Having Called On The Apostles to preserve their faith in him (John 14:11), the Lord then proceeds to make a statement full of promise: “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 the Father” (v. 12 RV, as all quotes unless noted). This promise was to be wonderfully fulfilled, although at the time it would have little meaning for the eleven. They had not at this stage grasped the great truth that their Lord was to ascend to his Father in heaven (see John 16:17), and thence to send them the holy spirit. The subject will recur in the Lord’s words to them (note especially in this connection John 15:26-27).
Great response to their work
It is Luke’s record in the book of Acts which tells us of the success which attended Peter’s preaching on the day of Pentecost when an initial 3,000 repented of their sins and sought salvation in the risen Christ (Acts 2:41). This was but an earnest of the success of the gospel preached by the apostles. We note especially Acts 5 when, as the result of the special activity of the spirit ministered by the twelve (see v. 12), believers in ever increasing numbers were added to the Lord, “multitudes both of men and women” (v. 14). In passing, we should note the mention of women (cf. Gal. 3:28).
The great promise of John 14:12 is reinforced by further promises to the apostles: by approaching the Father in the Son’s name, the Lord will respond, so that, in the process, “the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v. 13). These words were to find a remarkable fulfillment in a miracle which was to have the most dramatic consequences. At the Beautiful Gate of the temple, Peter uttered these simple words to a man lame from birth: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). The cripple, now more than 40 years old (Acts 4:22), did not merely walk, but he leapt up and stood. Then, in the company of Peter and John, he went into the temple “walking, and leaping, and praising God” (3:8). This notable miracle was to have far-reaching consequences, and prove a major embarrassment for the Jewish leaders (cf. Acts 4:14-16).
The promises were to prove so heartening to the twelve, for they, themselves, were privileged to play a major part in their fulfillment. However, the Lord reminds them beforehand of a truth of which we have already taken note, and which is binding upon disciples of all generations: “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (v. 15). Our Lord’s commandments, spelt out in such detail in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere in the gospels, constitute the moral and spiritual code for all generations of disciples.
The comforter to be given them
To resume our consideration of John 14 we look at verses 16-17; this is a celebrated passage, for it contains the promise of the bestowal of the holy spirit. We note particularly that it will be as a consequence of the Lord’s intercession that the spirit will be given to the apostles (v. 16). The expression “another comforter,” which was to be with the apostles for ever, appears in both the AV and RV. While he was with them, the Lord himself was their guide and counselor, but he knew full well he was to leave them and they would inevitably feel bereft. What he had done for them would continue to be done by the spirit, hence the Lord uses the term “another.”
The Greek term corresponding to “comforter” is parakleetos: the RV attaches to the word the following footnote — “or advocate or helper, Gr. paraclete.” The rendering “advocate” is adopted by the NRSV and by the REB. The Greek word appears in the gospel only on the lips of Jesus: apart from 14:16, we encounter it in 15:26 and 16:7; we find it also in I John 2:1, where the apostle uses it of the Lord himself: “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.” Parakleetos, used here of the Lord, gives force to the concept that the spirit was to be a source of comfort. Christ was this to his disciples…”
The spirit power of God
The term parakleetos is masculine, and its use by our Lord is an instance of personification. The angel Gabriel, in his message to Mary, indicated the nature of the spirit in the parallelism employed: “The holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35 REB).
It is defined by the Lord himself in John 14:17 as “the spirit of truth:” pneuma, the Greek for “spirit,” is neuter and the appropriate pronoun to use is therefore “it.” The Lord’s promise gives us confidence in the apostolic writings, for the spirit of truth was to be in them (v. 17). They knew it (v. 17), for they had so frequently listened to the words of Jesus: “The words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life” (John 6:63). As for the Lord’s works, they were a signal demonstration of the spirit’s operation.
The Lord thus recognizes his Father as the source of the spirit, and Peter confirms this testifing that it is the risen and exalted Lord who, having received the spirit from his Father, had poured it out on his apostles (see Acts 2:33). We begin to perceive how frequent are the links between John’s gospel and the book of Acts, a token of the internal unity of the New Testament.
Many would not respond
Alas, there is also sadness in the Lord’s words: he foresees the unwillingness of the world at large to receive the spirit’s testimony mediated through the apostles (v. 17): many have no place for it in their lives and thinking. Yet the truth of this statement reminds us of the reception the Lord himself received from his fellow Jews: “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not” (John 1:11).
However, there is encouragement in the next verse, as the apostles were also destined to experience: “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.” As we have noted more than once, the apostles, despite their problems with so much of the Lord’s teaching, found in Peter’s confession a declaration of their own faith in the Lord: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).
The spirit was integral to them
This resounding declaration is an anticipation of what the Lord says to the faithful eleven in the upper room: they know the spirit of truth, which was to continue permanently with them, and be in them. We take note once more of this short but immensely significant word, “in.” The spirit was to become a part of them, and thus be an abiding influence (cf. v. 16).
On the day of Pentecost they were all filled with the holy spirit (Acts 2:4). It is the knowledge of this which can give us confidence in what they have transmitted. The twelve (including Matthias — Acts 1:21-22) were the chosen witnesses of the Lord Jesus, a thought which recurs in the book of Acts (see, for example, 1:8; 2:32; 3:15).
It is, significantly, in the context of this promise of the spirit that Jesus says to the eleven: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (v. 18 NIV). The term corresponding to “orphans” occurs in only one other place: “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27) (Note).
Before his ascension to heaven, the Lord told his apostles he would be with them always (Matt. 28:20). While we must acknowledge the unique status of the twelve, we recall the promise made by our Lord to his followers of all ages: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
Seeing the Lord Jesus
Continuing his words to the eleven, Jesus made an important statement to them, which we can also embrace: “Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also” (v. 19).
Following his death and burial, the Lord was hidden from human eyes, revealing himself only to chosen witnesses (cf. Acts 10:41). The day came when he was taken up into heaven and vanished from the sight of the apostles (Acts 1:9). This was their last visual experience of the risen Lord. While the world at large totally lost sight of the Lord, the apostles continued to see him by the eye of faith. It was imperative that they should, this is a fundamental requirement for all disciples.
The exhortation is pressed home in the epistle to the Hebrews (see 3:1,12; 2:3). The constancy and clarity with which we see the Lord in his moral and spiritual beauty, the degree to which we heed his commandments, and follow humbly and lovingly his example, determine how far we share his life.
John writes about the influence of the Lord upon himself and his fellows: they beheld his unique glory, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He knew, furthermore, that they had received of his fullness. There are echoes of this language in II Corinthians 3:18: “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image; for this comes from the Lord, the spirit” (NRSV). Peter, who realized full well the privileges which had been his in being the Lord’s companion and a witness of his resurrection, declares there is a special blessing for those, who not having enjoyed the same experiences of the Lord, yet love him (I Peter 1:8).
As we see our Lord ever more clearly, and derive our life increasingly from him, so we grow in grace and develop his likeness. Here is the supreme challenge for all who claim to be his followers.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One