He who believes in me will do more. New Testament. Our dear gospel

AND MORE THIS WILL BE CREATED…

For memorization:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

John 14:12

Reading: 2 Kings 2:9-15

1. When they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what to do to you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Let the spirit that is in you be doubly upon me.
2. And he said: You are asking for something difficult. If you see how I will be taken from you, then it will be so for you, but if you do not see it, it will not be.
3. While they were walking and talking along the way, a chariot of fire and horses of fire suddenly appeared, and separated them both, and Elijah rushed in a whirlwind to heaven.
4. Elisha looked on and exclaimed: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry! And I didn't see him again. And he seized his garments and tore them in two.
5. And he picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood on the banks of the Jordan;
6. And he took Elijah's mantle that had fallen from him, and struck the water with it, and said: Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah, is He Himself? And he struck the water, and it parted to and fro, and Elisha crossed over.
7. And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho saw him afar off, and said, The spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha. And they went to meet him, and bowed to him to the ground,

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1 Corinthians 4

Instruction

When Elisha asked Elijah for a double anointing, he desired to be able to do greater things than his master. Here is what he heard in response to his request:

“And he said, You are asking for hard things. If you see how I will be taken from you, then it will be so for you, but if you do not see it, it will not be.”

2 Kings 2:10

The lesson we immediately see in this answer is that whenever a child of God asks the Lord for more gifts or blessings, he is actually signing up for more responsibility. The request for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah required great faith from the budding prophet. In the same way, we are required to believe that we can do greater things than Christ. In the case of Elisha, nothing was to come between him and the anointing. Therefore, he constantly watched his master and followed in his footsteps. While they were walking and talking, a fiery chariot and flaming horses parted them. Elisha saw all this with his own eyes and cried out as a sign that he had fulfilled the condition set before him by Elijah. He tore his clothes and picked up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah as he was being taken to heaven. By this act, the young prophet showed that he was ready to change his old clothes for new ones, symbolizing new life and great deeds. I have good news for you: there is Someone greater than Elijah among us, His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. He came to die for our sins and save us from all condemnation. The Bible testifies that He came to do good and heal all those who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). If you want to do what He did, and more than that, you must make the decision to follow Him everywhere like Elisha followed Elijah. To get closer to Jesus, you need to obey Him strictly. After Elisha received the double anointing of Elijah, the other sons of the prophets were forced to recognize this wonderful event and bow before him. And before the one who gave his life to Christ, all the demons will bow. This is just a small part of God's promise to us (Mark 16:17-18).

Therefore, we only need to abide in Him and follow His way of life and the ideals He brought from the Father, even if we have to suffer for Him. 1 Peter 2:21 says:

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we might follow in His footsteps.”

Father, please consider me worthy to do greater things than my Lord Jesus did when he was on earth, and may Your name be glorified through me.

AND MORE THIS WILL BE CREATED…

St. John Chrysostom

Art. 12-14 Amen, amen I say to you: believe in Me, the works that I do, and I will do them, and more of them will do: for I am coming to My Father: and if you ask (from the Father) in My name, I will do may the Father be glorified in the Son: (and) if you ask anything in my name, I will do

Amen, amen I say to you: believe in me, the works, even I do, and he will do it and do more than these, as I am coming to my Father (art. 12). That is, now you will already perform miracles, because I am departing. Then, having reached what the speech was leading to, He says: whatever you ask in my name, you will receive it, and I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in me(Art. 13). Do you see how He Himself does it again? I will create, speaks, I; and did not say, I will pray the Father, but: may the Father be glorified in me. Elsewhere He said: God glorify Him in Himself(13, 32), but here, that He Himself will glorify the Father. When the Son appears with great power, then the Father will also be glorified. What does it mean: in my name? What the Apostles said: in the name of Jesus Christ get up and walk(Acts 3, 6). All the signs they did were the work of His power, and the hand of the Lord was with them (Acts 11:21). Az, speaks, I will create(John 14, 14). Do you see self-employment? He also did what was done by others: can it be that what He Himself does, He cannot do with His own power, but does with the assistance of the Father? But who can say it? Why does he say this a second time? To establish His word and show that He used to speak in an adaptive way. And the words: I'm coming to the Father mean: I do not perish, but abide in my dignity and am in heaven. Yet this He spoke for the comfort of the disciples. Since they did not yet understand His words about the resurrection, and therefore, probably, they were occupied with lamentable thoughts, He promises them that they themselves will do such (works) for others, reveals His concern for them in everything and shows that He always abides, and not only abides, but will show even greater strength.

Bliss. Theophylact of Bulgaria

Art. 12-14 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater than these he will do; because I am going to my Father. And if you ask the Father for anything in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it

Christ, showing that He can do not only these works, but also others, much greater than these, speaks of this with extraordinary power. For he does not say: I can do things greater than these, but - what is much more surprising - I can also give others the power to do things greater than these. Do you see how great is the power of the Only Begotten? He also gives strength to others to do deeds greater than those that He Himself did. Because I am going to My Father, that is, now you will already work miracles, for I am already departing. - Explaining to us how he who believes in Him can do great and wonderful things, he says: "if you ask anything in my name", Here shows us the way of working miracles: everyone can work miracles through petition and prayer and invoking His name. So the apostles said to the lame: "in the name of Jesus Christ get up and walk"(Acts 3, 6). Therefore, he did not say: whatever you ask, I will ask the Father, and he will do it, but: "I will do" showing His own power. "May the Father be glorified in the Son". For when a son appears with great power, then there will be glory to him who begat such a son. See how the glory of the Father flows out. Miracles were performed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; according to miracles, the sermons of the apostles were believed; finally, passing to the knowledge of God, they came to know the Father, and thus He was glorified in the Son. Let those suffering from Arianism say: how did He work miracles through the apostles, His works not Himself, but with the assistance of the Father? How did it give strength to others, but did not have it Himself? Why did he say the same thing twice? For by saying: “if you ask anything in my name, I will do it”, then adding "May the Father be glorified in the Son", again for the second time says: “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it”. He says this twice in order to confirm His word and show that He creates Himself and does not need outside power. Nevertheless, He says this to His disciples to comfort them and confirm that He will not perish after death, will not be destroyed, but will again remain in His dignity and will be in heaven. For I, he says, go to the Father; I will not be annihilated, but I will depart to where life is most blessed. Although I die, I will not be in the least powerless; On the contrary, I will also empower others to do great things. And whatever you want, I'll give you. So, do not be discouraged because My death is such as I indicated to you.

Evfimy Zigaben

Amen, amen, I say to you: believe in Me, the works that I do, and that I will do

Jesus Christ did not say: I can do even greater deeds than I have already done, but he says: I will also give others the power to do such deeds, which is worthy of much greater astonishment. Then he adds something more, saying:

And more than these will create

This is proof of the power of the One who bestowed such power, not of the one who performs miracles. Whoever works even greater miracles in the name of Jesus Christ than Jesus Christ did, he bears witness to the power of Jesus Christ Himself.

Yako Az to my Father is coming

Now, says Jesus Christ to the disciples, it is up to you to work miracles, because I am going to My Father to enter into My former glory. All this Jesus Christ spoke to comfort His disciples, who were confused and completely lost in spirit, because they did not understand His teaching about His Resurrection.

Rev. Macarius the Great

Origen

Our Savior and Lord addresses the disciples in the Gospel of John: If you believe, you will do not only what I do, but more than that.". So let's see if the disciples did something more? What is higher than the resurrection of the dead? Who - I do not say: from us, but from the apostles - raised the dead? History conveys that Paul raised Eutychus from the dead (See: Acts 20, 9) and Peter - Tabitha, which translates as “ Chamois» (See: Acts 9, 36-42). You can find [in Scripture] these [examples] and others of the same kind; but where are the bigger ones? The Savior and the blind - moreover, those who were born like that - made sighted again. Let them show those born blind whom they saw healed by the hands of the apostles. And the one who investigates can find in the Gospels innumerable other [confirmations] that neither the apostles nor their successors did anything more than [what Christ did]. But in fact, the word of Scripture said something similar: “You will do more than the bodily works that I have done. I raised from the dead bodily, you will raise from the dead spiritually. I poured this sensory light into the blind, you will give spiritual light to the blind.” And I see that, up to the present time, these signs - greater than the bodily ones that Jesus did - are being performed through the most faithful disciples of Jesus. Do not the blind now see, and the lame do not walk, and the lepers are not cleansed (cf. Lk. 7:22), and [all] the rest [is it] not done, if one who yesterday was deprived of sight, approaching idols, how to God, today he called the living God, leaving the former? If the one who yesterday was lame because of sin, now, thanks to the teaching of the disciples, instructed in the true path, steps with the approved foot? [And the one], whose hand yesterday was dry and idle for doing good, today, having received [from God] a hand, finds it alive (Compare: Lk. 6, 6-10)? If you see that someone defiled, with a soul suffering from leprosy, suddenly repents, wounded by the word of the doctrine, then do not be ashamed to tell you that the cleansing of a spiritual leper is greater than that of a bodily leper.

Homilies on the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Lopukhin A.P.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to My Father

Returning now to His task – to console and encourage the apostles who remain in a strange and hostile world – the Lord sets forth for them the first consolation (verses 12-14) that they will continue His work and at the same time accompany their preaching with miracles even greater than those that Christ made. This, of course, does not mean that the apostles will have more miraculous power than Christ has, but it indicates the result of the signs that they will perform. Due to the special new conditions of the time, conditions that did not exist in the days of Christ, their preaching and miracles will have an extraordinary success. Even if these are miracles that take place not in the sphere of visibility, but in the innermost depths of the human spirit, in any case, they will be accompanied by extremely great consequences. In order to perform such miracles, two conditions are necessary: ​​1) the apostles must firmly believe in Christ ("believing in me") and 2) Christ needs to go now to His Father in order to send from the Father an abundance of miraculous powers ( "because I'm going to my Father").

Asks Michael
Answered by Alexandra Lantz, 04/03/2010

Michael asks: Jesus said that whoever believes will do more than He does, that is, if a person truly believes in God, constantly prays, will he perform the same miracles as Jesus? For example, the healing of the sick and other miracles. Did I understand His words correctly?

Peace be with you, Michael!

These are the words of Jesus you are asking about:

“Truly, truly, I say to you: He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do, and more than these he will do, because I go to My Father” ().

In order to understand exactly what things Jesus means when he says these words, it is necessary to carefully study the Gospels and see what exactly He did. Of course, right on the surface we see miracle after miracle, healing after healing, walking on water, feeding thousands of people with a few loaves, and so on. All this is immediately evident, and our flesh immediately begins to rejoice: “I can do it too! and I can do it! and everything is possible for me, now I’ll just start to pray, believe, believe and be filled with the power of God and go heal everyone, work miracles, prove my faith!” Hmmm, our carnal being always wants at least some, but power over other creatures, at least some, but recognition from others...

Yes, Jesus healed, fed, even resurrected, and His disciples will be able to do all this, but are Jesus talking about these things in that verse, was this the mission of Christ on earth? Come, heal someone, resurrect a few people, feed a few thousand people a couple of times. And that's it?

This is what Jesus Himself says about His mission, i.e. about your business:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for He has anointed Me evangelize the poor, and sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, to enlightenment to the blind, to set the tormented free, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

"for he whom God sent,speaks the words of God" ()

"But He said to them, And to other citiesevangelizeI owe the Kingdom of Godfor for this I am sent" ().

"He says to them, let us go to the neighboring villages and cities, so that I may preach, because I came for this. And he preached in their synagogues throughout Galilee and cast out demons "().

From that time Jesus beganpreach and speak: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ... And Jesus walked throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues andpreaching the gospel of the kingdomand healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people ().

"And when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went from thereteach and preach in their cities" ().

Now let's think about why did Jesus give His disciples power? Is it for healing?

"Jesus sent these twelve, and commanded them, saying, . . . go ... to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but as you go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand; heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; received for free, give for free "().

“After this, the Lord chose seventy other [disciples], and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself wanted to go, and said to them: the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go! I send you like lambs among wolves. ...and heal the sick in it, and say to them: The kingdom of God has come near to you" ().

"They went and preached repentance; cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed" (Mark: 12-13).

I think that you no longer have any doubts that the main mission of Jesus was not healing and casting out demons (God could have done this, straight from Heaven), but gospel preaching. Thanks to the fact that Christ was born on our earth, taking on our flesh, the Almighty was able to speak with people face to face. Stay a little longer on this amazing Truth! In order to be able to speak with us, fallen people, mouth to mouth, God humbled His holiness and righteousness, His infinite glory and power so much that He became one of us!

"He, being the image of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God; but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men, and becoming in appearance like a man.

God Himself came to earth to preach to us about Himself! To tell us in word and deed what He is! He did not come to heal, but to reveal Himself to us, blind and deaf, deceived by the lies of Satan! And this was the main thing that He did during more than thirty years of His life on earth.

The Father sent His Son into the world in order to reveal Himself to each of us, to speak to the world not through human prophets, but face to face, in order to convey to all of us His pure, undistorted, Living Word.

“God, who at many times and in various ways spoke of old to the fathers by the prophets, in these last days spoke to us in the Son whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he created the worlds” ().

Do you want to know what God is like, what He expects from us, what He is ready to do for us? Study the life, words, deeds of Jesus Christ.

So, Christ did not come to earth for healings and miracles, He came to tell people the Gospel - The good news that a just God, who hates sin, loves all people with an infinite, almost incomprehensible in his selflessness, bordering on self-humiliation love. Things that Jesus did:

Works of pure preaching about the True God that changed people's hearts

Jesus led hearts to repentance (real repentance, when a person simply could no longer commit sin) Here is just one story of repentance - and there are many of them in the Gospels.

Jesus was preparing this world for the final events in the history of sinful mankind. “Therefore, as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age: the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who do iniquity, and cast them into a fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!” () ()

These are the main works of Jesus Christ. It is about these matters that He speaks to His disciples:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

This is what all the disciples of Jesus were doing. Not healing, but preaching gospel of repentance, preaching, changing people's hearts that turn them from lies to righteousness.

Why did the disciples have to do more than Jesus? Because when Christ lived on earth, He was limited by human flesh, He could only be in one place at a particular time, so His preaching, although in full power, was still limited. But when Jesus, after death and resurrection, ascended to Heaven, He poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit on His disciples, and now hundreds and thousands of people found themselves on earth, who accepted His power, His wisdom, His capabilities... and they went all over the world, doing that. that Jesus did only in Israel.

So it turns out that the disciples will do even more than Jesus did when he lived on earth. Although, of course, one must well understand that if they had not had His strength and protection, they could not have done anything.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come".

Sincerely,
Sasha.

Read more on the topic "Interpretation of Scripture":

07 May

Comments on Chapter 14

INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE GOSPEL FROM THE EYE OF EAGLE

Many Christians regard the Gospel of John as the most precious book in the New Testament. With this book they nourish their minds and hearts most of all, and it calms their souls. The authors of the Gospels are very often depicted symbolically in stained glass and other works in the form of four beasts, which the author of the Revelation saw around the throne. (Rev. 4:7). In different places a different symbol is attributed to each evangelist, but in most cases it is generally accepted that Human - it is the symbol of the evangelist brand, whose gospel is the simplest, the simplest, and the most human; a lion - evangelist symbol Matthew because he, like no one else, saw in Jesus the Messiah and the lion of the tribe of Judah; Taurus(ox) - the symbol of the evangelist bows, because this animal was used both for service and for sacrifice, and he saw in Jesus a great servant of people and a universal sacrifice for all mankind; eagle - evangelist symbol John for of all living beings, only the eagle can look, without being blinded, directly at the sun and penetrate into eternal mysteries, eternal truths, and into the very thoughts of God. John has the most penetrating vision of any New Testament writer. Many people find that they are closest to God and Jesus Christ when they read the Gospel of John, rather than any other book.

A GOSPEL DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS

One has only to skim through the fourth gospel to see that it differs from the other three: it does not contain many of the events that are included in the other three. The fourth Gospel says nothing about the birth of Jesus, His baptism, His temptations, it says nothing about the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Ascension. It does not talk about healing people who are possessed by demons and evil spirits, and, most amazing of all, it does not contain a single parable of Jesus, which are an invaluable part of the other three Gospels. Throughout the three gospels, Jesus constantly speaks in these wonderful parables, and in easy-to-remember, short, expressive sentences. And in the fourth gospel, the discourses of Jesus sometimes take up an entire chapter and are often complex, evidence-laden statements quite different from those concise, unforgettable sayings in the other three gospels. Even more surprisingly, the facts about the life and ministry of Jesus given in the fourth gospel differ from those given in the other gospels. 1. The gospel of John states differently Start ministry of Jesus. The other three gospels make it abundantly clear that Jesus began preaching only after John the Baptist was imprisoned. "Now after John had been betrayed, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14; Luke 3:18-20; Matt. 4:12). According to the Gospel of John, it turns out that there was a rather long period when the preaching of Jesus coincided with the activities of John the Baptist. (John 3:22-30; 4:1.2). 2. The Gospel of John presents differently region, in which Jesus preached. In the other three gospels, Galilee was the main preaching area, and Jesus did not visit Jerusalem until the last week of his life. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus mostly preached in Jerusalem and Judea, and only occasionally went into Galilee (John 2:1-13; 4:35-51; 6:1-7:14). According to John, Jesus was in Jerusalem at Passover, which coincided with the cleansing of the Temple (John 2:13); during an unnamed holiday (John 5:1); during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2-10). He was there in the winter, during the Feast of Renewal. (John 10:22). According to the fourth gospel, after this feast Jesus never left Jerusalem at all; after chapter 10 He was always in Jerusalem. This means that Jesus remained there for many months, from the winter Feast of Renewal until the spring, until the Passover, during which he was crucified. It must be said that this fact was correctly reflected in the Gospel of John. Other gospels show how Jesus lamented the fate of Jerusalem when the last week arrived. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem that kills the prophets and stones those sent to you! How many times have I wanted to gather your children together, like a bird gathers her chicks under her wings, and you did not want to!" (Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34). It is quite obvious that Jesus could not have said this if He had not visited Jerusalem several times and had not repeatedly addressed its inhabitants. From His first visit, He could not have said it. It was this difference that allowed the "father of the history of the Church" Eusebius (263-340), bishop of Caesarea of ​​Palestine and author of the most ancient history of the Church from the birth of Christ to 324, to offer one of the first explanations for the difference between the fourth Gospel and the other three. Eusebius stated that in his time (about 300), many theologians held this view: Matthew was the first to preach to the Jews, but the time had come when he had to go and preach to other nations; before setting out, he wrote down everything he knew about the life of Christ in Hebrew and "thus eased the loss of those whom he had to leave behind." After Mark and Luke wrote their gospels, John was still preaching the story of Jesus' life orally. “At last he proceeded to describe it, and this is why. When the three Gospels mentioned were made available to everyone and reached him too, they say that he approved them and confirmed their truth, but he added that they did not contain a story about the deeds committed by Jesus at the very beginning of His ministry ... And therefore, they say, John described in his Gospel a period omitted by the early evangelists, i.e. acts committed by the Savior in the period before the imprisonment of John the Baptist ..., and the remaining three evangelists describe the events that took place after this time. The Gospel of John is the story of first deeds of Christ, while others tell of later His life" (Eusebius, "History of the Church" 5.24). Therefore, according to Eusebius, there is no contradiction at all between the fourth and the remaining three Gospels; the whole difference is explained by the fact that in the fourth Gospel, at least in the first chapters, tells of a ministry in Jerusalem that preceded the preaching in Galilee and took place while John the Baptist was still at large.It is possible that this explanation of Eusebius is, at least in part, correct. duration Jesus' ministry was different. From the other three Gospels it follows that it lasted only one year. There is only one Easter for the whole time of the service. In the Gospel of John three Easter: one coincides with the cleansing of the Temple (John 2:13); the other somewhere coincides with the saturation time of five thousand (John 6:4); and finally the last Passover, when Jesus was crucified. According to John, the ministry of Christ should last about three years, so that all these events can be arranged in time. And again, John is undoubtedly right: it turns out that this is also evident from a careful reading of the other three Gospels. When the disciples plucked the ears (Mark 2:23), it must have been spring. When the five thousand were fed, they sat down on green grass (Mark 6:39), therefore, it was spring again, and a year must have elapsed between these two events. This is followed by a journey through Tire and Sidon and the Transfiguration. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter wanted to build three tabernacles and stay there. it is quite natural to assume that this was during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is why Peter suggested doing this (Mark 9:5), that is, early October. This is followed by a period until the last Easter in April. Thus, from what is stated in the three Gospels, it can be deduced that the ministry of Jesus lasted the same three years, as it is presented in John. 4. But John also has significant differences from the other three gospels. Here are two notable examples. First, in John the cleansing of the Temple is attributed to beginning ministry of jesus (John 2:13-22), while other evangelists place it in end (Mark 11:15-17; Matt. 21:12-13; Luke 19:45-46). Secondly, John places the Crucifixion of Christ on the day preceding Pascha, while the other evangelists place it on the very day of Pascha. We must not close our eyes at all to the differences that exist between the Gospel of John, on the one hand, and the rest of the Gospels, on the other.

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE OF JOHN

It is clear that if the Gospel of John differs from other evangelists, it is not because of ignorance or lack of information. While he doesn't mention much of what the others bring up, he does give a lot of things that they don't have. Only John tells about the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (2,1-11); about the visit of Jesus by Nicodemus (3,1-17); about the Samaritan woman (4); about the resurrection of Lazarus (11); how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (13,1-17); about His beautiful teaching about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, scattered in the chapters (14-17). Only in the story of John do many of Jesus' disciples really come to life before our eyes and we hear the speech of Thomas (11,16; 14,5; 20,24-29), and Andrew becomes a real person (1,40.41; 6,8.9; 12,22). Only in John do we learn something about the character of Philip (6,5-7; 14,8.9); we hear the angry protest of Judas at the chrismation of Jesus in Bethany (12,4.5). And it should be noted that, oddly enough, these small touches reveal to us amazingly much. The portraits of Thomas, Andrew, and Philip in the Gospel of John are like small cameos or vignettes, in which the character of each of them is memorably sketched. Further, in the Evangelist John, we again and again meet small additional details that read as eyewitness accounts: the boy brought Jesus not just bread, but barley loaves (6,9); when Jesus came to the disciples who were crossing the lake in a storm, they sailed about twenty-five or thirty stades (6,19); in Cana of Galilee there were six stone waterpots (2,6). Only John speaks of four soldiers casting lots for Jesus' seamless robe. (19,23); only he knows how much mixture of myrrh and aloe was used to anoint the body of Jesus (19,39); only he remembers how, during the anointing of Jesus in Bethany, the house was filled with fragrance (12,3). Much of this seems at first glance to be insignificant details and they would remain incomprehensible if they were not recollections of an eyewitness. No matter how different the Gospel of John is from the rest of the Gospels, this difference must be explained not by ignorance, but precisely by the fact that John had more knowledge, or he had better sources, or a better memory than the rest. Another proof that the author of the Fourth Gospel had special information is that he knew Palestine and Jerusalem very well. He knows how long it took to build the Jerusalem Temple (2,20); that Jews and Samaritans were constantly in conflict (4,9); that the Jews held a low opinion of a woman (4,9); how did the jews look at the sabbath (5,10; 7,21-23; 9,14). He knows Palestine well: he knows two Bethany, one of which was beyond the Jordan (1,28; 12,1); he knows that some of the disciples were from Bethsaida (1,44; 12,21); that Cana is in Galilee (2,1; 4,46; 21,2); that the city of Sychar is near Shechem (4,5). He, as they say, knew every street in Jerusalem. He knows the sheep gate and the pool beside it. (5,2); he knows the pool of Siloam (9,7); Solomon's porch (9,23); Kidron stream (18,1); Lifostroton, which in Hebrew is Gavvatha (9,13); Golgotha, similar to a skull (the Place of the Execution, 19,17). It must be remembered that in 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed, and John began writing his Gospel not earlier than 100 AD, and yet he remembered everything in Jerusalem.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH JOHN WRITTEN

We have already seen that there is a great difference between the fourth gospel and the other three gospels, and we have seen that the reason for this could not be John's ignorance, and therefore we must ask ourselves: "What purpose did he pursue when he wrote his gospel?" If we understand this for ourselves, we will find out why he chose these particular facts and why he presented them in this way. The fourth gospel was written in Ephesus around the year 100. By this time, two peculiarities emerged in the Christian Church. Firstly, Christianity came to the pagan world. By that time, the Christian Church had ceased to be mainly Jewish in nature: most of the members who came to it did not come from the Jewish, but from the Hellenistic culture, and therefore The Church had to declare itself in a new way. This does not mean that Christian truths had to be changed; they just needed to be expressed in a new way. Let's take just one example. Suppose a Greek began to read the Gospel of Matthew, but as soon as he opened it, he came across a long genealogy. Genealogies were understandable to the Jews, but were completely incomprehensible to the Greeks. Reading, the Greek sees that Jesus was the son of David - a king whom the Greeks had never heard of, who, moreover, was a symbol of the racial and nationalistic aspirations of the Jews, which did not bother this Greek at all. This Greek is faced with such a concept as "Messiah", and again he has never heard this word before. But is it necessary for a Greek who has decided to become a Christian to completely restructure his way of thinking and get used to Jewish categories? Must he, before he can become a Christian, learn a good part of Jewish history and Jewish apocalyptic literature that tells of the coming of the Messiah. As the English theologian Goodspeed put it: "Couldn't he have made direct contact with the treasures of Christian salvation without being forever mired in Judaism? Should he have parted with his intellectual heritage and begun to think exclusively in Jewish categories and Jewish concepts?" John approaches this issue honestly and directly: he came up with one of the greatest solutions anyone has ever thought of. Later, in the commentary, we will consider John's decision much more fully, but for now we will only briefly dwell on it. The Greeks had two great philosophical concepts. a) First, they had the concept Logos. It has two meanings in Greek: word(speech) and meaning(concept, reason). The Jews were well aware of the all-powerful word of God. "And God said: let there be light. And there was light" (Gen. 1:3). And the Greeks were well aware of the idea of ​​cause. The Greeks looked at the world and saw in it an amazing and reliable order: night and day invariably change in a strict order; the seasons invariably follow each other, the stars and planets move in unchanged orbits - nature has its own immutable laws. Where does this order come from, who created it? To this the Greeks responded confidently: logos, Divine intelligence created this majestic world order. "And what gives a person the ability to think, reason and know?" the Greeks asked themselves further. And again they confidently answered: logos, The divine mind dwelling in a person makes him thinking. The Gospel of John seems to say: “All your life your imagination has been struck by this great, directing and restraining Divine mind. The Divine mind came to earth in Christ, in human form. Look at Him and you will see what it is - the Divine mind and the Divine will ". The Gospel of John provided a new concept in which the Greeks could think of Jesus, in which Jesus was presented as God appearing in human form. b) The Greeks had a theory of two worlds. One world is the one in which we live. It was, in their minds, a beautiful world in a sense, but it was a world of shadows and spears, an unreal world. The other was the real world, in which eternally great realities reside, of which the earthly world is only a pale and poor copy. The invisible world was for the Greeks the real world, and the visible world was only a shadow and unreality. The Greek philosopher Plato systematized this idea in his doctrine of forms or ideas. He believed that in the invisible world there are perfect incorporeal prototypes of all things, and all things and objects of this world are only shadows and copies of these eternal prototypes. Simply put, Plato believed that somewhere there is a prototype, the idea of ​​a table, and all the tables on earth are only imperfect copies of this prototype of the table. And the greatest reality, the highest idea, the prototype of all prototypes and the form of all forms is God. It remained, however, to solve the question of how to get into this real world, how to get away from our shadows to eternal truths. And John declares that this is precisely the opportunity that Jesus Christ gives us. He Himself is the reality that came to us on earth. In Greek to convey the concept real in this sense the word is used alefeinos, which is closely related to the word alephes, What means true, genuine And alepheia, What means true. Greek in the Bible alefeinos translated as true, but it would be correct to also translate it as real. Jesus - real light (1,9). Jesus - real bread (6,32); Jesus - real vine (15,1); Judgment of Christ real (8.16). Jesus alone is real in our world of shadows and imperfections. Some conclusions follow from this. Each act of Jesus was not only an action in time, but also represents a window through which we can see reality. This is what the evangelist John means when he speaks of the miracles performed by Jesus as signs (family). The miraculous accomplishments of Jesus are not only miraculous, they are windows into the reality that is God. This explains the fact that the Gospel of John tells the stories of the miracles performed by Jesus in a completely different way than the other three evangelists. a) The fourth gospel does not have that touch of compassion that is present in the miracle stories in all other gospels. In other gospels, Jesus had mercy on a leper (Mark 1:41); sympathizes with Jairus (Mark 5:22) and the father of an epileptic boy (Mark 9:19). Luke, when Jesus raised the son of a widow from the city of Nain, adds with infinite tenderness "and Jesus gave him to his mother" (Luke 7:15). And in the Gospel of John, the miracles of Jesus are not so much acts of compassion as they are demonstrations of the glory of Christ. Thus John comments after the miracle performed at Cana of Galilee: "Thus did Jesus begin the miracles at Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory" (2:11). The resurrection of Lazarus took place "to the glory of God" (11,4). The blindness of the man born blind existed "so that the works of God might appear on him" (9,3). John does not want to say that there was no love and compassion in the miracles of Jesus, but he first of all saw in every miracle of Christ the glory of Divine reality breaking into time and into human affairs. b) In the fourth gospel, the miracles of Jesus are often accompanied by lengthy discourses. Following the description of the feeding of the five thousand is a long discourse on the bread of life. (ch. 6); the healing of the blind man is preceded by the saying of Jesus that he is the light of the world (ch. 9); the resurrection of Lazarus is preceded by the phrase of Jesus that He is the resurrection and the life (ch. 11). In John's eyes, the miracles of Jesus are not just single acts in time, they are an opportunity to see what God always does, and an opportunity to see how Jesus always does: they are windows into Divine reality. Jesus didn't just feed five thousand once - that was an illustration of the fact that He is forever the real bread of life; Jesus didn't just open the eyes of a blind man once: He is the light of the world forever. Jesus not only once raised Lazarus from the dead - He is eternal and for all the resurrection and life. The miracle never seemed to John as an isolated act - it was always for him a window into the reality of who Jesus always was and is, what he always did and does. Based on this, the great scholar Clement of Alexandria (circa 230) made one of the most famous conclusions about the origin of the fourth Gospel and the purpose of writing it. He believed that at first the gospels were written, in which genealogies are given, that is, the gospels of Luke and Matthew, after that Mark wrote his gospel at the request of many who heard Peter's sermons, and included in it those materials that Peter used in his sermons . And only after that "the very last, John, seeing that everything related to the material aspects of the sermons and teachings of Jesus, received a proper reflection, and prompted by his friends and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote spiritual gospel(Eusebius, "History of the Church", 6.14). Clement of Alexandria wants to say by this that John was interested not so much in facts as in their meaning and meaning, that he was looking not for facts, but for truth. John saw the actions of Jesus as more than just events occurring in time; he saw them as windows to eternity, and emphasized the spiritual significance of the words and deeds of Jesus, which no other of the evangelists even tried to do. This conclusion about the fourth Gospel remains to this day one of the most correct. John wrote not a historical, but a spiritual gospel. Thus, in the Gospel of John, Jesus is presented as the embodied Divine mind descended to earth and as the only one who has reality and is able to lead people out of the world of shadows into the real world, which Plato and the great Greeks dreamed of. Christianity, once dressed in Jewish categories, acquired the greatness of the Greek worldview.

THE ORIGIN OF HERESIES

At the time when the fourth Gospel was being written, the Church faced one important problem - occurrence of heresy. It has been seventy years since Jesus Christ was crucified. During this time, the Church has become a well-ordered organization; theological theories and creeds of faith were developed and established, human thoughts inevitably wandered and strayed from the true path, and heresies arose. And heresy is rarely a complete lie. It usually arises from the special emphasis on one aspect of the truth. We see at least two heresies which the author of the fourth gospel sought to refute. a) There were some Christians, at least among the Jews, who held John the Baptist too highly. There was something about him that attracted the Jews very much. He was the last of the prophets and he spoke with the voice of a prophet, we know that in later times in Orthodox Judaism there officially existed a recognized sect of the followers of John the Baptist. IN Acts. 19.1-7 we meet a small group of twelve people, whose members belonged to the Christian Church, but were baptized only by John's baptism. The author of the fourth gospel again and again calmly but firmly puts John the Baptist in his proper place. John the Baptist himself repeatedly stated that he did not claim the highest place and had no right to it, but unconditionally ceded this place to Jesus. We have already seen that according to the other gospels, the ministry and preaching of Jesus began only after John the Baptist was imprisoned, while the fourth gospel speaks of the time when the ministry of Jesus coincided with the preaching of John the Baptist. It is quite possible that the author of the fourth gospel quite deliberately used this argument to show that Jesus and John actually met, and that John used these meetings to recognize and induce others to recognize the superiority of Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel emphasizes that John the Baptist "was not light" (18) and he himself most definitely denied having any claim to be the Messiah (1.20 ff.; Z.28; 4.1; 10.41) and what is impossible even admit that he bore more important evidence (5,36). There is no criticism of John the Baptist in the fourth gospel; in it is a reproach to those who give him the place that belongs to Jesus, and to Him alone.

b) In addition, in the era of the writing of the fourth gospel, a heresy, collectively known as gnosticism. If we do not examine it in detail, we will miss a good deal of the greatness of the evangelist John and miss a certain aspect of his task. Gnosticism was based on the doctrine that matter is inherently vicious and pernicious, while the spirit is inherently good. The Gnostics therefore concluded that God Himself could not touch matter and therefore He did not create the world. He, in their opinion, emitted a series of emanations (radiations), each of which was farther and farther away from Him, until finally one of these radiations turned out to be so far from Him that it could come into contact with matter. It was this emanation (radiation) that was the creator of the world.

This idea, in itself quite vicious, was further corrupted by one addition: each of these emanations, according to the Gnostics, knew less and less about God, until one day a moment came when these emanations not only completely lost the knowledge of God, but also became completely hostile to Him. And so the Gnostics finally concluded that the creator god was not only completely different from the real God, but also completely alien to him and hostile to him. One of the leaders of the Gnostics, Tserinthius, said that "the world was not created by God, but by some force very far from Him and from the Force that rules the entire universe, and alien to God, Who stands above everything."

The Gnostics therefore believed that God had nothing to do with the creation of the world at all. That is why John begins his gospel with a resounding statement: "Through Him everything came into being, and without Him nothing came into being that came into being" (1,3). This is why John insists that "God so loved peace" (3.16). In the face of Gnosticism, which so alienated God and turned Him into a being who could have nothing to do with the world at all, John introduced the Christian concept of God, who created the world and whose presence fills the world that He created.

Gnostic theory also influenced their idea of ​​Jesus.

a) Some Gnostics believed that Jesus was one of these emanations that God radiated. They believed that He had nothing to do with Divinity, that He was a kind of demigod removed from the true real God, that He was just one of the beings standing between God and the world.

b) Other Gnostics believed that Jesus did not have a real body: the body is flesh, and God cannot, in their opinion, touch matter, and therefore Jesus was a kind of ghost that did not have a real body and real blood. They believed, for example, that when Jesus walked the earth, He left no footprints because His body had no weight or substance. They could never say, "And the Word became flesh" (1:14). The prominent father of the Western Church, Aurelius Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hypon (North Africa), says that he read a lot of contemporary philosophers and found that many of them are very similar to what is written in the New Testament, but , he says: "I did not find such a phrase among them:" The Word became flesh and dwelt among us ". That's why John in his first epistle insisted that Jesus came itself, and declared that anyone who denies it is driven by the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:3). This heresy is known as docetism. This word comes from the Greek docaine, What means seem, and the heresy is so called because its followers believed that people only thought that Jesus was a man.

c) Some Gnostics held a variant of this heresy: they held that Jesus was a man upon whom the Holy Spirit descended at his baptism. This Spirit dwelt in Him throughout His life to its end, but since the Spirit of God can neither suffer nor die, He left Jesus before He was crucified. The loud cry of Jesus on the cross they conveyed thus: "My Power, My Power! why did you leave Me?" And in their books, these heretics spoke of people talking on the Mount of Olives with an image very similar to Him, although the man Jesus was dying on the cross.

Thus, the heresies of the Gnostics resulted in two kinds of beliefs: some did not believe in the divinity of Jesus and considered Him to be one of the emanations that God radiated, while others did not believe in the human nature of Jesus and considered Him to be a human-like ghost. Gnostic beliefs destroyed both the true divinity and the true humanity of Jesus.

THE HUMAN NATURE OF JESUS

John responds to these theories of the Gnostics and this explains the strange paradox of the double emphasis he puts in his gospel. No other gospel emphasizes the true humanity of Jesus so clearly as does the gospel of John. Jesus was extremely indignant at what people were selling and buying in the Temple (2,15); Jesus was physically tired from the long journey as he sat down at the well at Sychar in Samaria (4,6); the disciples offered him food in the same way they would offer it to any hungry person (4,3); Jesus sympathized with those who were hungry and those who felt fear (6,5.20); He felt sad and even wept, as any bereaved would do. (11,33.35 -38); when Jesus was dying on the cross, His parched lips whispered: "I thirst" (19,28). In the fourth gospel we see Jesus as a man, not a shadow or ghost; in Him we see a man who knew the weariness of an exhausted body and the wounds of a suffering soul and a suffering mind. In the fourth gospel we have before us a truly human Jesus.

THE DIVINITY OF JESUS

On the other hand, no other gospel shows the divinity of Jesus so vividly.

a) John emphasizes eternity Jesus. "Before Abraham was," said Jesus, "I am" (8,58). In John, Jesus speaks of the glory that He had with the Father before the world was. (17,5). He talks over and over about how he came down from heaven (6,33-38). John saw in Jesus the One who had always been, even before the existence of the world.

b) The Fourth Gospel emphasizes, as no other, omniscience Jesus. John believes that Jesus most definitely had supernatural knowledge about the Samaritan woman's past. (4,16.17); it is quite obvious that He knew how long ago the man who lay in the pool of Bethesda was ill, although no one tells Him about it. (5,6); before asking Philip a question, he already knew what answer he would receive (6,6); He knew that Judas would betray him (6,61-64); He knew about the death of Lazarus even before he was told about it (11,14). John saw Jesus as someone who had special supernatural knowledge, independent of what anyone else might tell Him, He didn't have to ask questions because He knew all the answers.

c) The fourth gospel also emphasizes the fact that Jesus always acted completely on his own, without any influence on him from anyone. He performed the miracle in Cana of Galilee on his own initiative, and not at the request of His Mother (2,4); His brethren's motives had nothing to do with His visit to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles (7,10); no man took His life, no man could do it. He gave His life completely willingly (10,18; 19,11). In the eyes of John, Jesus had divine independence from all human influence. He was completely independent in his actions.

In refuting the Gnostics and their strange beliefs, John irrefutably shows both the humanity of Jesus and His divinity.

AUTHOR OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL

We see that the author of the fourth Gospel set as his goal to show the Christian faith in such a way that it would become interesting for the Greeks, to whom Christianity has now come, and, at the same time, to oppose the heresies and errors that arose within the Church. We keep asking ourselves: who was its author? Tradition unanimously says that the author was the apostle John. We shall see that there is no doubt that John's authority is indeed behind this gospel, although it is quite possible that it was not he who wrote it down and gave it its form. Let's collect everything we know about John.

He was the youngest of the sons of Zebedee, who owned a fishing boat on the Sea of ​​Galilee and was rich enough to employ indentured laborers. (Mark 1:19-20). John's mother was called Salome and it is possible that she was the sister of Mary, Mother of Jesus (Matt. 27:56; Mark 16:1). John, along with his brother James, following the call of Jesus, followed Him (Mark 1:20).

It looks like James and John were fishing with Peter (Luke 5:7-10). AND John belonged to the closest disciples of Jesus, because the list of disciples always begins with the names of Peter, James and John, and at some great events only these three were present. (Mark 3:17; 5:37; 9:2; 14:33).

By nature, John, quite obviously, was a restless and ambitious person. Jesus gave John and his brother a name voanerges, What means sons of Thunder. John and his brother James were impatient and opposed any self-will on the part of others (Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). Their temperament was so unbridled that they were ready to wipe out the Samaritan village from the face of the earth, because they were not given hospitality there when they were on their way to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:54). Either they themselves or their mother Salome cherished ambitious plans. They asked Jesus that when He received His Kingdom, He would seat them on the right and left side in His glory. (Mark 10:35; Matt. 20:20). In the synoptic gospels, John is presented as the leader of all the disciples, a member of Jesus' intimate circle, and yet extremely ambitious and impatient.

In the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, John always speaks with Peter, but does not speak himself. His name is among the first three in the list of apostles (Acts 1:13). John was with Peter when they healed the lame man near the Red Gate of the Temple (Acts 3:1 ff.). Together with Peter, they brought him and placed him before the Sanhedrin and the leaders of the Jews; in court, both behaved amazingly boldly (Acts 4:1-13). John went with Peter to Samaria to check on what Philip had done there. (Acts 8:14).

In Paul's epistles, the name of John is mentioned only once. IN Gal. 2.9 he is called a pillar of the Church along with Peter and James, who approved of Paul's actions. John was a complex person: on the one hand, he was one of the leaders among the apostles, a member of the intimate circle of Jesus - His closest friends; on the other hand, he was a wayward, ambitious, impatient and at the same time courageous person.

We can look at what was said about John in the early church age. Eusebius relates that he was exiled to the island of Patmos during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (Eusebius, Church History, 3.23). In the same place, Eusebius tells a characteristic story about John, borrowed from Clement of Alexandria. He became a kind of bishop of Asia Minor and once visited one of the church communities near Ephesus. Among the parishioners, he noticed a slender and very handsome young man. John turned to the presbyter of the community and said: "I hand over this young man under your responsibility and care, and I call the parishioners to witness this."

The presbyter took the young man to his house, took care of him and instructed him, and the day came when the young man was baptized and received into the community. But soon after that, he made friends with bad friends and committed so many crimes that he eventually became the leader of a gang of murderers and thieves. When John visited the community again some time later, he addressed the elder: "Restore the trust that I and the Lord have placed in you and the church you lead." The presbyter did not at first understand what John was talking about. "I mean that you give an account of the soul of the young man whom I entrusted to you," said John. "Alas," replied the presbyter, "he perished." "Dead?" John asked. "For God's sake, he perished," replied the presbyter, "he fell from grace and was forced to flee the city for his crimes, and now he is a robber in the mountains." And John went straight to the mountains, deliberately allowed himself to be captured by the bandits, who led him to the young man, who was now the leader of the gang. Tormented by shame, the young man tried to run away from him, but John ran after him. "My son!" he shouted, "You are running from your father. I am weak and old, take pity on me, my son; do not be afraid, there is still hope for your salvation. I will defend you before the Lord Jesus Christ. If necessary, I I will gladly die for you, as He died for me. Stop, wait, believe! It was Christ who sent me to you." Such a call broke the heart of the young man, he stopped, threw away his weapon and sobbed. Together with John, he descended from the mountain and returned to the Church and the Christian path. Here we see the love and courage of John.

Eusebius (3,28) tells another story about John, which he found from Irenaeus (140-202), a student of Polycarp of Smyrna. As we have noted, Cerinthius was one of the leading Gnostics. "The Apostle John once came to the bathhouse, but when he learned that Tserinthius was there, he jumped up from his seat and rushed out, because he could not stay under the same roof with him, and advised his companions to do the same. "Let's leave so that the bathhouse does not collapse he said, “because there is Cerinthius inside, the enemy of truth.” Here is another touch to John's temperament: Boanerges has not yet died in him.

John Cassion (360-430), who made a significant contribution to the development of the doctrine of grace and to the development of Western European monasticism, gives another story about John. Once he was found playing with a tamed partridge. The stricter brother rebuked him for wasting his time, to which John replied: "If the bow is always kept taut, it will soon cease to shoot straight."

Jerome of Dalmatia (330-419) has an account of John's last words. When he was about to die, the disciples asked him what he would like to say to them in the end. "My children," he said, "love one another," and then he repeated it again. "And it's all?" asked him. "That's enough," said John, "for it's the covenant of the Lord."

FAVORITE STUDENT

If we have carefully followed what is said here about the apostle John, we should have noticed one thing: we have taken all our information from the first three Gospels. It is surprising that the name of the apostle John is never mentioned in the fourth Gospel. But two other people are mentioned.

First, it talks about the disciple whom Jesus loved. He is mentioned four times. He reclined at the chest of Jesus during the Last Supper (John 13:23-25); Jesus left his mother to him when he died on the cross (19,25-27); he and Peter were greeted by Mary Magdalene upon her return from the empty tomb on the first morning of Easter (20,2), and he was present at the last appearance of the resurrected Jesus to his disciples on the shores of the Sea of ​​Tiberias (21,20).

Secondly, in the fourth gospel there is a character that we would call witness, eyewitness. When the fourth gospel tells how a soldier struck Jesus in the ribs with a spear, after which blood and water immediately flowed out, this is followed by the comment: "And he who saw testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth, that you may believe" (19,35). At the end of the Gospel, it is again said that this beloved disciple bears witness to all this, "and we know that his testimony is true" (21,24).

Here we have a rather strange thing. In the fourth gospel, John is never mentioned, but the Beloved Disciple is mentioned, and, in addition, there is a special witness, an eyewitness to the whole story. Traditionally, there was never any doubt that the beloved disciple was John. Only a few tried to see Lazarus in him, for it is said that Jesus loved Lazarus (John 11:3.5), or a rich young man who is said to have seen Jesus love him (Mark 10:21). But although the Gospel never speaks of it in such detail, by tradition the beloved disciple has always been identified with John and there is no need to question this.

But one very real problem arises - if we assume that John really wrote the gospels himself, would he really talk about himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved? Would he have wanted to single himself out in this way and, as it were, declare: "I was His favorite, He loved me most of all?" It may seem unlikely that John would have given himself such a title. If it is given by others, it is a very pleasant title, but if a person appropriates it for himself, it borders on almost incredible vanity.

Maybe then this gospel was the testimony of John, but was written by someone else?

PRODUCTION OF THE CHURCH

In our search for truth, we began by noting the outstanding and exceptional moments of the fourth gospel. Most notable are the long speeches of Jesus, sometimes occupying whole chapters, and quite different from how Jesus is represented by his speeches in the other three Gospels. The Fourth Gospel was written about 100 AD, that is, approximately seventy years after the crucifixion of Christ. Can what was written seventy years later be considered a literal transmission of what Jesus said? Or is it a retelling of them with the addition of what has become clearer over time? Let's keep this in mind and consider the following.

Among the works of the young Church, a whole series of reports have come down to us, and some of them relate to the writing of the fourth Gospel. The oldest of them belongs to Irenaeus, who was a student of Polycarp of Smyrna, who, in turn, was a student of John. Thus, there was a direct connection between Irenaeus and John. Irenaeus writes: "John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on His chest, himself published Gospel in Ephesus while he lived in Asia."

Suggests a word in this phrase of Irenaeus that John is not just wrote Gospel; he says that John published (Exedoke) him in Ephesus. The word that Irenaeus used suggests that it was not just a private publication, but the publication of some official document.

Another account belongs to Clement of Alexandria, who in 230 was the leader of the great Alexandrian school. He wrote: "The most recent John, seeing that everything connected with the material and bodily, was properly reflected in the Gospels, encouraged by his friends, wrote the spiritual gospel.

Here the expression is of great importance. being encouraged by your friends. It becomes clear that the fourth gospel is more than the personal work of one person, and that behind it is a group, a community, a church. In the same vein, we read of the fourth Gospel in a tenth-century list called the Codex Toletanus, in which each of the books of the New Testament is preceded by a short summary. Concerning the fourth gospel, it says the following:

"The Apostle John, whom the Lord Jesus loved most of all, was the last to write his Gospel at the request of the Bishops of Assia against Cerinthius and other heretics."

Here again is the thought that behind the fourth gospel is the authority of the group and the Church.

And now let's turn to a very important document, known as the Muratorian Canon - it is named after the scholar Muratori who discovered it. This is the first list of New Testament books ever published by the Church, compiled in Rome in the year 170. It not only lists the books of the New Testament, but gives brief accounts of the origin, nature, and content of each. Of great interest is the account of how the fourth gospel was written:

"At the request of his fellow disciples and his bishops, John, one of the disciples, said: "Fast with me three days from now, and whatever is revealed to each of us, whether in favor of my gospel or not, we will tell it to each other ". That same night it was revealed to Andrew that John should tell everything, and he should be helped by all the others, who then check everything written.

We cannot agree that the Apostle Andrew was in Ephesus in the year 100 (apparently it was a different disciple), but it is quite clear here that although the authority, mind and memory of the Apostle John is behind the fourth Gospel, it is not by one person, but by a group.

And now we can try to imagine what happened. Around the year 100, there was a group of people around the apostle John in Ephesus. These people revered John as a saint and loved him like a father: he must have been about a hundred years old at the time. They wisely reasoned that it would be very good if the aged apostle wrote down his memories of the years when he was with Jesus.

But, in the end, they did a lot more. We can imagine them sitting and reliving the past. They must have said to each other, "Do you remember what Jesus said...?" And John must have answered, "Yes, and now we understand what Jesus meant to say..." In other words, these people were not only writing down what said Jesus - it would only be a victory of memory, they wrote down that Jesus meant by it. They were guided in this by the Holy Spirit Himself. John thought through every word Jesus ever said, and he did it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit so real in him.

There is one sermon entitled "What Jesus Becomes to the Man Who Knows Him Long." This title is an excellent definition of Jesus as we know Him from the fourth gospel. All this has been excellently expounded by the English theologian A. G. N. Green-Armitage in his book John Who Saw with His Own Eyes. The gospel of Mark, he says, with its clear presentation of the facts of the life of Jesus, is very convenient for missionary; The gospel of Matthew, with its systematic exposition of the teachings of Jesus, is very convenient for mentor; The Gospel of Luke, with its deep sympathy for the image of Jesus as the friend of all people, is very convenient for parish priest or preacher, and the gospel of john is the gospel for contemplative mind.

Green-Armitage goes on to talk about the apparent difference between the Gospels of Mark and John: "Both of these Gospels are in a sense the same. But where Mark sees things flatly, directly, literally, John sees them subtly, penetratingly, spiritually. One might say, that John illuminates the lines of the Gospel of Mark with a lamp."

This is an excellent characteristic of the fourth gospel. That is why the Gospel of John is the greatest of all the Gospels. His goal was not to convey the words of Jesus, as in a newspaper report, but to convey the meaning inherent in them. It speaks of the Risen Christ. Gospel of John - it is rather the gospel of the Holy Spirit. John of Ephesus didn't write it, the Holy Spirit wrote it through John.

WRITER OF THE GOSPEL

We need to answer one more question. We are sure that the mind and memory of the Apostle John are behind the fourth Gospel, but we saw that there is another witness behind it who wrote it, that is, literally put it on paper. Can we find out who it was? From what the early Christian writers have left us, we know that at that time there were two Johns in Ephesus: the apostle John and John, known as John the Presbyter, John the Elder.

Papias (70-145), Bishop of Hierapolis, who loved to collect everything related to the history of the New Testament and the biography of Jesus, left us very interesting information. He was a contemporary of John. Papias writes of himself that he was trying to find out "what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what was said by Philip, or Thomas, or James, or John, or Matthew, or any of the Lord's disciples, or what Aristion and presbyter John - disciples of the Lord." In Ephesus there were apostle John and presbyter John; and presbyter(Elder) John was so beloved by all that he was actually known by the name elder elder, it is clear that he held a special place in the Church. Eusebius (263-340) and Dionysius the Great report that even in their time there were two famous graves in Ephesus: one - John the Apostle, the other - John the Presbyter.

And now let's turn to two short epistles - the Second and Third Epistles of the Apostle John. These epistles are written by the same hand as the Gospel, but how do they begin? The second epistle begins with the words: "The elder to the chosen lady and her children" (2 John 1). The third epistle begins with the words: "The elder to the beloved Gaius" (3 John 1). Here it is, our solution. In reality, the epistles were written by Presbyter John; they reflect the thoughts and memory of the aged Apostle John, whom John the Presbyter always characterizes with the words "the disciple whom Jesus loved."

GOSPEL DEAR TO US

The more we learn about the fourth gospel, the dearer it becomes to us. For seventy years John thought about Jesus. Day after day the Holy Spirit revealed to him the meaning of what Jesus had said. And so, when John already had a whole century behind him and his days were drawing to a close, he and his friends sat down and began to remember. Presbyter John held a pen in his hand to record the words of his mentor and leader, the apostle John. And the last of the apostles wrote down not only what he heard from Jesus, but also what he now understood Jesus meant. He remembered how Jesus had said, "I have much more to say to you, but now you cannot bear it. When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:12-13).

There was much that John did not understand then, seventy years ago; much has been revealed to him during these seventy years by the Spirit of truth. And all this John wrote down, although the dawn of eternal glory was already breaking for him. When reading this Gospel, we must remember that it told us through the mind and memory of the Apostle John and through John the Presbyter the true thoughts of Jesus. Behind this gospel is the whole church of Ephesus, all the saints, the last of the apostles, the Holy Spirit and the Risen Christ Himself.

THE PROMISE OF GLORY (John 14:1-3)

Just a little more and the life of the students was to change dramatically, their world was ready to collapse around them. At a time like this, all that was left was to stubbornly hold on to faith in God. The psalmist experienced many such moments and therefore wrote: "But I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 26:13). And again: "To You, Lord, Lord, my eyes, I trust in You, do not reject my soul" (Ps. 140:8). We sometimes have to believe in what we cannot prove and accept what we cannot understand. If, in the darkest hour, we are able to believe that there is meaning in life and that this meaning is love, then even the unbearable will become bearable, and even in total darkness there will be light.

To faith in God, Jesus adds something else and says: "Believe in me also." If the psalmist could have hoped in the goodness of God, how much more should we hope in this goodness, because for us Jesus is the proof that God is ready to give us all that He has. As Paul wrote to the Romans: "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him give us everything?" (Rom. 8:32). When we believe that God has been presented to us in Jesus, then in the face of such excellent love, it becomes, if not easy, then at least possible, to accept what we do not understand, and in the midst of the storms of life to maintain the serenity of faith. Jesus said to them further, "There are many mansions in my Father's house." By the house of His Father He means heaven, but what does He mean when He says that there are many mansions in heaven? What are these abodes? Here the word is used monai and explain it in different ways. There are three assumptions.

1. The Jews believed that there were various degrees of happiness in heaven, which would be distributed among people depending on the kindness and their faithfulness on earth. The book "Secrets of Enoch" says: "In the next world there will be many mansions for people: good for good, and bad for bad." Such a representation paints the sky as a huge palace with many rooms in which people are placed according to their merits.

2. The Greek writer Pausnis has a word monai means stages along the way. Applied to our passage of Scripture, this would mean constant development and progress both on the way to heaven and in heaven itself. So did some Christian thinkers, including Origen, who said that when a person dies, his soul goes to a certain place called paradise, located here on earth. There it undergoes training, and when it is found fit, it will go into the air, after which it will go through various stages. monai, which the Greeks called spheres, and the Christians called heaven, until they finally reach the Kingdom of Heaven. Passing the path, the soul allegedly follows Jesus, who "passed through heaven" (Heb. 4:14). Irenaeus gives interpretations about the sower of seed, which, falling into the ground, bears fruit a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some only thirty (Matt. 13:8). Since the fruitfulness is different, the rewards are also different. Some will be rewarded with spending all their eternity in the presence of God, others will rise to the level of paradise, and still others will be citizens of the "city". Clement of Alexandria believed that there were degrees of glory, rewards, and stages in proportion to the attainments of holiness a person achieved during his lifetime.

There is something attractive in this to the soul, which, in a certain sense, eschews the motionless sky. There is something attractive about the idea of ​​development that continues in heaven. Speaking purely humanly, and therefore imperfectly, it sometimes seems to us that we will be too blinded by the glory of heaven if we fall directly into it and into the very presence of God. It seems to us that even in heaven we will need to be refined and improved until we are fit for greater glory.

3. But it is quite possible that the meaning of these words of Jesus is much simpler and more beautiful. "There are many mansions in my Father's house" may simply mean that there is enough room for everyone. Earthly homes can become too cramped, earthly inns sometimes don’t accept weary travelers because they simply don’t have more room, but this is not the case with the Father’s house, because the sky is as wide as the Father’s heart, in which there is always room for everyone. . Jesus tells His friends, "Don't be afraid. People may slam their doors on you, but in heaven you will always be accepted."

THE PROMISE OF GLORY (John 14:1-3 continued)

There are other great truths in this passage.

1. The honesty of Jesus is clearly visible here. "And if it were not so, I would say to you: I go to prepare a place for you." Jesus told the people directly that a Christian does not claim the comfort of life. (Luke 9:57-58). He warned them of the persecution, hatred and punishment they would have to endure. (Matt. 10:16-22), although he also told them about the glory at the end of the Christian path. Frankly and honestly, He told the people what glory and what tribulation they could expect if they followed Him. He was not one of those leaders who bribe followers with promises of an easy way. He called people to true greatness.

2. It also speaks of the role of Jesus. "I'm going to prepare a place for you." One of the great thoughts of the New Testament is the idea that Jesus goes ahead of us so that we can follow Him. He opens the way and we follow in His footsteps. There is one powerful word that describes the role of Jesus. This word prodromos (Heb. 6:20) and the forerunner sounds in Russian. This word has two applications that shed light on its inner meaning. In the Roman army prodromai were reconnaissance units. They walked ahead of the bulk of the troops to check the path and ensure safety for the marching detachments. The Alexandrian harbor was very difficult to penetrate. When the huge ships with grain approached it, a small boat was released towards it, which was supposed to lead the caravan safely through the strait into calm waters. This guide boat was called prodromos, that is, the forerunner. She swam ahead so that others could follow safely. That's what Jesus did. He has lighted the way to heaven and to God so that we can follow Him and follow in His footsteps.

3. Here is the final victory of Jesus. He said, "I'll come again." The Second Coming of Christ is one of the revelations that often comes out of Christian thinking and preaching. It is curious that believers are either completely indifferent to him, or only think about him. It is true that we cannot know when or how it will happen, but one thing is clear: the story is moving somewhere, and without a climax, it will be incomplete. History must have an end, and that end will be the triumph of Jesus Christ, during which He promises to receive His friends.

4. Jesus said: "That you also be where I am." This is the greatest truth expressed in the simplest of words: for the believer, heaven is where Jesus is. We don't need to guess what the heavens will be like. It is enough for us to know that we will be with Him forever. When we love someone with all our heart, we truly live only in that person's presence. So it will be with Christ. In this world, our connection with Him is vague, we see, as it were, through a dull glass, guessingly, because we are weak and cannot always live on top. It would be most correct to say that heaven is the state in which we constantly abide with Jesus Christ.

THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE (John 14:4-6)

Jesus repeatedly told the disciples where He was going. But for some reason they didn't get it. "I will not be with you for a long time, and I will go to Him who sent Me" (John 7:33). He told them that he would go to the Father who sent him, with whom he was one, but they still did not understand what was happening. And even less did they understand the path that He walked, because that path was the Crucifixion. At this time, the disciples were in complete confusion, and especially one among them: Thomas. He was too honest and too serious to be content with vague, incomprehensible phrases. Thomas had to have complete confidence and therefore he expressed his doubts and his inability to understand and, remarkably, it was the questions of doubting people that evoked the deepest sayings of Jesus. No one needs to be ashamed of their doubts, for it is amazing and blessedly true that he who seeks eventually finds.

Jesus answered Thomas: "I am the way and the truth and the life." To us this saying seems great, but to a Jew who heard it for the first time, it must have sounded even more lofty. In it, Jesus collected the three main religious concepts of the Jews and made the greatest revelation that in Him all these concepts found their complete fulfillment.

The Jews talked a lot about way, which a man must go, and oh ways God's. God said to Moses, "See that you do as the Lord your God has commanded you. Turn neither to the right nor to the left. Walk along that path according to which the Lord your God has commanded you" (Deut. 5:32-33). Moses said to the people of Israel, "For I know that after my death you will pervert and turn aside off the path which I bequeathed to you" (Deut. 31:29). The prophet Isaiah said to the people: “And your ears will hear the word saying behind you: “Behold path, walk on it" (Isaiah 30:21). Speaking of the new glorious world of the righteous, Isaiah states that "and there will be a high road, and path named after her holy way; the unclean will not walk on it, but it will be for them alone; going by this by, Even the inexperienced will not get lost (Isaiah 35:8). The psalmist's prayer was "Teach me, Lord way yours" (Ps. 26:11). The Jews knew much about the way of the Lord, in which a person must go, and Jesus told them: "I am the Way."

What did it mean? Suppose we are in a foreign city and ask for directions, and the one to whom we turned says: "Turn right at the first corner, then left at the second, cross the square, go past the church, turn right at the third corner and the street you need will be fourth from the left. Most likely, we will get lost before reaching half of this path. But suppose that the person we have asked says: "Come, I will take you there." In that case, this person myself becomes a path for us and we can never get lost. This is how Jesus treats us. He not only gives advice and points the direction, but takes us by the hand and Himself leads, strengthens, directs from day to day. He does not tell us about the path, but He is the path Himself.

Jesus said, "I am the Truth." The psalmist says: "Teach me, O Lord, in Your way, and I will walk in truth yours (Ps. 85:11)."For Your mercy is before my eyes, and I have walked in truth yours" (Ps. 25:3)."I have chosen the path truth, I have set Your judgments before me." (Ps. 119:30). Many men have told us the truth, but none of them has embodied it in themselves. Moral truth has one extremely important feature. A man's character does not affect his teaching of geometry, astronomy, or Latin, but when he sets out to teach moral truth, his character is of tremendous importance. An adulterer cannot teach moral purity; a miser cannot teach generosity; the haughty cannot teach humility; embittered cannot teach love. They are all doomed to failure. Moral truth cannot be conveyed in words; it is conveyed by living example. But it is precisely in this that not even the best teacher among men can stand, because not a single teacher embodied the truth that he taught, with the exception of Jesus Christ. Many may say, "I taught the truth," but only Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Not only in Jesus exposition moral truth has found its highest point, but also fact moral perfection realized in Him.

Jesus said, "I am Life." The author of Proverbs writes: "For the commandment is a lamp, and instruction is light, and edifying teachings are the way to life (Prov. 6:2H)."He who keeps the instruction is on the way to life, but he who rejects reproof wanders" (Prov. 10:17)."You show me the way life", says the psalmist (Ps. 15:11). Ultimately, what man seeks is life. He is not looking for abstract knowledge, but such that it would improve life, so that a person would be worth living. Love brings life. That's what Jesus does. Life with Jesus is really life.

And all this can be expressed thus: "No one comes to the Father but through Me." He alone is the way to God. Only in Him do we see what the Father is like, and only He can bring people into the presence of God without fear and shame.

THE SIGHT OF GOD (John 14:7-11)

It is quite possible that for the then, ancient world, these words of Jesus were the most amazing of all that He said. The Greeks considered God absolutely invisible, and the Jews considered one of the points of confession of their faith that no one had ever seen God. And to such people Jesus said, "He that has seen me has seen the Father." And then Philip asked for what he considered apparently impossible. Maybe he remembered those glorious days when God showed His glory to Moses (Ex. 33:12-32) but even then God said to Moses, "You cannot see my face, because no man can see me and live." In the time of Jesus, people were discouraged and depressed by the so-called unknowability of God, and the infinite distance between man and God. They would never dare to think that they could see God. And here Jesus says with the utmost simplicity: "Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father." To see Jesus is to see what God is like. Looking at Jesus, we can say, "This is God living the way we do." In this state of affairs, we can say a lot of precious things about God.

1. God entered an ordinary home and an ordinary family, having been born like any ordinary person. No inhabitant of the ancient world could have imagined God's coming to earth otherwise than in a royal way, to a palace where all due honors would be rendered to Him.

2. God was not ashamed of human labor. He entered this world as a working man. Jesus was a carpenter from Nazareth. We will never fully understand the fact that God understands our working day. He knows how difficult it can be to make ends meet, how difficult it can be to deal with customers and buyers who refuse to pay the bill. He was well aware of the difficulties of life in a simple house and a large family, and the difficulties that can befall us during the working day. According to the Old Testament, work is a curse, and the ancient story says that one of the punishments for sin in the Garden of Eden was: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread" (Genesis 3:19). But in accordance with the New Testament, glory touched labor, because the hand of God was in Him.

3. God knows what it means to be tempted. The life of Jesus shows us not the serenity, but the struggle of God. Anyone would understand a God who lives in serene peace somewhere beyond the tensions of our world, but Jesus shows us a God who passes all the tests inherent in man. God is not some kind of military leader who fights from the rear, but one who knows front-line life.

4. In Jesus we see a loving God. The moment love comes into life, sorrow comes with it. If we could be completely detached, if we could arrange our lives in such a way that no one and nothing touches us, then there would be no such things as sorrow, pain and anxiety. That in Jesus we see a God who shows intense care, yearns for man, keenly feels his pains, loves and bears the wounds of love in his heart.

5. In Jesus we see God on the Cross. There is nothing more incredible than this. It is easy to imagine a God who condemns a person, and even easier one who wipes out His opponents from the face of the earth, but no one would ever think of a God who chooses the Cross to acquire salvation for a person. "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Jesus is the revelation of God, and this revelation makes the human mind marvel and wonder, and fall silent before such greatness.

THE SIGHT OF GOD (John 14:7-11 (continued))

Jesus in the passage under consideration further expands His thought. One thing no Jew could refuse was monotheism. The Jews were unshakable monotheists. The danger of the Christian faith is that we can present Jesus as a kind of secondary God, which many people do. But Jesus Himself said that the words He spoke and the deeds He did were not His own, spoken and done by His initiative and His power as a result of His own knowledge, but that it was all from God. His speech was the voice of God to the people through him; His works were the manifestation of the power of God through Him to the people. He was the guide through which God appeared before the people in a manner acceptable to them.

We will give two simple and imperfect analogies from the relationship between teacher and student. Dr. Lewis Muirhead said of the great theologian and interpreter of God's word, Professor A. B. Brousse, that "people came to him to see the glory of God in man." Every teacher is bound to convey to his students something of the glory and beauty of the subject he teaches, and he who teaches Christ's doctrine may (if he be holy enough) convey to his students the image and presence of Christ. Professor A. B. Brus succeeded in this, and this is what Jesus Christ succeeded to an immeasurably greater extent - He conveyed to His listeners the glory and love of the Father.

In the second analogy, a certain A. L. Gossip writes about another student of A. B. Bruce - MacGregor: "A rumor spread that preacher MacGregor was going to change the church chair to a professorship, that is, instead of a preacher, become a seminary professor. Colleagues asked him in perplexity why he decided to do it. He replied, not without modesty, that he had learned from A. B. Brus things that he was obliged to pass on to others. "

One man wrote to his former teacher: "I don't know how long I have to live, but I know that until the end of my days I will bear your imprint." Often a student who has studied with a favorite teacher has something of his voice and his behavior. So did Jesus, but only to an immeasurably greater degree. He was transmitting God's pronunciation. His speech, mind and heart. We must remember from time to time that everything is from God. Jesus did not come into the world on a voluntary expedition. He did not do this to soften the hard heart of God, but He came because God so loved the world that He "gave His Only Begotten Son" (John 3:16). Behind Christ and in Christ stands God.

Then Jesus offered to test Him on the basis of two things: words and deeds.

1. He first invited them to try his words, and asked them the question, "Will you not, when you listen to me, know that I speak the truth of God?" The words of any man of genius are always self-evident. Reading great poetry, we cannot immediately determine what exactly is its greatness and why it grabs our souls. We can check and analyze vowel sounds, etc., but in the end we will hit something that cannot be analyzed, but is nevertheless easily and instantly recognized by us as great. Such is the case with the words of Jesus. When we hear them, we beg to say, "If the world would only be willing to live by His principles, how different everything would be! If only I could live by His principles, how different would I be!"

2. He then offers to try His works. He said to Philip, "If you cannot believe My words, then believe Me by the very works." Jesus sent the same answer to John the Baptist when he sent his disciples to Him to ask if He was the Messiah sent, or to expect another. Jesus said to them, "Go tell John what you see and hear: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor preach the gospel; and blessed is he who is not offended by me." (Matt. 11:1-6). The proof of Jesus' words was that no one before Him had succeeded in making a good man out of a bad one.

In fact, Jesus said to Philip: "Sweep on Me! Listen to Me! Believe in Me!" And to this day, one can believe in Christ not by arguing about Him, but by hearing His words and beholding His deeds, that is, by personal acquaintance With Nim. When we do this, that one personal contact will cause us to believe in Him.

MIRACULOUS PROMISES (John 14:12-14)

But there are hardly any greater promises than those contained in this passage. These promises are of such a kind that we must comprehend their deep meaning, for if we do not understand the meaning of these promises, life will surely end in disappointment.

1. Jesus said that in the future His disciples would not only be able to do what He did, but much more. What did Jesus mean when he said this?

a) Undoubtedly in the ancient world, the early Church had the power to heal sickness. Paul mentions healing when he lists the gifts of the Spirit (I Cor. 12:9-28-30). James Urges Elders of the Church to Pray for Sick Christians to Be Healed (James 5:14). But clearly, that's not all Jesus had in mind. While it can be said that the early Church acted like Jesus, it cannot be said that it did greater things than Jesus.

b) Today there are many wonderful ways to heal sickness. Doctors and surgeons of the present day are having successes that in the ancient world would have been considered witchcraft or miracles. The surgeon, with his new technique, the doctor, with his neonatal treatments, and with his miraculous medicines, is able to bring about extremely wonderful healings. Although we still have a long way to go to perfection, gradually the stronghold of physical pain and suffering is surrendering to the onslaught of modern technology. It is worth noting that the rapid development of technology was possible only under the influence of Jesus Christ. The question arises, why did scientists strive so hard to find a way to heal all kinds of diseases and relieve pain? In response, whether they know it or not, Jesus, by the help of His Spirit, said to them: "Help these people and heal them. This is your duty, task, responsibility and privilege." This means that the Spirit of Jesus conquered diseases, as a result of which a real person today has the power to do things that in the ancient world, at the time of Jesus, were not even dreamed of.

c) But we have not yet touched on the most important thing in this passage. Remember what Jesus achieved in spreading the good news during his time in the flesh. He never preached outside of Palestine, and Europe did not hear the Gospel during His life on earth. He personally did not see the moral decay of Rome and other major cities of the world. Even His opponents in Palestine were religious people. The scribes and Pharisees dedicated their whole lives to the religion they received from their fathers, and there is no reason to doubt that they respected and practiced the purity of life. Not during the life of Christ on earth, Christianity spread throughout the world, in which the marriage union was valued as nothing, adultery was not considered a serious sin, and evil bloomed like a tropical forest.

But it was to such a world that the first Christians went with the Gospel, and such a world they acquired for Christ. The good news of the Cross brought even greater victories than those that Jesus experienced while living on earth. Jesus spoke of moral regeneration and spiritual victory, and said that this would happen after He went to the Father. What did he mean by this? He meant the following: while on earth, He was limited to Palestine, but when He died and rose again, He was freed from these limitations of the flesh, and His Spirit could begin to work everywhere.

2. Jesus also said that prayer in His name would be answered. This is what is important for us to understand. Notice that the Lord did not say that all our prayers would be answered, but that prayers in His name would be answered. So the most important thing in our prayer is whether we speak with God in the name of Christ? This tests our prayer. No one can pray for personal revenge, personal ambitions, some non-Christian ideas and goals. When we pray, we should always ask ourselves the question: can I honestly ask for this in the name of Jesus? Prayer that can endure such a test, that can finally say, "Thy will be done," is always answered.

THE PROMISED HELP (John 14:15-17)

For John there was only one test of love, and that test was obedience. By obedience Jesus showed His love for God the Father, and by obedience we must show our love for Christ. Someone said that in John love never descends to a mere sentimental feeling, but in him it is always moral and manifests itself in obedience. We are well acquainted with those who, speaking of love, cause grief and mental anguish to those who are close to them, and whom they love in words. There are children who say that they love their parents, but at the same time cause them grief and anxiety. There are husbands who say that they love their wives, and wives who say that they love their husbands, and at the same time, in their recklessness and irritability, and in their inattentive unkindness, they hurt each other and poison life. With Jesus, true love is not something frivolous. With Him it manifests itself exclusively in true obedience.

However, Jesus does not doom us to fighting evil in the Christian life to loneliness. He promises to send us a Helper. Greek word parakletos actually untranslatable. The Russian Bible translates it with the word Comforter, which, although sanctified from time and use, still does not convey the true meaning. In Moffat's English translation, this word is translated by the word Helper, but only after learning the word parakletos carefully, we can catch something of the richness of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It actually means someone who is invited to enter, but the reason why this someone was called gives the word its peculiar associations. The Greeks used this word in a wide variety of ways. parakletos maybe someone who was called as a witness in a trial in someone's defense. He may be a lawyer invited to defend the case of the accused in something for which severe punishment is due. He may be an expert called upon to give advice in a difficult matter, or he may be called upon to cheer up and uplift the spirits of discouraged soldiers. Always parakletos(paraclete) is someone called for help in an hour of trouble and need. The word Comforter once fully corresponded to the purpose of the Holy Spirit, and such a translation satisfied the reader, because it once meant more than now. The English translation of the word Comforter was taken from the Latin fortis, which means courageous, and the comforter was someone who could pour courage into a downhearted person. And in our day, comfort almost always refers to grief, and the comforter is almost always someone who comforts another in grief, sympathizes with us when we are sad. Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit does this too, but we would belittle Him if we limited Him to this one duty. We often talk about the ability to cope with life, and this is precisely the help of the Holy Spirit: He takes our inability from us and replaces it with the ability to cope with life. The Holy Spirit replaces the life of defeat with the life of victory.

That is why Jesus says: "I give you a difficult task, I send you to a difficult task, but I do not send you alone, I give you a paraclete who will show you what to do and give you the strength to complete any task." Jesus went on to say that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit. By peace is meant those who live as if there were no God at all. The essence of Jesus' words is this: we see only what we are able to see. The astronomer sees much more in the sky than the average person. The botanist sees much more in the bush than someone else who knows nothing about the botanist. Someone who is well acquainted with painting will see much more in the picture than someone else who does not understand anything about it. Someone who understands even a little about music will get much more out of a symphony than someone who understands nothing. What we see and experience always depends on how much we ourselves contribute to what we see and experience. The one who has rejected God, does not listen to Him, is not able to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot be received without a prayerful expectation of Him and an invitation to come into us.

The Holy Spirit does not break anyone's heart. He expects to be invited and willing to receive. Therefore, if we think of receiving all those marvelous qualities of the Holy Spirit that we have heard about, we will surely find time in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this world to wait in silence for His coming.

THE WAY TO Fellowship and Revelation (John 14:18-24)

By this time, a sense of foreboding must have seized the disciples. They should have seen by now that some kind of tragedy was coming. Jesus said, "I will not leave you orphans." Orphan is a person without father, but the same word can also be used when students lose their beloved teacher. Plato says that when Socrates died, his disciples thought that "now for the rest of their lives they will be lonely orphans, deprived of a father, and did not know how to be." But Jesus told His disciples that this would not happen to them. "I will come again," He said. He is speaking here of His Resurrection and constant presence. They will see him because He come to life, and because They will be alive. He meant their spiritual resurrection, new life in Him. Now they are confused, numb from a sense of imminent tragedy, but the day will come when their eyes will be opened, their minds will open to understanding and their hearts will light up, and then they will really see Him. And so it was exactly after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. His Resurrection turned despair into hope, and then they finally understood that He was indeed the Son of God. There are three main ideas in this passage.

1. First of all, love is here, because in John love lies at the foundation of everything. God loves Jesus, Jesus loves people, people love God through Jesus, people love each other. Heaven and earth, man and God, man and man are all bound together by the bonds of love.

2. John stresses the need for obedience - surest proof of love. Not to the Pharisees and scribes, and not to those who were hostile to Him, did Jesus appear after the Resurrection, but to those who loved Him.

3. Obedient trusting love leads to two things: first, to the highest security. On the day of the total victory of Christ, those who have been obedient to Him in love will be safe in the collapse of the universe. Secondly, it leads to more and more complete revelation. God's revelation comes at a cost. It always has a moral basis: God appears (reveals) to those who keep His commandments. A wicked person will never see the revelation of God. God will use him, but he will never have fellowship with Him. Only to the one who seeks Him, God is revealed, and only to the One who, despite his weaknesses, reaches upwards towards God, He bends down to lift him up. Fellowship with God and revelation of Him depend on love, and love depends on obedience. The more we obey God, the more we understand Him, and the person who walks in God's way inevitably walks with Him.

INHERITANCE OF CHRIST (John 14:25-31)

This passage is filled to the brim with truth. In it, Jesus speaks of five things.

1. He talks about his Ally- Holy Spirit.

a) The Holy Spirit will teach us everything. Until the end of his days, a believer in Christ must learn, because until the end of his days the Holy Spirit will lead him deeper and deeper into the truth of God. The Christian who thinks that he has nothing more to learn has not even begun to comprehend the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

b) The Holy Spirit reminds us of everything Jesus said. This means two things: 1) In matters of faith, the Holy Spirit constantly brings to mind what Jesus said. We are under obligation to reason, but all our conclusions must be continually tested by comparison with the words of Jesus Christ. We need to find not so much the truth, because He has revealed the truth to us, but the meaning of this truth. The Holy Spirit keeps us from delusion and arrogance of the mind. 2) The Holy Spirit will keep us on the right track in matters of conduct. Almost all of us experience something. We fall into the temptation to do something bad and are already standing on the very edge of the abyss when we suddenly remember the words of Christ, the verse or psalm, the words of someone we love and admire, the instruction that we received in childhood or youth. At a critical moment, these thoughts suddenly flash through our heads and this is the action of the Holy Spirit.

2. He speaks of his gift, and this gift of his is peace. In the Bible, the word peace never simply means freedom from hardship. It means everything that serves our highest good. The peace that the earthly world offers is a world of forgetting, avoiding difficulties and refusing to face events. The peace that Jesus offers is the peace of victory. No transfusions can take it away from us, neither grief, nor danger, nor suffering can remove it. It does not depend on external circumstances.

3. He talks about where He is going. He returns to the Father and says that if the disciples truly love Him, they should be glad that He is going there. He was freed from the limitations of this world. If we really comprehended the truth of the Christian faith, we would always rejoice when our loved ones go to the Lord. This does not mean that we would not feel the pain of separation from them and loneliness, but we would rejoice that after the troubles and trials of the earth, our loved ones found something better. We would not be upset that they entered into rest, but we would always remember that they did not go into death, but into bliss.

4. The Lord Jesus speaks of struggle. The cross was Jesus' last fight with the forces of evil, but He was not afraid of this duel, because He knew that evil did not have the power to defeat Him. He went to his death confident not in defeat, but in victory.

5. He speaks here of His restoration. People then saw in the Cross a symbol of defeat and shame, but Jesus knew that the time would come when they would see His obedience

Commentaries (introduction) to the entire book "From John"

Comments on Chapter 14

The depth of this book is unparalleled in the world. A. T. Robertson

Introduction

I. SPECIAL STATEMENT IN THE CANON

According to John himself, his book was written especially for unbelievers - "so that you may believe" (20:31).

One day, the Church followed the call of the apostles: in the nineteenth century, millions of copies of the pocket gospels of John were distributed.

The Gospel of John is also one of the most beloved books of the Bible - if not most beloved - for many mature and zealous Christians.

John does not simply list some facts from the life of our Lord; in his book we find many reflections, reflections of the apostle, who was with Christ from the days of his youth in Galilee to his very advanced years in Asia. In his Gospel we find that famous verse which Martin Luther called "The Good News in Miniature" - John 3:16.

If the Gospel of John were the only book in the NT, there would be enough material for study and meditation for the rest of a person's life.

The question of the authorship of the Fourth Gospel has been discussed very widely and vigorously in the last 150 years. The reason for this increased interest lies, no doubt, in the confidence with which the evangelist testifies to the divinity of Jesus Christ. Attempts were made to prove that this gospel did not come from the pen of an eyewitness, but is the work of an unknown but brilliant theologian who lived fifty or a hundred years after the events he describes. Therefore, it reflects the Church's later teaching about Christ, and not who Jesus really was, what He actually said, and what He actually did.

Clement of Alexandria wrote of how John's close friends, finding him in Ephesus, suggested that he write his own gospel in addition to the synoptic ones. And so, at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, the apostle created his spiritual Gospel. This does not mean that the rest of the Gospels unspiritual. It's just that the special emphasis that John puts on the words of Christ and on the deeper meaning of those miraculous signs that He showed, gives us the right to single out this gospel as "spiritual."

External evidence

The first written evidence that John was the author of the Gospel in question is found in the writings of Theophilus of Antioch (c. 170 AD). However, there are other, earlier, implicit references and references to the fourth Gospel in Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Tatian, in the Muratori canon, and in the heretics Basilius and Valentinus.

Irenaeus closes the chain of disciples, going from Jesus Christ Himself to John, from John to Polycarp and from Polycarp to Irenaeus. Thus covers the period from the time of the birth of Christianity to the end of the second century. Irenaeus often quotes from this gospel, considering it to be the work of John and perceiving it as recognized by the Church. Beginning with Irenaeus, this gospel received universal recognition, including Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian.

There is speculation that the very end of the twenty-first chapter was added by the elders of the Ephesian church at the end of the first century to encourage believers to accept the gospel of John. Verse 24 brings us back to the "disciple whom Jesus loved" mentioned in verse 20 and also in chapter 13. These instructions have always been taken as referring to the apostle John.

Liberals argued that the fourth gospel was written in end second century. But in 1920, a fragment of the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of John (Papyrus 52, dated using objective methods) was discovered in Egypt. first half of the second century, approximately 125 AD. e.). The fact that it was found in a provincial town (and not in Alexandria, for example) confirms that the traditionally recognized date of writing - the end of the first century - is correct, since it took some time for the manuscripts from Ephesus to spread to the borders of southern Egypt. A similar fragment from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, Papyrus Egerton 2, which is also attributed to the beginning of the second century, further supports the assumption that this Gospel was written during the life of the apostle John.

Internal evidence

At the end of the nineteenth century, the famous Anglican theologian, Bishop Westcott, argued very convincingly for the authorship of John. The sequence of his reasoning is as follows: 1) the author is undoubtedly a Jew- the manner of writing, vocabulary, knowledge of Jewish customs and cultural characteristics, as well as the Old Testament overtones that appear in the Gospel - all this confirms this assumption; 2) it Jew living in Palestine(1.28; 2:1.11; 4.46; 11:18.54; 21.1-2). He knows Jerusalem and the temple well (5:2; 9:7; 18:1; 19:13,17,20,41; see also 2:14-16; 8:20; 10:22); 3) he is eyewitness what it is about: the text contains many small details about the place of action, persons, times and customs (4.46; 5.14; 6.59; 12.21; 13.1; 14:5.8; 18, 6; 19.31); 4) it one of the apostles he shows knowledge of the inner life in the circle of disciples and the life of the Lord Himself (6:19,60-61; 12,16; 13:22,28; 16,19); 5) since the author names other students, but never mentions himself, this gives us the right to assume that the nameless student from 13:23; 19.26; 20.2; 21:7,20 - apostle john. Three more important places confirming that the author of the Gospel is an eyewitness of the events described: 1.14; 19.35 and 21.24.

III. WRITING TIME

Irenaeus asserts with certainty that John wrote his gospel in Ephesus. If he is correct, then the earliest possible date is around 69 or 70 AD. e. - the time of John's arrival in Ephesus. Since John nowhere mentions the destruction of Jerusalem, it can be assumed that this has not happened yet. This fact allows us to conclude that the Gospel was written before this terrible event.

A number of very liberal-minded scholars, experts in the Bible, tracing some connection with the scrolls found at the Dead Sea, put forward the version that the Gospel of John was written in 45-66 years.

This in itself is an extraordinary event, since it is usually the liberals who insist on later dating, while the conservatives defend versions of the earlier dates.

In this case, the tradition of the early Church is on the side of the later date of writing.

The case for the end of the first century is strong enough. Most scholars agree with the opinion of Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Jerome that the Gospel of John was written the last of the four and is partly based on synoptics.

The fact that this gospel says nothing about the destruction of Jerusalem may be due to the fact that the book was written fifteen or twenty years ago. later when the first shock has already passed. Irenaeus writes that John lived until the reign of Emperor Trajan, who ascended the throne in 98, so it is likely that the Gospel was written shortly before that. The references in the Gospels to "Jews" also more likely testify to a later date, when the opposition to Christianity on the part of the Jews grew into persecution.

So, it is not possible to establish the exact date of writing, but the most likely period is from 85 to 95 AD. e.

IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND THEME

The whole Gospel of John is built around seven miracles, or signs, performed by Jesus in front of people.

Each of these signs served as proof that Jesus is God. (1) The turning of water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee (2:9). (2) Healing of the son of a courtier (4:46-54). (3) Healing of the sick near the pool of Bethesda (5:2-9). (4) Feeding the five thousand (6:1-14). (5) Jesus' walk on the Sea of ​​Galilee to save the disciples from the storm (6:16-21). (6) Healing of the blind man (9:1-7). (7) Resurrection of Lazarus (11:1-44). In addition to these seven miracles performed in public, there is another, the eighth miracle that Christ performed in the presence of the disciples after His resurrection - catching fish (21:1-14).

Charles R. Erdman wrote that the fourth gospel "moved more people to follow Christ, inspired more believers to righteous service, and challenged researchers more than any other book."

It is according to the Gospel of John that the chronology Christ's ministry on earth. If you follow the other three gospels, it would seem that it only lasted a year. The mention of annual national holidays in John singles out a period of approximately three years. Pay attention to the following places: the first feast of the Jewish Passover (2:12-13); "Jewish holiday" (5.1) - it can be either Easter or Purim; the second (or third) feast of Easter (6.4); setting up tabernacles (7.2); the feast of Renewal (10:22) and the last feast of Pascha (12:1).

John is also very precise in his references to time. If the other three evangelists are quite satisfied with the approximate indications of the time, then John notes such details as the seventh hour (4.52); third day (2.1); two days (11.6); six days (12.1).

Style and vocabulary of this gospel are unique and comparable only to the style of the epistles of John.

The sentences are short and simple. The author clearly thinks in Hebrew, although he writes in Greek. Often, sentences are shorter, the more important the thought contained in them. The vocabulary is more limited than in the rest of the Gospels, but deeper in meaning. Notice the following important words and how often they appear in the text: Father (118), believe (100), peace (78), love (45), testify (47), life (37), light (24 ).

A distinctive feature of the Gospel of John is the author's frequent use of the number seven and multiples of seven. Throughout Holy Scripture, the idea of ​​perfection and completeness is always associated with this number (see Gen. 2:1-3). In this Gospel, the Spirit of God made the revelation of God in the face of Jesus Christ perfect and complete, so examples and various images associated with the number seven are quite common here.

There are also seven "I am" from the Gospel of John: (1) "bread of life" (6:35,41,48,51); "the light of the world" (8.12; 9.5); "door" (10:7,9); "the good shepherd" (10:11,14); "resurrection and life" (11.25); "the way and the truth and the life" (14:6) and "the Vine" (15:1.5). Less well-known are other "I am" or "this is I" that are not followed by a definition: 4.26; 6.20; 8:24,28,58; 13.19; 18:5.8; twice in the last verse.

In the sixth chapter, which deals with the bread of life, the Greek word for "bread" and "loaves" occurs twenty-one times, a multiple of seven. In the same chapter, the phrase "bread from heaven" occurs exactly seven times, the same number as the expression "descended from heaven."

Thus, we can conclude that John wrote this gospel so that all who read "believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing, have life in his name" (20:31).

Plan

I. PROLOGUE: THE FIRST COMING OF THE SON OF GOD (1:1-18)

II. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD (1:19 - 4:51)

III. THE SECOND YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD (Chapter 5)

IV. THE THIRD YEAR OF MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD: GALILEE (Chapter 6)

V. THE THIRD YEAR OF MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD: JERUSALEM (7:1 - 10:39)

VI. THE THIRD YEAR OF MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD: PEREA (10:40 - 11:57)

VII. THE SON OF GOD'S MINISTRY TO HIS CHOSEN (Ch. 12-17)

VIII. THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD (Ch. 18-19)

IX. THE TRIUMPH OF THE SON OF GOD (Ch. 20)

X. EPILOGUE: THE RESURRECTION SON OF GOD WITH HIS CHOSEN (Ch. 21)

N. Jesus: the way, the truth and the life (14:1-14)

14,1 Some associate this verse with the last verse of chapter 13, thinking that what is said here is addressed to Peter. Although he will deny the Lord, there is still a word of comfort for him. But the Greek plural form indicates that the Lord spoke with everyone students, therefore, there should be a pause after chapter 13. The thought here might be: "I'm going far and you won't be able to see Me. Yes your heart is not troubled; believe in God even though you can't see him. And believe in me as before.” This is another important claim to equality with God.

14,2 Under Father's house heaven is meant, where there are many mansions. There is a place for all the redeemed. And if It was not this way, Lord would say them about it; He did not want them to entertain false hopes. "I'm going to prepare a place for you" can have two meanings. The Lord Jesus will ascend Calvary to prepare a place for His own. It is through His atoning death that a place is secured there for believers. But the Lord also returned to heaven to prepare a place. We do not know exactly what this place is, but we do know that all the conditions have been created there for all the children of God - a prepared place for prepared people!

14,3 Verse 3 refers to the time when the Lord will come again from heaven, and those who die in faith will be resurrected, and the living will be changed, and all the nations redeemed by the blood will come home to heaven (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58). This is the personal, literal coming of Christ. Just like He left, He will come again. He wants all who belong to Him to be with Him forever.

14,4-5 He was going to heaven and they knew path to heaven, for He had told them so many times. Obviously, Thomas did not understand the meaning of the words of the Lord. Like Peter, he may have been thinking about traveling to a distant place on earth.

14,6 This beautiful verse makes it clear that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is path to heaven. He doesn't just show the way; He There is path. Salvation is in His Person. Accept this Person as your own and you will be saved. Christianity is Christ. The Lord Jesus is not one of many paths. He - the only one Path. No one comes to the Father as soon as through Him. The way to God is not through the Ten Commandments, the golden rule, ordinances, church membership, but through Christ and only through Christ. Today, many say that it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as the faith is sincere. They say that all religions have something good in them and all lead to heaven in the end. But Jesus said: "No one comes to the Father but through Me."

The Lord is true. He is not only the One who teaches the truth; He - true. He is the embodiment of Truth.

Whoever has Christ has Truth. You won't find her anywhere else.

Christ Jesus is life. He is the source of life, both spiritual and eternal. Whoever receives Him has eternal life, because He is Life.

14,7 Once again the Lord recalls the mysterious union that exists between Him and the Father. If the disciples knew who Jesus really is, then they would know the Father Him, because the Lord revealed the Father to people.

From now on and especially after the resurrection of Christ, the disciples will understand that Jesus is God the Son. Then they realize that to know Christ means know Father and to see the Lord Jesus is to see God. This verse does not teach that God and the Lord Jesus are the same person. In the Triune God - three different personalities, but there is only one god.

14,8 Philip wanted to Lord somehow showed Father and that will be enough for him. He did not understand that everything the Lord did and said, Who He was, everything showed them the Father.

14,9 Jesus patiently corrected him. Philip has been with the Lord for a long time. He is one of the first called disciples (John 1:43). Yet the full truth of the divinity of Christ and His oneness with the Father had not yet been revealed to him. He did not know that when he saw Jesus, he was looking at the One who perfectly showed father.

14,10-1 Words "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" describe the closeness of unity between father and the Son. They are separate Persons, and yet They are one as far as qualities and will are concerned. Don't be upset if we can't figure it out. No mortal mind can ever understand the Trinity of God. We must trust God to know what we can never know. If we fully understood Him, we would be as great as He! Jesus had authority to speak words and work miracles, but He came into the world as a Servant of Jehovah and spoke and acted in perfect obedience to the Father.

Pupils should believe, that he is one with Father according to his personal testimony. And if they don't believe, then they should believe on topics affairs, which He did.

14,12 The Lord foretold that those who believe in Him would work miracles like those He did, and even large. In the book of Acts we read about the apostles who, like the Savior, had the power to heal. But we also read about even greater miracles: the conversion of three thousand on the day of Pentecost. The salvation of so many souls and the establishment of the Church was undoubtedly the miracle of the worldwide proclamation of the gospel, which the Lord spoke of using the expression "greater than these he will do." Save souls is more, how to heal the body. When the Lord returned to heaven, He was glorified and the Holy Spirit was sent to earth.

Through the power of the Spirit, the apostles were able to perform these great miracles.

14,13 How comforting it was for the disciples to know that even if the Lord forsakes them, they can pray to the Father in His name and receive what they ask. This verse does not imply that the believer can get whatever he wants from God. The key to understanding a promise is in the words "in my name": what you ask in my name. Asking in the name of Jesus is not just about mentioning His name at the end of a prayer. It means asking according to His intention and will. It means asking for things that will glorify God, bless humanity, and benefit our souls.

To ask in the name of Jesus, we must live in close fellowship with Him. Otherwise, we will not know His relationship to what we ask. The closer we are to Him, the more of our desires will be in accordance with His will. The Father is glorified in the Son, because the Son desires only that which is pleasing to God. Such prayers are said and lifted up, which means they bring great honor and glory to God.

14,14 The promise is repeated here to emphasize the great encouragement and encouragement that will be given to the children of God. Live with His will at the center, be in fellowship with the Lord, ask that whatever the Lord desires, and whatever you ask, you will receive.

A. Promise to send another Comforter (14:15-26)

14,15 The Lord Jesus was about to leave His disciples and knew that they would be filled with sorrow. How can they express their Love to him? Only by keeping His commandments. Not with tears, but with obedience. Commandments The Lord's are the instructions He gave us in the Gospels and also in the rest of the NT.

14,16 The word translated as "please" which our Lord uses here is not equivalent in meaning to that which describes the prayer of the lower to the higher; it just speaks of turning to an equal. Lord plead with the Father send another Comforter. Word "Comforter"(Paraclete) means one who is called to help. This word is also translated as Advocate (1 John 2:1). The Lord Jesus is our Advocate and Comforter, and the Holy Spirit is another Comforter, not another in the sense of "different from the first", but another one with the same properties. Holy Spirit abide with believers forever. In the OT, the Holy Spirit came upon people at times and often left them. Now He is coming to stay forever.

14,17 The Holy Spirit is called Spirit of truth because His teaching is true and He glorifies Christ, who is the Truth. The world cannot accept the Holy Spirit, because he does not see Him.

Unbelievers want to see first and then believe, although they believe in the existence of wind and electricity, and yet they do not see them. The unsaved do not know or understand the essence of the Holy Spirit. He may convict them of sin, but they still do not understand that it is He. The disciples knew the Holy Spirit. They knew He was at work in their own lives and saw Him at work through the Lord Jesus.

"For He dwells with you and will be in you." Until Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on people and dwelt With them. But after Pentecost, the Holy Spirit always abides V the life of the person who believes in the Lord Jesus. David's prayer, "Take not your Holy Spirit from me," doesn't fit today. The Holy Spirit is never taken away from a believer, though He may be grieved, or crushed, or restrained.

14,18 Lord won't leave their students orphans and will not leave. He will come to him again. In a sense, He came to them after His resurrection, but it is doubtful that only this is meant here. He also came to them in the Person of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This spiritual coming is the true meaning of this verse. There is something about Pentecost that testifies to the coming of Jesus. There is another meaning here: He will come to them again at the end of this age when He takes His chosen ones home to heaven.

14,19 None of the unbelievers saw the Lord Jesus after the burial. After the resurrection, He met only with those who loved Him. But even after His ascension to heaven, the disciples continued to see Him by faith. This is suggested in the words: "...and you will see Me." After the world could no longer see Jesus, the disciples continue to see Him. "For I live and you will live." Here He meant His life after the resurrection. It will be the guarantee of life for all who believe in Him. Even if they die, they will rise again for immortality.

14,20 "In that day", probably refers again to the coming of the Holy Spirit. He will instruct believers in the truth that there is a vital connection between the Son and the Father; so will be the marvelous union of life and interests between Christ and his saints. It's hard to explain how Christ abides V believer and believer V Christ at the same time. Here is a common example with a poker on fire. Not only the poker is in contact with the fire, but the fire is also in contact with the poker. (Other examples are known: the bird in the air and the air in the bird; the fish in the water and the water in the fish.) But this example does not explain everything. Christ dwells in the believer in the sense that His life is communicated to him. He actually dwells in the believer through the Holy Spirit. The believer abides in Christ in the sense that in the eyes of God he has all the dignity of the person and works of Christ.

14,21 The real proof of love for the Lord is obedience to Him. commandments. It is useless to talk about loving Him if we are not willing to obey Him. It can be said that the Father loves the whole world. But He has a special love for those who love His Son. Christ also loves them and reveals Himself to them in a special way. The more we love the Savior, the better we will know Him.

14,22 Judas, mentioned here, had, unfortunately, the same name as the traitor. But the Spirit of God kindly distinguished between him and Iscariot. He did not understand how the Lord could appear to the disciples, but not the world. No doubt he thought of the coming of the Savior as a victorious king or famous hero. He did not understand that the Lord will reveal Yourself in a spiritual way. They'll see Him by faith through the Word of God.

Today, through the working of the Spirit of God, we can indeed know Christ better than His disciples knew when He lived on earth. When He was here, those who stood in front of the crowds were closer to Him than those who stood behind. But today, through faith, each of us can enjoy the closest fellowship with Him. Christ's answer to Jude's question shows that His promised appearance to individual believers is related to the Word of God. Keeping the Word will be marked by the coming and being of the Father and the Son.

14,23 If a person is true loves Lord, he wants observe all of His teachings, not individual commandments. Father loves those who want to obey His Son without question or reservation. Both the Father and the Son are especially close to such loving and obedient hearts.

14,24 On the other side, not loving His do not comply His word. By refusing the words of Christ, they also renounce the Father.

14,25 staying With disciples, the Lord could not teach them everything. He could not reveal more truths to them because they were not ready to receive them.

14,26 But Holy Spirit reveals more to them. He will be sent Father in the name Christ on the day of Pentecost. Spirit descended in the name of Christ in the sense that He is authorized to represent the interests of Christ on earth. He came down not to glorify Himself, but to bring men and women to the Savior. "Teach you everything"- said the Lord. He did this first through the oral ministry of the apostles and then through the written Word of God that we have today. Holy Spirit reminds everything what the Savior taught. In fact, it seems to us that the Lord Jesus presented in its initial form all the doctrine that will be developed by the Holy Spirit in the rest of the NT.

P. Jesus leaves His peace to His disciples (14:27-31)

14,27 Usually a person before his death writes the last will, in which he leaves his property to those who love him. Here the Lord Jesus did the same. However, He bequeathed not material values, but what money cannot buy: world, interior world conscience, which descends into the heart as a result of the feeling of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Christ can give peace because he purchased it with his own blood at Calvary. He gives us not the way the world gives- sparingly, out of selfish motives and for a short time. His gift peace- forever. Why, then, should a Christian be embarrassed or be afraid?

14,28 Jesus had already told them how He was going to leave them and how He would later return to take them home to heaven with Him. If would they loved Him then rejoiced would. Of course, in their own way they loved Him. But they had not yet fully appreciated who He was, and therefore their love was not as great as it should have been.

"...Then they would rejoice that I said, 'I go to the Father'; for My Father is greater than Me." On the face of it, this verse contradicts everything Jesus taught about His equality with God the Father. But there is no contradiction here, and the following statement explains these words. When Jesus was on earth, He was hated, persecuted, hounded, persecuted and tried to capture. People reviled Him, insulted Him, and spat on Him. He endured terrible humiliations at the hands of His own creatures.

God the Father has never experienced such abusive treatment from people. He was in heaven, far from the evil of sinners. Returning to heaven, the Lord Jesus will never again be subjected to such humiliation, for there is no such thing. Therefore, the disciples should have rejoiced in response to Jesus' words that He goes to the Father because In this sense father over His. Father was not greater like God; He is greater because he never came into the world in the form of Man, who was so ruthlessly treated. As far as divine attributes are concerned, the Son and the Father are equal. But when we think of the humiliating, lowly role that Jesus took on as a Human here on earth, we realize that In this sense God father more than He. He is greater in His position, but not by personal qualities.

14,29 Selflessly caring for the frightened disciples, the Lord showed what must happen so that they would not be tempted, discouraged, and not afraid, but believed.

14,30 The Lord knew that the time was near when He would be betrayed, and there was not much time left speak with students. Even then, the devil prowled nearby, but the Savior knew that the enemy could not find a single drop of sin in Him. There was nothing in Christ that would respond to the evil temptations of the devil. It would be funny if someone other than Jesus said that Satan would not find in him Nothing.

14,31 We could paraphrase this verse as follows: “The time is drawing near when I will be betrayed. But I go to the cross willingly. For me, this is the will of the Father, through the fulfillment of which the world will know how I love my father. That is why I am going to die without any resistance." Having said this, the Lord invited the disciples get up And go with him. It is not clear from the given text where they went from the upper room. Perhaps further conversation took place along the way.

The Holy Church reads the Gospel of John. Chapter 14, art. 10-21.

10. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak of Myself; The Father who is in Me, He does the works.

11. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if not, then believe Me according to the very works.

12. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do, and greater than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

13. And if you ask the Father anything in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

15. If you love Me, keep My commandments.

16. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever,

17. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him and does not know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

18. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

19. A little more, and the world will no longer see Me; and you will see Me, for I live and you will live.

20. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

21. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he loves me; and whoever loves me, he will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and show myself to him.

(John 14:10-21)

Continuing the conversation with the apostles and comforting them, remaining in an alien and hostile world, the Lord proclaims: he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater than these he will do, because I go to my Father(John 14:12).

Thus, by these words, the Savior means that the disciples will continue His work, and at the same time God will accompany their preaching with miracles even greater than those that Christ did.

Evfimy Zigaben explains: “This serves as proof of the power of the One who bestowed such power, and not of the one who performs miracles. Whoever works even greater miracles in the name of Jesus Christ than Jesus Christ did, he bears witness to the power of Jesus Christ Himself.”

Of course, the apostles will perform miracles only when they make a request to God in the name of Christ: if you ask the Father anything in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it(John 12:13-14).

With these words, Christ expresses the consciousness of His closest unity with God in essence.

Blessed Theophylact notes that Christ “... did not say: whatever you ask, I will ask the Father, and will do it, but: I will do, showing his own power. May the Father be glorified in the Son. For when the Son appears with great power, then there will be glory to Him who begat such a Son. See how the glory of the Father flows out. Miracles were performed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; according to miracles, the sermons of the apostles were believed; finally, passing to the knowledge of God, they came to know the Father, and thus He was glorified in the Son.

Provided that the disciples, loving the Lord, will keep His commandments, Christ promises to implore the Father to give the disciples the Comforter, who will be with them forever, the Spirit of Truth, through which they will have constant fellowship with Christ.

"Comforter" - in Greek Paraklitos (παράκλητος). Initially, this word meant a person called to help, a defender (but not in the sense of an ordinary lawyer, but in the sense of a friend who goes to plead with the judge for his friend accused of some crime). But then, especially among the Jews, to whom this word passed from the Greek language in the form of “peraklet”, it began to mean a comforter, an adviser, indicating to a person in a difficult situation how best to get out of this situation.

Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin writes: “Until now, such an adviser and friend of the disciples was Christ Himself, although He is not called the Comforter in the Gospel. But now, in the place of Christ moving away from the apostles, another Comforter or adviser, friend, will come to them.

The conditions for this communion with God, as the Lord has already said, are love for Him and observance of His commandments: Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me; and whoever loves me, he will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and show myself to him(John 14:21).

Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov notes: “From these words of the Lord it is clear that it is necessary to study the gospel commandments in such a way that they become the property, property of the mind: only then is it possible to fulfill them accurately, constantly, such a fulfillment as the Lord requires. The Lord appears to the executor of the gospel commandments spiritually, and the executor of the commandments sees the Lord with a spiritual eye, mind, sees the Lord in himself, in his thoughts and feelings, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

But we, dear brothers and sisters, should remember that the sign of our love for the Lord is the observance of His commandments, that is, their fulfillment, fulfillment in deeds. It is by keeping the commandments left to us in the Holy Gospel that our love for Christ is manifested, our readiness to accept the Kingdom of Heaven and enter into Him.

Help us in this Lord!

Hieromonk Pimen (Shevchenko)