29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
14:29
“And now I have told you before it comes,
Jesus’ promise that He was coming back is prophecy. He gave this prediction to settle the apostles’ souls after He revealed the shock of His departure from them.
that when it does come to pass, you may believe.
When the apostles would see the resurrected Jesus, they would “believe” in Him in a special sense. Up to this point they were of the opinion that they believed, but they had not come to fully grasp the situation yet.
The apostles’ faith was not as strong as it should have been (previous verse); their faith needed confirmation. They were about to face severe trails; Jesus was about to die on the cross. They needed to finally come to grips with the truth that Jesus was the Messiah—that it was indubitably true. Since His promises were certain, they could count on that. The apostles would have their faith confirmed when all the events that Jesus predicted had come to come pass.
When the impending and horrible events of the cross transpired, then the apostles would come to realize that Jesus had a clear plan to die for the sins of the world (Jn 10:17-18). His word would be verified. He had their best interests at heart. The cross was no victory of Satan (Mt 26:53-54).
14:30
I will no longer talk much with you,
Jesus would not have much more to say to the apostles because He was about to be arrested. He would, however, have something more to say to them as indicated by the word “much.” The Lord had more to teach the apostles before He returned to eternity.
for the ruler of this world is coming,
The “ruler of this world” is Satan. The evil one would within hours use Judas Iscariot, temple police, Roman soldiers, and members of the Sanhedrin for his nefarious ends to capture and crucify Jesus (Jn 12:31; 16:11; 13:27, 31).
and he has nothing in Me.
The word “nothing” is a double negative in the Greek, making it emphatic. Satan had no claim on Jesus and thus had no power over Him because He was sinless. He carried no guilt about anything.
PRINCIPLE:
We can trust God’s sovereignty even under great duress.
APPLICATION:
If we make progress in the development of our faith, it will prepare us to meet the challenges of the devil. We will not be filled with timidity and fear.
Satan had no authority over Jesus (Jn 10:18; 12:49–50). He has power over those who sin, but Jesus was sinless (Jn 16:11; Co 2:15; He 2:14–15; Re 12:10). Satan could point to no sin in Jesus upon which he could negate the purpose of God. There will come a showdown between the prince of this world and Jesus.
