.

Jesus says in verse 1, “Let not your heart be troubled.” In the Greek it is in what’s called a present imperative, so how this would read would be, “Stop letting your heart be troubled.” In other words, they were troubled. He’s not saying, “You know, some day down the road in the future you might have a troubled heart, a good idea not to be troubled.” No, He’s saying, “Right now, right here, in your present situation, stop letting your heart be troubled.” When He uses the word “heart,” He’s using the word for the whole inner person—the emotions, their mind. It was all stirred up. The word “troubled” means to be shaken, so “Don’t let yourselves be shaken. Don’t let ourselves be troubled.” It’s interesting that in verse 27, of this same chapter, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.”

Now, He says also, “ . . . ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Jesus does three things for their troubled heart. The first thing He does is that He commands them, “Stop being troubled,” and gives it in the negative and a positive. He says, “Stop letting your heart be troubled,” verse 1, and He also says in a command, “ye believe in God,”—or you do believe in God—“believe also in me.”

The way that they could have not a troubled heart or find victory over their troubled heart was, if you’re taking notes, write it down—to believe in a person. That Person is our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 1. He says, “Your hearts are troubled, you believe in God,” that’s God the Father, “believe also in Me.” This is a strong indication that Jesus was equal to the Father and that Jesus was divine or God. It implies the deity of Jesus Christ. It would be blasphemy if He were just a man to say, “You believe in God, believe in Me; you trust in God, trust in Me.” But because He is God, He’s the second person of the Godhead, and certainly this text supports the doctrine of the Trinity, “ . . . ye believe in God,”—referring to God the Father, then—“believe also in me.” Again, it’s an imperative or a command. He commands them, “Stop letting your heart be troubled, put your faith in Me.”

The cure for troubled hearts is trusting Jesus Christ. Amen? That may sound to some too simple or simplistic. It’s not. The best way to cure your troubled heart is to put your faith in God, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him,”—which means to trust Him—“and he shall direct thy paths,”—or make thy paths straight. Trust the Lord.

Maybe tonight your heart is troubled because you’re simply not trusting God. I believe that He’s trustworthy. Amen? You can trust Jesus. He will never fail. He will never let you down. He will never disappoint you. I’ve disappointed Him, but He has never disappointed me. He’s never failed me. So, ask yourself tonight, “Am I trusting God? Am I putting my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?”

The second thing He did to cure their troubled hearts is He talked about a place. He said, “ . . . believe also in me,” the Person of Jesus Christ, and then He encouraged them to believe in a place, “In my Father’s house,”—I believe that the Father’s house is heaven. Remember when Jesus gave us what’s called the Lord’s prayer? It opens up, “Our Father which art in heaven,” where is God the Father? In heaven. There is such a thing as heaven. If you want your heart encouraged tonight, not only put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but believe in a place called heaven. That’s not just pie in the sky, in the sweet by-and-by that you have to psych yourself up, “There’s really a place called heaven.” Heaven is real. Heaven is a real place. Heaven is a prepared place, so we need to have that hope.

One of the things that should motivate us as believers is heaven. We should be heavenly-minded. I love the passage in Colossians where it says, “Set your affection,”—which means your mind—“on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” As believers, we should be heavenly-minded, and as the result we’ll be earthly good, so we need to set our hearts on the eternal.

Abraham was a person the Bible says, “For he looked for a city . . . whose builder and maker is God,” and his life was marked by a tent and an altar. What a great picture of a man’s life—a tent, he was a pilgrim and a stranger, and he wasn’t at home in this world; and an altar, he worshiped God and focused on God. So, ask yourself tonight, “Am I troubled because I’m not trusting in Jesus and I’m not believing in a place called heaven?” As a Christian, we are on our way to heaven. Let that motivate you. It’s not just a final destination, but it should be a present motivation. Jesus wants them to be assured, and He gives them that assurance.

Notice what He says about heaven in verse 2. He calls it, “In my Father’s house,” so what a marvelous thing that is, and if God is our Father, then heaven is your real home. That’s where your real home lies. He says, “ . . . are many mansions,” I’m reading obviously from the King James translation, and the phrase “many mansions” actually means many abiding places.

In the world at the time that Jesus lived, when you got married, you normally would live with your parents of the groom, or the family of the groom, and you would just build an add-on to your house and live there and put another add-on, another add-on, and they would all live together there. Now, we may not like that idea today, but that’s the way they did things, so the homes in those days had many rooms. What it indicates is that there’s plenty of room for everyone to go to heaven. Anyone who wants to go to heaven there’s plenty of room. There are many rooms, many abiding places. “ . . . if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus is simply saying, “I’m going to go to heaven. I’m going to prepare a place for you. Don’t be discouraged or troubled of heart.

There’s a third thing Jesus does to encourage them not to be troubled, and that’s in verse 3, He makes a promise. So, believe in a Person, put your faith in Jesus Christ; believe in a place, “I’m going to go to heaven, it’s my Father’s house, there are many mansions” or abiding places; and the third is the place that He’s prepared. He says, verse 3, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” What a blessed, blessed promise this is.

We could actually stop right here and spend the rest of our time in verse 3 talking about the coming of the Lord. Jesus Christ promised to come again. Amen? What He promises, He will do. As a matter of fact, what He commands, He enables us to do. What He promises, He will do. Remember when Jesus ascended after His resurrection 40 days after His resurrection from Mount of Olives, and He went back up into heaven. They saw Him visibly, bodily, gloriously, literally ascend right off the earth, right back up into heaven. Angels showed up and said, “Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner,” so Jesus promised, “I would come again,” the angels showed up and said, “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

I personally believe that this is the first disclosure in the Bible of what is known as the rapture of the Church. It’s funny, when I say that today, there are so many people abandoning the doctrine of the rapture of the Church. They don’t believe that there will be a rapture of the Church, especially that it will happen before the tribulation. They basically believe only in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ which will happen at the end of the tribulation, before the Millennium, and some even deny that and believe that Jesus has already come. They’re called preterists, nothing future, it’s already past, it’s already happened, and there’s different views as to when Christ comes back in His Second Coming as it relates to the Millennium.

But I believe in a pretribulational rapture of the Church; and yes, I’m not ashamed by it. I’m a dispensationalist. I believe that the Church is a dispensation, and when the Church is finished and complete, it will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and then God will start the time clock for Israel’s last seven years upon the earth, which is the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy. This is why there’s so much confusion today about Israel and Christians supporting Israel. I understand Israel right now is in unbelief, that they’re not really a Christian nation, they’re made up of many religious Jews, but they’re still a part of God’s program and plan. God is not finished. God is not done with Israel. Read Romans 11, all Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. So, there’s a purpose and a plan for Israel. But a lot of Christians today are abandoning that idea, and I think it’s tragic and sad. I believe that this is the first introduction in the New Testament of the rapture of the Church.

Let me say some things about the rapture. The rapture is a New Testament revelation. It’s not in the Old Testament. The Old Testament does not teach or have the rapture. Also, I want you to make a note of this, the rapture is not in Matthew 24 and 25, which are known as the Olivet Discourse. One of the reasons people get so confused in differentiating between the rapture and the Second Coming is they see the rapture in Matthew 24, and they get confused about that in the budding of the fig tree in the nation of Israel, and what’s going to happen, and it causes confusion. I don’t believe the rapture’s at all found in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24, 25, and I don’t believe the rapture is found in the Olivet Discourse, it’s found in Luke 21, and we’re going to get that on Sunday morning, and we’ll jump into it with both feet. That’s not the rapture, but this is the disclosure of the rapture.

The rapture, as I said, I believe is a New Testament revelation. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15, and I’m going to rather than just quote it to you, I want us to read it together. Don’t lose your place here in John 14, but in 1 Corinthians 15. So, make a note, the rapture John 14, and I’m going to come back to what Jesus said here in verse 3, but here’s another reference to the rapture beginning in verse 51, of 1 Corinthians 15, which is the chapter on the resurrection, “Behold, I shew you a mystery;”—notice the word “mystery” there. In Ephesians Paul describes a mystery as that which in the ages past was not made known but now is revealed to the people of God. So, that means it’s a New Testament doctrine. “We shall not all sleep,”—which means die. He’s talking to believers. Some believers would not die, “but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,”—this trumpet, by the way, are not the trumpets that you read about in Revelation, these are trumpets for the Church and for the rapture—“and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” We will not die, we will meet the Lord in the air. There will be those who will be dead when the rapture happens, their bodies will be resurrected.

Notice verse 53, “For this corruptible”—referring to our earthly bodies—“must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” Again, this is still a description of the rapture of the Church—those living will not die, those that have died and gone to be with the Lord, their bodies will be resurrected. When he says, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

I don’t want to preach on this text, but I wanted to read it with you so you could see it. This is a reference to the rapture, not the Second Coming. Now, turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, a verse you’re super familiar with, and I could just quote it but I want you to see it as I read it together with you. This is a third reference to the rapture in the New Testament, so you have John 14, 1 Corinthians 15, and then 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Paul says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which”—again he uses the metaphor—“are asleep,”—that’s the believer’s body which is sleeping in death—“that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” The hope of the rapture and the resurrection alleviates our sorrow in death. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,”—and we do—“even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Notice the end of verse 14, “ . . . even so them also which sleep”—died—“in Jesus,”—they will be with the Lord when He comes.

Verse 15, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,”—this wasn’t just Paul’s idea, this was given to him by revelation—“that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep”—they shall not precede them which have died or fallen asleep. Here it is, verse 16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ”—this is only the Church, only the Church is in Christ, the believers who have been saved in the Church Age—“and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we,”—Paul says—“which are alive and remain shall be”—here’s the word—“caught up”—this is the Greek word harpázō and in the Latin Vulgate Bible it was rendered rapturus, rapture—“together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Notice what it says in verse 18, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” You got that?

Those are three really clear references to the rapture. Go back with me to John 14, and I’ve preached entire sermons on the Corinthian passage and the Thessalonians passage, but I want to give you one more reference to the rapture, Philippians 3:20-21. That’s another reference to the rapture. Philippians 3:20-21 where Paul says, “For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,”—to return, and when He comes—“Who shall change our vile body,”—which means our lowly bodies of humiliation—“that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,”—he’s talking there in Philippians 3:20-21 about the rapture.

Go back with me, as I said, to John 14. “I go to prepare a place . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Now, nothing about earthquakes, nothing about famine, nothing about Antichrist, nothing about blood moons, nothing about the fig tree budding, nothing about false prophets, no signs or wonders in the sky or the heaven above, just “I am coming back.” People get confused when they read about the tribulation and the coming of the Lord, and they don’t realize that the rapture, I believe, happens before the seven-year tribulation. So, we’re not looking for signs, we’re not looking for earthquakes, we’re not looking for things to happen in the world, we’re looking for Jesus Christ to come for His bride the Church. Amen? This is what we know as the imminent return of Christ. Any other view gets you looking for the Antichrist or the tribulation or other signs and things rather than just looking for and living for the coming again of the Lord.

Let me give you a real important distinction. In the rapture, Christians living are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. In the Second Coming, Christians, the Church, comes back from heaven with the Lord. Read Revelation 19. If you read Second Coming verses, you’ll see the difference between those and the rapture verses. One of the reasons why people get the two confused is they don’t pay attention to the details. In the rapture, Christ doesn’t come back to earth, He comes only for the Church, and we go up and meet Him in the clouds. We used to sing, There is going to be a meeting in the air, / In the sweet, sweet by and by; / All the saints will gather over there, / In their home beyond the sky. The rapture, Church, the bride of Christ, the body is caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The dead are first resurrected, their bodies, they come back with Christ, their body is transformed and they then have a brand new body, a glorified body.

We’re transformed, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye . . . . For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. . . . then shall be brought to pass the saying . . . Death is swallowed up in victory.” So, a very clear distinction—rapture, we go up and meet Him in the clouds. We can’t come back with the Lord in the Second Coming unless we go up to heaven first, so we have to go up to meet the Lord in the air, and then we come back with the Lord. In the rapture, it only involves the Church. There’s not going to be any lightning shining from the east to the west. There’s not going to be every eye shall see Him. It’s only the Church that’s caught up. We will disappear, and it will be obviously a very exciting moment, and we even pray, “Lord, Jesus come.” Amen? “Come, Lord Jesus.”

And then, in the Second Coming, we come back with Christ, He establishes His Kingdom for a thousand years, which is the fulfillment, by the way, of many of God’s promises to Abraham and to David known as the Abrahamic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant that as premillennialists we interpret literally God will keep His promises. We don’t allegorize them or spiritualize them or make them fulfilled in the Church. They’re going to be fulfilled with Israel getting all the land God promised and the blessing God promised and even the Gentiles will be blessed, and He will reverse the curse and there will be peace on earth. It will be a thousand years of Christ’s reign on earth. It’ll be a glorious, glorious, glorious time. But it all starts with us being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So, that promise, verse 3, “ . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Notice at the end of verse 3 that we are going to be with Jesus. Now, that should excite us. We’re not just going to see streets of gold and gates of pearl and angels singing and all the glories of heaven, we will see Jesus face to face. Face will become sight. You’ll be able to reach out and touch Him. Do you know that Jesus for all eternity is going to be with us in heaven in His glorified, resurrected body, the same body Jesus came out of the grave in, still bearing the scars. The only scars that will be in heaven will be on Christ’s body. We’ll have brand new bodies, and for all eternity, we’ll be able to see the scars of our salvation of our redemption. Jesus is the exalted God-Man in heaven, and we shall see Him face to face - Amen? - the Jesus who loved us and died for us and sought us and redeemed us by His grace. What a marvelous truth. That should motivate us again to live for the Lord. He says, verse 3, “ . . . that where I am, there ye may be also.

By the way, once we’re raptured, we can never again be tempted to sin. We can never fall into sin; we can never lose our salvation. We’ll be with the Lord forever.

Verse 4, “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” And this is the classic second question. Thomas, good ol’ Thomas, said to Him, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” I like Thomas. The other guys are like, “Okay, yes, Lord. Yeah, that’s great.” Thomas says, “Wait, wait, wait, no, no. Wait a minute. We don’t know where You’re going, and how can we know the way?” When I meet Thomas in heaven, I’m going to thank him for asking these questions. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,”—remember the Father is in heaven, it’s the Father’s house we’re going, no one can get to God the Father—“but by me.” How much more clear could Jesus make it? There’s only one way to get to heaven. There’s only one avenue to get to God the Father, it’s through Jesus Christ.

Verse 7, “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” This is one of the great texts of Jesus or the statements of Jesus. Notice He uses the word “I Am.” Remember when Moses was being called by God to go to Pharaoh by the burning bush and God was speaking to Moses from the burning bush? Moses said, “Well, who am I going to say I’m sent by?” God says, “You tell them ‘I Am’ has sent you.” So, Jesus is laying claim to being the great “I Am,” the eternal covenant-keeping God, “I Am,” egṓ eimí in the Greek, “I Am.” Every time Jesus used the word “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” “I am the good shepherd,” “I am the door,” “I am the bread of God which comes down from heaven,” “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was claiming to be God. He was claiming to be the great “I Am.”

Notice Jesus is “ . . . the way.” Mankind in his sinful state, unredeemed state, does not know the way to heaven, is not on the way to heaven, he’s on his way to hell. “I am the truth,” mankind apart from regeneration or salvation is living in ignorance. So we’re lost, we don’t know the way; we’re ignorant, we don’t know the truth, our minds are deceived by sin and Satan. Jesus says, “I am the life,” we are dead in trespasses and sin. Someone said, “He’s the way, without Him there’s no going; He’s the truth, without Him there’s no knowing; He’s the life, without Him there’s no living.”

Notice He’s not saying, “I am a way of many ways.” Oprah Winfrey may say, “All paths lead to God.” I don’t know how she can read this verse and still think that there are many ways to God. I’ve heard her say that quote where she said, “It can’t be that there’s only one way to get to God.” She said, “It can’t be that there’s only one way to get to God,” yet that’s what Jesus said. He didn’t say, “I’m a way or one of the ways,” “I am the way.” There is only one way to get to God, and that’s through Jesus Christ. He’s the way. This is the message we need to herald in our culture today, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and Jesus Christ gives us life everlasting.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world . . . that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He is the life of God in our souls. “ . . . no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He’s the only way to get to God the Father. We must hold fast to the truth of the Scriptures that there is only one way to God. You can’t get there by being religious, you can’t get there by being a certain race; you get there by trusting in Jesus Christ.

Verse 7, “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us”—we will be satisfied. This is the third question, “Would You show us the Father?” “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” What does Jesus mean when He says to Philip, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father?” Jesus is not the Father, but Jesus is saying, “I came to reveal the Father.” John 1:18 says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Write down John 1:18 next to verse 9 because there it describes that Jesus reveals Him or explains Him or makes known God to us. If you want to know what God is like, you take a good, long look at Jesus Christ, who is God the Son.

Verse 10, “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12 Verily, verily”—truly, truly—“I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,”—which is the Holy Spirit—“that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless”—I will not leave you orphans—“I will come to you.” He’s speaking of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 19, “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” I hoped to get to verse 18, and I read all the way down to that, but we’re going to stop there for tonight, and we’re going to pick up next Wednesday right where we left off.

Going back to the greater works, verse 12, “ . . . and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Jesus, remember, was going back to heaven, and He wanted to encourage them. He was going to send the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit came in Acts 2, the Church was born and they had the indwelling Spirit in their hearts and lives, and they would do “ . . . greater works,” not greater in quality, but greater in quantity. How do you do greater works in raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, cleansing lepers? You’re not going to do that. So, he’s talking about greater in quantity, so instead of just Jesus doing the miracles, all His followers would be going out, they would be preaching the gospel, people would be saved, and many would come to faith in Jesus Christ. Simply stated, greater works in quantity, not in quality, and the reason is because He would go back to the Father and the Father would send the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit.

So, He says, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Again, I’ve run out of time, we’re having Communion, and this is kind of a challenging verse, verses 13-14, but the idea that we can ask anything in His name and He will do it, we have to compare Scripture with Scripture and realize it has to be God’s will, and it has to bring glory to God, so to isolate this text from other texts that it has to be the will of God, for the glory of God, would be a misinterpretation of this passage. I’ll go into it more in depth next Wednesday night. These verses are too great to skim over.

He says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name,” asking in the name of Jesus means we’re asking for Jesus’ sake, for Jesus’ glory, and based on the merits of Christ. It’s not like a magic word that we just throw out, “in Jesus’ name,” and we get what we want; so it has to be in His merits, for His sake, and for His glory. Amen?