Christ's Two Comings (Urbana 70)

Exposition on John 14
by John Stott

The work of the Spirit can never be considered apart from Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of Christ. His paramount concern is to reveal Christ to us and to form Christ in us.

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At the beginning of this chapter (v.1) and again near its end (v. 27) Jesus issues the same command, namely, "Let not your hearts be troubled." He is alluding to a form of heart trouble from which the whole world suffers. Yet no cardiologist on earth can cure it. Nor can transplant surgery take it away.

Mind you, there is much in human experience to cause spiritual heart trouble; and to suffer from it is by no means always sinful. Even Jesus himself was not immune. The very same verb is used by John three times to describe Jesus' distress. At the sight of people weeping over Lazarus' death, at the prospect of his own death. and at the thought of his betrayal by Judas, we read, Jesus "was trouled in spirit" (11:33; 12:27;13:21).

What John records for us in this chapter is the Great Physician's diagnosis of the condition, and the remedy which he goes on to propose.

The chief cause of the apostles' heart trouble was the imminent departure of their Master. He had just told them in clear and unmistakable terms that he was going to leave them. "Little children," he had said, "yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.'" Peter expostulated: "Lord, where are you going?" And again, "Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." To this Jesus replied: "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times" (Jn. 13:33, 36-38).

It was this prospect of being left, of being abandoned by Jesus, which gave them heart trouble - especially when they grasped that it would involve his death, and that betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter would somehow contribute to it. Their hearts trembled with anxious foreboding. As Jesus was to say a little later (16:5-6), "now I am going to him who sent me" and "because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts."

Perhaps they remembered a previous occasion on which Jesus had left them only temporarily. They were in a boat, crossing the lake. But he was still on the land. He had gone up into the hills by himself to pray. After they had lost his presence, the night came on and a storm broke out. The wind rose and was against them. The waves threatened to engulf them. And they were in the dark. Their hearts failed them for fear. Then suddenly about the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the water. And when they had taken him into the boat, the wind ceased and there was a great calm (Mk. 6:45-52).

In fact, this is precisely what Christ promises to them now. He is going away, it is true. But there is no need for them to be troubled or afraid, however hard the times may be. For he is going to come back to them and all will be well.

So the cure for spiritual heart trouble is faith. As Bishop J. C. Ryle puts it in his commentary, "We have ... in this passage a precious remedy against an old disease. That disease is trouble of heart. That remedy is faith."1

What Jesus said to them is this: "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me" (v. 1). Both verbs are the same and in the - same present tense (pisteuete). They may be either indicative and therefore statements ("you believe") or imperative and therefore commands ("believe!"). It seems probable that both are commands, as in the Revised Standard Version, and could be translated: "Keep believing in God, keep believing also in me."

Moreover, the faith in Christ which cures heart trouble is specific rather than general. It is faith in Christ's promised coming and so in his promised presence. These are the promises of Christ to which faith clings: "I go ... I will come again" (v. 3) and "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you" (v. 18).

Although both promises contain the same verb, meaning "I am coming" or "I will come," yet a careful look at the context makes it plain that each promise refers to a different occasion. The first (v.1) is to Christ's final coming in glory on the last day, while the second (v.18) is to his intermediate coming through the Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

This differentiation between the two comings of Christ is made clear in another way. At each coming there will be a reception, Christ says. But who receives whom will be different. According to verse 3, when Christ comes, he will receive them into heaven to dwell with him. According to verses 17 and 18, when Christ comes, they will do what the world cannot do, namely, receive him into their hearts so that he may dwell with them.

Further, the Greek word for "mansions" or "resting places" is used of both, and occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. When we go to dwell with Christ we find a resting place (v. 3), and when he comes to dwell with us he finds a resting place (v.23). It is only when we truly believe these promises of Jesus Christ - that he has not left us for ever, but that he has come back in the Spirit and that he will come back in power and great glory - that we shall be cured of spiritual heart trouble and enjoy peace.

this talk has been put on 8 pages for ease of use. This is the first page;
Click to go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next >>