18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
John 14:18-21 (NLT)
Orphans?
Was Jesus like parents to His disciples? Actually, a bit of cultural context helps. “The disciples of a particular teacher among the Hebrews called him father; his scholars were called his children, and, on his death, were considered as orphans.” (Clarke’s commentary) Jesus resurrected from the dead so they weren’t orphans.
See Him
Jesus promises the disciples and comforts them saying they will see Him again. Certainly they did see Him again after His resurrection. This is the primary way. Along with it is the hope of eternal life – for after Jesus died, he resurrected and He promises this to us.
Yet they also “see” Him again as the Spirit comes at Pentecost (Acts 2) and indwells them. As we discussed yesterday, Jesus and the Spirit are one (as they are one with the Father in the trinity). When the Spirit came at Pentecost, the disciples could “see” the Spirit working and, hence, see Jesus. We can see Jesus in this way as well.
Finally, all believers together form the church, the body of Christ, of which He is the head (Colossians 1:18). As we serve one another in Jesus’ name, we are serving Him (Matthew 25:40). We “see” Him in each other and Him working through us as we yield ourselves to Him. Likewise, as we serve “the least” in His name, are we not “seeing” Him?
Mutual possession re-deux
We first looked at this idea of mutual possession in John 14:8-11. Here we see it again. The Father is in Christ. Now Jesus adds us into the picture: we are in Him and He is in us. Can you comprehend? It’s beyond me.
Verse 21
A few thoughts on verse 21:
- Jesus repeats what He said in verse 15. Obedience shows love. Note that the “accept” here implies a personal acceptance and abiding in the soul.
- It is possible to take this verse out of context and believe that the Father only loves us if we love Jesus. Remember 1 John 4:19 and John 3:16 which clearly show God initiates love toward us.
- To those who obey and demonstrate love, Jesus loves them (us) and reveals Himself. Here’s a link to the ways God reveals Himself to us.
RЯeflection
- Do you see Jesus around you – as we fellowship with other believers, as we serve the least of these in His name; even as we view His creation?
