1“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. 3If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. 4You know where I go, and you know the way.”
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. 7If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. 13Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it. 15If you love me, keep my commandments. 16I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever: 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive, for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. 19Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.
25“I have said these things to you while still living with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. 27Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. 28You heard how I told you, ‘I am going away, and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I. 29Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. 30I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me. 31But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let’s go from here.
In the conclusion of this passage, in which Jesus speaks of both His departure and coming again (14:1-4) Jesus offers what people long for, namely, peace. This stands in contrast to the confusion and uncertainty that the disciples feel from the events that precede these words (John 13), including the departure of Judas to betray Christ. But the Lord does not merely attempt to comfort them, He offers the disciples a look into the future in verses 2-3, declaring to them that the separation they will experience will only be temporary. Jesus is going to prepare a place for them, come back for them, and by implication, their reunion will one day be permanent.
But the tension continues to grow. Thomas does not understand Jesus’ reference to the Father’s House (vs. 5) and Philip does not understand the fact that Jesus is God (vs. 8). The confusion reaches new levels when Jesus declares in verses 12-13 that they will do greater works than He has done (vv. 12-14) by sending them the Holy Spirit (vv. 15-17). Jesus then reassures them by declaring that He will not leave them orphans promising, “I will come to you” (vs. 19). Jesus attempts to clarify the Holy Spirit’s ministry in their lives by explaining to them that the Holy Spirit will remind them of all the things He has taught them (vv. 25-26).
Thus, flowing from this context of tension, we come to verse 27. On the eve of Christ’s own death, He offers peace to His disciples. While “peace” has several nuances in New Testament Greek, the word is used here to refer to the calmness or confidence that is generated when one trusts God - notice the phrase, “my peace I give to you.” In contrast, the world (“cosmos”) can only offer “false peace.” One cannot rely on the physical world to give one peace; it is subject to change, loss of energy, and degeneration. In fact, one cannot rely on any earthly possession to generate the peace that truly satisfies. One cannot rely on the world’s godless system to generate peace because humanity is inherently deceitful and corrupt. Humans long for power and are imbedded in an environment that is hostile to all that which is good, noble, and trustworthy. One cannot rely on evil supernatural powers for peace; only deception exists. Rather, it is by turning to Jesus Christ that one can receive peace - for He is God. Placing one’s trust in God is a timeless theme in Scripture. Perhaps the greatest example of trusting God in the midst of impending horror is Jesus Christ himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus Christ faced anxiety (cf. Luke 22:39-44). In fact, Jesus was deep in agony. How did He respond? He took His anxiety to God the Father in prayer. While God the Father did not remove this burden from Him, Jesus responded with resolve and determination to only do the will of the Father. Cast your anxieties upon God; He cares for you (cf. 1 Peter 5:7)!