Jesus Promised to Return

JESUS WAS PLANNINGTO COME AGAIN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
JOHN 14:3 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receiveyou to Myself, that where
I am, there you may be also.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Work Of The Ascended Jesus
John 14:2, 3
D. Young
And yet manifestly it is only part of the work. So much is spokenof as needed
to be spokenof here. Jesus tells us that which will best blend with other things
that have to be said at the time. Who canimagine, who can describe, anything
like the total of what Jesus has gone from earthly scenes to do?
I. CONSIDERTHE OCCUPATIONS OF THOSE WHO WERE LEFT. Just
one word gives the suggestionthat these were in the mind of Jesus as he spoke,
and that is the word "mansions." The settled life is thought of rather than the
wandering one. Jesus knew full well what a wandering life his disciples would
have, going into strange and distant countries. They would have to travel as he
himself had never traveled. The more they apprehended the work to which
they had been called, the more they would feelbound to go from land to land,

preaching the gospelwhile life lasted. To men thus constantlyon the move, the
promise of a true resting-place was just the promise they needed.
II. THE FUTURE COMPANIONSHIP OF JESUS AND HIS PEOPLE. To
those who have come into the realknowledge and service of Jesus nothing less
than such a companionship will make happiness; and nothing more is needed.
Jesus needednot to have a place in glory prepared for him; he had but to
resume his old station, and be with his Fatheras he had been before. This is
the greatelement of happiness on earth - not so much where we are as with
whom we are. The most beautiful scenes, the most luxurious surroundings,
count as nothing compared with true harmony in the human beings who are
around us. And just so it must be in the anticipations of a future state. While
Jesus was in the flesh, his presence with his disciples was the chief element in
their happiness; and as they lookedforwardto the future, this was the main
thing desired, that they should be with Jesus. As Paul puts it, "Absent from
the body, present with the Lord."
III. THE PREPARATION OF A COMMON HOPE. Is this to be taken as a
real preparation, or is it only a way of speaking, to impress the promise of
reunion more deeply? Is there now some actual work of the glorified Jesus
going on which amounts to a necessarypreparationfor his glorified people?
Surely it must be so. We are not to go into another state, as pioneers, to cut
our own way. We are not as the Pilgrim Fathers, who had to make their own
houses, and live as best they could till then. It is clearthat a kindly Providence
made the earth ready for the children of men, storing up abundance for all
our temporal need; and in like manner Jesus is making heaven ready. Earth
was made ready for Jesus to come down and live in it, and for him and his
disciples to live togetherin. And when his disciples ascendto a higher state, all
things will be ready then. - Y.

Biblical Illustrator
If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, becauseI said I go unto the Father.
John 14:28-29
The death of the gooda reasonfor joy
D. Thomas, D. D.
Note the view which Christ had of His death. "I go."
1. Whence? Fromthe world.
2. Whither? To the Father, not to destruction, eternal solitude, nor to
fellowship with minor souls.
3. How? Not driven. Other men are sent to the grave; Christ freely went. The
generaltruths of the text are these: —
I. THAT GENUINE LOVE REJOICESIN THE HAPPINESS OF ITS
OBJECT.We find illustrations of this in —
1. Creation. Love made the universe in order to diffuse happiness.
2. Christ's mission. Christ came to make happy the objects of infinite love.
3. Christian labour. Happiness is the end of all church work.

II. THAT THE HAPPINESS OF MEN DEPENDSUPON FELLOWSHIP
WITH THE FATHER.
1. Happiness is in love.
2. The love, to produce happiness, must be directed to the Father. His
perfection delights in it; His goodnessreciprocatesit.
3. Love for the Fatheryearns for fellowshipwith Him. Love always craves the
presence ofits object.
III. THAT DEATH INTRODUCESTHE GOOD INTO A SPECIALLY
CLOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER. There were obstructions to
the fellowshipof the Man Christ Jesus with the Father.
1. The body with its infirmities.
2. The sinful world.
3. The influence of principalities and powers of darkness. These interfere with
the fellowshipof goodmen and God, and in addition they have what Christ
had not.
(1)Worldly cares.
(2)Inward depravity.
(3)Corrupt habits.At death, however, all these are removed, and the soulof
the goodman goes into the immediate presence ofGod. We need not, then,
sorrow for the departed good.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Joy and faith the fruit of Christ's departure
A. Maclaren, D. D.
I. THE DEPARTURE OF THE LORD IS A FOUNTAIN OF JOY TO
THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.

1. Christ's going is Christ's coming. The word "again" is a supplement, and
somewhatdestroys the true flow of thought. But if you strike it out and read
the sentence as being what it is, a description of one continuous process, you
get the true idea. "I go away, and I come to you." There is no moment of
absolute absence. To the eye of sense, the "going away" was the reality, and
the "coming" a metaphor. To the eye enlightened to see things as they are, the
dropping away of the visible corporealwas but the inauguration of the higher
and the more real.
2. Christ's going is Christ's exaltation. Hitherto we have been contemplating
Christ's departure simply in its bearing upon us, but here He unveils another
aspectof it, and that in order that He may change His disciples'sadness into
joy.(1). What a hint of self-sacrifice lies in this thought, that Christ bids His
disciples rejoice with Him because the time is getting nearerits end, and He
goes back to the Father! And what shall we say of the nature of Him to whom
it was martyrdom to live, and a supreme instance of self-sacrificing
humiliation to "be found in fashionas a man"?(2)The context requires that
for Christ to go to the Father was to share in the Father's greatness.Why else
should the disciples be bidden to rejoice in it? or why should He say anything
about the greatness ofthe Father? The inferiority, of whatever nature it may
be, to which He here alludes, falls awaywhen He passes hence. Now these
words are often quoted triumphantly, as if they were dead againstthe
doctrine of the Divinity of Christ. But the creedwhich confessesthatis not to
be overthrown by pelting this verse at it; for this verse is part of that creed,
which as fully declares the Father is greaterthan the Son as it declares that
the Sonis One with the Father. We candimly see that the very names
"Father" and "Son" imply some sort of subordination, but as that
subordination is in the timeless and inward relations of Divinity, it must be
supposedto exist after the Ascension, as it existedbefore the Incarnation; and,
therefore, any such mysterious difference is not that which is referred to here.
What is referred to is what dropped awayfrom the Man Jesus Christ when
He ascendedup on high. As Luther has it, "Here He was a poor, sad, suffering
Christ"; and that garb of lowliness falls from Him, like the mantle that fell
from the prophet as he went up in the chariotof fire, when He passes behind
the brightness of the Shekinahcloud that hides Him from their sight.

Therefore we, as His followers, have to rejoice in an ascendedChrist, beneath
whose feetare foes, and far away from whose human personality are all the
ills that flesh is heir to.
3. On both these grounds Christ's ascensionand departure is a source of
icy.(1) There can be no presence with us, man by man, through all the ages,
and in every land, unless He, whose presence it is, participated in the absolute
glory of Divinity.(2) And surely if our dearestone was far awayfrom us, in
some lofty position, our hearts and our thoughts would ever be flung thither,
and we should live more there than here. And if we love Jesus Christ, there
will be no thought more sweetto us than the thought of Him, our Brother and
Forerunner, who has ascendedup on high; and in the midst of the glory of the
throne bears us in His heart, and uses His glory for our blessing.
II. HIS DEPARTURE AND HIS ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS DEPARTURE
AS THE GROUND AND FOOD OF FAITH (ver. 29). He knew what a crash
was coming, and with exquisite tenderness He gave Himself to prepare the
disciples for the storm, that, forewarned, they might be forearmed. And when
my sorrows come to me, I may say about them what He says about His
departure. Aye! He has told us before, that when it comes we may believe. But
note —
1. How Christ avows that the greataim of His utterances and of His departure
is to evoke our faith. And what does He mean by faith?(1) A grasp of the
historic facts, His death, resurrection, ascension.(2)The understanding of
these as He Himself has explained them.(3) And, therefore, as the essenceof
faith, a reliance upon Himself as thus revealed, sacrifice by His death, victor
by His resurrection, King and interceding Priestby His ascension — a
reliance upon Himself as absolute as the facts are sure, as unfaltering as His
eternal sameness.
2. These facts, as interpreted by Himself, are the ground and the nourishment
of our faith. How differently they lookedwhen seenfrom the further side and
when seenfrom the hither side. "We trusted," said two of them, with such a
sad use of the past tense, "that this had been He which should have redeemed
Israel." But after the facts were all unveiled, there came back the memory of

His words, and they said to one another, "Did He not tell us that it was all to
be so? How blind we were not to understand Him!"
3. Faith is the condition of the true presence ofour absentLord.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Love's importance
C. H. Spurgeon.
1. Jesus'love makes Him use the disciples'love to Himself as a comfort for
themselves when they are distressedabout His going away.
2. He appeals to the warmestfeeling in their hearts in order to raise their
spirits.
3. It is well when grace has put within us principles which are springs of
consolation. Fromour text learn —
I. THAT WE SHOULD TRY TO SEE THINGS IN CHRIST'S LIGHT.
1. He sees the whole of things. He says not only, "I go away," but also, "I come
againunto you."
2. He sees through things. He does not say, "I die," but He looks beyond, and
says, "I go unto the Father."
3. He sees the true bearing of things. The events which were about to happen
were in themselves sad, but they would lead to happy results. "If ye loved Me,
ye would rejoice." To see facts in His light we must dwell with Him, live in
Him, grow like Him, and especiallylove Him more and more.
II. THAT OUR LOVE SHOULD GO FORTH TOWARDS HIS PERSON. "If
ye loved Me." All about Him is amiable; but He Himself is altogetherlovely
(Song of Solomon5:16). He is the source ofall the benefits He bestows. Loving
Him: —
1. We have Him, and so His benefits.

2. We prize His benefits the more.
3. We sympathize in all that He does.
4. We love His people for His sake.
5. Our love endures all sorts of rebuffs for His sake.
6. The Father loves us (John 14:23)
7. We are married to Him.Love is the sure and true marriage-bond whereby
the soulis united to Christ. Love to a personis the most real of emotions. Love
to a person is the most influential of motives. Love to a person is, in this case,
the most natural and satisfying of affections.
III. THAT OUR SORROW OUGHT NOT TO PUT OUR LOVE IN
QUESTION. Yet, in the case ofthe disciples, our Lord justly said, "If ye loved
Me." He might sorrowfully say the same to us —
1. When we lament inordinately the loss of creatures.
2. When we repine at His will, because ofour severe afflictions.
3. When we mistrust His wisdom, because we are sore hampered and see no
way of escape.
4. When we fearto die, and thus display an unwillingness to be with our Lord.
Surely, if we loved Him, we should rejoice to be with Him.
5. When we complain concerning those who have been takenfrom us to be
with Him. Ought we not to rejoice that Jesus in them sees ofthe travail of His
soul, and has His prayer (John 17:24)answered.
IV. THAT OUR LOVE SHOULD MAKE US REJOICE AT OUR LORD'S
EXALTATION, THOUGH IT BE OUR PERSONALLOSS.
1. It was apparently the disciples'loss for their Lord to go to the Father; and
we may think certaindispensations to be our loss —
(1)When we are tried by souldesertion, while Christ is magnified in our
esteem.

(2)When we are afflicted, and He is glorified, by our sorrows.
(3)When we are eclipsed, and in the result the gospelis spread.
(4)When we are deprived of privileges for the goodof others.
(5)When we sink lowerand lowerin our own esteem, but the kingdom of God
comes with power.
2. It was greatlyto our Lord's gain to go to His Father. Thus He —
(1)Left the field of suffering forever.
(2)Reassumedthe glory which He had laid aside.
(3)Receivedthe glory awardedby the Father.
(4)Became enthronedfor His Church and cause.Conclusion:
1. It will be well for us to look more to our love than to our joy, and to expect
our joy through our love.
2. It will be well for us to know that smallness of love may dim the
understanding, and that growth in it may make us both wiserand happier.
3. In all things our Lord must be first. Yes, even in those most spiritual
delights, about which it may seemallowable to bane strong personaldesires.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
For My Father is greaterthan I.
Christ's equality with and subordination to God
Canon Liddon.
It is contended that our Lord here abandoned any pretension to be a person
internal to the essentiallife of God. But this saying can have no such force if
its application be restricted, as the Latin Fathers do restrict it to our Lord's
manhood. But even if our Lord is here speaking, as the Greeks generally

maintain, of His essentialDeity, His words express very exactlya truth
recognizedand required by the Catholic doctrine. The subordination of the
everlasting Son to the everlasting Father is strictly compatible with the Son's
absolute Divinity; it is abundantly implied in our Lord's language:and it is an
integral element of the ancientdoctrine which steadily represents the Father
as alone unoriginate, the Fount of Deity, in the eternal life of the ever-blessed
Trinity. But surely an admission on the part of One in whom men saw nothing
more than a fellow creature, that the everlasting Godwas greaterthan
Himself, would fail to satisfya thoughtful listener that no claim to Divinity
was advancedby the Speaker. Suchan admission presupposes some assertion
to which it stands in the relation of a necessaryqualification. If any good man
of our acquaintance should announce that God was greaterthan himself,
should we not hold him to be guilty of something worse than a stupid truism?
And should we not peremptorily remind him that the life of man is related to
the life of God, not as the less to the greater, but as the createdto the
Uncreated, and that it is an impertinent irreverence to admit superiority of
rank, when the realtruth can only be expressedby an assertionofradical
difference of natures? And assuredlya sane and honest man, who had been
accusedofassociating Himself with the Supreme Being, could not content
himself with admitting that God was greaterthan himself. Knowing himself to
be only human, would he not insist again and again with passionate fervour
upon the incommunicable glory of the greatCreator?
(Canon Liddon.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
And if I go - And when I shall have gone and prepared a place for you -
opened the kingdom of an eternal glory for your reception, and for the
receptionof all that shall die in the faith, I will come again, after my

resurrection, and give you the fullest assurancesofthis state of blessedness;
and confirm you in the faith, by my grace and the effusion of my Spirit. Dr.
Lightfoot thinks, and with greatprobability too, that there is an allusion here
to Numbers 10:33;: And the ark of the Lord went before them to searchout a
resting place for them.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 14:3". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
14.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
And if I go ... is not a statementof uncertainty but an argument that, as
certainly as the Lord shall go, that certainly will he return and receive his
own.
I come again... The secondcoming of Jesus is dogmaticallyaffirmed here and
throughout the New Testament. As Dorris said:
Some refer this to the resurrectionof Christ, others to the death of a believer
as in the case ofStephen, and still others to the coming of the Holy Spirit. We
think these positions inadmissible. The reference is not to Christ's return from
the grave, but to his return from heaven, the secondcoming of the Lord,
which is a part of the Christian faith.[3]

THE SECOND ADVENT
Not only here but in Acts 1:11; 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-17,etc., the
doctrine of the secondcoming of Christ is emphatically taught, the same being
one of the foundational teachings ofChristianity.
I. What Christ will not do upon his return. A. He will not offer himself a
secondtime for the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:26-28). B. He will not restore
any phase of fleshly or national Israel. The Scripture makes it absolutely clear
that race is nothing with God (Galatians 3:27). C. He will not setup a
kingdom, having alreadydone that, the church being his kingdom. It has
existed continuously since the first Pentecostafterthe resurrection, and
whereverthe Lord's Supper is, there is the kingdom (Luke 22:30). D. He will
not extend a secondchance for unbelievers to repent (Hebrews 9:27).
II. What Christ will do upon his return. A. All the dead shall be raisedto life
(John 5:24-29). B. The judgment will occur(John 5:24-29;Matthew 25:31-36).
C. The wickedshallbe destroyedand the righteous rewarded(2
Thessalonians 1:7-10). D. The crownof life shall be given to the faithful (2
Timothy 4:7,8). E. Christ will stop reigning, delivering up the kingdom to God
(1 Corinthians 15:28).
III. What Christ is now doing. A. He is reigning until all of his enemies have
been put under foot (1 Corinthians 15:25f). B. He is interceding for the
redeemed(Hebrews 7:25). D. He is administering all authority in heavenand
upon earth (Matthew 28:18-20). E. He is providentially overseeing the
fortunes of his church on earth (Matthew 28:19,20). F. He is preparing a home
for the faithful (John 14:3).
ENDNOTE:
[3] C. E. W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospelby John (Nashville: The
GospelAdvocate Co., 1939), p. 200.
Copyright Statement

James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-14.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And if I go and prepare a place for you,.... Seeing I am going to prepare, and
will prepare a place for you, of the truth of which you may be fully assured:
I will come again;either by death or in persona secondtime, here on earth:
and receive you unto myself; I will take you up with me to heaven; I will
receive you into glory;
that where I am there you may be also:and behold my glory, and be for ever
with me, and never part more.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on John 14:3". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-
14.html. 1999.

Geneva Study Bible
2 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will c come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
(2) Christ did not go awayfrom us with the intent of forsaking us, but rather
that he might eventually take us up with him into heaven.
(c) These words are to be understood as being said to the whole Church, and
therefore the angels saidto the disciples when they were astonished, "Why do
you stand gazing up into heaven? This Jesus will so come as you saw him go
up", (Acts 1:11). And in all places of the Scripture the full comfort of the
Church is consideredto be that day when God will be all in all, and is
therefore called the day of redemption.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon John 14:3". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/john-14.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will come againand receive you unto myself — strictly, at His Personal
appearing; but in a secondaryand comforting sense, to eachindividually.
Mark again the claim made: - to come againto receive His people to Himself,

that where He is there they may be also. He thinks it ought to be enoughto be
assuredthat they shall be where He is and in His keeping.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
14:3". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/john-14.html. 1871-8.
People's New Testament
I will come again, and receive you unto myself. The reference is not to Christ's
return from the grave, but to a return from heaven, the secondcoming of the
Lord, which is a part of the Christian faith. Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:17;
Philemon 1:23.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.

Bibliography
Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on John 14:3". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/john-
14.html. 1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
If I go (εαν πορευτω — eanporeuthō). Third-class condition (εαν — eanand
first aoristpassive subjunctive of πορευομαι — poreuomai).
And prepare (και ετοιμασω — kaihetoimasō). Same condition and first aorist
active subjunctive of the same verb ετοιμαζω — hetoimazō
I come again(παλιν ερχομαι — palin erchomai). Futuristic present middle,
definite promise of the secondcoming of Christ.
And will receive you unto myself (και παραλημπσομαι υμας προς εμαυτον —
kai paralēmpsomaihumas pros emauton). Future middle of παραλαμβανω —
paralambanō Literally, “And I shall take you along (παρα — para -) to my
own home” (cf. John 13:36). This blessedpromise is fulfilled in death for all
believers who die before the SecondComing. Jesus comes forus then also.
That where I am there ye may be also (ινα οπου ειμι εγω και υμεις ητε — hina
hopou eimi egō kai humeis ēte). Purpose clause with ινα — hina and present
active subjunctive of ειμι — eimi This the purpose of the departure and the
return of Christ. And this is heavenfor the believer to be where Jesus is and
with him forever.

Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Robertson'sWordPictures of
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-14.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
If I go ( ἐὰν πορευθῶ )
Πορεύομαι , go, of going with a definite object. See on John 8:21.
I will come again( πάλιν ἔρχομαι )
The present tense;I come, so Rev. Not to be limited to the Lord's secondand
glorious coming at the lastday, nor to any specialcoming, such as Pentecost,
though these are all included in the expression;rather to be takenof His
continual coming and presence by the Holy Spirit. “Christ is, in fact, from the
moment of His resurrection, ever coming into the world and to the Church,
and to men as the risen Lord” (Westcott).
And receive ( παραλήψομαι )
Here the future tense, will receive. Rev., therefore, much better: I come again
and will receive you. The change of tense is intentional, the future pointing to
the future personalreception of the believer through death. Christ is with the
disciple alway, continually “coming” to him, unto the end of the world. Then
He will receive him into that immediate fellowship, where he “shallsee Him as
He is.” The verb παραλαμβάνω is used in the New Testamentoftaking along
with (Matthew 4:5, note; Matthew 17:1, note; Acts 16:33, note): of taking to
(Matthew 1:20; John 14:3): of taking from, receiving by transmission; so

mostly in Paul (Galatians 1:12; Colossians 2:6;Colossians4:17;1
Thessalonians 2:13, etc. See also Matthew 24:40, Matthew 24:41). It is scarcely
fanciful to see the first two meanings blended in the use of the verb in this
passage. Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and
then takes them to His side at death. He himself conducts them to Himself.
I am
See on John 7:34.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon John 14:3". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/john-14.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
The Fourfold Gospel
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again1, and will receive you
unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again. The cause for the
departure becomes the assurance ofthe return.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon John 14:3". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-
14.html. Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
3.And if I go away. The conditional term, if, ought to be interpreted as an
adverb of time; as if it had been said, “After that I have gone away, I will
return to you again. ” This return must not be understood as referring to the
Holy Spirit, as if Christ had manifested to the disciples some new presence of
himself by the Spirit. It is unquestionably true, that Christ dwells with us and
in us by his Spirit; but here he speaks ofthe last day of judgment, when he
will, at length, come to assemble his followers. And, indeed, if we considerthe
whole body of the Church, he every day prepares a place for us; whence it
follows, that the proper time for our entrance into heaven is not yet come.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Calvin, John. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/john-14.html.
1840-57.
Ver. 3. "And if I shall have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come
againand take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
The place being once assuredand prepared for them, they must be brought to
reachit. It is He who will also charge Himself with this office. The rejectionof
καί, and, before ἑτοιμάσω in some MSS. ("and when I shall have gone, I will
prepare") would introduce an unnatural and even absurd asyndetonbetween
the idea of preparing and that of returning which follows, and would at the
same time lead to a complete tautology with the preceding sentence. The
reading ἑτοιμᾶσαι, to prepare, is a further correctionwhich was rendered
almost indispensable by the rejectionof the καί .
To the two verbs: "when I shall have gone and shall have prepared,"
correspondthe two verbs of the principal clause:I will come again(literally, I
come again) and I will take you to myself. The present I come againindicates
imminence. Notwithstanding this, Origen and other Fathers, Calvin, Lampe,
and, among the moderns, Hofmann, Luthardt, Meyer, Weiss, and Keil, refer
this term to the final and glorious coming of the Lord. Undoubtedly this
promise is addressedto believers in general, but it has in view, nevertheless,
first of all, the disciples personally, whom Jesus wishes to strengthenin their
present disheartenment; and He consoles them, it is said, by means of an event
which no one of them has seenand which is still future at this hour! In thus
explaining the word I come, it is forgotten that Jesus neveraffirmed the
nearness ofHis Parousia, and that, indeed, He rather gave an indication of the
opposite:"As the bridegroom delays his coming" (Matthew 25:5); "If the
master comes in the secondwatch, or if he comes in the third" (Luke 12:38);
"At evening or at midnight or at the cock-crowing orin the morning" (Mark
13:35); comp. also the parables of the leavenand the grain of mustard seed.

Moreover, we have the authentic explanation of this word come in John 14:18,
where, as Weiss acknowledges,it cannot be applied to the Parousia.
Ebrard thinks that the point in question is theresurrectionof Jesus. Butthe
true reunion, after the separationcausedby the death of Jesus, did not yet
take place at the resurrection. The appearancesofthe Lord were transient;
their design was simply, through faith in the resurrection, to prepare for the
coming of the Spirit. Grotius, Reuss, Lange, Hengstenberg, andKeil refer the
wordcome to the return of Jesus at the death of eachbeliever; comp. the
vision of Stephen. But in John 14:18 this sense is altogetherimpossible, and no
example can be cited, not even John 21:23, where it would lead to an
intolerable tautology. This coming refers, therefore, as has been recognizedby
Lucke, Olshausen, Neander, to the return of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, to
the close andindissoluble union formed thereby between the disciple and the
glorified person of Jesus;comp. all that follows in John 14:17;John 14:19-21;
John 14:23; especiallyJohn14:18, which is the explanation of our: I come
again. Weiss allegesagainstourview that the question here is of a personal
return. We defer this to John 14:18.—The following verb: I will take you to
myself, indicates another fact, which will be the result of this spiritual
preparation.
This is the introduction of the believer into the Father"s house, atthe end of
his earthly career, either at the moment of his death, or at that of the
Parousia, if he lives until that time. καί, and, has the sense of and
consesequently, or of, and afterwards, as is indicated by the contrastbetween
the present(I come)and the future (I will take). This will be the entrance of
the believer, prepared by spiritual communion with Jesus, into the abode
securedfor him by the mediation of this same Jesus. πρὸς ἐμαυτόν, to myself
(John 12:32); He presses him to His heart, so to speak, while bearing him
away. There is an infinite tenderness in these lastwords. It is for Himself that
He seems to rejoice in and look to this moment which will put an end to all
separation:"Thatwhere I am, there you may be also;" comp. John 17:24. The
community of place ("there where")implies that of state.Otherwise the return
of Jesus in spirit would not be necessaryin order to prepare in eachparticular
case this reunion. What touching simplicity and what dramatic vivacity in the
expressionof these ideas, so profound and so new! The Father"s house, the

preparation of the dwelling-place, the coming to find, finally the taking to
Himself, this familiar and almost childlike language resembles sweetmusic by
which Jesus seeksto alleviate the agonyof separationin the minds of the
apostles. Thus ends the first conversation, calledforth by the question of
Peter:"Why cannotI follow thee?" Answer:"Even thy martyrdom would not
be sufficient to this end; my return in the Spirit into thy heart: this is the
condition of thy entrance into my heavenly glory." Comp. John 3:5.
But Jesus observesthat many questions were still rising in their minds, that
their hearts were a prey to many doubts, and, in order to incite them to ask
Him, He throws out to their ignorance a sort of challenge, by saying to them:
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Godet, Frédéric Louis. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Frédéric Louis Godet -
Commentary on SelectedBooks".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsc/john-14.html.
Scofield's ReferenceNotes
receive you unto myself
This promise of a secondadvent of Christ is to be distinguished from His
return in glory to the earth; it is the first intimation in Scripture of "the day
of Christ". (See Scofield"1 Corinthians 1:8"). Here He comes for His saints 1
Thessalonians 4:14-17 there Matthew 24:29;Matthew 24:30. He come to
judge the nations, etc.

Copyright Statement
These files are consideredpublic domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available in the Online Bible Software Library.
Bibliography
Scofield, C. I. "ScofieldReferenceNoteson John 14:3". "ScofieldReference
Notes (1917 Edition)".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/john-14.html. 1917.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
Ver. 3. I will come again, &c.]Oh, look up and long for this "consolationof
Israel;" say as Sisera’s mother, "Why are his chariots" (those clouds)"so long
in coming?"
" Heu pietas ubi prisca? profana o tempora! Mundi
Fax! Vesper! prope Nox! o mora! Christe veni."
There may ye be also]Christ counts not himself full till he have all his
members about him: hence the Church is called"the fulness of him that filleth
all things," Ephesians 1:23.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 14:3". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-
14.html. 1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
John 14:3
With Christ for Ever
I. This whole passageis beautifully calculatedto place in their right
proportions that hope which every one feels of meeting again in heaven those
that are gone before us, and the one all-satisfying anticipation of being with
Christ. I feel persuadedthat many are far too much afraid of dwelling on the
idea of our knowing and loving and enjoying one another againin the future
state. I believe, if rightly understood, the dangerlies more on the side of
thinking of it too little, than of magnifying it too much. Are we not to know all
things—to know even as we are known, and if all things, then certainly one
another?
II. But perhaps the real mistake and confusionof thought is in this, that we do
not connectand identify the saints, as we ought to do, with Christ. Now it is a
deep mystery, but it is a most certainfact, that Christ is not a complete Christ
without His members. We know and admire Christ in every one of His
members, and every one of His members in Christ, and so the very fact of the
rejoining of the departed, which some think to be contravened by the text, is

by the text promoted and established, and is actually in the words when
Christ says, "Thatwhere I am, there ye may be also."
III. The nearestapproachwe canmake to the idea of glory lies, I think, in the
text. Let any child of God take what Christ's felt presence has beento his soul,
in its most favoured seasonof spiritual communion. Let him conceive that
sweetecstasyrid of its clogs—multiplied a thousand-fold, and perpetuated for
ever—and then this, not any picture of colour or shape, place or circumstance,
will be the closestapproximation he can make to a true imagination of the
heavenly state. He will see how independent everlasting happiness becomes of
those things of which the natural heart generallymakes it to consist;and how
there is enough, and more than enough, for eternity in that single assurance,
"Where I am, there ye shall be also."
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 5th series, p. 31.
Reference:John 14:5, John 14:6.—H. P. Liddon, Christmastide Sermons, p.
18.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on John 14:3". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/john-
14.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible

John 14:3. I will come again, and receive you— The idea of a fore-runner is
preserved, who, after he had prepared for the entertainment of a guest, used
to return, in order to introduce him into the house where the preparations
were made for him. This coming ultimately refers to Christ's solemn
appearance atthe lastday, to receive at his servants to glory; yet it is a
beautiful circumstance, that the death of every particular believer,
considering the universal powerand providence of Christ, may be regardedas
Christ's coming to fetch him home. See the note on Luke 12:37 -
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon John 14:3". Thomas Coke Commentaryon
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/john-
14.html. 1801-1803.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
3.] On ἐάν (not ‘when,’ here or any where), see note, ch. John 12:32. Here
there is no translationof feeling: only in the extract from Hermann there, we
may read ‘experientiâ (vestrâ) cognoscetur.’
In order to understand this, we must bear in mind what Stier well calls the
‘perspective’of prophecy. The coming againof the Lord is not one single
act,—as His resurrection, or the descentof the Spirit, or His secondpersonal
advent, or the final coming to judgment; but the greatcomplex of all these,
the result of which shall be, His taking His people to Himself to be where He
is. This ἔρχομαι, is begun (John 14:18)in His Resurrection—carriedon (John
14:23)in the spiritual life (see also ch. John 16:22 f.), the making them ready
for the place prepared;—-further advancedwhen eachby death is fetched

awayto be with Him (Philippians 1:23); fully completed at His coming in
glory, when they shall for everbe with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17)in the
perfectedresurrection state.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 14:3". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-14.html. 1863-1878.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
John 14:3. ἐάν, if) A mild particle, used for ὅταν, when.— ἔρχομαι, I come [am
coming]) The Present, as concerning His speedy coming: John 14:18, “I will
not leave you comfortless;I come to you.” It is a peculiar idiom of speech, that
the Lord is not wont to say, I will come, but I come, even when another verb
in the future tense is added. Comp., however, also Matthew 17:11 concerning
the forerunner [ ἡλίας ἔρχεται, καὶ ἀποκαταστήσει πάντα], and the LXX., 2
Samuel 5:3 [ ἔρχονται— οἱ πρεσβύτεροι— καὶ διέθετο αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεύς].—
καί, and) The end of My departure infers [carries with it] this very
consequence,that I am to come again.— πρὸς ἐμαυτόν, to Myself) An
expressionfull of majesty. The house of the Father is the house of the Son: ch.
John 16:15, “All things that the Fatherhath are Mine;”
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on John 14:3". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/john-14.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
The particle if in this place denotes no uncertainty of the thing whereofhe had
before assuredthem; but in this place hath either the force of although, or
after that: When, or after that, I have died, ascended, andby all these acts, as
also by my intercession, shallhave made places in Heaven fully ready for you,
I will in the last day return again, as Judge of the quick and the dead, and
take you up into heaven, 1 Thessalonians4:16,17;that you may be made
partakers of my glory, John 17:22. This is called, Romans 8:17, a being
glorified togetherwith him; and elsewhere,a reigning with him. So as this is a
third argument by which our Lord comforteth his disciples as to their trouble
conceivedfor the want of His bodily presence with them, from the certainty of
his return to them, and the end and consequent of his return: the end was to
receive them to himself; the consequent, their eternal abiding with Christ
where he was.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon John 14:3". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/john-14.html. 1685.

Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture
John
THE FORERUNNER
John 14:2 - John 14:3.
What divine simplicity and depth are in these words! They carry us up into
the unseenworld, and beyond time; and yet a little child can lay hold on them,
and mourning hearts and dying men find peace and sweetnessin them. A very
familiar image underlies them. It was customaryfor travellers in those old
days to send some of their party on in advance, to find lodging and make
arrangements for them in some greatcity. Many a time one or other of the
disciples had been ‘sent before His face into every place where He Himself
should come.’On that very morning two of them had gone in, at His bidding,
from Bethany to make ready the table at which they were sitting. Christ here
takes that office upon Himself. The emblem is homely, the thing meant is
transcendent.
Not less wonderful is the blending of majesty and lowliness. The office which
He takes upon Himself is that of an inferior and a servant. And yet the
discharge of it, in the present case, implies His authority over every corner of
the universe, His immortal life, and the sufficiency of His presence to make a
heaven. Nor can we fail to notice the blending of another pair of opposites:His
certainty of His impending death, and His certainty, notwithstanding and
thereby, of His continual work and His final return, are inseparably
interlaced here. How comes it that, in all His premonitions of His death, Jesus
Christ never spoke aboutit as failure or as the interruption or end of His
activity, but always as the transition to, and the condition of, His wider work?
‘I go, and if I go I return, and take you to Myself.’
So, then, there are three things here, the departure with its purpose, the
return, and the perfectedunion.
I. The Departure.

Our Lord’s going awayfrom that little group was a journey in two stages.
Calvary was the first; Olivet was the second. He means by the phrase the
whole continuous process whichbegins with His death and ends in His
ascension. Bothare embracedin His words, and eachco-operatesto the
attainment of the greatpurpose.
He prepares a place for us by His death. The High Priest, in the ancient ritual,
once a year was privileged to lift the heavy veil and pass into the darkened
chamber, where only the light betweenthe cherubim was visible, because he
bore in his hand the blood of the sacrifice. Butin our New Testamentsystem
the path into ‘the holiest of all,’ the realisationof the most intimate fellowship
with heavenly things and communion with God Himself, are made possible,
and the way patent for every foot, because Jesushas died. And as the
communion upon earth, so the perfecting of the communion in the heavens.
Who of us could step within those awful sanctities, orstand serene amidst the
regionof eternallight and stainless purity, unless, in His death, He had borne
the sins of the world, and, having ‘overcome’its ‘sharpness’by enduring its
blow, had ‘openedthe Kingdom of Heavento all believers’?
Old legends tell us of magic gates that resistedall attempts to force them, but
upon which, if one drop of a certain blood fell, they flew open. And so, by His
death, Christ has opened the gates and made the heaven of perfect purity a
dwelling-place for sinful men.
But the secondstage ofHis departure is that which more eminently is in
Christ’s mind here. He prepares a place for us by His entrance into and His
dwelling in the heavenly places. The words are obscure because we have but
few others with which to compare them, and no experience by which to
interpret them. We know so little about the matter that it is not wise to say
much; but though there be vast tracts of darkness round the little spot of light,
this should only make the spot of light more vivid and more precious. We
know little, but we know enough for mind and heart to rest upon. Our
ignorance of the ways in which Christ by His ascensionprepares a heaven for
His followers should neither breed doubt nor disregardof His assurance that
He does.

If Christ had not ascended, wouldthere have been ‘a place’at all? He has
gone with a human body, which, glorified as it is, still has relations to space,
and must be somewhere. And we may even say that His ascending up on high
has made a place where His servants are. But apart from that suggestion,
which, perhaps, is going beyond our limits, we may see that Christ’s presence
in heaven is needful to make it a heaven for poor human souls. There, as here
{Scripture assures us}, and throughout eternity as to-day, Jesus Christ is the
Mediatorof all human knowledge andpossessionofGod. It is from Him and
through Him that there come to men, whether they be men on earth or men in
the heavens, all that they know, all that they hope, all that they enjoy, of the
wisdom, love, beauty, peace, power, which flow from God. Take awayfrom
the heavenof the Christian expectationthat which comes to the spirit through
Jesus Christ, and you have nothing left. He and His mediation and
ministration alone make the brightness and the blessedness ofthat high state.
The very glories of all that lies beyond the veil would have an aspectappalling
and bewildering to us, unless our Brother were there. Like some poor savages
brought into a greatcity, or rustics into the presence ofa king and his court,
we should be ill at ease amidstthe glories and solemnities of that future life
unless we saw standing there our Kinsman, to whom we canturn, and who
makes it possible for us to feelthat it is home. Christ’s presence makes heaven
the home of our hearts.
Not only did He go to prepare a place, but He is continuously preparing it for
us all through the ages. We have to think of a double form of the work of
Christ, His past work in His earthly life, and His present in His exaltation. We
have to think of a double form of His present activity-His work with and in us
here on earth, and His work for us there in the heavens. We have to think of a
double form of His work in the heavens-thatwhich the Scripture represents in
a metaphor, the full comprehensionof which surpasses ourpresent powers
and experiences, as being His priestly intercession;and that which my text
represents in a metaphor, perhaps a little more level to our apprehension, as
being His preparing a place for us. Behind the veil there is a working Christ,
who, in the heavens, is preparing a place for all that love Him.
II. In the next place, note the Return.

The purpose of our Lord’s departure, as setforth by Himself here, guarantees
for us His coming back again. That is the force of the simple argumentation of
my text, and of the pathetic and soothing repetition of the sweetwords, ‘I go
to prepare a place for you; and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come
againand receive you unto Myself.’ Becausethe departure had for its purpose
the preparing of the place, therefore it is necessarilyfollowedby a return. He
who went awayas the Forerunner has not done His work until He comes
back, and, as Guide, leads those for whom He had prepared the place to the
place which He had prepared for them.
Now that return of our Lord, like His departure, may be consideredas having
two stages. Unquestionably the main meaning and application of the words is
to that final and personalcoming which stands at the end of history, and to
which the hopes of every Christian soul ought to be steadfastlydirected. He
will ‘so come in like manner as’ He has gone. We are not to waterdown such
words as these into anything short of a return preciselycorresponding in its
method to the departure; and as the departure was visible, corporeal, literal,
personal, and local, so the return is to be visible, corporeal, literal, personal,
localtoo. He is to come as He went, a visible Manhood, only throned amongst
the clouds of heaven with powerand greatglory. This is the aim that He sets
before Him in His departure. He leaves in order that He may come back
again.
And, oh, dear friends! remember-and let us live in the strength of the
remembrance-that this return ought to be the prominent subject of Christian
aspiration and desire. There is much about the conceptionof that solemn
return, with all the convulsions that attend it, and the judgment of which it is
preliminary, that may wellmake men’s hearts chill within them. But for you
and me, if we have any love in our hearts and loyalty in our spirits to that
King, ‘His coming’ should be ‘prepared as the morning,’ and we should join
in the greatburst of rapture of many a psalm, which calls upon rocks and hills
to break forth into singing, and trees of the field to clap their hands, because
He cometh as the King to judge the earth. His own parable tells us how we
ought to regardHis coming. When the fig-tree’s branch begins to supple, and
the little leaves to push their way through the polished stem, then we know
that summer is at hand. His coming should be as the approach of that

glorious, fervid time, in which the sunshine has tenfold brilliancy and power,
the time of ripened harvests and matured fruits, the time of joy for all
creatures that love the sun. It should be the glad hope of all His servants.
We have a double witness to bear in the midst of this as of every generation.
One half of the witness stretches backwards to the Cross, and proclaims
‘Christ has come’; the other reaches onwards to the Throne, and proclaims
‘Christ will come.’Betweenthese two high uplifted piers swings the chain of
the world’s history, which closes withthe return, to judge and to save, of the
Lord who came to die and has gone to prepare a place for us.
But do not let us forget that we may well take another point of view than this.
Scripture knows of many comings of the Lord preliminary to, and in principle
one with, His last coming. For nations all greatcrises of their history are
‘comings of the Lord,’ the Judge, and we are strictly in the line of Scripture
analogywhen, in reference to individuals, we see in eachsingle death a true
coming of the Lord.
That is the point of view in which we ought to look upon a Christian’s death-
bed. ‘The Masteris come, and callethfor thee.’ Beyond all secondarycauses,
deeper than disease oraccident, lies the loving will of Him who is the Lord of
life and of death. Deathis Christ’s minister, ‘mighty and beauteous, though
his face be dark,’ and he, too, stands amidst the ranks of the ‘ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation.’It is
Christ that says of one, ‘I will that this man tarry,’ and to another, ‘Go!’ and
he goeth. But whensoevera Christian man lies down to die, Christ says,
‘Come!’ and he comes. How that thought should hallow the death-chamber as
with the print of the Master’s feet! How it should quiet our hearts and dry our
tears!How it should change the whole aspectofthat ‘shadow feared of man’!
With Him for our companion, the lonely road will not be dreary; and though
in its anticipation, our timid hearts may often be ready to say, ‘Surely the
darkness shallcover me,’ if we have Him by our sides, ‘even the night shall be
light about us.’ The dying martyr beneath the city walllifted up his face to the
heavens, and said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ It was the echo of the
Master’s promise, ‘I will come again, and receive you to Myself.’

III. Lastly, notice the PerfectedUnion.
The departure for such a purpose necessarilyinvolved the return again. Both
are stagesin the process, whichis perfectedby complete union-’That where I
am there ye may be also.’
Christ, as I have been saying, is Heaven. His presence is all that we need for
peace, forjoy, for purity, for rest, for love, for growth. To be ‘with Him,’ as
He tells us in another part of these wonderful lastwords in the upper
chamber, is to ‘behold His glory.’ And to behold His glory, as John tells us in
his Epistle, is to be like Him. So Christ’s presence means the communication
to us of all the lustre of His radiance, of all the whiteness of His purity, of all
the depth of His blessedness, andof a share in His wondrous dominion. His
glorified manhood will pass into ours, and they that are with Him where He is
will restas in the centre and home of their spirits, and find Him all-sufficient.
His presence is my Heaven.
That is almost all we know. Oh! it is more than all we need to know. The
curtain is the picture. It is because whatis there transcends in glory all our
present experience that Scripture canonly hint at it and describe it by
negations-suchas ‘no night,’ ‘no sorrow,’‘no tears,’‘former things passed
away’; and by symbols of glory and lustre gatheredfrom all that is loftiest
and noblest in human buildings and society. But all these are but secondary
and poor. The living heart of the hope, and the lambent centre of the
brightness, is, ‘So shall we ever be with the Lord.’
And it is enough. It is enough to make the bond of union betweenus in the
outer court and them in the holy place. Partedfriends will fix to look at the
same star at the same moment of the night and feelsome union; and if we
from amidst the clouds of earth, and they from amidst the pure radiance of
their heaven, turn our eyes to the same Christ, we are not far apart. If He be
the companionof eachof us, He reaches a hand to each, and, clasping it, the
parted ones are united; and ‘whether we wake or sleepwe live together,’
because we both live with Him.
Brother! Is Jesus Christ so much to you that a heaven which consists in
nearness and likeness to Him has any attraction for you? Let Him be your

Saviour, your Sacrifice, yourHelper, your Companion. Obey Him as your
King, love Him as your Friend, trust Him as your All. And be sure that then
the darkness will be but the shadow of His hand, and insteadof dreading
death as that which separatesyou from life and love and actionand joy, you
will be able to meet it peacefully, as that which rends the thin veil, and unites
you with Him who is the Heaven of heavens.
He has gone to prepare a place for us. And if we will let Him, He will prepare
us for the place, and then come and lead us thither. ‘Thou wilt show me the
path of life’ which leads through death. ‘In Thy presence is fullness of joy, and
at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
MacLaren, Alexander. "Commentary on John 14:3". Alexander MacLaren's
Expositions of Holy Scripture.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/john-14.html.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Come again; the perfect fulfilment of this promise will be at Christ’s second
coming, when the bodies of believers, being raised in glory, will be reunited
with their spirits, and they receivedby Christ to the everlasting mansions
prepared for them in heaven. But it has also a previous blessedfulfilment to
the spirit of eachtrue Christian when he leaves this world. Luke 16:22; Luke
23:43;2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation14:13.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/john-
14.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
3. ἐὰν πορευθῶ. The ἐάν does not imply a doubt; but, as in John 12:32, it is the
result rather than the date of the actionthat is emphasized; hence ‘if,’ not
‘when.’ see on John 12:26.
ἔρχομαι κ. παραλήμψομαι.The late form λήμψομαι occurs againActs 1:8; we
have λαμψομαι Hdt. IX. 108. The change from present to future is important:
Christ is ever coming in various ways to His Church; but His receiving of each
individual will take place once for all at death and at the last day (see on John
19:16). Christ’s coming againmay have various meanings and apparently not
always the same one throughout these discourses;the Resurrection, or the gift
of the Paraclete, orthe presence ofChrist in His Church, or the death of
individuals, or the SecondAdvent at the lastday. Comp. John 6:39-40.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on John 14:3". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools and
Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/john-14.html.
1896.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
3. Go and prepare a place—Throughhis death he would open a new and
living way (Hebrews 10:20)into the heaven which his merit had purchased.
I will come again—According to the law of prophetic perspective, to which we
have so often referred, the SecondAdvent of our Lord is beheld with clear
distinctness in the near distance. Forthis reasonwe rejecthere, as elsewhere,
all reference of the coming of the Son of man to the period of death. Nordoes
the Saviourhere refer, as many commentators imagine, to a generalspiritual
coming, extending along the entire interval to the end of time. The day in
which Christ shall come againto take believers home is the day of judgment
describedin Matthew 24, 25.
Unto myself… where I am… ye… also—Emphaticallydoes our Lord in these
terms indicate that the happiness of heaven, both of Christ and his redeemed,
will consistin their reunion in love.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/john-14.html.
1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable

The commentators noted that Jesus spoke ofseveralreturns for His own in
this Gospel. Sometimes Jesusmeant His return to the disciples following His
resurrectionand before His ascension( John 14:18-20;John 21:1). Other
times He meant His coming to them through the Holy Spirit after His
ascensionand before His bodily return ( John 14:23). [Note: R. H. Gundry,
""In my Father"s House are many Monai" ( John 142)," Zeitschrift fr die
Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft58(1967):68-72.]Still other times He meant
His eschatologicalreturn at the end of the inter-advent age. Some interpreters
view this return as the Rapture and others believe Jesus was referring to the
SecondComing. Another view is that Jesus was really speaking aboutthe
believer"s death figuratively. [Note:E.g, R. H. Lightfoot, pp275-76.]Many
interpreters believe some combination of the above views is most probable.
[Note:E.g, Barrett, p457;R. H. Strachen, The Fourth Gospel:Its Significance
and Environment, p280;and Westcott, The Gospel... Greek Text..., 2:168.]
Since Jesus spoke ofreturning from heavento take believers there, the
simplest explanation seems to be that He was referring to an eschatological
bodily return (cf. Acts 1:11). Though these disciples undoubtedly did not
realize it at the time, Jesus was evidently speaking of His return for them at
the Rapture rather than His return at the SecondComing.
" John 14:3 is the only verse in the Gospels thatis commonly acceptedby
contemporary pretribulationists and posttribulationists alike as a reference to
the rapture." [Note: Wayne A. Brindle, "BiblicalEvidence for the Imminence
of the Rapture," Bibliotheca Sacra158:630 (April-June2001):139.]
Other Scripture clarifies that when Jesus returns at the Rapture it will be to
call His own to heaven immediately ( 1 Thessalonians4:13-18). John14:1-3 is
one of three key New Testamentpassagesthatdeal with the Rapture, the
others being 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.In contrast,

when Jesus returns at the SecondComing it will be to remain on the earth and
reign for1 ,000 years ( Revelation19:11 to Revelation20:15).
". . . it is important to note that Jesus did not saythat the purpose of this
future coming to receive believers is so that He can be where they are-on the
earth. Instead, He said that the purpose is so that they can be where He Isaiah
-in heaven." [Note: RenaldE. Showers, Maranatha:Our Lord, Come!A
Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church, p158. Cf1Thessalonians4:17.
His entire eighth chapter, pp154-75 , deals with this passage andvarious
interpretations of it.]
". . . here in John xiv the Lord gives a new and unique revelation; He speaks
of something which no prophet had promised, or even could promise. Where
is it written that this Messiahwould come and instead of gathering His saints
into an earthly Jerusalem, would take them to the Father"s house, to the very
place where He is? It is something new.... He speaks then of a coming which is
not for the deliverance of the Jewishremnant, not of a coming to establishHis
kingdom over the earth, not of a coming to judge the nations, but a coming
which concerns only His own." [Note: Arno C. Gaebelein, The GospelofJohn
, p268.]
The emphasis in this prediction is on the comfort that reunion with the
departed Savior guarantees (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:18). Jesus willpersonally
come for His own, and He will receive them to Himself. They will also be with
Him where He has been (cf. John 17:24). Jesus was stressing His personal
concernfor His disciples" welfare. His return would be as certain as His
departure. The greatestblessing of heaven will be our ceaselesspersonal
fellowship with the Lord Jesus there, not the splendor of the place.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon John 14:3". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/john-14.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 14:3. And if I shall have gone and prepared a place for you, I come
again, and will receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye also may be.
All that has precededthese words has restedupon the idea that, although
Jesus is now ‘going away’to the Father, He is not really forsaking His
disciples. Even when in one sense separatedfrom them, in another He will still
be with them; and this latter presence will in due time, when they like Him
have accomplishedtheir work, be followedby their receiving againthat joy of
His immediate presence which they are now to lose. This double thought
seems to explain the remarkable use of two different tenses ofthe verb in the
secondclause ofthe verse,—‘Icome,’‘I will receive.’He is’ whereverHis
people are:they ‘shall be,’ when their toils are over, whereverHe is (comp.
chap. John 12:26). The SecondComing of the Lord is not, therefore, resolved
by these words into a merely spiritual presence in which He shall be always
with His people. The true light in which to look at that greatfact is as the
manifestation of a presence neverfar awayfrom us (comp. John 14:18). Our
Lord is always with us, though (as we have yet to see)it is in the powerof the
Spirit that He is so now. He will againHimself, in His ownperson, be with us,
and we with Him, when our work is ‘finished.’

Observe also the change of order in the original in the case ofthe words ‘I am’
and ‘ye may be,’ the effectbeing to bring the ‘I’ and the’ ye ‘into the closest
juxtaposition (comp. on John 14:1).’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/john-14.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 14:3. Neither will He prepare a place and leave them to find their own
way to it.— καὶ ἐὰν πορευθῶ … ἦτε. “If I go”;that is, the commencementof
this work as their forerunner was the pledge of its completion. And its
completion is effectedby His coming againand receiving them to Himself, or
“to His own home,” πρὸς ἐμαυτόν. Cf. John 20:10.— πάλιν ἔρχομαι καὶ
παραλήμψομαι, “Icome againand will receive”. The presentis used in
ἔρχομαι as if the coming were so certain as to be already begun, cf. John 5:25.
For παραλήμψομαι see Song ofSolomon8:2. The promise is fulfilled in the
death of the Christian, and it has changedthe aspectof death. The personal
secondcoming of Christ is not a frequent theme in this Gospel. The ultimate
objectof His departure and return is ἵνα ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγώ, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἧτε. Cf. 1
Thessalonians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23. The objectof Christ’s
departure is permanent reunion and the blessednessofthe Christian.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on John 14:3". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/john-14.html. 1897-1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
I will come again:not only by rising the third day, but at your death, and at
the day of judgment: that where I am, you also may be, and may receive the
reward of eternal happiness in my kingdom.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon John 14:3". "George Haydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/john-14.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
if. App-118.
I will come, &c. = againI am coming, and I will receive you.
unto. Greek. pros. App-104.
that = in order that. Greek hires.

yemay be also = ye also may be.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on John 14:3". "E.W. Bullinger's
Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/john-14.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again- strictly, at His
SecondPersonalAppearing; but, in a secondaryand comforting sense, to each
individually, when he puts off this tabernacle, sleeping in Jesus, but his spirit
"presentwith the Lord."
And receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Mark
here againthe extent of the claim which Jesus makes-atHis SecondComing to
receive His people to Himself (see the notes at Ephesians 5:27;Colossians
1:22; Jude 1:24), that where He is, there they may be also. He thinks it quite
enough to re-assure them, to say that where He is, there they shall be.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
14:3". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/john-
14.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(3) And if I go and prepare . . .—Forthe form of the expression, comp. Notes
on John 12:32, and 1 John 2:28. It does not imply uncertainty, but expresses
that the fact is in the region of the future, which is clearto Him, and will
unfold itself to them.
I will come again, and receive you unto myself.—This clause has been
variously explained of the resurrection;of the death of individual disciples;of
the spiritual presence ofour Lord in the Church; of the coming again of the
Lord in the Parousia ofthe last day, when all who believe in Him shall be
receivedunto Himself. The difficulty has arisen from taking the words “I will
come again,” as necessarilyreferring to the same time as those which follow—
“I will receive you unto Myself,” whereas they are in the present tense, and
should be literally rendered, I am coming again. They refer rather, as the
same words refer when used in John 14:18, to His constantspiritual presence
in their midst; whereas the reception of them to Himself is to be understood of
the complete union which will accompanythat spiritual presence;a union
which will be commenced in this life, advancedby the death of individuals,
and completedin the final coming again. (Comp. John 17:24.)
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on John 14:3". "Ellicott's Commentary
for EnglishReaders".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/john-14.html. 1905.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
I will
18-23,28;12:26;17:24; Matthew 25:32-34;Acts 1:11; 7:59,60;Romans 8:17; 2
Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17;2 Thessalonians
1:12; 2:1; 2 Timothy 2:12; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2,3;Revelation3:21;
21:22,23;22:3-5
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on John 14:3". "The Treasury of Scripture
Knowledge". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/john-
14.html.
The Bible Study New Testament

I will come back, He speaks here of his SecondComing, when the dead are
raisedto life, and all who belong to Christ will be taken to the "Wedding
Feastin Heaven." Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Ice, Rhoderick D. "Commentary on John 14:3". "The Bible Study New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ice/john-14.html.
College Press, Joplin, MO. 1974.
Ver. 3. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Here we have the third thing: the abodes are there; Christ prepares them; and
He receives His own to Himself. That which is here said of the coming of
Christ, receives illustration from the example of Stephen. He, at the hour of
his death, Acts 7:55, beholds the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right
hand of God. In his lastword, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," he addresses
Him as present, and yields to Him his soul, that He may introduce it into
heavenly glory. We have here the comforting assurance thatthe Lord is
personally presentat every deathbed of believers; and in harmony with this
assurance, we have countless records ofdying experience, in which faith has
been in such energetic exercise as to become sight. To setaside this
consolatorytruth by any qualifying interpretation, is wrong; nor is there any
reasonfor doing so, since, according to vers. 18 seq., the entire life of believers
is pervaded by manifestations of the Lord; and it is to be understood as self-
evident, that He accompaniesHis own through the valley. The angelof the
Lord, who appearedto Abraham in a bodily prelude of His incarnation, says,
in Genesis 18:14, "At the time appointed I will return unto thee, and Sarah

shall have a son;" and that He fulfilled His word, is manifest from ch. John
21:1, "And the Lord visited Sarah, as He had said." If, at the hour of birth,
the Sonof Godis near, why should He not much rather be near in the hour of
death? The Lord teaches us, in Luke 16:22, that in the last hour the heavenly
powers are especiallyactive:the angels carry Lazarus into Abraham's bosom.
The other interpretations have sprung from the fact, that men have taken "I
come again" separatelyfrom "and receive you unto Myself" (with which,
however, it is so inseparably connected, that there is not even a comma
betweenthem), and have then comparedwith it other passagesin which the
coming of the Lord is spokenof, interpreting this by those. It is obvious, from
the nature of the case, thatthe coming of the Lord is a manifold and various
coming; for He is the Living One. Where a cold faith thinks only of an
indefinite working from afar, there a living faith apprehends a realcoming
down from above. Here we have not simply a figure derived from sense, but
the actualtruth ofthe matter. The Lord, according to Revelation2:1, walks in
the midst of the sevengoldencandlesticks:He is everywhere present in His
Church upon earth, and everywhere in ceaselessactivity. And it is a
fundamental view of the Apocalypse, that whereverHe works He comes. With
the coming of ver. 18 seq. the coming of our presentpassage has nothing to do.
There it is not the receiving the disciples home that is spokenof, but rather
the tokens and manifestations by which Christ declares Himself to His people
during their pilgrimage to be the Living One. The eschatological
interpretation (Origen: "He means His secondcoming from heaven;" so
Lampe: "He speaks ofHis final coming visibly in the clouds of heaven," Acts
1:11) overlooks the fact that the Lord's utterance was primarily addressedto
the Apostles, and that we must include here only what was an advantage to
them personally; and it forgets the connectionwith the word spokento Peter,
ὕστερον δὲ ἀκολουθήσεις μοι, ch. John13:36. There is no reasonwhy we
should rob ourselves of the gracious consolationwhich this declarationof our
Lord reserves for the time of our departure; we should rather receive it into
our heart, and overcome by it all the terrors of death, which then assumes a
friendly aspect, whenwe know that the Lord accompaniesit, to take us to
Himself.—"And receive you unto Myself:" heaven is made heaven really and
truly only by our entering there into the most direct personalfellowship with
Christ, whom upon earth we loved. Luther: "So that ye have most assuredly,

both at once, the mansions in heaven and Me with you for all eternity." Christ
Himself, without any veil, and without any medium, without anything that in
our presentlife interposes betweenHim and us—that is the profoundest
desire of the soul in this valley of tears. And that desire will be satisfiedwhen
He shall come and receive us home to Himself.
"After Christ," observes Lampe, "had, in vers. 2 and 3 , shown that eternal
salvationwas connectedwith this going away. He now enumerates the several
benefits which the disciples would have to expectupon earth through Himself
and for His sake."First, in vers. 4-11 , to His people, through their knowledge
of Him the way is open to heavenly blessedness, and to that glorious house of
the Father. To be in possessionof the right way to heaven, is a precious
consolationin our present troubled life; through that we are enabled, in this
miserable world, to wait patiently for the blessedtime when we shall reach the
house of our Father and the presence of our Lord.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
John 14:3
The Promise of the Lord’s Return
Brian Bill 8/28/11
This has been quite a week weather-wise in our country. With Hurricane
Irene bearing down on the EastCoast, people are worried and taking
precautions. Earlierin the week an earthquake shook up many of these same
people. Some headlines are asking if we are in the last days because ofthese
cataclysmic events. Others are mocking and making fun of it all.
This was especiallythe case whenmany Californians scoffedat the scared
people on the EastCoast. One lifelong veteran of earthquakes had this to say:
“Reallyall this excitement over a 5.8 quake? Come on EastCoast, we have

those for breakfastout here!” Another tweeted, “That's what us Californians
use to stir our coffee with.”
My wife heard some talk radio people laughing their heads off this week after
one of them read Isaiah29:6 in a mocking way: “The Lord Almighty will
come with thunder and earthquake and greatnoise, with windstorm and
tempest and flames of a devouring fire.” I don’t know what they said next
because she switchedstations in a hurry.
Let’s face it. Some of the stuff we hear does make us roll our eyes, like when
Harold Camping predicted the world was going to end this past May. I guess
the countdownclock we’re supposedto follow now is the coming expiration of
the Mayancalendaron December21, 2012.Funny, I didn’t know we were
following the pseudo-scientific and superstitious Mayancalendar!
With all this apocalyptic hyperbole, many Americans mock it all and others
are seriouslyquestioning if Christ is coming back at all. Friends, we should
not be surprised when unbelievers laugh at the Lord’s return. Listen to the
words of 2 Peter3:3-4: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days
scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. Theywill say,
‘Where is this coming he promised?’”
While Harold Camping was wrong in many things he said, he was right when
he said Jesus is coming back. His timing was all messedup, but the truth of
the secondcoming is a promise made by Christ Himself.
Before we ponder this promise, here are three thoughts.
1. This is a deep subject. One scholarhas estimated that there are over 300
separate prophecies relatedto the secondcoming of Jesus in the Bible. For
every prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ, there are eight that look
forward to His second!(Todayin the Word, April 1989, page 27). I’ve
included three appendices at the end of the manuscript for those who would
like to study more in-depth.
2. There are differences of opinion. The theologyof the end times has been
debated and argueddown through the centuries. My own understanding of
this doctrine has not been without some struggle because no one passagetells

us everything. No matter which view you hold, you have to think about how
Matthew 24 and 1 and 2 Thessaloniansrelate and how all this goes together
with the Book ofDanieland Revelation. When we come to terms with what we
believe the Bible to teach, we must be gracious towards those that have
different views.
3. Avoid the dangers of two extremes. One extreme is to be more concerned
about dates and times and signs than with His return. The other extreme is to
ignore the promise of His return and go through life as if He’s not coming
back. Frankly, I don’t know which one is worse.
I’ll Be Back
According to a survey in U.S. News and World Report, 61% of Americans
believe in the SecondComing of Christ. A Newsweek pollreports that 45%
believe that Christ will return in their lifetime. The people at Pew Research
report that 79% of U.S. Christians believe in the return of Jesus, but there’s
much less agreementabout the timing and the circumstances surrounding His
coming.
As helpful as polls might be, when it comes right down to it, what really
matters are the promises of God as found in the Bible. That’s what we’ve
learned togetherthis summer – the promise of eternal life, the promise of
victory, the promise of forgiveness, the promise of guidance, the promise of
answeredprayer, the promise of wisdom, the promise of peace, andthe
promise of God’s presence. Youcan jump online to catchany you might have
missed at pontiacbible.org. The difference betweenall these promises and the
one we’re studying today is that we’re still waiting for the fulfillment of His
return.
The Bible is clearthat the return of Christ is a promise that canbe counted
on. Jesus communicatedthis very clearlyin John 14:3: “And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you
also may be where I am.” This literally reads, “I come again.” His coming is
meant to serve as a comfort to the disciples. The One who said, “I go,” is the
same One who said, “I come.”

After His Resurrection, Jesusappearedto people over a period of 40 days.
After giving some final instructions, He was transported to Heaven before
their very eyes and Acts 1:9 says, “and a cloud hid him from their sight.” This
was no ordinary cloud but was the same cloud that led Israel in the
wilderness, God’s Shekinahglory. Two angels appearand say these words in
Acts 1:11, “Menof Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This same
Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same
way you have seenhim go into heaven.”
Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ was sacrificedonce to take awaythe sins of
many people; and he will appear a secondtime, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvationto those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 10 calls us to persevere
so that we will receive the promise and verse 37 says, “Forin just a very little
while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay…’” And in the second
to the lastverse of the Bible, in Revelation22:20, Jesus restates the promise of
His return: “Yes, I am coming soon.”
From the first century up to now, Christ followers have always believedthat
Jesus couldreturn at any time. That’s exactly how the doctrinal statementof
Pontiac Bible Church reads, “We believe in the literal, personal, imminent,
pre-tribulation, and pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ…” Literal
means that He’s actually coming back. Personalmeans that it will be Jesus
Himself. Imminent means it could happen before we take our next breath.
Pre-tribulation refers to the belief that Jesus will remove true Christians from
the world before the terrible time of tribulation, which will last7 years. Pre-
millennial means that Jesus will return to the earth with believers at the end
of the tribulation period and setup a thousand-year reign.
When Is He Coming?
The exacttiming of His return is a bit more difficult to establishthan the
certainty of His coming.
Please turn in your Bible to Matthew 24. This chapter contains more about
the end times from the lips of Jesus than any other sectionof Scripture. In
verse 1, the disciples are showing off the beauty of the buildings that made up
the Temple. Jesus shocksthem in verse 2 when he drops a bombshell: “Do you

see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on
another; every one will be thrown down.” Then, without any further
explanation, Jesus walks aboutanother ½ mile and sits down on the Mount of
Olives, overlooking the Temple mount.
By the way, it is highly significant that Jesus chose to teachon the end times
while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives. This is one of those goose-bump
moments in the Bible. Referring to the secondcoming of Christ, Zechariah
14:4 says, “Onthat day His feetwill stand on the Mount of Olives, eastof
Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from eastto west,
forming a greatvalley, with half of the mountain moving north and half
moving south.”
After hearing the prediction of the temple’s demolition, the disciples come up
to Jesus privately and ask Him some questions in verse 3: “…whenwill this
happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
In the first part of his answerin verses 4-14, Jesus gives us three noteworthy
signs to let us know that His return is right around the corner.
3 Signs
1. Destructive Deception. We see this in verses 4-5:“Watchout that no one
deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’
and will deceive many.” There have been many examples of false messiahs in
recentmemory: Jim Jones in JonestownandDavid Koresh in Waco to a
Puerto RicanPreacher. As we near the return of the realJesus, there will be a
growing number of leaders who will claim that they are the Christ. There will
also be an increasedamount of false teaching as the end nears.
2. Terrible Times. Check out verses 6-13. Our world will increasingly
experience cataclysmic naturaldisasters to an outpouring of evil like we’ve
never seenbefore. Killer hurricanes, famines, deadly floods, and life-
shattering earthquakes are almosta daily occurrence in the news. Jesus very
clearly taught that earthquakes and famines are only the beginning of birth
pains in verse 8. Along with natural disasters, we will see an accelerationof
unbridled evil.

Things are bad now but the greatestevil is yet to come. In verse 10 we read
that “…many will turn awayfrom the faith and will betray and hate each
other.” Verse 12 tells us that even love will be in short supply: “Because ofthe
increase ofwickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” I wonder what the
answerto this question askedby Jesus in Luke 18:8 will be: “However, when
the Sonof Man comes, willhe find faith on the earth?” 2 Timothy 3:1 says,
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the lastdays.”
3. Expansive Evangelism. These first two signs are negative;let’s take a look
now at a positive precursorthat will indicate that the return of Jesus is close
at hand. Listen to the words of Jesus in verse 14:“And this gospelof the
kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and
then the end will come.” The word ‘nations’ in this verse does not refer
primarily to political entities but to the various ‘people groups’ of the world.
In other words, every group of people must hear the gospelmessagebefore
the end will come. Did you know that there are still about 7,000 unreached
people groups?
As we approachthe end times, there will be a marked increase in the tempo of
world evangelization. There will be a renewedinterest in communicating the
goodnews of forgiveness and eternal life through Christ. We will see a new
sense ofurgency to penetrate the entire world with the life-changing message
of Jesus Christ. That’s why PBC is so committed to sending out missionaries
all over the world.
I believe that is preciselywhat is going on right now. There are reports of
unprecedented church growthfrom China, Latin America, in India, in Africa
and even in Iran. A friend of our daughter Emily has been serving in Iraq,
and sharedwith Emily this week how eagerpeople are to hear about Jesus.
When I was preparing this message,I receivedan email from someone in
Pakistan:“DearpastorBill. In 2004 you sent me a book about sin. That book
and Bible reading healedme and I am now a Christian and was baptized in
bath tub secretlyby a missionary. My family are Muslim scholars. Thank you.
Now I need you to pray for me.” (Basim)

In tandem with the spreadof the goodnews around the world, we will see an
openness to spiritual matters in the last days. I see it here in our church and in
the community. Here’s one more story that happened on Thursday. I had a
lunch appointment with a new PBC couple and arrived early and was sitting
outside the restaurant holding a copy of “Why Did This Happen to Me?” One
of the waitresses came up and actually took the book out of my hand and said
she neededit. I told her to keepit. I also gave her a tract and offeredto have a
PBC pastor meet with her. Just then another waitress came up and told me
about a scary moment in her life. I gave her a tract as well.
In verses 15-28, Jesusreveals some specific events that will take place just
prior to His return. Then, in verses 29-31, He speaks ofHis return to the earth
in greatpower and glory. I want to focus now on the lastpart of chapter24,
where Jesus addressesthe question of “when.”
When Is He Coming?
1. The timing is unknown. No one will ever know the precise moment of His
return as Jesus declaresin verse 36: “No one knows about the day or hour,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The best we
can do is to read the signs and know that the time is at hand. If anyone ever
tells you that they know exactlywhen Jesus will return, don’t believe it.
2. Jesus will come when most are unprepared. Look at verses 37-41:“As it
was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in
the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, up to the day Noahentered the ark; and they knew
nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all
away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be
in the field; one will be takenand the other left. Two womenwill be grinding
with a hand mill; one will be takenand the other left.”
While Noah patiently built the ark and warned people of coming judgment,
people laughed at him and said, “It will never happen.” Noah’s day was like
our day - an age of scoffing skepticismand moral relativity. The more Noah
preached, the more his contemporaries mockedhim. And just as the ark

savedNoah, even so Jesus Christ is the “ark of safety” for those who believe in
Him.
3. Make sure you’re ready. Look at verses 42-44:“Therefore keepwatch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand
this: If the ownerof the house had known at what time of night the thief was
coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken
into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour
when you do not expecthim.”
Note the two main commands: “Keep watch” and “Be ready.” A burglar
comes unannounced and suddenly. In a similar way, Jesus is coming like a
thief in the night. When we leastexpect Him, He will return to the earth.
Therefore, keepyour eyes on the skies and be ready at any moment to meet
the Lord face-to-face.
In the last chapterof Revelation, Jesus announcesthat He is coming soon.
• Rev 22:7 – “Behold, I am coming soon!Blessedis he who keeps the words of
the prophecy in this book.”
• Rev 22:12 – “Behold, I am coming soon!My reward is with me, and I will
give to everyone according to what he has done.”
• Rev 22:20 – “Yes, I am coming soon.” This is the last promise made in the
entire Bible.
That leads me to ask a simple question: When was the last time you saidto
yourself, “Jesus maycome today?”
The Relevance ofHis Return
So what are some practicalapplications that flow out of the promise of His
return? There are many but let me offer just three.
1. Encourage one another. This topic is not meant to terrify you…unless you
are not yet a born againbeliever. After a lengthy discussionof the Rapture in
1 Thessalonians 4, Paulpoints out the comfort that comes from knowing that

Jesus is returning and in verse 18 he says this: “Therefore encourageeach
other with these words.”
The messageofthe coming of Christ ought to fill us with tremendous
excitement. Let’s encourageeachotherto “go for it” spiritually. Let’s be
completely committed, fully engaged, and passionatelyinvolved in kingdom
living. This is no time to play it safe. If you’re a believer, and you’ve not been
baptized, what are you waiting for? Our next service will be on September
11th. If you’re not in a ConnectionGroup or a Bible study, what’s your
reason? If you’re a mom, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to join
“Entrusted with a Child’s Heart” on Monday nights. One reasonwe’re
adding a third service in January is because we see so many PBC people living
out their faith and inviting friends, that we want to make sure we have room
for all of them!
The first Christians used to greeteachother with the phrase, “Maranatha,”
which literally means, “Come, Lord Jesus!” from Revelation22:20. This is the
last prayer of the Bible. Believers also usedit when they wanted to emphasize
something as seenin 1 Corinthians 16:22 – “If anyone does not love the Lord –
a curse be on him. Come, O Lord! I wonder what would happen if we started
using this phrase in our conversations? Let’s try saying, “Maranatha” to each
other right now. Turn to the personnext to you and say it.
2. Live pure lives. Here’s a goodquestion to ask yourself when you’re sinning:
“Would I want to be doing this when Jesus returns?” Wouldn’t it be terrible
to be ashamedwhen Jesus comes back?1 John 2:28: “And now, dear
children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and
unashamed before Him at His coming.” By the way, we’re kicking off a new
sermon series next week called, “ConfidentChristianity” from 1 John. Could
I encourage youto readthis book at leasttwice before next Sunday?
We don’t have to sell everything and move to the wilderness of Wisconsinto
wait for the Lord. Matthew 24 ends with a challenge to be faithful and wise
servants. Be faithful today and you’ll be ready today. Be faithful tomorrow
and you’ll be ready tomorrow. Be faithful next week and you‘ll be ready next
week. Be faithful always and you’ll be ready always. Someone has saidthe

biblical balance is to plan as though Jesus won’t return for a thousand years
but to live as though He might come today.
One church leaderput it like this: “As far as predicting the approximate time
of Christ’s SecondAdvent is concerned, I resignedfrom the Planning
Committee and have joined the Welcoming Committee.” If you knew that
Jesus was coming tonight at 8:00 p.m., what would you do differently? What
changes wouldyou make? Here’s the deal. One day He will return. Therefore,
let’s live in light of His coming today because everyday we move closerto
Christ’s return.
3. Ask Jesus to save you. If you have never turned your life over to Christ and
receivedHis salvation, then I want to appealto you with all my heart. Be
reconciledto God before it’s too late! Listen to 2 Peter3:9-10: “The Lord is
not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappearwith
a roar; the elements will be destroyedby fire, and the earth and everything in
it will be laid bare.”
Friend, I can’t beat around the bush. The consequencesare too staggering
and the stakes are waytoo high. Let me sayit as clearlyas I can. If you have
never made a decisionto put your faith in Jesus Christfor forgiveness ofsins,
you will be in deep trouble when Jesus comes back. Your judgment will be
certain, swift, and severe.
Don’t be left behind. Jesus right now is seeking a relationship with you.
Respondto Him before it’s too late!
All Shook Up
After listening to all the mocking done by Californians, an op-ed piece in the
LA Times quoted this statement from another writer that appeared just hours
after Japan’s massive earthquake and Tsunami in March: “It’s not a question
of whether we’re due for a catastrophic quake, but when.” I don’t know if
you’ve everhunkered down during a hurricane or lived through an
earthquake. When we lived in Mexico I was studying Spanish in a McDonalds

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