John 14:18-20 - The Coming of Jesus

John 14:18-20

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you [will] behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. 20 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

Message: The Coming of Jesus

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."  

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus is still speaking to his disciples, bringing words of comfort to them after they have not understand that He is leaving and they want to come with Him. What follows is (1) Believe, (2) Pray, (3) Love or Obey, (4) He will help. I think of the world's system here immediately that focuses on believing a message of each person is it and believe in yourself and then obey. Our different is we pray and we have Help. The Christian has help from the Spirit of Truth. We are not alone. We have the comfort of each other as well. 

Then in verse 18, Jesus says to them that He "will not leave you as orphans." These words seem to be spoken to bring words of comfort to the disciples. Perhaps He knows that they are still feeling abandoned. Despite the words that He has communicated even most recently about sending a Helper, He knows them and what they are feeling. Going back to 13:33 Jesus addresses the disciples as "Little children" and so here now in this verse is a connection to children when he mentions them as orphans. 

He says, "I will come to you." In these words, Jesus offers comfort to His disciples once again remarking that He will come to them. "After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you behold Me. " The disciples or you (maybe includes the church) will behold Me. This is an interesting statement and once again, as we have possibly seen in other verses, like 14:3 when He says He is coming again, though in these verses that coming again could be more of an immediate coming again. But nevertheless we have additional words of comfort from Jesus that He will return. 

Yesterday, as I was studying those verses and thinking about the simple words that Jesus gives of "believe" I thought of other individuals throughout the ages that have told their followers to believe - like Jim Jones or Reverend Sun Yung Moon or even David Koresh and Joseph Smith and so many willingly went along and believed, but with Jesus we have something more than these charlatans spoke and that was the promise that He will come again. With those there was a visible person to believe but Jesus to His disciples and to us says, "I will come to you." He needs to leave, but He will come to us. We have that promise in the scriptures and the words from the gospel of people seeing Jesus, over 500. We know He comes again and we have the promise of His coming again, His second coming. But in the meantime we also have the promise of the Holy Spirit. And so with the Holy Spirit is the promise that He is with us now. 

And also the remark that "the world will behold me no more." Honestly, those words are frustrating because there are so many that cannot see Jesus and do not see in Him what we see. We have an eternal destiny with Jesus, those who believe in Him. How sad that anyone is left out of this. 

"Because I live, you shall live also." They know that I am living. And because Jesus lives; because He has risen from the dead "He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart." Jesus says "In That day" you will will know that Jesus in in the Father, and we are in the Son, and He is in us. 

Summary: Jesus continues to comfort His disciples promising that He will come again. He lives and we will live and like He is in the Father, we will always be in Christ. 

Promise: From Tabletalk - "The resurrection would confirm the truth of Jesus’ teaching and usher in the new age of the Spirit when the people of God better know who Jesus is and how He dwells within us."

Prayer: Father, you have give me eyes to see and behold You, to know You and You bring comfort and encouragement to my life always. I sing "He Lives." I sing "Great is Your Faithfulness." I sing "What a Friend we have in Jesus." You are ever present in life and I am in Christ as You are in the Father. Thank you for the promise, the hope, but also the assurance. Nothing like Jesus. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.