If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” 22 Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, 24 “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
25 “I have told you this while I am with you. 26 The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. 28 You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. 30 I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, 31 but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.
Jesus told his disciples that if they love him and keep his commandments he will send them the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit who will be in them to teach them everything. When he leaves this world, they will be loved by his Father who will reveal himself to them. They will live as he lives and they will know not only his relation to the Father but that they also have a similar relationship with him. True believers will not be separate from Jesus or God and will experience salvation in God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit will help them to remember what Jesus told them, and they will then (after the resurrection) understand the true significance and meaning of his words and deeds. Jesus gave them peace so that they should not be concerned or afraid but rejoice that he was returning to his Father. Jesus forewarned the disciples about his departure so that when things came to pass they would continue to believe.
Almighty God, teach us to love you as Jesus taught the disciples to love him that we may experience the peace the world cannot give. Help us to keep your commandments so that you may come and dwell with us as you dwell with your Son. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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