2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary John Chapter 14
Commentary - John Chapter 14
John 14:1-4
Joh 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Joh 14:4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
Keep in mind, there is no evidence of a context break between chapter 13 and 14.
Jesus just told the Apostles in 13:36, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
Chapter 14 opens with Jesus telling them He is going to prepare a place for them.
He doesn’t want them to be troubled.
He wants them to believe in Him as they believe in God.
God is never not in control.
Jesus was never not in control.
The imminent events of this evening were going to test whether they really believed that.
The Apostles would certainly be troubled in the upcoming hours but eventually they would be able to look back at these words and realize there hadn’t been any reason to worry.
Where was Jesus going and what was He preparing?
I think Jesus is referring to His home in heaven and their home in heaven.
To His home in the presence of God and their home in the presence of God.
Jesus would ascend back to God following His death on the cross.
His Apostles wouldn’t be privileged with following Him on that day.
But Jesus’ work on earth, especially His death and resurrection, were part of God’s preparations to permit men and women to live with Him in heaven.
Jesus told Peter in 13:36, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
I understand this verse to say, “I am going to heaven and you cannot come with Me now but one day you will be with Me again.”
John 14:4-5
Joh 14:4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
Joh 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
In verse 4, Jesus tells the Apostles they “know the way” to where He is going.
They will know how to find Him.
They will know how to get to Him so they can join Him in the prepared place.
Thomas immediately said “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way.”
Thomas probably spoke for all the Apostles when he voiced his confusion.
He didn’t have any idea where Jesus was going or how to get there.
John 14:6-7
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Joh 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Here Jesus tells the Apostles He is going to be with God and they can be with God too if they go through Him.
Jesus is the directions to get to God.
Thomas tells Jesus he doesn’t know how to get there… Jesus tells him, “You get there through me!”
Jesus is the “way.”
He is the route to God.
He is the road that leads a seeker to God.
Jesus is the “truth.”
Thomas just asked, “How can we know the way?”
They needed someone to reveal the truth about spiritual things to them.
Jesus was the source of truth from the Father.
As today, there were plenty of people telling others how to be “right with God” or “right with the gods.”
Jesus was the only one with authority to speak on the matter because He was the only one who had come from God and knew God.
Jesus is the “life.”
Only God can grant eternal life.
He chose to grant eternal life through the work of Jesus.
Joh 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus was going to resurrect from the dead which was a display of His power over death and the Apostle’s assurance He could raise them from the dead and give them eternal life.
In verse 7, Jesus reiterates a point He made previously in John’s gospel.
John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
How can we know who God is if we’ve never seen Him?
Jesus reveals Him to us because He shares all of His virtues, character traits, and powers.
I don’t think this can be understood as anything less than a claim to equality with God.
Imagine if I said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen God.”
Or if I said, “Seeing me is the same as seeing God.”
Even if I was a super virtuous person, I couldn’t make either of those statements, even in the most general sense.
No one being inferior to God in any way could make those statements.
God is unique and a person would have to be highly misguided or have an extreme over estimation of their own goodness to claim seeing them was as good as seeing God.
John 14:8-11
Joh 14:8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Joh 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Joh 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
These verses reveal it wasn’t only the Jewish religious leaders who failed to comprehend Jesus’ words, the Apostles also struggled.
However, their attitude towards allowing Jesus to teach them was very different.
The Jewish authorities dismissed anything they didn’t understand.
The Apostles were willing to be taught and willing to have this back and forth with Jesus about the things they didn’t understand.
In verse 8, Philip is confused, he just wants Jesus to show God to them plainly.
If God would just reveal Himself plainly and directly, Philip would be content.
Jesus’ response reveals a bit of frustration with the Apostle’s slowness to comprehend and their failure to consider things He previously taught them.
Seeing Jesus plainly and directly should have been enough for Philip.
Although Philip probably didn’t intend to do so, his words essentially confirmed he wasn’t content with what he had seen and heard from Jesus.
Jesus tells Philip all of His words and all of His miracles stemmed directly from God.
God’s message and power flowed through Jesus.
Jesus told the Apostles God dwelt in Him.
Jesus said the same thing in John 10:37-38.
Joh 10:37-38 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
This claim of God dwelling in Jesus and Jesus dwelling in God is difficult to fully explain.
I don’t think human beings will every be able to fully explain the perfect union of two divine beings.
This is part of the mystery of the Trinity. The perfect union and oneness of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
We know Jesus’ claim was an extraordinary one because it infuriated the Jews to the point of trying to arrest Him and kill Him.
This wasn’t a claim religious people were going around making about God dwelling in them representatively.
If Philip struggled to believe Jesus words, he needed to consider the undeniable miracles Jesus had performed.
Those miracles alone were enough to prove Jesus possessed the power and blessing of God.
John 14:12-14
Joh 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Joh 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus was going to be going back to God but those who believed in Him and who He would commission to go out into the world and spread the good news of His coming would be given the power to do miracles (works) like Him.
Jesus even says their works would be “greater.”
In what sense were the miracles performed by the Apostles greater than those performed by Jesus?
It wasn’t that their power exceeded that of Jesus.
As we read through the rest of the Bible, we aren’t going to see the Apostles working miracles that would be considered “more impressive” than those accomplished by Jesus.
I think the Apostle’s miracles were “greater” in the sense of quantity (rather than quality).
Especially considering Jesus’ words at the end of verse 12.
He tells them they will do “greater” works “because I am going to the Father.”
Jesus’ ministry only lasted around 3 years and He was only one man.
The work of the Apostles would span decades.
They would perform many miracles and those who they gave similar power to would perform many miracles (more on this in the book of Acts).
Jesus tells them He will enable them to work these great works in the future.
Anything they asked “in His name,” meaning by His authority, He would do for them.
We see the Apostles doing this very thing as we explore the book of Acts.
Act 3:6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Act 16:18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
SIDE NOTE:
This verse is a good example of the importance of context, the danger of reading selective verses without familiarizing yourself with the surrounding verses, and the importance of interpreting the Bible as a comprehensive unit.
Imagine I came up to you and said, “Anyone who is a Christian can perform miracles. Anyone who can’t perform miracles isn’t a real believer!”
I then read you John 14:12, “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.”
“See,” I say, “Anyone who believes in Jesus can work miracles. Jesus said so!”
Now, if you know anything about modern Christianity, you’ll know Christians aren’t out in the streets healing the lame and raising the dead.
Why?
Consider the context of John 14:12:
To whom is Jesus speaking?
He is speaking to the 11 Apostles (Judas already left).
This isn’t something He said to a large audience.
Also consider the rest of the Bible.
The book of Acts reveals all 11 of the Apostles to whom Jesus made this promise were able to perform miracles.
But not all believers were able to work miracles, only those on whom the Apostles granted the ability.
So, when we go to interpret John 14:12, taking into account what we know from the book of Acts and the other New Testament writings, we understand the promise being made there was intended for Jesus’ immediate audience (the Apostles with Him at the Passover meal), not the entire world for all time.
John 14:15
Joh 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Love leads a person into action.
If you love your wife, it will lead you to act a particular way towards her.
Your actions reveal the way you really feel about someone.
If you say you love someone or something but you act in a way that communicates the opposite, people will conclude you don’t love that person or thing after all.
This is similar to Jesus’ discussion of the fruit bearing tree in Matthew 7:15-20.
Mat 7:15-16 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?
False teachers will come into the Church claiming they love God.
You will know they are false by their actions (their fruit).
If a person genuinely loves God, they will act in a way that reflects their affection for Him.
They will keep Jesus’ commands because they know what Jesus has done for them on the cross, they love Him for it, and they know He seeks their best interest.
There are a lot of people in the world who say they love Jesus and have a relationship with Him but ignore almost everything He said.
To be frank, Jesus is calling them liars.
Imagine if I said, “Oh yeah, I love my wife but I ignore everything she says to me.”
John 14:16-17
Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Joh 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Jesus is going to be leaving the Apostles on earth, but He wasn’t going to leave them alone and confused wondering what they were supposed to do next.
Jesus and God the Father were going to send the “Helper.”
Notice the term is capitalized.
The “Helper” is the “Spirit of truth” (verse 17).
Later in the chapter He will be called the “Holy Spirit,” which is probably a title with which more people are familiar.
The Holy Spirit is the 3rd being in the Trinity (God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit).
Jesus promised to send the Spirit to help the Apostles.
This Helper would be sent to them to help them understand and keep the “commandments” of Jesus (verse 15).
The Spirit would dwell in them.
He would reside with them to assist them.
Up to this point, Jesus had been at the side of the Apostles but now He was leaving and sending them someone else to help them.
The Spirit wasn't going to be given to unbelievers (the world). They didn’t have interest in spiritual things.
John 14:18
Joh 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus had referred to the Apostles as His “little children” in chapter 13.
He was going away to heaven but He wasn’t going to leave His little children without ensuring they would have someone to care for them in the future.
The Spirit would be their caretaker.
Jesus will see them again when He comes again to bring them home with Him to heaven.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:19
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
I’m going to present two possible interpretations of this verse.
(1) When Jesus left and went back to heaven, the world wouldn’t be able to see Him anymore.
He would not be physically present for them to see.
But the Apostles would see Him.
How would the Apostles see Him?
They would see Him through the Spirit, the Helper, He would send to them.
The Spirit coming to them would be evidence that Christ was still with them, helping them, and guiding them in “the way,” by giving them “the truth,” that would lead them to “life.”
Nobody could come to the Father except through Christ and the Spirit was going to be sent to help them do that.
There would be enough evidence for them to see Jesus was still their aiding them and He hadn’t left them like a bad parent leaves a destitute orphan.
(2) Jesus was about to die on the cross, after which He would appear to the Apostles and others but only in limited ways.
Jesus wasn’t going to go back to public ministry after His resurrection.
He didn’t march into Jerusalem for the multitudes to see.
He appeared mostly to His followers.
We are not told of all His appearances following the resurrection but the ones we are told about center around His disciples.
He appeared to the Apostles.
Mary
“More than 500 brothers” (1 Cor 15:6).
Peter spoke about Jesus’ limited appearing in Acts 10:40-41.
Act 10:40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
So, in John 14:19 when Jesus says, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me” Jesus may be referring to His death.
The world (unbelievers) wouldn’t see Jesus again in the same public way He appeared to them before.
But the Apostles would see Jesus again and it would give them confidence for the future.
At the end of verse 19, Jesus tells the Apostles they will live because He lives.
(1) Followers of Jesus are made alive spiritually while they are still alive physically on the earth.
Paul talks about this in Colossians 2:11-13
Col 2:11-13 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
Christians are raised to new life in Christ in baptism and faith.
This is also discussed in John 3 when Jesus tells Nicodemus about the “new birth” by water and Spirit.
(2) Followers of Jesus (specifically the Apostles here) would receive eternal life after their life on earth ended.
Jesus had spoken of this eternal life often.
When the Apostles saw Jesus alive after His death, it would be their confirmation He could save them from death too.
John 14:20
Joh 14:20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
When is “that day”?
Again, we will look at two possible interpretations.
(1) “That day” is the day Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to the Apostles (Acts 2, Day of Pentecost).
When the Apostles received the Spirit of God, it helped them understand the work of Jesus, how it fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, and how Jesus had reconciled them to God.
They understood things they hadn’t before.
Their new comprehension would include a fuller understanding of the unity between God, Christ, and themselves.
That Jesus was in the Father, they were in Jesus, and Jesus was in them.
(2) The second way to interpret this verse is to understand “that day” to reference the day Jesus appeared to the Apostles following His resurrection.
Up until that day, they had some doubts (especially during the three days following Jesus death).
But when they saw Him resurrected, it sealed their faith.
They no longer doubted Jesus’ relationship with God or their relationship with Jesus.
Notice all of the statements of unity between God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the believers).
Jesus is in the Father (verse 10)
The Father is in Jesus (verse 10)
The Spirit dwells in believers (verse 17)
Jesus is in the Father (verse 20)
Believers are in Jesus (verse 20)
Jesus is in believers (verse 20)
John 14:21
Joh 14:21 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.”
Those who hear and keep the commandments of Jesus, are those who love Him (that would include the Apostles).
Those who love Jesus are loved by God.
As seen in John 3:16, there is a sense in which God loves the whole world.
But there is a special love shared between God and those who seek to please Him.
It might be helpful to think about a human father with two daughters, one loving and obedient, the other rebellious and obstinate.
The father doesn’t stop loving his daughter who is rebellious.
But a loving bond is shared between the father and his obedient daughter that is absent from the other relationship.
Jesus promises the Apostles He will “manifest” Himself to those who love His Father.
Manifest = display or show (a quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance; demonstrate.
Jesus would make His presence known to those who kept God’s commandments.
They would realize Jesus hadn’t left them alone as helpless orphans in their attempt to keep those commands.
John 14:22-24
Joh 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Joh 14:23 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.
Joh 14:24 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.
There were two Apostles named Judas.
One of them had already left to begin his betrayal of Jesus.
The other was still sitting around the Passover table with Jesus.
This other Judas asked Jesus to explain how He was going to manifest Himself to them but not to the world.
I would have been curious about the same thing.
Was Jesus planning on hiding out somewhere and only showing Himself to His disciples?
Jesus’ answer is similar to what He just said in verses 15-21.
It isn’t the easiest answer to understand (in my opinion).
Anyone who loves Jesus and keeps His words will be loved by God.
God and Jesus will then make their home with that person.
My question… How?
How were God and Jesus going to make their home with the Apostles?
I believe we already have the answer but Jesus is going to repeat it in the next few verses.
John 14:25-26
Joh 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jesus was telling them about this future event while He was still physically present with them but knowing His time was limited.
So, when Jesus left and these events came to pass, how were God and Jesus going to make their home with the Apostles?
I think the answer was already stated in verse 16-20.
Joh 14:16-20 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive… In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
Jesus states it again in verse
Joh 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
When Jesus leaves, He will ask God to send the Holy Spirit to assist those who love Him.
Jesus and God would representatively dwell with those who obeyed God’s commandments through the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said this already in verse 18.
John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus wasn’t literally coming back to earth right after His ascension to be with the Apostles, He was going to come to them by sending the Spirit.
Many verses in the Bible talk about God or God’s Spirit dwelling in believers.
1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
1Co 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
2Co 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The Spirit dwelling in the Apostles is going to be very plainly seen in the book of Acts.
Jesus tells the Apostles the Spirit will teach them and help them remember His teaching.
When we get to the book of Acts, we will see the Apostles, who are so often confused about Jesus’ teaching in the gospels, receive a full and complete comprehension of Jesus’ work.
The Spirit was going to teach them how they ought to live.
Jesus was only on earth a short period of time.
The Apostles were still going to have questions about how to serve following Jesus ascension.
The Spirit was going to help them.
He was going to give them clarity about the words Jesus had spoken.
John 14:27
Joh 14:27 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.
Jesus didn’t want the Apostles to be troubled at the idea of Him leaving them.
This was His concern at the beginning of the chapter, “Let not your hearts be troubled…” (verse 1).
He mentions it again here.
He wanted them to be at peace about the future and through the Holy Spirit He would provide them a way to have that peace.
It wasn’t the kind of peace a person finds in the world, one dependent on any number of uncontrollable variables, one that could be taken away in an instant or by an unforeseen event.
God can grant greater peace through His Spirit, by the fact He controls all the variables that we are unable to control, and by the fact that He has the power to ensure our souls through death and into eternity.
John 14:28
Joh 14:28 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.
Jesus was leaving and the Apostles should have rejoiced at the fact.
He tells them, “If you loved, you would have rejoiced.”
I don’t think Jesus intends to say the Apostles don’t love Him.
But they certainly didn’t fully understand His role as the Messiah.
Some of them probably still thought Jesus should stay on the earth and reign as King.
But what was really best was for Him to ascend to God to be glorified.
If they really loved Jesus, they would rejoice at the completion of His great work, His return to God, and His claiming of the throne of the Kingdom of God.
The Apostles ought to have rejoiced because Jesus was leaving and going to His Father who was greater than Him… What does that mean?
Some denominations (Jehovah’s witnesses being one) cite this verse to say Jesus wasn’t equal with God.
But if you’ve followed along with us through the Gospel of John, you will probably find that interpretation contradictory with our previous study.
Indeed it is!
We’ve already seen Jesus:
Claim to be one with the Father (10:30).
Make claims of equality with God (5:18)
Use the “I AM” title of God from the Old Testament (8:58).
Claim to be in the Father and the Father in Him (10:38).
Claim whoever had seen Him had seen the Father (14:9).
Accept worship (8:38).
How do we reconcile this verse with what we’ve already read?
Again, we see the importance of context.
Where is Jesus when He is speaking these words?
On earth!
How does God become a man and walk around on earth?
Jesus had to humble Himself and relinquish some of His glory to become a man and die on a cross.
Php 2:5-7 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Jesus spoke of returning to His former glory when praying in John 17.
Joh 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
God was greater than Jesus only in the sense that Jesus had relinquished some of His glory for a time to complete the work of redeeming mankind.
The Apostles ought to rejoice at the idea of Jesus leaving them because it meant the return of Jesus to His glorified state.
Some suggest this passage should be understood in light of John 13:16 and other verses that mention the roles played by the Father, Son, and the Spirit.
Joh 13:16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
God didn’t force Jesus to come to earth and die for mankind.
Jesus willingly accepted that role.
He chose to humble Himself in order to complete God’s plan.
His role is shown to us as one submissive to the authority of God.
In this sense God’s role is greater than that of Jesus’.
God is shown as possessing the authority.
Jesus is shown as accepting God’s authority.
But that isn’t a statement about the equality of their natures.
Example:
If I am an employee of a company, my boss has a higher (greater) role than me.
I submit to my boss’s authority do to our roles in the company.
But the fact that I listen to my boss doesn’t say anything about the equality of our natures.
We are still human beings.
I may actually be smarter than my boss.
I may be more capable than my boss in almost every way.
But when you look at things in terms of company roles, the way the company has structured their org chart to complete their intended work, my boss will be listed as my superior.
I think it is possible to interpret Jesus’ words this way.
God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit intended to complete the work of saving mankind from sin.
They each accepted a role in that work.
No doubt those roles were created to communicate something to us.
John 14:29
Joh 14:29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
Jesus told the Apostles about His departure and the arrival of the Holy Spirit so they wouldn’t be surprised when it happened.
He didn’t want them to think they were abandoned orphans left to fend for themselves.
And He wanted His foretelling of these events to build their faith when they eventually came to pass.
John 14:30-31
Joh 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
Joh 14:31 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 were no more than a few hours left before Jesus’ arrest and Jesus was going to spend a significant amount of that time in prayer.
Jesus would say little else to the Apostles.
Jesus told them the “ruler of this world” was coming.
This is the same language we saw back in John 12 and we interpreted it as a reference to the devil.
Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
I think Jesus uses it in the same way here in chapter 14.
Satan was coming.
He was about to use His influence to have Jesus killed.
He had corrupted Judas.
He had corrupted the Jewish authorities.
But Satan had no claim on Jesus.
Satan had no accusation against Jesus.
Which meant he had no power over Jesus.
Satan ruled the world by bringing it under the consequences of sin and death.
He had not succeeded in dragging Jesus down into sin and He wouldn’t be able to hold Him down in death either.
Verse 30 tells us the authority to which Jesus didn’t submit, verse 31 tells us of the authority to which He did submit.
Satan had no authority over Jesus, the only one Jesus submitted to was His Father.
By going to the cross the world would know He loved God.
APPLICATION:
This is where we’ve failed!
We allow Satan to drag us down in sin.
We listen to His lies sometimes (like Adam and Eve).
We don’t submit exclusively to the words of the Father.
That is why we need Jesus.
He did everything right, didn’t deserve punishment, but accepted it so…
Those who don’t do everything right, those who do deserve punishment, don’t have to endure it.
