John 14:8-14 “8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:14 is part of the response of Jesus to the question posed in verse 8 by Philip, and if it is to be understood properly it must be understood in that light. The question concerned the identity of the Father, and seemed to betray a lack of understanding on the part of Philip concerning not only the nature of the Father, but that of Jesus also. The point of the answer was that the Son did all that He did while here on earth in harmony with the Will of the Father. Attendant with this explanation of the nature of the Father and the Son was a promise: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12-13). This concerned the work that would be accomplished by the apostles, and also the church, after the passing of the physical body of Jesus on the Cross. The fourteenth verse is essentially a re-statement of the promise found in the twelfth and thirteenth verses.
WHAT IS SAID: The promise is general in nature, indicating that the Lord would help those who faithfully followed Him after His departure. It assures the faithful that, with the help of the Lord, they shall be able to carry on His work and accomplish much good in the Kingdom. We are told that we may ask ‘Someone’ something in the name of the Lord, and we are assured that such a request will be granted.
WHAT IS NOT SAID: We are not told, in this verse, that whatever we ask will be given, nor are we told “Who” specifically is to be asked. (A). The request that is to be granted is qualified with the phrase “in my name”, which here (as elsewhere) indicates a compliance with the dictates of His law. In Acts 4:1-10 we see the phrase so used, when the apostles were asked, in reference to the power which enabled the impotent man to be made whole: “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” They answered: “that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.”
Something “in the name of Jesus” is something that agrees with His power, or, as applied to us, something that is in harmony with His Will. His power is the Gospel (cf., Romans 1:16). Therefore a request “in His name” is a request that is in harmony with His Will, which Will is revealed on the pages of the New Testament. We therefore are not promised that the ‘Someone’ to whom we address our request as per this verse will give us whatever we ask – irrespective of the propriety of the request. (B). As for “Who” is to be asked, since this verse does not specifically say, we must turn to other passages to find the answer. Later in the same discourse Jesus said, “that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16).
Notice the similarity of the words in the two verses. A request is made, it is in the name of the Lord, and it is to be granted. Later still in the same discourse Jesus removed all doubt (to the serious student of the Word) as to ‘Who’ was to be asked when He said: “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23-24). Clearly the “day” referred to the period of time after the death of Christ on the Cross, and whereas no specific identity was given to the One to be asked in John 14:14, He was very clear in saying that the Father was to be the recipient of the requests of the faithful in the time following the death of the Lord in 15:16, and further that no requests were to be made to Him (Jesus) personally in the Christian Age (16:23-24). To force praying to Jesus into 14:14 directly and blatantly puts it in opposition to 15:16 and 16:23-24.
Jesus serves as the mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5), and He is thereby our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:1-28; etc.). We approach the Father through Him with our requests, Jesus acting as our means of access to the Father.
Tim Smith 1272 Enon Rd. Webb, AL 36376 (334) 899-8131
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