Day 2160– The Gospel of John – 28 –Tranquil Words for Troubled Hearts – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2160 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 28 – Tranquil Words for Troubled Hearts – Daily Wisdom
The Gospel of John – Part 4 Confirmation Of The Word – Tranquil Words For Troubled Hearts
Today we continue our series, the Good News according to John the Apostle. As the Passover meal concluded, Christ reminded the remaining 11 disciples that he would soon be leaving them. With this in mind, He issued them a new command.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The truth was finally setting in with the disciples, who were anxious about their futures. After all, they invested the past three and a half years with Jesus, and now he tells them he is leaving, and they can’t come with him. Their minds were blown, and their hearts were crushed. Our scripture for today is John 14:1-24. Jesus provides Tranquil Words for Troubled Hearts. Follow along as I read.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them...

Welcome to Day 2160 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 28 – Tranquil Words for Troubled Hearts – Daily Wisdom
The Gospel of John – Part 4 Confirmation Of The Word – Tranquil Words For Troubled Hearts
Today we continue our series, the Good News according to John the Apostle. As the Passover meal concluded, Christ reminded the remaining 11 disciples that he would soon be leaving them. With this in mind, He issued them a new command.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The truth was finally setting in with the disciples, who were anxious about their futures. After all, they invested the past three and a half years with Jesus, and now he tells them he is leaving, and they can’t come with him. Their minds were blown, and their hearts were crushed. Our scripture for today is John 14:1-24. Jesus provides Tranquil Words for Troubled Hearts. Follow along as I read.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

This particular section of Scripture is good for those struggling with heart troubles. I don’t mean the troubles that can be treated with a glycerin pill or bypass surgery. In some ways, that kind of heart trouble is easier to cure. Instead, I’m referring to the kind of heart trouble that steals sleep and keeps the mind churning throughout the day. This kind of trouble induces stress and destroys joy. Some call it “worry,” but we Christians have more acceptable terms, such as “concern,” “interest,” “lack of peace,” or my very favorite, “burden.” To be “burdened” over some situation we cannot control sounds much more spiritual than simply admitting, “I’m worried sick.”

The disciples were stunned to hear Jesus’ announcement in John 13:33, “Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.” A few moments before, the obviously “troubled” Master had exclaimed in verse 21, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” Only John suspected that Judas was the culprit. The others undoubtedly wondered, “Have we caused such offense that the Lord must separate Himself from us?” Peter protested the Lord’s need to withdraw from all of them, declaring himself loyal unto death, which prompted a prediction that he would indeed deny his Master three times before dawn.

 

Obviously, Jesus didn’t mean He must leave them behind because some or all of them would be disloyal. Nevertheless, the disconnect between His perspective and the disciples is dramatic. Despite Jesus’ many predictions concerning His death, burial, and resurrection, which He termed “glory,” the men felt abandoned by Him, perhaps even resigned to the fact that they did not deserve His continued care for them. This is what prompted Jesus’ reassurance in 14:1–24. Their separation had nothing to do with the disciples’ behavior; the Lord’s leaving was part of God’s plan to redeem the world, /which He established before time began. Furthermore, Christ will be faithful to His followers regardless of their success or failure as disciples.

The Lord’s reassurance to the remaining eleven disciples presents us with six truths that offer peace when our hearts are troubled:

Personal faith in a personal Lord brings personal relief (14:1).
Our long-term future is secure (14:2–3).
The sovereign hand of God is at work in each believer’s life (14:8–11).
Greater results occur when we pray in Jesus’ name and for the Father’s glory (14:12–14).
We are not alone; we have been given an indwelling Helper (14:15–17).
We are inseparably linked to Christ (14:18–21).


14:1

1-Personal faith in a personal Lord brings personal relief

The Lord’s exhortation, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The same Greek term used in 13:21 Jesus was distraught, could appear hypocritical if we fail to consider the context. Jesus did not condemn worry, per se; neither does the Bible. Feelings of distress are common to humanity, and the Lord shares that part of human nature. He meant, “Do not let your hearts be troubled by My going away.”

He followed this with a second exhortation to believe in God and His Son. The imperfect tense of the verb implies continuous action: “Keep on believing…” To believe in someone is to rely upon or trust that person. In the case of God, we are encouraged to trust in His ability and willingness to care for His own.

Let’s face it; when something terrible occurs in life, humanity immediately looks heavenward and asks one of two questions: “Why did God allow this to happen?” or “Where was God?” Both suggest the Lord was either unable or unwilling to prevent tragedy. When pressed by worldly affliction, we naturally wonder if He has abandoned us; we doubt His goodness or power.

Jesus asked for His followers’ trust amid their confusion.

 

 

 

14:2–3

2-Our long-term future is secure

Jesus reassured His disciples that His going away had nothing to do with their past, present, or future failures. His purpose for going away was to secure their eternal destiny. The metaphor of a dwelling in many rooms refers to His going to the cross on behalf of all humanity to ensure eternal life for those who believe. He declared that His leaving was necessary, and His return was assured.

The phrase, “house of many rooms,” has been rendered “mansions” in older translations, inspiring some to dream of owning their castle-like estate in heaven. Instead, they have transferred their frustrated materialism to the spiritual realm. We, earthlings, are good at that! However, the Greek term is monai, a plural noun based on the verb menō, which means “to abide” or “to remain.” This verb will later be central to Jesus’ exhortation (15:1–11).

Jesus used the metaphor of “many rooms” to illustrate our future relationship with the Father rather than reveal our real estate prospects. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, once a groom was betrothed, he had a set time to add a new wing to his family home. Then, after the betrothal period, he returned to receive his bride. After the wedding feast, the new couple moved into their newly added “room” and became an integral part of the family estate.

Jesus’ promise to “come back” refers to His resurrection and His second coming to build that new global Eden where heaven and earth finally become one.

14:4–7

Jesus reminded the disciples that they knew the way to heaven, although they undoubtedly failed to understand that heaven was His subject. (Much of what He said in the upper room was intended to become apparent once the men had received the Holy Spirit.) However, how Jesus would travel would not be the path the disciples took. Instead, Jesus would go to heaven by way of suffering: Gethsemane, the trials, scourging, the cross, death, burial, resurrection, and then ascension.

In response to Thomas’s question, obviously based on a literal interpretation of Jesus’ words, the Lord declared Himself the path to heaven. In calling Himself “the way, and the truth, and the life,” Jesus united three predominant themes, John has taken care to weave throughout his narrative. Light (truth) and water (life) images can be seen in virtually every story leading up to the Last Supper. These were joined to one of Jesus’s first images in His ministry: the Son of Man becoming the way people enter heaven (1:51).

 

While verse 6 declares a cardinal truth of the gospel, verse 7 is a rebuke. This is not a new teaching. The disciples had been watching and listening to Jesus for over three years, yet some followers outside the Twelve understood His teaching better than they did (cf. 11:24).

14:8–11

3-The sovereign hand of God is at work in each believer’s life

Jesus’ response to Thomas led to a challenge by Philip, one commonly expressed by everyone at one time or another. We live under the illusion that the will of God would be easier to accept if only we could receive a personal visit from Him. Suffering would be more bearable if God were to appear with personal reassurance. Instructions would be easier to follow if He were to communicate them audibly. However, we do not fear or fail merely because of doubt; we fear or fail because our sinful nature is enslaved to sin (Rom. 7).

Jesus reminded Philip and the others that He is the perfect representation of the Father, that perfect imager. The Father cannot take a visible, audible form more suitable than the Son. Because they are the same being, everything the Son says or does reflect the Father’s words and deeds. Therefore, everything Jesus said and did in the upper room obeyed God’s sovereign plan.

14:12–14

4-Greater results occur when we pray in Jesus’ name and for the Father’s glory

Verse 12 establishes the context. When Christ goes to the Father, His disciples will enter the ministry vacuum He leaves behind. Those who believe will pick up where Jesus left off and extend His ministry even further. Verse 13 flows right out of Verse 12. Jesus declared that prayers offered to continue the Son’s ministry will be answered as if He had spoken the prayer Himself. Verse 14 clarifies an underlying condition to the promise. To speak or act in someone’s name is to act on his behalf or in pursuit of his interests. In other words, the Lord will not grant requests that contradict His nature or oppose His plan.

More often than not, we do not pray in the interests of Jesus’ plans or for the glory of God. Instead, in our immaturity, we seek our interests and what will improve our situations. Then, as we grow wiser in grace and more robust in faith, we learn to ask for what we think is good. However, we still struggle to know what that is. I can recall many requests I prayed for in earnest—noble, unselfish petitions—only to thank God later for denying my petitions! I prayed with limited knowledge and sometimes with a hint of presumption.

Jesus promised that as we discover the will of God and align our prayers to fulfill His purposes, our prayers will become as powerful as His own.

14:15–17

5-We are not alone; we have been given an indwelling Helper

 

Jesus established an unbreakable connection between love for God and obedience to His commands. Whereas Peter wanted to express his love in a blaze of glory with a sword at Jesus’ last stand, his Master asked for something more complicated: daily, consistent obedience. However, the Lord knows the human heart; we are woefully incapable of obedience. In partial fulfillment of the new covenant promise (Jer. 31:31–33; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13–14), Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to dwell within the hearts of those who believe in Him.

If this news didn’t stun those eleven men, it should have. The Holy Spirit was a rare gift throughout the Old Testament and almost always temporary. He came upon certain individuals briefly for a specific purpose and then departed. Very few individuals were granted the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit for life, among them John the Baptizer (Luke 1:15). So, the announcement that the presence of God would inhabit each of them was excellent news.

With the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit comes a dramatic shift in how Jesus views the relationship between believers and “the world.” Throughout John’s narrative, Jesus uses the term “world” to include all of humanity who are fundamentally and organically bound by its fallen system and therefore hostile to Him (John 1:10). As the narrative unfolds, we see a gradual differentiation between “His own” and “the world” (13:1). “His own” are somehow different. They remain somewhat intertwined with creation, yet their fallen ways no longer bind them. Jesus later acknowledges that “His own” must remain in the world but are not of the world (15:19). After the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus portrays believers and “the world” as mortal enemies. From this point forward, believers are associated with God, and the world opposes believers just as it opposes Him.

14:18–21

6-We are inseparably linked to Christ

Jesus’ promise to return involves a twofold prediction. He will return through His resurrection, and the disciples will see Him. However, His resurrection also makes possible the resurrection of all believers. We will also see Him in eternal life after death. In the meantime, we are not orphans, because He is still present through the Holy Spirit. Just as the Son and the Father are two persons and one being, so are the Son and the Spirit.

When Jesus can no longer be seen physically by the world, believers will continue to see Him because they have been given sight (9:39). The presence of the Holy Spirit is how this promise is fulfilled, while obedience is the method. As we grow in obedience and our relationship with Him strengthens. As a result, we “see” Him—not physically (until His return), but spiritually.

14:22–24

 

Judas (not the traitor, but another disciple) asked a question that gave the Lord another opportunity to emphasize the distinction between “His own” and “the world.” Instead, he reworded His earlier statement that the means of “seeing” Him is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the method by which we view Christ is obedience. Those who do not believe are like people without eyes; they cannot see Christ if they do not have the means. Moreover, even if they did have eyes, they would refuse to open them through obedience. Jesus used this figurative language to unite several concepts. Obedience, /love, /the words of Christ, /seeing Christ, /and abiding /are all facets of the same positive response to God, and all are made possible by the Holy Spirit.

We have the advantage of history as we read this story of the Last Supper. Because we know the disciples’ future, we see their experience from a divine perspective; therefore, we remain calm while they are despaired. Now the tables are turned. If people in heaven watch events on earth, they remain calm while we despair. Again, this is because they see our experience from a divine perspective.

If only we could see from that perspective. According to Jesus, we can.

Application: John 14:1–24

Medicine for the Heart

Based on my study of John 13:33–38, I find three sources of heart trouble that affected the disciples and continue to plague believers today. Jesus addressed these troubles in John 14.

Heart Trouble #1: Death is near (13:33a). The Son of God faced imminent death. The disciples naturally worried that if Jesus could not escape His demise, what hope did anyone have? Death is the ultimate fear; however, we’re also deathly afraid of disease, sickness, accidents, crime, war, poverty, and a host of other mortal afflictions. We fear death for ourselves, or someone we love will be taken in death.

Heart Trouble #2: Daily problems (13:33b). The disciples wondered, How are we going to handle daily life without Jesus? /Each day we roll out of bed and enter daily life, we risk damaging something valuable, suffering something painful, hurting or losing someone important, or failing something critical. As a result, people experience pressure, lose jobs, suffer pain, endure hardship, feel rejection, face bankruptcy, and fall ill. And sometimes those problems of daily life feel overwhelming.

Heart Trouble #3: Disobedience (13:38). Because we are fundamentally sinful from birth and will never be anywhere near...