John 14:18-21 18“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while and the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you yourselves will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21The one who has my commandments and keeps them, that one is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
The disciples may have felt a growing sense of gloom, fear, and loneliness as Jesus spoke about leaving them. They had grown close to him over the years and had placed all their hope on him. They did not understand yet God’s plan of salvation through Jesus’ death. Jesus’ promise in verse 18 gave them hope and assurance that he would be with them. They may have felt like orphans whose parent, or in this situation, their Master, had abandoned them. The promise that Jesus would come to them could be interpreted in three ways. One is through his post-resurrection appearance, which would give them assurance and support for all he said to them. A second could be a reference to his second coming, which still gave assurance but could be far in the future. A third is that he would come through the Holy Spirit, who was just mentioned in the previous verses. The discples could later look back and realize that all comings, in whatever form, gave them hope and confirmed their faith.
Verse 19 restates the contrast given many times in John’s Gospel between those who believe and those who do not. To see Jesus is to experience him. The world cannot see or exprience Jesus’ presence because it does not believe. This verse could be interpreted historically in that only believers saw the resurrected Jesus. The same is true today; those who believe in Jesus experience his presence through the Holy Spirit. Those who do not believe think these claims are just myths and superstition. The end of verse 19 seems to shift the focus to Jesus’ resurrection and his appearance to his disciples. The promise Because I live, you too will live holds the power of the gospel. Death is not final for those who believe. This statement echoes throughout the ages and motivates believers to hold fast to their convictions and not waver in their commitment in the midst of difficulties and persecution.
The reference to that day in verse 20 adds further evidence that Jesus’ resurrection has been the primary focus of these verses. Jesus’ resurrection gives assurance to the claims of truth he made. One of the most significant claims he made was about his relationship to the Father. That bond of unfathomable love is the basis for the love Jesus had for the disciples and how they needed to love him in return. Our love in this lifetime is imperfect. We struggle to love one another and even to love Jesus. We do not always obey Jesus’ commands, as he instructs in verse 21. The only way to obey his commands is to abide in him.
Verse 21 is another call to love and clarifies the relationship mentioned in verse 20. It is another open invitation to “whoever.” It is not enough to “have” Jesus commands, which could mean hearing them or studying them. We cannot simply sit passively and hear Jesus’ teachings in a sermon or study of some type. We must “keep” them, meaning, we must obey what Jesus said. Our love for Jesus, and thus for God the Father, is shown by obedience. The primary and highest command is to love Jesus. The call to love echoes throughout Jesus’ words at this final supper.
Those who love Jesus and show that through obedience will come to experience him in deeper ways. The bond of love opens the door to deeper relationship. The world will miss out on this relationship because it does not believe, love, or obey. It is true that God’s love is unconditional in that he loves even the world caught in darkness and sin (3:16), but there is a deeper love from God that obedient disciples experience. This love from God is experienced through deeper awareness and relationship with Jesus. The profound claims of these verses call us to express our faith in Jesus by loving him by obeying his command to love others.
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