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.

Dods points out that “In Jewish lips ‘we have found the Messiah’ was the most comprehensive of all Eurekas.” (NICNT, John p.159) Can you picture Andrew finding his brother and giving him this news?

There are many ways we can come to Jesus. Andrew and his friend (probably John) came on their own. They were looking for the Messiah and they found Him. Peter came because someone brought him to Jesus.

Note that Andrew was not told to tell anyone about Christ; it just came naturally. And so it should with us. We have incredibly good news and to keep it to ourselves should be very difficult. It is not easy to keep good news to yourself. Andrew was a disciple for less than a day and had already made another disciple of Christ.

It is his brother that Andrew goes to first bring to Jesus. Those closest to us are those to whom we should go first. They should be our first priority. We should minister to our own families before we minister to others. Notice the expanding list of priorities Jesus gives in (Acts 1:8).

Acts 1:8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The sad thing is that we sometimes seek to bring others to Christ before we do so for those closest to us. There is an old proverb that says, “The shoemaker’s wife is always the worst shod.”

We are all capable of bringing others to Christ. Andrew did not go to seminary; he was just a fisherman. We don’t need a lot of knowledge; we don’t need the ability to refute false thinking. All we need is a personal knowledge of Him. Maclaren tells of “a minister who preached a very elaborate course of lectures in refutation of some form of infidelity, for the special benefit of a man that attended his place of worship. Soon after, the man came and declared himself a Christian. The minister said to him, ‘Which of my discourses was it that removed your doubts?’ The reply was, ‘Oh! it was not any of your sermons that influenced me. The thing that set me thinking was that a poor woman came out of the chapel beside me, and stumbled on the steps, and I stretched out my hand to help her, and she said “Thank you!” Then she looked at me and said, “Do you love Jesus Christ, my blessed Saviour?” And I did not, and I went home and thought about it; and now I can say I love Jesus.’ The poor woman’s word, and her frank confession of her experience, were all the transforming power.”