John 14:21-26
Chapter 14
21
Whoever keeps my commandments is the one who loves me. If he loves me, he will also be loved by my Father; I too shall love him and reveal myself to him.”
22
Judas—not Judas Iscariot—asked Jesus:
“LORD, how can it be that you will show yourself clearly to us and not to the world?”
23
Jesus answered him:
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him; and we will come to him and live with him.
24
But if anyone does not love me, he will not keep my words; yet these words that you hear are not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.
25
I told you all this while I am still with you.
26
From now on, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have told you.
Commentaries
Jesus, the Way to the Father
This chapter explores a mysterious pattern of Jesus going and returning: going to the Father only to reappear to his disciples and stay with them forever. The text in the Fourth Gospel reveals that Jesus never truly leaves or disappears; his going to the Father symbolizes a fuller return to his followers. Verse 23 is the chapter’s central point. God’s dwelling among his people, which the Old Testament describes in a cultic way (Ex 25:8; 29:45; Lv 26:11), was promised for the end times (Ezk 37:26ff; Zec 2:14; Rev 21:3, 22ff), and is now fulfilled within the community. It is the presence of the Holy Trinity in the heart of the Christian, who is transformed into a living temple of God! Amidst the desert and the exodus of our history, God truly dwells in the tent and temple of the believer.