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John 14

KJV · Chapter 14/21

1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2In 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.

3And 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.

4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9Jesus 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, Shew us the Father?

10Believest 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.

11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12Verily, 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.

13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17Even 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.

18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21He 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.

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

23Jesus 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.

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

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

26But 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.

27Peace 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.

28Ye 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.

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

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

31But 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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus comforts the disciples, promising to prepare a place for them and declaring himself to be 'the way, the truth, and the life.' He promises to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and leaves his peace with them before his departure.

Explanation

Facing the disciples' anxiety about his impending departure, Jesus offers comfort with the promise that he will prepare a place for them and return to bring them to himself. The statement 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' (v.6) is one of the most central and exclusive claims in Christianity, presenting Jesus as the only way of access to the Father. The promise of the Holy Spirit, called 'another Comforter' (v.16), assures the disciples that they would not be left spiritually orphaned after his ascension. The peace Jesus leaves (v.27) differs from the peace of the world, since it does not depend on favorable external circumstances. The application today is to seek this genuine inner peace, which comes from knowing Jesus, even in the midst of uncertainty.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'in my Father's house are many mansions' (v.2) uses an image Jewish listeners would readily understand: large family homes of that era typically had multiple rooms added on as children married, all remaining under the same roof as the patriarch.
  • The Greek word translated 'Comforter' (paraklētos, v.16) can also mean 'advocate' or 'one called alongside to help,' a legal term used to describe someone who intercedes on another's behalf — which is why it appears in different forms across various translations.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. John 14:1After announcing His departure and predicting Peter’s denial, Jesus begins to comfort the disciples, asking that their trust not fall apart.
  2. John 14:2The KJV’s “mansions” translates a word that could also mean rooms or dwelling places within a larger house, not necessarily separate homes. Jesus is reassuring the disciples that there is a place reserved for all of them, not just for a few.
  3. John 14:3Promises a future reunion: after preparing a place for them, Jesus will come back to get them, so that they can be together where He is — a promise generally associated with His second coming.
  4. John 14:4Jesus states that they already know the way to where He is going, a certainty Thomas will immediately question in the next verse.
  5. John 14:5Thomas admits honestly that he does not understand where Jesus is going, so how could they know the way — this honest doubt opens the door to Jesus’s famous answer that follows.
  6. John 14:6This is one more of the “I am” declarations in the Gospel of John. Thomas had just asked how to get to the place where Jesus was going, and the answer changes the meaning of the question: it is not about a physical route, it is about Jesus Himself being the way to reach the Father.
  7. John 14:7Jesus directly links knowing Him to knowing the Father: whoever already knows Jesus, even without realizing it, is already standing before God Himself.
  8. John 14:8Philip asks for a separate, visible revelation of the Father, without realizing that Jesus had just answered that very question in the previous verse.
  9. John 14:9Jesus reacts with a bit of surprise: after so much time together, Philip still has not realized that seeing Him is, in practice, seeing the Father Himself.
  10. John 14:10Jesus explains the basis of this statement: He and the Father are in one another, and so His words and works are not His own invention, they come directly from the Father acting through Him.
  11. John 14:11Offers two possible paths to believing in this unity with the Father: accept His word directly, or at least be convinced by observing the very works He performs.
  12. John 14:12Promises something surprising: whoever believes in Him will do similar works, and even greater ones, because He is going to the Father — a reference to the work the disciples themselves would do later, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
  13. John 14:13Introduces the idea of asking “in Jesus’s name,” tying these answered prayers to the greater goal of glorifying the Father through the Son.
  14. John 14:14Repeats the same promise from the previous verse, reinforcing that asking in Jesus’s name carries real weight in the disciples’ prayers.
  15. John 14:15Directly ties love for Jesus to practice: whoever truly loves obeys His commandments — introducing the theme of the Holy Spirit that follows.
  16. John 14:16The KJV’s “Comforter” translates a Greek word that could also mean someone called in to help or defend in a trial, a supporter who stands beside whoever needs one. The word “another” indicates that this Comforter would play the same role Jesus had been playing until then, but would remain present after He was gone.
  17. John 14:17Describes the Holy Spirit, promised in the previous verse, as someone the world cannot recognize, but whom the disciples already know, because He is about to come and live within them.
  18. John 14:18Jesus assures them that, even though He is leaving physically, He will not leave them helpless — He promises to remain present in some way.
  19. John 14:19Distinguishes the disciples’ experience from that of the rest of the world: while the world will lose contact with Jesus, they will keep seeing Him, because His life guarantees theirs as well.
  20. John 14:20Looks ahead to a future moment when this relationship of oneness — Jesus in the Father, the disciples in Jesus, and Jesus in them — will become completely clear to them.
  21. John 14:21Connects obedience, love, and a personal revelation: whoever keeps Jesus’s commandments shows that they truly love Him, and receives in return the Father’s love and a special manifestation of Jesus Himself.
  22. John 14:22This Judas is different from Judas Iscariot, most likely the apostle also called Thaddaeus; his question reflects the common expectation that the Messiah would reveal Himself publicly to the whole world, not just to a small group.
  23. John 14:23Jesus explains that His manifestation will not be a public spectacle, but something intimate: whoever loves Him and keeps His word receives the constant presence of the Father and the Son living within them.
  24. John 14:24By contrast, whoever does not love Jesus does not keep His words — and He reinforces again that what He teaches is not His own invention, it comes directly from the Father who sent Him.
  25. John 14:25Jesus notes that He is saying all this while still physically present with them, acknowledging that His departure is near.
  26. John 14:26Explains the future role of the Holy Spirit: to teach the disciples everything and bring to their memory exactly what Jesus had said — an important detail for understanding how the Gospels preserved Jesus’s teachings afterward.
  27. John 14:27Jesus leaves behind a peace different from the world’s ordinary peace, which usually depends on favorable circumstances — His can continue even in the middle of hardship.
  28. John 14:28This statement has sparked centuries of scholarly debate over its exact meaning, without a single consensus. One common reading is that Jesus is speaking of His position at that moment, still on earth and about to die, compared to the Father who remains in heaven — more about role and circumstance than a general statement of rank.
  29. John 14:29Repeats a pattern already seen earlier in the Gospel: warning about something before it happens, so that the disciples’ faith grows stronger when they see it actually fulfilled.
  30. John 14:30Jesus senses that the time for conversation is running out, because “the prince of this world,” a reference to Satan, is approaching — but He states He has no guilt that would give Satan any power over His life.
  31. John 14:31Closes the discourse with a gesture of obedience to the Father as proof of His love for Him, and gives the practical order to leave — even though the conversation continues in the following chapters, most likely already on the way somewhere else.

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