John 14-16
Expanded Bible
Jesus Comforts His Followers
14 Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. ·Trust [Believe] in God, and ·trust [believe] in me [or You trust/believe in God, trust/believe also in me]. 2 There are many ·rooms [places to live] in my Father’s house [C heaven, metaphorically portrayed as a great palace]; I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 ·After [L And if] I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going[a] [C because they know Jesus; 14:6].”
5 Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am ·the way, and the truth, and the life [or the one true way to have life]. ·The only way to the Father is through me [L No one comes to the Father except through me]. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father, too. ·But now [or From now on] you do know him, and you have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”
9 Jesus answered, “I have been with you ·a long time now [all this time; for so long]. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you don’t come ·from me [on my own authority], but the Father ·lives [remains; abides] in me and does his own work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or believe because of ·the miracles I have done [L the works themselves]. 12 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly, I say to you], whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [C They will do greater things because all believers—not just Jesus—will have the Holy Spirit living in them and empowering them.] 13 And if you ask for anything in my name [C asking “in my name” means acknowledging that Jesus is the mediator between God and human beings; the name represents the person], I will do it for you so that ·the Father’s glory will be shown [L the Father might be glorified] ·through [or in] the Son. 14 If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
15 “·If you love me, you will obey my commands [or If you love me, obey my commands; C this may be either a declaration or a command]. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another ·Helper [Counselor; Advocate; C the Holy Spirit] to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot ·accept [receive] him, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he ·lives [remains; abides] with you and he will be ·in [or among] you.
18 “I will not leave you all alone like orphans [C orphans had little or no support in ancient society]; I will ·come back [L come] to you. 19 In a little while the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live, too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and that you are in me and I am in you. 21 Those who ·know [L have] my commands and ·obey [keep] them are the ones who love me, and my Father will love those who love me. I will love them and will ·show [reveal] myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot [C probably Judas son of James; Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13]) said, “But, Lord, ·why do [how is it that; what has happened that] you plan to ·show [reveal] yourself to us and not to the rest of the world?”
23 Jesus answered, “If people love me, they will ·obey my teaching [L keep my word]. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Those who do not love me do not ·obey my teaching [L keep my words]. This ·teaching [word] that you hear is not really mine; it is from my Father, who sent me.
25 “I have told you all these things while I ·am [remain; abide] with you. 26 But the ·Helper [Counselor; Advocate; see 14:15] will teach you ·everything [all things] and will ·cause you to remember [remind you of] all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.
27 “I leave you peace [C the Greek word for “peace” reflects the Hebrew shalom, a typical Hebrew farewell; but Jesus’ peace, in the sense of wholeness, is also a characteristic of the messianic kingdom]; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don’t let your hearts be troubled or afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going, but I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you should ·be happy [rejoice] that I am going back to the Father, because he is greater than I am. 29 I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe [13:19]. 30 I will not talk with you much longer, because the ·ruler [prince] of this world [C Satan] is coming. He has ·no power [no claim/hold; L nothing] over me, 31 but the world must know that I love the Father, so I do ·exactly what [just as] the Father ·told [commanded] me to do [C go to the cross].
“·Come now [L Get up; Rise up], let us go.
Jesus Is Like a Vine
15 “I am the ·true vine [C contrast Israel, the unreliable vine; Ps. 80:8–18; Is. 5:1–7]; my Father is the ·gardener [farmer; vinedresser]. 2 He ·cuts off [or takes away] every branch ·of mine [L in me] that does not produce fruit [C whose lives bear no indication of a relationship with Christ]. And he ·trims and cleans [prunes; C the verb implies both trimming and cleaning] every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit [Heb. 12:4–11]. 3 You are already ·clean [or pruned] because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 ·Remain [Abide] in me, and I will ·remain [abide] in you. A branch cannot produce fruit ·alone [by itself] but must ·remain [abide] in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must ·remain [abide] in me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any ·remain [abide] in me and I ·remain [abide] in them, they produce much fruit. But ·without [apart from] me they can do nothing. 6 If any do not ·remain [abide] in me, they are like a branch that is thrown away and then ·dies [withers; dries up]. People ·pick up [gather together] dead branches, throw them into the fire, and burn them. 7 If you ·remain [abide] in me and ·follow my teachings [L my words abide/remain in you], you can ask anything you want, and it will ·be given to [be done for; come to] you. 8 You should produce much fruit and ·show that you are [or become] my ·followers [disciples], which ·brings glory to [glorifies] my Father. 9 I loved you as the Father loved me. Now ·remain [abide] in my love. 10 I have ·obeyed [kept] my Father’s commands, and I ·remain [abide] in his love. In the same way, if you ·obey [keep] my commands, you will ·remain [abide] in my love. 11 I have told you these things so that ·you can have the same joy I have [L my joy may be in you] and so that your joy ·will be the fullest possible joy [L might be complete].
12 “This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 ·The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends [L No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends; C Jesus’ death is the ultimate expression of this principle]. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you ·servants [slaves; bond-servants], because a ·servant [slave; bond-servant] does not know what his ·master [lord] is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me; I chose you. And I ·gave you this work: [appointed you] to go and produce fruit, fruit that will ·last [remain; abide]. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name [see 14:13]. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus Warns His Followers
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me ·first [before you]. 19 If you ·belonged to [L were of] the world, it would love you as it loves its own. But I have chosen you out of the world, ·so [because] you don’t belong to it. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember ·what [the word] I told you: A ·servant [slave; bond-servant] is not greater than his ·master [lord; see 13:16]. If people ·did wrong to [persecuted] me, they will ·do wrong to [persecute] you, too. And if they ·obeyed my teaching [L kept my word], they will ·obey [keep] yours, too. 21 [L But] They will do all this to you on account of ·me [L my name; 14:13], because they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me also hates my Father. 24 I did works among them that no one else has ever done. If I had not done these works, they would not be guilty of sin. [C Jesus’ words and actions resulted in their guilt because they rejected him despite the evidence (the “signs”) that God was working through him; see Matt. 11:20–24; Luke 11:31–32.] But now they have seen what I have done, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that what is written in their law ·would be true [L might be fulfilled]: ‘They hated me for no reason [C the quote could be from Ps. 35:19 or Ps. 69:4].’
26 “I will send you the ·Helper [Counselor; Advocate; C the Holy Spirit] from the Father; he is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will ·tell [testify; witness] about me, 27 and you also must ·tell people [testify; witness] about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “I have told you these things to keep you from ·giving up [stumbling; falling away; going astray]. 2 People will ·put you out of [ban you from] their synagogues. Yes, ·the time [L an hour; C an indefinite reference to a future time but likely connected to the period after the death and resurrection of Christ] is coming when those who kill you will think they are offering ·service [worship] to God. 3 They will do this because they have not known the Father and they have not known me. 4 I have told you these things now so that when ·the time [L their hour; C the time of persecution] comes you will remember that I ·warned [told] you [about them].
The Work of the Holy Spirit
“I did not tell you ·these things [C that they would experience persecution] ·at [from] the beginning, because I was with you then. 5 Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Your hearts are filled with ·sadness [grief; sorrow] because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is ·better for you [for your advantage] that I go away. [L For] When I go away, I will send the ·Helper [Counselor; Advocate; C the Holy Spirit] to you. If I do not go away, the Helper will not come [to you]. 8 When the Helper comes, he will ·prove to the people of the world the truth about sin [L convict/expose/convince the world about sin], about ·being right with God [L righteousness], and about judgment [C the meaning of this sentence is uncertain, as are the explanatory phrases in vv. 9–11]. 9 ·He will prove to them that sin is not believing in me [L concerning sin, because they do not believe in me]. 10 ·He will prove to them that being right with God comes from my going to the Father and not being seen anymore [L concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will no longer see me; C probably means the Spirit will convict the world of its empty righteousness because Jesus is no longer present to model true righteousness]. 11 ·And the Helper will prove to them that judgment happened when the ruler of this world was judged [L concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged; C probably means the Spirit will convict the world that its judgments are false because Satan—the one they follow—has been condemned by Christ’s victory on the cross].
12 “I [L still] have many more things to say to you, but ·they are too much for you [L you cannot bear them] now. 13 But when the Spirit of truth [C the Helper; see 16:7] comes, he will ·lead [guide] you into all truth. He will not speak ·his own words [from his own authority; L from himself], but he will speak only what he hears [C from the Father], and he will ·tell [announce/declare to] you what is to come. 14 The Spirit of truth will ·bring glory to [glorify; honor] me, because he will take what ·I have to say [L is mine] and ·tell [announce; declare] it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take what ·I have to say [L what is mine] and ·tell [announce; declare] it to you.
Sadness Will Become Happiness
16 “After a little while you will not see me [C after his crucifixion], and then after a little while you will see me again [C after his resurrection].”
17 [L Therefore] Some of the ·followers [disciples] ·said to each other [discussed among themselves], “What does Jesus mean when he says, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? And what does he mean when he says, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They also asked, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus ·saw [knew; was aware] that the ·followers [disciples] wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you ·asking each other [discussing among yourselves] what I meant when I said, ‘After a little while you will not see me, and then after a little while you will see me again’? 20 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], you will ·cry and be sad [weep and mourn/lament], but the world will be happy. You will ·be sad [grieve; have pain], but your ·sadness [grief; pain] will become joy. 21 When a woman ·gives birth to a baby [goes into labor], she has pain, because her ·time [L hour] has come. But when her baby is born, she ·forgets the pain [does not remember the suffering/affliction], because ·she is so happy [L of the joy] that a ·child [L human being] has been born into the world. 22 It is the same with you. Now you are ·sad [sorrowful; in pain; grieving], but I will see you again and ·you [L your heart] will ·be happy [rejoice], and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day [C after his resurrection] you will not ask me for anything. ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], my Father will give you anything you ask for in my name [see 14:13]. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy will be ·the fullest possible joy [complete; fulfilled].
Victory over the World
25 “I have told you these things ·indirectly in stories [in parables/figurative speech]. But ·the time [L the hour] will come when I will ·not [no longer] use ·stories like that [parables; figurative speech; 10:6] to tell you things; I will speak to you in plain words about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask the Father for things in my name. I mean, I will not need to ask the Father for you. 27 [L For] The Father himself loves you. He loves you because you loved me and believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then the ·followers [disciples] of Jesus said, “You are speaking ·clearly [plainly] to us now and are not using ·stories that are hard to understand [parables; figurative speech]. 30 We can see now that you know all things. ·You can answer a person’s question even before it is asked. [L You do not need anyone to question you.] This makes us believe you came from God.”
31 Jesus answered, “So now you believe? 32 Listen to me; ·a time [L an hour] is coming when you will be scattered, each to your own home [compare Zech. 13:7]. That time is now here. You will leave me alone, but I am ·never really [L not] alone, because the Father is with me.
33 “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have ·trouble [persecution; suffering], but ·be brave [take courage/heart]! I have ·defeated [victory over; conquered; overcome] the world.”
Footnotes
- John 14:4 You … going. Some Greek copies read “You know where I am going and the way to the place I am going.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
