耶稣是道路、真理、生命

14 耶稣继续说:“你们心里不要忧愁,你们要信上帝,也要信我。 我父的家里有许多住处,不然我就不会说去为你们安排地方了。 我安排好了以后,必定回来接你们到我那里。我在哪里,让你们也在哪里。 你们知道通往我要去的地方的路。”

多马说:“主啊,你要去哪里,我们还不知道,又怎么会知道路呢?”

耶稣说:“我就是道路、真理、生命,若不借着我,没有人能到父那里。 你们若认识我,也会认识我的父。从现在起,你们不但认识祂,而且也看见祂了。”

腓力说:“主啊!求你让我们看看父,我们就心满意足了。”

耶稣说:“腓力,我和你们相处了这么久,你还不认识我吗?人看见了我,就看见了父,你怎么说‘让我们看看父’呢? 10 难道你不相信我在父里面,父也在我里面吗?我这些话不是凭自己讲的,而是住在我里面的父在做祂自己的工作。 11 你们应当相信我在父里面,父也在我里面。即使你们不信,也应该因我所做的而信我。 12 我实实在在地告诉你们,我所做的事,信我的人也要做,而且要做更大的事,因为我要回到父那里。 13 你们奉我的名无论求什么,我必应允,好让父在子身上得到荣耀。 14 你们若奉我的名向我求什么,我必应允。

应许赐下圣灵

15 “你们若爱我,就必遵守我的命令。 16 我要求父另外赐一位护慰者给你们,祂要永远和你们同在。 17 祂是真理的灵,世人不接受祂,因为他们看不见祂,也不认识祂;但你们却认识祂,因祂常与你们同在,并且要住在你们里面。 18 我不会撇下你们为孤儿,我必到你们这里来。 19 不久,世人就看不见我了,而你们却能看见我,因为我活着,你们也要活着。 20 到了那一天,你们就知道我在父里面,你们在我里面,我也在你们里面。 21 接受我的命令又遵行的,就是爱我的人。爱我的,父必定爱他,我也要爱他,并且要亲自向他显现。”

22 犹大,不是后来出卖耶稣的犹大,问耶稣:“主啊,你为什么只向我们显现而不向世人显现呢?”

23 耶稣回答说:“爱我的人必遵行我的道,我父也必爱他,并且我们要到他那里与他同住。 24 不爱我的人不会遵行我的道。你们所听见的道不是出于我自己,而是出于差我来的父。 25 我还与你们在一起的时候,将这些事情都告诉了你们。 26 但护慰者,就是父为我的名而差来的圣灵,将教导你们一切的事,并使你们想起我对你们说的一切话。 27 我把平安留给你们,把我的平安赐给你们,我赐给你们的平安不像世人给的平安。你们心里不要忧愁,也不要害怕。

28 “我对你们说过,我去了还要再回到你们这里。如果你们真的爱我,就应当为我去父那里而欢喜快乐,因为父比我大。 29 现在事情还没有发生,我便先告诉你们,到了事情发生的时候,你们就会相信。 30 我不再跟你们多谈,因为世界的王快要来了。他根本没有力量胜过我, 31 但这是为了让世人知道我爱父,父怎么吩咐我,我就怎么做。起来,我们走吧!”

The Way, the Truth, and the Life[a]

Chapter 14

Jesus, the Way, Leads to the Father[b]

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You place your trust in God.[c]
Trust also in me.
In my Father’s house
there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you
that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again
and will take you to myself,
so that where I am,
you may also be.
You know the way
to the place I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus, the Truth, Reveals the Father[d]

Jesus replied,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
If you know me,
then you will know my Father also.
From now on you do know him.
You have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, it will be enough for us.” Jesus answered,

“Have I been with you all this time, Philip,
and you still do not know me?
Whoever has seen me
has seen the Father.
How can you say,
‘Show us the Father’?
10 Do you not believe
that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me?
“The words that I speak to you
I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me
is doing his works.
11 Believe me when I say
that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me.
But if you do not,
then believe
because of the works themselves.

Jesus, the Life, Communicates the Spirit[e]

12 “Amen, amen, I say to you,
the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do,
and indeed will do even greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me for anything in my name,
I will do it.
15 “If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you forever,
17 the Spirit of Truth
whom the world cannot accept
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him,
because he dwells with you
and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you orphans;
I will come to you.
19 In a little while,
the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me.
Because I live,
you also will live.
20 On that day, you will know
that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you.
21 “Anyone who has received my commandments
and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me
will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him
and reveal myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot)[f] asked him, “Lord, why is it that you are revealing yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him,

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him
and make our abode with him.
24 Whoever does not love me
does not keep my words.
And the word that you hear
is not my own,
but that of the Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you these things
while I am still with you.
26 However, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all
that I have said to you.

The Peace of Jesus[g]

27 “Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled;
be not afraid.
28 “You have heard me say to you,
‘I am going away,
and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice
that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.[h]
29 And now I have told you this
before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe.
30 “I will no longer talk at length with you
because the prince of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
31 but the world must come to understand
that I love the Father
and that I do
just as the Father has commanded me.
Get up! Let us be on our way.

Footnotes

  1. John 14:1 Facing the death of Jesus, or facing our death, we might be shaken by fear. After all, without God is not existence for us a flight from the useless to nothingness? We have, then, to meditate on this chapter 14, where the themes are intermingled too numerously to discern the whole universe of meaning each verse opens to us. Yes, there is fulfillment, but it comes from God; it is abiding in God, truth in God, life from God. The symbols tell us that the fulfillment comes about in the communication of life from the Father, from Jesus, and from the Spirit.
  2. John 14:1 The departure of Jesus ought not to become a time of discouragement amid hostility or uncertainty. The departure opens to all people the possibility of being in communion with God. Jesus gives the disciples the light and the life to enter this communion: he is the way not only through his teaching but also through his presence and his being—but what do we call the way and the goal of life for us?
  3. John 14:1 You place your trust in God: this could also be translated as an imperative: “Place your trust in God!”
  4. John 14:6 We can reflect upon the mystery of God to struggle to develop a better understanding of our life and the meaning of the world. But our power to discern cannot establish any certainties on our own. To know the Father, to discover what he wants for us, and to enter into his communion, we first have to look on Jesus, on his work, and on his love. Only the gift of the Son reveals the love of the Father in its fullness.
  5. John 14:12 Here is a beautiful hymn on what it means to be Christians. They are not nostalgic survivors of a great experience that is past. In daily life, with its insults and interrogations, they remain in true communion with Christ and continue his work—i.e., they bear in his name the testimony of salvation and the testimony of truth. This communion, unceasingly renewed, gives them strength to cope with attacks of despair, falsehood, incomprehension, and nothingness—what John often calls “the world.”
    In this effort, which is never finished, they are uplifted by a new and constant presence of God: the Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives Christians the power to experience the divine presence in their inmost being, because the Spirit makes them live in the participation of God. It is the Spirit who gives Christians the courage to obey, as Christ did, the will of God, who is love, truth, testimony. It is the Spirit who makes them penetrate the heart of the words and acts of Jesus in the questions and debates of life.
    The Spirit is the consoler of Jn 16:5-13. The Greek word Parakletos means an advocate, one who aids by his power and advice. In the situations and struggles of living as a Christian, the Spirit supports us so that we may remain united with God and bear witness to him before the world.
  6. John 14:22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot): Jude Thaddeus (see Mt 13:15).
  7. John 14:27 Christ’s departure is imminent. Is the triumph over evil that the Passion effects merely a spectacle? No, this departure expresses Christ’s free decision to do the will of the Father and to be at the Father’s side, which is his true state of being. Such is God’s peace, whose way and meaning are opened for believers. Yes, there is a fulfillment and a happiness for us—it is this that the word “peace” evokes in the Bible. It is not found in the satisfaction of the passions. True peace is a divine gift, to which Christ gives us access in our communion with God.
  8. John 14:28 The Father is greater than I: this does not refer to the trinitarian relation between the Father and the Son. It probably refers to the fact that Jesus was sent by the Father and that the messenger (in the Hebrew mentality) is inferior to the one who sends him.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled.(A) You believe(B) in God[a];(C) 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(D) to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back(E) and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.(F) You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

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

Jesus answered, “I am(H) the way(I) and the truth(J) and the life.(K) No one comes to the Father except through me.(L) If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well.(M) From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip(N) 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.(O) How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?(P) The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.(Q) Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 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.(R) 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes(S) in me will do the works I have been doing,(T) and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask(U) in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.(V) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate(W) to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.(X) The world cannot accept him,(Y) because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans;(Z) I will come to you.(AA) 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.(AB) Because I live, you also will live.(AC) 20 On that day(AD) you will realize that I am in my Father,(AE) and you are in me, and I am in you.(AF) 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.(AG) The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,(AH) and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

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

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.(AK) My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.(AL) 24 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.(AM)

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate,(AN) the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,(AO) will teach you all things(AP) and will remind you of everything I have said to you.(AQ) 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.(AR) I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled(AS) and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’(AT) If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father,(AU) for the Father is greater than I.(AV) 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.(AW) 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world(AX) is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.(AY)

“Come now; let us leave.

Footnotes

  1. John 14:1 Or Believe in God
  2. John 14:7 Some manuscripts If you really knew me, you would know
  3. John 14:17 Some early manuscripts and is

The Way to the Father

14 “Your heart must not be troubled.(A) Believe[a] in God;(B) believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;[b] if not, I would have told you. I am going away(C) to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back(D) and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.(E) You know the way to where I am going.”[c](F)

“Lord,” Thomas(G) said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am(H) the way,(I) the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus Reveals the Father

“If you know Me, you will also know[d] My Father.(J) From now on you do know Him(K) and have seen Him.”

“Lord,” said Philip,(L) “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father.(M) How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?(N) The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own.(O) The Father who lives in Me does His works.(P) 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe[e] because of the works themselves.(Q)

Praying in Jesus’ Name

12 “I assure you: The one who believes in Me(R) will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these,(S) because I am going to the Father.(T) 13 Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified(U) in the Son.(V) 14 If you ask Me[f] anything in My name,(W) I will do it.[g](X)

Another Counselor Promised

15 “If you love Me, you will keep[h] My commands.(Y) 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor(Z) to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit(AA) of truth.(AB) The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be[i] in you.(AC) 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

19 “In a little while the world will see Me no longer,(AD) but you will see Me.(AE) Because I live, you will live(AF) too. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father,(AG) you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me.(AH) And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father.(AI) I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

22 Judas(AJ) (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”(AK)

23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.(AL) 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.(AM)

25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit(AN)—the Father will send(AO) Him in My name—will teach you all things(AP) and remind you of everything I have told you.(AQ)

Jesus’ Gift of Peace

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.(AR) 28 You have heard Me tell you, ‘I am going away(AS) and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I am going to the Father,(AT) because the Father is greater than I.(AU) 29 I have told you now before it happens(AV) so that when it does happen you may believe. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world(AW) is coming. He has no power over Me.[j](AX) 31 On the contrary, I am going away[k] so that the world may know that I love the Father. Just as the Father commanded Me, so I do.

“Get up; let’s leave this place.

Footnotes

  1. John 14:1 Or You believe
  2. John 14:2 The Vg used the Lat term mansio, a traveler’s resting place. The Gk word is related to the verb meno, meaning remain or stay, which occurs 40 times in John.
  3. John 14:4 Other mss read this verse: And you know where I am going, and you know the way
  4. John 14:7 Other mss read If you had known Me, you would have known
  5. John 14:11 Other mss read believe Me
  6. John 14:14 Other mss omit Me
  7. John 14:14 Other mss omit all of v. 14
  8. John 14:15 Other mss read If you love Me, keep (as a command)
  9. John 14:17 Other mss read and is
  10. John 14:30 Lit He has nothing in Me
  11. John 14:31 Probably refers to the cross

14 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

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.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

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, Show us the Father?

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, 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, 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 come to you.

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.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.