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Commentary on John 14 verses 12–14
The disciples, as they were full of grief to think of parting with their Master, so they were full of care what would become of themselves when he was gone; while he was with them, he was a support to them, kept them in countenance, kept them in heart; but, if he leave them, they will be as sheep having no shepherd, an easy prey to those who seek to run them down. Now, to silence these fears, Christ here assures them that they should be clothed with powers sufficient to bear them out. As Christ has all power, they, in his name, should have great power, both in heaven and in earth.
I. Great power on earth (Joh 14:12): He that believeth on me (as I know you do), the works that I do shall he do also. This does not weaken the argument Christ had taken from his works, to prove himself one with the Father (that others should do as great works), but rather strengthens it; for the miracles which the apostles wrought were wrought in his name, and by faith in him; and this magnifies his power more than any thing, that he not only wrought miracles himself, but gave power to others to do so too.
1.Two things he assures them of: -
(1.)That they should be enabled to do such works as he had done, and that they should have a more ample power for the doing of them than they had had when he first sent them forth, Mat 10:8. Did Christ heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead? So should they. Did he convince and convert sinners, and draw multitudes to him? So should they. Though he should depart, the work should not cease, nor fall to the ground, but should be carried on as vigorously and successfully as ever; and it is still in the doing.
(2.)That they should do greater works than these. [1.] In the kingdom of nature they should work greater miracles. No miracle is little, but some to our apprehension seem greater than others. Christ had healed with the hem of his garment, but Peter with his shadow (Act 5:15), Paul by the handkerchief that had touched him, Act 19:12. Christ wrought miracles for two or three years in one country, but his followers wrought miracles in his name for many ages in divers countries. You shall do greater works, if there be occasion, for the glory of God. The prayer of faith, if at any time it had been necessary, would have removed mountains. [2.] In the kingdom of grace. They should obtain greater victories by the gospel than had been obtained while Christ was upon earth. The truth is, the captivating of so great a part of the world to Christ, under such outward disadvantages, was the miracle of all. I think this refers especially to the gift of tongues; this was the immediate effect of the pouring out of the Spirit, which was a constant miracle upon the mind, in which words are framed, and which was made to serve so glorious an intention as that of spreading the gospel to all nations in their own language. This was a greater sign to them that believed not (Co1 14:22), and more powerful for their conviction, than any other miracle whatever.
2.The reason Christ gives for this is, Because I go unto my Father, (1.) "Because I go, it will be requisite that you should have such a power, lest the work suffer damage by my absence." (2.) "Because I go to the Father, I shall be in a capacity to furnish you with such a power, for I go to the Father, to send the Comforter, from whom you shall receive power," Act 1:8. The wonderful works which they did in Christ's name were part of the glories of his exalted state, when he ascended on high, Eph 4:8.
II. Great power in heaven: "Whatsoever you shall ask, that will I do (Joh 14:13, Joh 14:14), as Israel, who was a prince with God. Therefore you shall do such mighty works, because you have such an interest in me, and I in my Father." Observe,
1.In what way they were to keep up communion with him, and derive power from him, when he was gone to the Father - by prayer. When dear friends are to be removed to a distance from each other, they provide for the settling of a correspondence; thus, when Christ was going to his Father, he tells his disciples how they might write to him upon every occasion, and send their epistles by a safe and ready way of conveyance, without danger of miscarrying, or lying by the way: "Let me hear from you by prayer, the prayer of faith, and you shall hear from me by the Spirit." This was the old way of intercourse with Heaven, ever since men began to call upon the name of the Lord; but Christ by his death has laid it more open, and it is still open to us. Here is, (1.) Humility prescribed: You shall ask. Though they had quitted all for Christ, they could demand nothing of him as a debt, but must be humble supplicants, beg or starve, beg or perish. (2.) Liberty allowed: "Ask any thing, any thing that is good and proper for you; any thing, provided you know what you ask, you may ask; you may ask for assistance in your work, for a mouth and wisdom, for preservation out of the hands of your enemies, for power to work miracles when there is occasion, for the success of the ministry in the conversion of souls; ask to be informed, directed, vindicated." Occasions vary, but they shall be welcome to the throne of grace upon every occasion.
2.In what name they were to present their petitions: Ask in my name. To ask in Christ's name is, (1.) To plead his merit and intercession, and to depend upon that plea. The Old Testament saints had an eye to this when they prayed for the Lord's sake (Dan 9:17), and for the sake of the anointed (Psa 84:9), but Christ's mediation is brought to a clearer light by the gospel, and so we are enabled more expressly to ask in his name. When Christ dictated the Lord's prayer, this was not inserted, because they did not then so fully understand this matter as they did afterwards, when the Spirit was poured out. If we ask in our own name, we cannot expect to speed, for, being strangers, we have no name in heaven; being sinners, we have an ill name there; but Christ's is a good name, well known in heaven, and very precious. (2.) It is to aim at his glory and to seek this as our highest end in all our prayers.
3.What success they should have in their prayers: "What you ask, that will I do," Joh 14:13. And again (Joh 14:14), "I will do it. You may be sure I will: not only it shall be done, I will see it done, or give orders for the doing of it, but I will do it;" for he has not only the interest of an intercessor, but the power of a sovereign prince, who sits at the right hand of God, the hand of action, and has the doing of all in the kingdom of God. By faith in his name we may have what we will for the asking.
4.For what reason their prayers should speed so well: That the Father may be glorified in the Son. That is, (1.) This they ought to aim at, and have their eye upon, in asking. In this all our desires and prayers should meet as in their centre; to this they must all be directed, that God in Christ may be honoured by our services, and in our salvation. Hallowed be thy name is an answered prayer, and is put first, because, if the heart be sincere in this, it does in a manner consecrate all the other petitions. (2.) This Christ will aim at in granting, and for the sake of this will do what they ask, that hereby the glory of the Father in the Son may be manifested. The wisdom, power, and goodness of God were magnified in the Redeemer when by a power derived from him, and exerted in his name and for his service, his apostles and ministers were enabled to do such great things, both in the proofs of their doctrine and in the successes of it.
But if we think it impious to believe that the Father has handed over all judgment to the Son in such a way that he does not have it himself—for he has it and cannot lose what the divine majesty has by its very nature—we ought to consider it equally impious to suppose that the Son cannot give what either men and women can merit or any creature can receive, especially as he himself has said, “I go to my Father, and whatever you shall ask of him in my name, that will I do.” For if the Son cannot give what the Father can give, the Truth has lied and cannot do what the Father has been asked for in his name. He therefore did not say, “For whom it has been prepared by my Father,” in order that requests should be made only of the Father. For all things that are asked of the Father, [the Son] has declared that he [himself] will give. And finally, he did not say, “Whatever you shall ask of me, that will I do” but “Whatever you shall ask of him in my name, that will I do.”
(Hom. lxxiv. 2) Having said, Believe for the works' sake, our Lord goes on to declare that He can do much greater than these, and what is more wonderful, give others the power of working them. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.
(Hom. lxxiv. 2) i. e. I shall not perish, but shall remain in My proper dignity, in heaven. Or He means: It is your part henceforth to work miracles, since I am going.
(Hom. lxxiv. 2) In My name, He says. Thus the Apostles; In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise and walk. (Acts 3:6) All the miracles that they did, He did: the hand of the Lord was with them.
(Hom. lxxiv. 2) For when the great power of the Son is manifested, He that begat Him is glorified. He introduces this last, to confirm the truth of what He has said.
There are some things, indeed, which, although really asked in His name, that is, in harmony with His character as both Saviour and Master, He doeth not at the time we ask them, and yet He faileth not to do them. For when we pray that the kingdom of God may come, it does not imply that He is not doing what we ask, because we do not begin at once to reign with Him in the everlasting kingdom: for what we ask is delayed, but not denied. Nevertheless, let us not fail in praying, for in so doing we are as those that sow the seed; and in due season we shall reap. And even when we are asking aright, let us ask Him at the same time not to do what we ask amiss; for there is reference to this also in the Lord's Prayer, when we say, "Lead us not into temptation." For surely the temptation is no slight one if thine own request be hostile to thy cause. But we must not listen with indifference to the statement that the Lord (to prevent any from thinking that what He promised to do to those that asked, He would do without the Father, after saying, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, I will do it") immediately added, "That the Father may be glorified in the Son: if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." In no respect, therefore, does the Son act without the Father, since He so acts for the very purpose that in Him the Father may be glorified. The Father, therefore, acts in the Son, that the Son may be glorified in the Father: and the Son acts in the Father, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; for the Father and the Son are one.
He adds, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The Son does not do any thing without the Father, inasmuch as He does it in order that the Father may be glorified in Him.
Undisguisedly now He says that, being Very God, He will accept exceeding readily the prayers of His own people, and will supply right gladly what things soever they desire to receive, meaning of course spiritual gifts and such as are worthy of the heavenly munificence. And not as the minister of another's benevolence, nor yet as subserving another's kindness, does He say such things; but as, with the Father, having all things in His power; and as Himself being the One through Whom are all things, both from us to God-ward, and to us-ward from Him. For this cause Paul also prays on behalf of the worthy for such supplies of benefits as are by him ever mentioned in conjunction, in the following words: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; and surely no man in his senses will ever in the face of this suppose that the Father by Himself separately grants a grace, and again the Son by Himself separately and as it were in turn does so; but the grace is one and the same, albeit it is spoken of as coming through Both. Notwithstanding, it is by the Father through the Son that all good things are wrought for the worthy, and the distribution of the Divine gifts is made; through the Son, I say, not as accepted in the rank of a servant, as we have already explained, but as conceived to be Co-Giver and Co-Supplier, and moreover as being so of a truth. For the nature of the Godhead is one, and also is believed so to be. For although it is extended to Father and Son and to the Holy Spirit, yet it has no absolute and entire severance; I mean, into each of the Persons indicated. For we shall be orthodox in believing that the Son is naturally both of the Father and in the Father, and that the own Spirit of the Father and of the Son, that is, the Holy Spirit, is both of and in the Father. So then, forasmuch as the Godhead of Their nature both is and is conceived of as One, Their gifts will be supplied to the worthy through the Son from the Father in the Spirit, and our offerings will be carried to God manifestly through the mediation of the Son: for no one cometh unto the Father but through Him, as to be sure He also Himself fully confesses. So then the Son both has become and is the Door and the Way as well of our friendship as of our progress towards God the Father, and the Co-Giver as well as Distributer of His bounty, forasmuch as it proceeds from a single and common munificence. For one is the nature of the Godhead in the person and substance both of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And forasmuch as it was unwonted in a way with them of old time, and as yet foreign to their practice, to approach the Father through the Son, He teaches this also for our profit, and laying first in His own disciples a foundation as it were of the structure, He implants in them both faith in this and knowledge, and despatches to ourselves instruction both how we are to pray and wherein lies our hope. For He promises that He will Himself give us what we ask in prayer; a proof of the Godhead in His nature, and of the royal authority inherent in Him; adding this to the other proofs thereof.
This is an explanation of the doctrine of miracles. It is by prayer, and invocation of His name, that a man is able to work miracles.
Observe the order (akolouthian) in which the glorifying of the Father comes. In the name of Jesus miracles were done, by which men were made to believe the Apostles' preaching. This brought them to the knowledge of the Father, and thus the Father was glorified in the Son.
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SUMMARY
John 14:14 presents a profound promise from Jesus to His disciples, assuring them of the efficacy of prayer when offered in alignment with His character, authority, and redemptive purpose. Spoken during His intimate Farewell Discourse, this verse establishes a direct link between the believer's petition, the powerful invocation of Christ's name, and Jesus' personal commitment to act, thereby empowering His followers to continue His work and glorify the Father in His absence.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs a Conditional Clause ("If... I will do...") which sets up a clear cause-and-effect relationship, highlighting the prerequisite for divine action. The emphatic use of the first-person pronoun "I" in "I will do [it]" functions as a powerful declaration of Divine Authority and personal agency, underscoring Jesus' unique power and commitment to His disciples. Furthermore, the phrase "in my name" serves as a form of Metonymy, where the "name" stands for the entire person, character, and authority of Jesus. It is not merely a verbal formula but a symbolic representation of alignment with Christ's will and purpose, making the request a participation in His ongoing redemptive work.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
John 14:14 stands as a cornerstone for understanding the nature and power of Christian prayer. It reveals that prayer is not simply a human act of petition but a divinely ordained means of participating in God's ongoing work in the world. The efficacy of prayer is intrinsically linked to the authority and character of Jesus Christ. To pray "in His name" is to pray as His authorized representative, aligning one's desires with His perfect will and redemptive purposes. This promise underscores the profound intimacy and access believers have to the Father through the Son, demonstrating Jesus' continued active role as the one who mediates and fulfills the petitions of His people, thereby bringing glory to God. It transforms prayer from a mere request into a powerful act of partnership with the divine.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This profound promise from Jesus invites believers into a deeper, more confident, and more purposeful prayer life. It challenges us to move beyond self-centered requests to a posture of seeking God's will and glory above all else. When we pray "in Jesus' name," we are not merely appending a phrase to our petitions; we are consciously aligning our hearts, motives, and desires with His. This means asking for things that honor Him, advance His kingdom, bring healing, spread the Gospel, and demonstrate His love and power in the world. Such prayer becomes a powerful vehicle for spiritual transformation, both in the one praying and in the circumstances prayed for. It reminds us that our access to God's power is not based on our merit, but on Christ's authority and His faithful commitment to His own.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "asking in Jesus' name" truly mean, beyond just saying the words?
Answer: "Asking in Jesus' name" is far more than a verbal formula; it signifies asking by His authority, in alignment with His character, and for the advancement of His purposes. In biblical culture, a person's "name" represented their entire being, reputation, and power. Therefore, to pray in Jesus' name means to pray as His authorized representative, with His full backing, seeking what He Himself would desire. It implies that the petitioner's will is so intertwined with Christ's that the request genuinely reflects His heart and mission. This concept is further illuminated in John 15:7, where Jesus links effective prayer to abiding in Him and His words abiding in us, ensuring that our requests are consistent with His nature.
Does this promise mean God will grant any request I make, as long as I say "in Jesus' name"?
Answer: No, this promise does not guarantee that every personal desire will be granted simply by adding "in Jesus' name." The condition "in my name" is a significant qualifier. It implies that the request must be consistent with Jesus' character, will, and redemptive plan. God is not a cosmic vending machine. As 1 John 5:14-15 clarifies, our confidence in prayer comes from asking "according to his will." Therefore, while the scope of "any thing" is broad, it is always circumscribed by the divine will and purpose of Christ. Unanswered prayers often stem from requests that are outside of God's perfect will or are motivated by selfish desires, as noted in James 4:3.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
John 14:14 finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in Jesus Himself being the sole mediator and the very foundation of all effective prayer. His promise to "do it" underscores His divine authority and active intercession on behalf of His people. It is through His finished work on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension that believers gain access to the Father. Jesus is not merely a conduit for prayer but the one who empowers it, validates it, and ultimately fulfills it. As our great High Priest, He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). When we pray "in His name," we are leveraging the full weight of His perfect obedience, His atoning sacrifice, and His present reign at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34). The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send (John 14:26), guides our prayers, aligning our hearts with Christ's, ensuring that our petitions are truly "in His name." Thus, every answered prayer is a testament to Christ's ongoing Lordship, His faithfulness, and His commitment to glorifying the Father through His redeemed people.