JESUS SAW that his disciples were greatly disturbed at his words, as he
spoke of going away to some place where they could not go with him, and
leaving them alone among people who were his enemies; especially as he
told Peter that he would soon disown his Master, and that all the rest
of the disciples should leave him to suffer alone. Jesus tried to
comfort them in their fears and their sorrows.
"Do not be troubled in your hearts," he said to them; "trust in God, and
trust in me, and in my words. In my Father's dwelling-place there are
many homes. I am going to prepare a place for you; and when I have
prepared it, I will come back and take you to be with me there, so that
you may be where I am. And you know the way to the place where I am
going."
"Master," said Thomas, "we do not know where you are going; and how then
are we to know the way?"
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life," answered Jesus. "No one
ever comes to the Father in any way except through me. If you knew me,
you would know my Father also. You know him now, and have seen him; for
you have seen me."
"Master," said Philip, "let us see the Father; that is all that we
want."
"Have I been with you all this time, Philip," answered Jesus, "and yet
you do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. What do you
mean by saying, 'Let us see the Father'? Do you not believe that the
Father and I are one, that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The
words that I speak are my Father's words; and the works that I do are my
Father's works. I tell you truly, that whoever believes in me shall do
the very works that I do; and he shall do even greater works than these.
I am going to the Father, and whatever you ask the Father in my name
that I will do, that the Father may be honored in the Son. If you ask
anything in my name, I will do it.
"If you love me," Jesus went on, "you will do whatever I have told you
to do; and I will ask the Father to give you another Helper to be with
you always. That Helper is the Spirit of Truth. The people of this world
cannot have the Spirit, because they do not see him nor know him. But
you know him, because he is always with you, and is within you. I will
not leave you alone in your sorrow; I am coming to you. A little while
longer, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me, for I am
living, and you will be living, too. He who has my commands and keeps
them in his heart is the one who loves me; and he who loves me will be
loved by my Father; and I will love him and I will make myself known to
him."
Then said one of the disciples named Judas--not Judas Iscariot the
traitor (he had gone out), but another Judas, the brother of James--"How
is it, Lord, that you are to make yourself known to us and not to the
world?"
"If any one loves me," answered Jesus, "he will obey my word; and my
Father will love him; and we will come to him and make our home with
him. He who does not love me will not obey my words; and the word to
which you are listening is not my own word, but the word of the Father
who sent me. I have told you all this while I am still with you, but the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send to you to take my
place, he will teach you all that you need to know and he will bring to
your mind all that I have said to you. Peace be with you! My own peace
I give you. I do not give my peace to you as the world gives its
'peace.' Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
"You heard me say that I was going away and soon afterward coming back
to you. If you loved me fully, you would be glad that I am going to the
Father, for the Father is greater than I am. I have told you all
this--that I am going away--before it happens, so that when it does
happen, as it will very soon, you may still believe in me, and believe
that I am coming again."
[Illustration: "I am the vine, and you are the branches"]
Then Jesus gave to his disciples another parable, "The Vine and the
Branches." He said:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower, the Master of the
vineyard. You, my disciples, and all who believe in me, are the branches
of the vine. If the vine-grower finds on his vine any branches that bear
no fruit, he cuts them off, for they are of no use. If he finds branches
that bear fruit, he trims them and cleans them, so that they may bear
better fruit. You are already clean through the word that I have spoken
to you. Keep united to me, the vine, and I will keep united to you. Just
as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself when separate from the vine, no
more can you bear fruit unless you stay united to me.
"Remember, I am the vine, and you are the branches. He who keeps himself
in union with me, and keeps me in union with himself bears rich fruit.
But apart from me you can do nothing. If any one does not stay united to
me, he is thrown away, just as a branch would be, and he withers up;
then the worthless, withered branches are gathered and thrown into the
fire and are burned.
"If you stay united to me, and my teaching stays in your hearts, you may
ask whatever you wish, and it shall be yours. As you bear rich fruit and
prove yourselves my disciples, my Father is honored. As my Father has
loved me, so I have loved you; stay in my love. If you keep my commands
in your hearts, you will stay in my love, just as I have kept my
Father's commands in my heart and dwell in his love."
The Last Words of Jesus to His Disciples