João 14
F.B. Meyer · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 14
Meyer - Believe also in Me. Were we less familiar with these words, we should be more startled by their immeasurable meaning. One who seems a man asks all men to give Him precisely the same faith and confidence that they give to God. He would not abate his claims, though He was the humblest and meekest of men. And the irresistible conclusion is forced on us, that He was and knew Himself to be “God manifest in the flesh.” 1. Faith in Jesus is the cure of heart trouble. — It is of little use to say, “Let not your heart be troubled,” unless you can add “Trust Christ.” Only if we can trust can we be still. Only if we can shift the responsibility of our life on the care of our never failing Redeemer can weeping be exchanged for radiant and unspeakable joy. 2. Faith in Jesus conducts to the knowledge of God. “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.” Philip said, “Show us the Father.” Jesus answered, “Believe, and thou dost behold.” The world says, Seeing is believing; Jesus says, Believing is seeing. The true way to know God is, not by arguing about or seeking to verify his existence by intellectual processes, but by obeying the precepts of Jesus; following the footsteps of Jesus; holding fellowship with Jesus. 3. Faith in Jesus will make our lives the channel through which He can work. — “He that believeth on Me, the works,” etc. (John 14:12–14). The Gospels are included in the one clause; the Acts and all the marvels of the following ages in the other. Jesus is always the worker; and the man who yields himself most utterly to Him in obedience and faith, will become the channel through which He will work most mightily. (Our Daily Homily) J C Philpot - To believe in God is to believe in Him as He has manifested Himself in His dear Son in all the fulness of His love, in all the riches of His grace, and in all the depth of His mercy. God must be seen, not in the terrors of a holy law, but in the mercy and truth of the glorious gospel of the Son of God, and thus be approached and believed in as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father in Him. How few see and realise this, and yet how sorely exercised are many of the living family upon this point! To believe in God in such a way as to bring pardon and peace into their conscience; to believe in God so as to find manifest acceptance with Him; to believe in God so as to call Him Abba, Father, and feel that the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are His children; to believe in God so as to find Him a very present help in trouble; to receive answers to prayer, to walk in the light of His countenance, to have His love shed abroad in the heart, to be manifestly reconciled to Him, and feel a sense of His manifested goodness and mercy—this is to believe in God through Jesus Christ. And O how different is this from merely believing about God from what we see in nature that He is the Creator of all things, or from what we may have realised of His footsteps in providence that He watches over us as regards the things that perish, or from seeing in the letter of the word that He is the God of all grace to those who fear His Name! (Ears from Harvested Sheaves) Make Your Reservation An inheritance incorruptible and undefiled [is] reserved in heaven for you. —1 Peter 1:4 Today's Scripture : John 14:1-6 As early as 1995, reservations were being made in fashionable hotels and resorts for celebrating New Year’s Eve 1999. According to writer Calvin McDowell in The New York Times, the London Savoy had by then been twice overbooked. Although the charge for the evening was $1,000, the Rainbow Room in New York City had a waiting list. So did the Waldorf-Astoria. Reservations were hard to get. For many people, the end of the 1900s and the dawning of a new millennium brings with it the hope that life will be different. Yet one doesn’t have to be endowed with the gift of prophecy to know that life is destined to continue as it was in the last millennium. For example, we can be sure that death will continue to be inescapable. We know that no one today will live to see the year 3000. There is a place reserved in heaven For all who have believed; Eternal life is freely given When humbly it's received. —Sper It's never too soon to plan for eternity. NEVER ALONE “DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED.” —John 14:1 We have all had times when we feel alone and are troubled by the fact that no one really understands our fears and struggles. In these times, it is important to focus on the fact that God has provided meaningful sources of comfort. His resources are available to all who tap in to the companionship and counsel He provides. His Word. I find it particularly helpful to read the Psalms when my spirits are low. The psalmist is often despairing but consistently finds hope in his God. Survey several psalms, and go deep in the ones that minister to your heart, especially Psalms 13, 27, and 42. The many praise psalms offer weary hearts something to be thankful for. A good dose of gratitude always helps! Prayer. As my Pentecostal friends often say, sometimes we need to “pray through,” staying on our knees until Jesus breaks through and we are given the comfort, wisdom, and peace He promises. Pray psalms back to God, and spend seasons of silent prayer where you wait for Him to dawn upon your spirit until you are ready to face another day . . . but not alone. His Spirit. His Spirit dwells in you for the express purpose of bringing comfort and illuminating the Word of God. He prays on our behalf and understands our infirmities better than we do (Hebrews 4:15). Cultivating a sensitivity to His inner promptings and counsel, based on God’s Word, brings the comfort He promised. His people. When Jesus left His disciples, He commanded them to love each other as He had loved them (John 15:12). Find a fellow cross-bearer. Even if they don’t fully understand your troubles, their listening ear and prayer support will bring comfort. Heaven. As Jesus told His despairing followers, “Let not your heart be troubled. . . . I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1–2 KJV). Many of our problems are simply the outcomes of living among a fallen race in a fallen place. But, thanks to Jesus, the best is yet to come. Hearts fixed on heaven are hearts looking forward to home. No matter how bad it gets here, it’s not forever . . . that’s what heaven is! Meditate, memorize, and believe what He has promised. Claim something for your own soul. (SEE Joseph Stowell's Strength for the Journey: Day By Day With Jesus - Page 329) Imagine Let not your heart be troubled. —John 14:1 Today's Scripture : John 14:1-6 Our church’s young people did what they could to “construct heaven.” It was time for the spring banquet, and the creative teens used lights, Styrofoam, and other materials to turn the auditorium into their best idea of heaven. The theme of the banquet was “I Can Only Imagine,” from the song by MercyMe. Our daughter Melissa helped transform the church. When I visited to see how the kids were doing, she was in the rafters hanging stars. The night of the banquet, my wife and I were able to hear one of Melissa’s friends sing the theme song as we all thought about this faraway place called heaven. Of course, we never could have imagined that Melissa would be entering the real heaven just 6 weeks later. The imaginary would become reality. Jesus told us about heaven as a way of untroubling our hearts. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; . . . in My Father’s house are many mansions . . . . I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2). The Lord has promised to prepare A place in heaven above— A home where we will always be With Him and those we love. —Sper Jesus is preparing a place for us and preparing us for that place. An Untroubled Heart Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. — John 14:1 Today's Scripture : John 13:31-14:1 Noted British preacher J. H. Jowett believed that inner peace comes not from tranquil circumstances but from an untroubled heart. He said: “If we were to hear 100 people repeating the sentence, ‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ we should find that 99 of them put the emphasis upon the word troubled. . . . I feel led to believe that the purposed emphasis is on the word heart. . . . The heart is to be clothed in serene regality even when hell is knocking and rioting at its very gates.” Jowett’s perceptive words caused me to wonder if I’m spending more energy trying to avoid difficulties than on letting them help me get to know Christ better. If so, I’m headed for nothing but frustration and failure. Jesus told His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled” (Jn. 14:1). This was to prepare them for the dark day of His crucifixion. He knew they could weather the storm only by trusting Him in spite of the apparent triumph of evil. A troubled heart, a wearied mind Are burdens hard to bear; A lack of peace, a heavy load Are lifted by God's care. —Fitzhugh When we keep our mind on God, God gives us peace of mind. C H
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Meyer - In the translucent depths of the southern seas, the voyager is aware of the infinite variety of sponge growth, waving to and fro with the gentle movement of the tide; and the ocean is in the sponge, whilst the sponge is in the ocean, illustrating the reciprocal indwelling of the believer in Christ, and Christ in the believer. John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” He who has My commandments and keeps them : Joh 14:15,23,24 Jn 15:14 Ge 26:3-5 De 10:12,13 11:13 30:6-8 Ps 119:4-6 Jer 31:31,33,34 Eze 36:25-27 Lu 11:28 2Co 5:14,15 Jas 2:23,24 1Jn 2:5 3:18-24 5:3 2Jn 1:6 Rev 22:14 he who loves Me: Joh 14:23 Jn 15:9,10 Jn 16:27 Jn 17:23 Ps 35:27 Isa 62:2-5 Zep 3:17 2Th 2:16 1Jn 3:1 and I will love him: Joh 14:18,22,23 Jn 16:14 Ac 18:9-11 22:18 2Co 3:18 4:6 12:8 2Ti 4:17,18,22 1Jn 1:1-3 Rev 2:17 3:20 Related Passages: John 5:23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. John 15:23 “He who hates Me hates My Father also. Matthew 11:27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. JESUS PROMISES "FULL DISCLOSURE" Disclosure is defined by one English dictionary as the act of giving people new or secret information. I like that in the context of this verse. It is worth noting that in some of His last words to His disciples He repeatedly placed emphasis on obedience (and its interrelationship with love) - John 14:15, 21, 23, 24, Jn 15:7, 10, 12, 14, 17. As Steven
João 14
Meyer - Dark hours come to us all; and if we have no clue to a peace that can pass unbroken through their murky gloom, we shall be in a state of continual dread. Any stone flung by a chance passer-by may break the crystal clearness of the Lake of Peace and send disturbing ripples across it, unless we have learned to trust in the perpetual presence of Him who can make and keep a “great calm” within the soul. Only let nothing come to you which you shall not instantly hand over to Him—all petty worries, all crushing difficulties, all inability to believe. D L Moody - John 14:27. DID you ever think that when Christ was dying on the cross, He made a will? Perhaps you have thought that no one ever remembered you in a will. If you are in the kingdom, Christ remembered you in His. He willed His body to Joseph of Arimathea, He willed His mother to John, the son of Zebedee, and He willed His spirit back to His Father. But to His disciples He said, “My peace, I leave that with you; that is My legacy. My joy, I give that to you.” “My joy,” think of it! “My peace”—not our peace, but His peace! They say a man can’t make a will now that lawyers can’t break, and drive a four-in-hand right straight through it. I will challenge them to break Christ’s will; let them try it. No judge or jury can set that aside. Christ rose to execute His own will. If He had left us a lot of gold, thieves would have stolen it in the first century; but He left His peace and His joy for every true believer, and no power on earth can take it from him who trusts. Oswald Chambers - Are you ever disturbed? Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you. John 14:27. There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When Our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace, His words are ever “spirit and life.” Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “My peace I give unto you”—it is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realizing His undisturbedness. Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God’s providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren? Then look up and receive the undisturbedness of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is the proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. If you allow anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you, you are either disturbed or you have a false security. Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing, and receiving from Him peace? If so, He will be a gracious benediction of peace in and through you: But if you try to worry it out, you obliterate Him and deserve all you get. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one confers with Jesus Christ the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him and in the face of difficulty, bereavement and sorrow, hear Him say—“Let not your heart be troubled.” David Jeremiah - PEACE IN TURMOIL JOHN 14:27 Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” He spoke these words to His disciples on a night when He knew that, in a matter of hours, the lives of His disciples would be permanently impacted through His own terrible ordeal and death. He told them the Holy Spirit would come as a comforter. He told them a place was being prepared for them. He told them He would come again and receive them unto Himself. He told His disciples that they could have peace in the midst of turmoil if they would receive the peace He gives. All too often we lose our peace in the midst of tragedy and the circumstances of life. When we do that, we have nothing to offer a watching world. If a neighbor comes to us distraught over tragedy and finds us just as undone, what testimony have we given about the peace of Christ which He promised? It is the Christians in a community who should be able to offer a word of encouragement and comfort during difficult times. But we can only do that if we possess the peace of Christ—that peace which He purchased for us at the price of His own blood. (Sanctuary) Where’s The Peace? My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. — John 14:27 Today's Scripture : John 14:25-31 More than 45 years ago, my father was wounded while fighting in World War II, a conflict that claimed at least 35 million lives. Millions of other people around the world carry with them the lifelong, tragic consequences of international conflict. Each family that remembers a lost son or daughter, the casualty of war, and each veteran who must live with the physical and emotional scars of battle is a testament to mankind’s failure to achieve a lasting peace on earth (Lk. 2:14). What went wrong? Why are we still seeing bombings and shootings and destruction of nations? The men and women who fought for their country are to be honored with gratitude. We must also remember that any peace secured by guns can never be permanent. That can only come when the Prince of Peace rules the nations. But He must be enthroned in our heart now. He brings us an inner peace that comes from trust in God through Christ. It is a peace with God—something that even those who have faced the terrors of war can experience. Oh, the peace I find in Jesus, Peace no power on earth can shake, Peace that makes the Lord so precious, Peace that none from me can take. —Beck True peace is not the absence of war but the presence of God. John 14:28 “You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. You heard that I said to you: Joh 14:3,18 Jn 16:16-22 If you loved Me: Joh 16:7 Ps 47:5-7 68:18,9 Lu 24:51-53 1Pe 1:8 I go to the Father: Joh 14:12 Jn 16:16 Jn 20:17 for the Father is greater than I: Joh 5:18 Jn 10:30,38 Jn 13:16 Jn 20:21 Isa 42:1 49:5-7 53:11 Mt 12:18 1Co 11:3 15:24-28 Php 2:6-11 Heb 1:2,3 2:9-15 3:1-4 Rev 1:11,17 REASONS FOR REJOICING You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ - Jesus had forewarned the 11 so they should have been forearmed, their faith fortified by His words. And His going away coupled with His promise to return to them, should have undergirded their hope (hope sure, not hope so). If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I - The disciples would (should) have rejoiced if they had fully comprehend the great redemptive transaction that Jesus' death, burial and resurrection would soon make a reality. They also should have rejoiced for unless Jesus was glorified, they would not receive the Holy Spirit and they would not be able to accomplish the greater works He had promised (Jn 14:12). They also should have rejoiced that He was returning to enjoy fellowship at His Father's right side, His work of redemption having been completed. D.A. Carson on Jesus going to the Father - "If Jesus' disciples truly loved him, they would be glad that he is returning to his Father, for he is returning to the sphere where he belongs, to the glory he had with the Father before the world began (Jn 17:5), to the place where the Father is undiminished in glory, unquestionably greater than the Son in his incarnate state. To this point the disciples have responded emotionally entirely according to their perception of their own gain or loss. If they had loved Jesus, they would have perceived that his departure to his own "home" was his gain and rejoiced with him at the prospect. As it is, their grief is an index of their self-centredness. (BORROW The Gospel According to John page 508. Italics in original.) The Father is greater than I speaks of Jesus' emptying and incarnation, but does not detract from the essence of Jesus and the Father. (See more discussion of this statement below) Merrill Tenney - The statement "the Father is greater than I" refers to position rather than essence. Jesus was speaking from the standpoint of his humanity, the incarnate state he assumed in order to fulfill the purposes of redemption. (Ibid) Walter Kaiser - Hard Sayings page 469 - John 14:28 The Father Is Greater? In the context of John we realize that Jesus’ “going away” has to do with his death, resurrection and ascension, for they are a single entity in John, and his “coming back” refers first to his resurrection and then more importantly to his coming to his disciples in the Spirit, for that is the context of this chapter. Yet it is puzzling to read that “the Father is greater than I.” How can God be greater than God? Or does this mean that Jesus is not in fact God? In what sense is the Father greater than Jesus? Any response to this question must take into account all of what John says about Jesus. For example, there are a number of passages in which the writer or Jesus claims Jesus’ equality with the Father (Jn 1:1, 18; 5:16–18; 10:30; 20:28). Thus we can assume that the author is not denying these statements. Along with this there are passages we have already noted in which Jesus claims dependence on the Father (Jn 4:34; 5:19–30; 8:29; 12:48–49). Thus we have two major themes in the Gospel: equality and yet dependence. To understand what John means in this passage, we should notice that the meaning is something which Jesus believes should make the disciples glad, if they love him. Also, the meaning should take the wider context into account. One possible meaning would be that Jesus is a lesser being than the Father, a demigod or a lesser god (given that Jn 1:1 indicates his divine character). Not only has this solution been rejected by the church throughout the ages (it was known as the Arian heresy), but it does not make sense within John. First, it does not make sense in the context of Jewish monotheism within which John and all of the Gospels are set. If you have multiple gods, whether of the same rank or of higher and lower rank, you have polytheism, against which Judaism cried out, “God is one.” There is no indication that John is trying to enter such a dispute with Judaism. Second, it does not make sense in terms of John, for the author has gone through some trouble to establish the unity and essential equality of the Father and Jesus. Furthermore, one can hardly see how this would make the disciples glad. Another possible explanation is that the Father exists in heaven in complete power and glory, while Jesus was then living on earth in relative humility and obscurity. People who really loved Jesus would want him to return to the greater state of the Father. Not only would his return to glory be pleasant for him, but it would also be good for them since their leader would have his full power and glory. This is certainly an interpretation that does justice to the context and to Johannine theology and its context in Judaism. The only problem with such an interpretation is that this verse seems a rather awkward way to express this sentiment. Finally, Jesus may be expressing the idea that there is organization in the Godhead and thus the disciples’ having their personal master directly in front of the Father would be advantageous for them. If this is what is intended, then we are taking the language of Father and Son quite seriously. In an ancient family with a father and an adult son, the two men would be the same in being. Both are adult human males, fully educated in the particular culture in which they exist. Yet the one designated “father” has greater authority in the household, including authority over the one designated “son.” (This is different from Western culture in which adult sons are viewed as independent of or emancipated from their fathers and thus as totally equal adults.) If this is what Jesus means, then we understand that his going to the Father not only puts him back with his own Father (about which those who love him should be glad), but also puts him with the one in whom the family (divine, in this case) authority is vested. He represents his disciples directly to the highest authority. That should also make his disciples glad. This interpretation fits with the context in which Jesus’ going to the Father brings the release of the Spirit and greater authority and access to God in prayer to the disciples. In my view, this latter perspective makes the most sense of the passage and the culture and context in which the passage was written. However, the second position is also acceptable, although it does not seem to make as much sense out of the context. If we accept the second position, it reminds us to be glad of the good things which happened to Jesus in his ascension, rather than mourning over our personal loss that he is not present (although we saw before that this is only an apparent loss, for he is in fact present through the Spirit). If we accept the second position, we will not only enter into the joy of the divine family being together, but will also rejoice that the one who represents us stands directly before the throne of the universe (see 1 Jn 2:1). See also comment on page 342 MATTHEW 11:27. C H