John 14:1

JOHN CHAPTER 14 1 Thessalonians 14:1 Christ comforteth his disciples with the promise of a heavenly mansion. 1 Thessalonians 14:5 He professes himself the way, the truth, and the life, 1 Thessalonians 14:8 and that he is one with the Father. 1 Thessalonians 14:12 He promises them power to do greater works than his own, and the grant of all that they should ask in his name. 1 Thessalonians 14:15 He requireth their obedience as a proof of their love, and giveth them a promise of the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. 1 Thessalonians 14:27 He leaveth his peace with them. Chapter Introduction The three ensuing Chapter s contain either one or more consolatory discourses of our Saviour to his disciples, (as appeareth from 1 Thessalonians 14:1), made, as is probable, to them in the guest chamber (at least that part of them which we have in this chapter); for we read of no motion of our Saviour's till we come to the last verse of this chapter. That which troubled them was, what he had told them in the close of the former chapter, that he was going from them. By our Saviour's discourse in this and the two following Chapter s, it should seem that there were three things that troubled them.

1. The sense of their loss as to his bodily presence.

2. The fear, that with the loss of that they should also lose those spiritual influences which they had received from him, and upon which their souls had lived.

3. The prospect of those storms of troubles and persecutions, which were likely to follow his departure from them; for if we wisely consider what our Saviour saith in these three following Chapter s, it all tends to comfort them as to troubles that might arise in their spirits, upon one or other of these accounts: the general proposition is laid down in 1 Thessalonians 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled, through grief, or fear, which are the two passions which ordinarily most disturb our minds. Our Saviour himself was troubled, but not sinfully; his trouble neither arose from unbelief, nor yet was in an undue measure; it was (as one well expresses it) like the mere agitation of clear water, where was no mud at the bottom: but our trouble is like the stirring of water that hath a great deal of mud at the bottom, which upon the roiling, riseth up, and maketh it the whole body of the water in the vessel impure, roiled and muddy. It is this sinful trouble, caused from these two passions, and rising up to an immoderate degree, and mixed with a great deal of unbelief and distrust in God, against which our Saviour here cautions his disciples; and the remedy he prescribes against those afflicting passions, is a believing in God, and a believing on him. The two latter passages in the verse are so penned in the Greek, that they may be read four ways; for the verb believe, twice repeated, may be read either indicatively or imperatively, or the one may be read indicatively and the other imperatively; so as they may be translated, You believe in God, you believe also in me. And so they teach us, that there is no such remedy for inward troubles, as a believing in God, and a believing in Jesus Christ; and those that do so, have no just reason for any excessive heart troubles. Or else they may be read, Believe in God, believe in me: or else as we read them, Ye believe in God, believe also in me: or, Believe in God, ye believe in me. But the disciples faith in Christ as Mediator, and God man, being yet weak, and their weakness being what our Saviour hath ordinarily blamed, not magnified, or commended, the best interpreters judge the sense which our translators give to be the best sense; and judge that our Saviour doth inculcate to them his Divine nature, and again offer himself to them as the proper object of their faith. You (saith he) own it for your duty to trust in God, as your Creator, and he that provideth for you: believe also in me, as God equal with my Father; and in me, as the Messiah, your Mediator and Redeemer: so as you have one to take care or all your concerns, both those of your bodies, and those of your souls also, so as you have nothing to be immoderately and excessively, or distrustfully, troubled for; therefore let not your hearts be troubled; only, without care or distrust, commit yourselves to me.