22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Jesus’ statement in the previous verse, that He would “manifest” Himself to the apostles, provoked a question from an apostle named Judas—but not Iscariot.
14:22
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him,
There were two members of the 11 apostles called “Judas.” Seven men in the New Testament were named Judas, so we need to distinguish which one it is. Judas was a very common name in New Testament times.
The “Judas” of this verse may have been the brother of James (Lu 6:16; Ac 1:13). However, the Bible does not plainly identify this person. One thing is clear—he was a very different Judas from the traitor. He was, nevertheless, an apostle.
“Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us,
Jesus had spoken about the manifestation of Himself in the previous verse. Judas asked here how Jesus would show Himself in His resurrection body to the apostles but not to the world.
and not [emphatic] to the world?”
Judas was still of the opinion that Jesus would come as a conquering hero, the coming of messianic king in splendor. He anticipated that Jesus would shortly become King Jesus. His question was this: “If Jesus is about to become King, how could He then avoid revealing Himself to the world?”
14:23
Jesus answered and said to him,
Jesus’ reply to Judas in verses 23 and 24 was that He would indeed manifest Himself to those who fellowship with Him. Love for Him is a condition for revelation of Himself. He did not attempt to answer Judas’ question directly.
“If anyone loves Me,
The Lord redirected Judas’ question from a question about Jesus conquering the world to how He was going to relate to each disciple after the resurrection. He would fellowship with them by a love relationship.
Again, “anyone” is singular, indicating that Jesus spoke of any disciple, not just the apostles. There is a responsibility of each follower of Christ to ask himself whether he loves the Lord.
he will keep My word;
The “word” of Jesus is wider than the word “commandment.” The word “word” here includes all His sayings, the entire corpus of His teaching.
Verses 15, 21, and this verse all show that love for Jesus always exhibits itself in action about His word. This describes a person who takes the protocols of Jesus to heart. Love engenders response.
Keeping Jesus’ word is not legalistic but relational. Those who love Jesus will respond to His word, His way of life.
and My Father will love him,
The Father loves those who love Jesus. There is profound interrelation between the Father, the Son, and the believer.
and We [the Father and the Son] will come to [beside] him
The Father and the Son link in fellowship with believers who love Jesus by applying His word.
and make Our home [abode] with [beside] him.
The word “with” here means the dispensation or the economy of the Holy Spirit, the time when the Spirit would come to dwell in believers permanently.
“Make our home” involves a close fellowship. The Father and Jesus, He was saying, would make their presence felt among believers who engage in love for Christ and living out His principles. This is a promise of restored intimate fellowship.
PRINCIPLE:
The Lord reveals Himself to those who respond to His teaching.
APPLICATION:
God does not manifest Himself to those who do not respond to His Word. He meets those who come to Him with positive volition (1 Jn 2:3; 3:22, 24; 5:3). Jesus reveals Himself to the believer through the Word.
Love can grow, or it can shrink. The lifeblood of love is to treasure the word of Jesus and act upon it. He expects us to love Him.
