John 14:15-21

John 14:15-21

Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
- The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
- Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit: The Living Presence.
- III.XI.9, III.XIII.2, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Chapter VIII, Chapter XXV, Against Praxeas, Tertullian (c. 213)
- VI.2, Philocalia [anthology of Origen prepared by St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen], Origen. (c.230)
- From Augustine's Tractates on John:
  - Tractate 74 (14:15-17)
    - "How can we love so as to receive Him, without whom we cannot love at all? or how shall we keep the commandments so as to receive Him, without whom we have no power to keep them?"
  - Tractate 75 (14:18-21)
    - "Why did He speak in the present tense of His own living, and in the future of theirs, but just by way of promise that the life also of the resurrection-body, as it preceded in His own case, would certainly follow in theirs?"
- From the Geneva Notes.
  - "I will show myself to him, and be known by him, as if he saw me with his eyes: but this showing of himself is not bodily, but spiritual, yet so plain that no other showing could be more evident."
- From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
  - "I will come daily to you in my Spirit; in the tokens of his love, and visits of his grace."
- From Wesley's Notes.
  - "Immediately after faith he exhorts to love and good works."
- "The Personality of the Holy Ghost," John 14:16,17, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1855.
- From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
  - "...the proper temple for the indwelling Spirit of Jesus is a heart filled with that love to Him which lives actively for Him."
- "Life in Christ," John 14:19, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1871.
- The Absent Present Christ, Alexander MacLaren, c. 1880.
  - "And so here our Lord gives yet more, in the paradoxes that, absent He will be present, unseen visible, and dying will be for them for ever, life and life-giving."
- From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
  - "The Holy Spirit; the Helper. The latter word more nearly expresses the idea of the Greek term than the word 'Comforter...' "
- "Sharing Christ's Life," John 14:19, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1914.
Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- Commentary, John 14:15-21 (Easter 6A), Craig R. Koester, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
  - "The Spirit plays an essential role in Christian faith and yet is something many find hard to deal with in preaching."
- Jesus Promises the Advocate, audio telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2011.
- Witness of Love, Kathryn Matthews Huey, ucc.org: Sermon Seeds, lectionary citations, weekly theme, lectionary texts, bulletin back page, 2011.
  - "...perhaps Jesus isn't making a conditional statement but instead is putting forth an obvious fact: when you love someone, really, really love someone, doing what is good and right comes so much more naturally and easily."
- Lectionary Blogging, Easter 6, John Petty, Progressive Involvement, 2011.
  - "The word parakletos means "one called alongside." It is generally translated as "advocate" or "comforter." The word is closely related to the Hebrew hacham, which appears in Psalm 23, for example: "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort--hacham--me." As Wes Howard-Brook notes, the word parakletos itself, however, comes originally from the Greek law courts where it meant "advocate.""
- Holy Textures, John 14:15-21, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, David Ewart, 2011.
  - "The underlying Greek word which is translated into English as 'truth' is alethea. In Greek, an initial letter 'a' is like our English 'un.' Lethe is the river in Greek mythology that the dead drank from in Hades in order to forget their past. And so 'a-lethea' - truth - has the sense of: waking up; remembering; overcoming oblivion and stupor; being alive and vital; not being deceived by false ideas or desires or scams; SEEING what is as it actually is."
- Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
  - "What does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus in his absence? That was a question for John's first readers and for us today."
- "What the Holy Spirit Really Looks Like," David Lose, WorkingPreacher, 2011.
  - "So what would it be like, Working Preacher, if after you spent a few minutes describing John's take on the Holy Spirit, you told your congregation that the Holy Spirit looks a lot like them when they stand up for others, try to be more like Jesus, and bear Christ's love into the world."
- Preaching John 14:15-21, Anna Carter Florence, Lectionary Homiletics sample, 2011.
  - " Where does God need a really good lawyer in your community?
- "Will You Love Me When I Don't Keep Your Commandments?" Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
  - "Is the gift of the Holy Spirit dependent on my actions?"
- Commentary, John 14:15-21, Jaime Clark-Soles, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
- "First Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Easter 6," William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
  - "The passage is framed by human anxiety about the absence of Jesus and ultimately about the absence of God (14:1; 14:27). It does not deny the anxiety and distress, but offers a promise of presence and sense of meaning embedded in sharing God?s life and participating in God?s action in the world, recognisable by its 'Jesus-shape'."
- Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
- "Obedient Love: 'Keep My Commandments,'" Jerry Goebel, One Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study and activities.
  - "Our forever begins when we do what Jesus commands. The forever we are forging begins in this life. Forever is not a place as much as it is a relationship."
- Wellspring of the Gospel, Easter 6, 2005. Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
  - "Try using the phrase 'You in me - I in You' as a mantra. Repeat it over and over in time to your breathing."
- Commentary by Hall Harris at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
  - "Perhaps the best suggestion (for the translation of the word traditionally translated as "Comforter") is that made by E. J. Goodspeed [Problems of New Testament Translation (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1945) 110 ff.] who concludes that the word meant a person called to someone else's aid in court, a helper, intercessor, pleader, or character witness."
- "Facing the Future: A Prescription for Peace (John 14)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
  - "He urged them to consider the final chapter of history before drawing hasty conclusions about the events of the immediate future."
- "The Theological Message of John 14:15-31," Greg Herrick, Biblical Studies Foundation.
  - "...parakletos is best understood as a "helper" in terms of whatever the disciples need in God's plan. In this sense He will do what Christ did for them, but He will also do it differently, that is, from within (cf. v. 17)."
Articles & Background:
- "Worship in the Fourth Gospel: A Cultural Interpretation of John 14-17," Jerome H. Neyrey, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2006. Part 2.
  - "...the personnel of worship are clearly defined: the Patron Father who bestows benefaction on his clients by means of Jesus, the Broker. Jesus, in turn, brokers the concerns of the clients to the Patron. Finally, the household with many rooms is not space out of the world, but relationships brokered by Jesus."
Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Bader-Saye, Scott, "To See and Not to See," The Christian Century, 2002.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Bammel, Ernst, "The Farewell Discourse of the Evangelist John and Its Jewish Heritage," Tyndale Bulletin, 1993.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Beasley-Murray, George R., "John 13-17: The Community of True Life," Review & Expositor, 1988.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Domeris, Bill, "The Paraclete as an Ideological Construct, A Study in the Farewell Discourses," Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1989.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Fee, Gordon D., "John 14:8-17, Expository Article," Interpretation, 1989.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Girard, René, "History and the Paraclete," Ecumenical Review, 1983.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- "Homiletical Helps," Concordia Journal, 2011. (Section on this text begins on page 142)
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerial
- Patrick, Johnstone G., "The Promise of the Paraclete," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1970.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Segovia, Fernando F., "The Structure, Tendenz, and Sitz im Leben of John 13:31-14:31," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1985.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Stegan, Crinisor, "The Paraclete and Prophecy in the Johannine Community," Pneuma, 2005.
  EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
  EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
Reviews:
- Review: L. Scott Kellum, The Unity of the Farewell Discourse: The Literary Integrity of John 13.31-16.33. T&T Clark, 2004. Review by Joseph Matos in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature.
- Review: George L. Parsenios, Departure and Consolation: The Johannine Farewell Discourse in Light of Greco-Roman Literature. Brill, 2005. Review by Jan van der Watt, Review of Biblical Literature, 2007.
Sermons:
- Love God and Do As You Like -- sermon for Easter 6 on John 14:15-21 by Janice Scott from The Village Shepherd
- "The God in You," the Rev. Dr. Fred R. Anderson, Day 1, 2008.
- "What is Truth?" Paul Tillich. From The New Being (1955), at Religion OnLine.
- "I Will Not Leave You Orphaned," the Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad, Day 1, 2005.
- "Loving God," John Jewell, 1999.
- "The Counselor," Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington - Sermons from Seattle.
- Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary and Homily, 1996. Easter 6, 2011
With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, John 14:15-21, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2011.
- "Children's Literature: A Resource for Ministry," May 22, 2011, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: John 14:15-21 and The Most Important Gift of All by David Conway..
- I Don't Know How to Love... -- Children's story for Easter 6 based on John 14:15-21 by by Janice Scott from The Village Shepherd
- "We Live Because Jesus Lives," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- "A Hug from God," Jim Kerlin, childrensermons.com.
- Crossword on John 13 & 14, Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
Drama:
Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art Images: John 14:15-21, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
- John 14:15-21, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: John 14:16, 18, 21. The Cyber Hymnal.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
  - Come, Ye Disconsolate
- "If You Love Me," TEXT: Mark Ryman (2005) based on John 14:15-21. TUNE: "Quietude." New Hymns for the Lectionary.
Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
Study Links and Resources for the Book of John