“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Following the previous verse was probably the institution of the Lord’s supper, then these words of Jesus in chapter 14 of John, followed by the singing of the last psalms of the hallel, which consisted of Psalms 115-118.
See these words repeated in (14:27) which indicates a very real and important problem which Jesus foresaw. Jesus never repeated Himself unless for emphasis or because what He said carried a great deal of importance.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jesus knew what it was to have a “troubled” heart (11:33, 12:27, 13:21). Interestingly enough, this same verb is used in (5:7) where the waters are “troubled” or “stirred”. What picture does this paint of the turmoil the disciples were going through?
John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
John 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
John 13:21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”
John 5:7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
What troubled the hearts of the disciples were the previous words of Jesus (13:33, 38). Their leader had just told them that He was going to leave them and they could not follow Him (yet) to where He was going. Luthi observes that “the reason why they are so deeply shocked is that separation from their Lord is absolutely unthinkable to them.” Peter was especially troubled by the words of Jesus because of the prophecy Jesus made about Peter denying Him three times and the other disciples must have been greatly saddened for Peter and thinking that if this could happen to Peter, what might Jesus now tell them that they were going to do?
John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
John 13:38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times!
There was also very good reason for the troubling in their hearts to increase in the near future and Jesus knew it. They were going to be very disappointed because they had left everything to follow Him, believing that He was the Messiah, and now with the passion approaching, they were about to discover that their Hope would be handed over to sinners, unjustly tried and convicted, and killed by the most shameful and horrible means, as a common criminal. They were not only going to be as bad off as before, but even worse.
“hearts” = a lot of things were going to be disturbed in the following days. Nations, religious systems, the status quo, families, were all going to see radical change, but that which must not be disturbed were the hearts of the disciples. Why was this so important?
“your” = the hearts of others may very well become troubled, but the followers of Jesus had a greater responsibility than them and must keep their hearts free from this.
The solution to keeping your heart from being troubled during trying times is to trust in God (Psalms 42:5), a solution the Jews had known all along. But also, to trust in Jesus. Both are essential. Why? Notice that faith in God is not something different from faith in Jesus. Since the Son is the revelation of the Father and the only way to the Father is through the Son, faith in the Father is impossible apart from faith in Jesus. But faith in Jesus may be more difficult for the disciples than faith in the God Who had done mighty things in the past, for Jesus was about to be betrayed by one of His followers, denied three times by Peter, abandoned by all the rest of them, and tried and crucified by His enemies. This would certainly present a formidible challenge to their faith.
Psalms 42:5-6a Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.