John 14 1

John 14:1 kjv

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:1 nkjv

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:1 niv

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me.

John 14:1 esv

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

John 14:1 nlt

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.

John 14 verses

John 14 1 Meaning

John 14:1 is a profound injunction from Jesus, spoken during His final discourse to His disciples before His crucifixion. It serves as a compassionate command and a divine antidote to the anxiety, fear, and sorrow that the disciples were experiencing due to His imminent departure and the disturbing revelations He had just made about betrayal and denial. The verse reassures them that in times of great tribulation, peace is found through steadfast faith in God and in Jesus Christ as divine co-equals. It directly addresses the human struggle with fear and points to an immediate and active reliance on divine power and promise for inner tranquility.

John 14 1 Context

John 14:1 is the opening verse of Jesus' Farewell Discourse (John 13-17), a pivotal section delivered in the upper room immediately after the Last Supper and Jesus' shocking prediction of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial (John 13:21-38). The disciples were deeply troubled, confused by Jesus' talk of His departure to a place where they could not follow, His impending suffering, and the implication of disloyalty among them. Their messianic expectations involved an earthly, victorious king, not a dying one. This verse acts as a calming preamble, setting the tone of comfort and hope, seeking to alleviate their escalating distress before Jesus delves into more complex truths about the Father's house, His role as the way, the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of their relationship with Him in His absence. Historically, it prepares them for His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, reframing their understanding of His mission.

John 14 1 Word analysis

• Let not: From Greek, mē tarassesthō. This is a prohibition, a command in the imperative mood. It is not merely an advisory but a divine directive to resist fear and turmoil. It indicates a battle against an inner state that can be overcome by deliberate faith.
• your heart: Greek, hymōn hē kardia (ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία). In biblical understanding, the "heart" is not just the seat of emotion, but the very core of a person's being—the center of intellect, will, reason, and moral choices. Thus, Jesus addresses their deepest being, the fount of their thoughts, affections, and decisions.
• be troubled: Greek, tarassesthō (ταρασσέσθω), from tarassō (ταράσσω). It means to stir up, disturb, agitate, or throw into confusion. This same word describes Jesus' own distress (Jn 11:33, 12:27) and the agitation of the pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:4). It implies deep internal disquiet, inner turmoil, fear, or profound sorrow. Jesus understands and directly names their condition.
• You believe in God: Greek, pisteuete eis ton Theon (πιστεύετε εἰς τὸν Θεόν). This phrase is highly significant due to the grammatical ambiguity of pisteuete. It can be either an indicative statement ("You believe in God," affirming their existing faith) or an imperative command ("Believe in God!"). Most scholars favor an indicative for the first clause, recognizing their fundamental Jewish belief in Yahweh as the basis. It implies building upon an established foundation of faith.
• believe also in Me: Greek, kai eis eme pisteuete (καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ πιστεύετε). This is almost universally understood as an imperative ("Believe also in Me!"). The parallelism (eis ton Theon... eis eme) is striking. By placing belief in Himself on par with belief in God, Jesus asserts His co-equality and divine nature. It is a direct call for a transferred or deepened trust from general belief in God to specific, personal trust in Himself, especially in light of the unsettling events about to unfold. This command addresses the need for the disciples to pivot their hope and certainty directly to Him.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "Let not your heart be troubled": This phrase encapsulates Jesus' empathetic concern and pastoral comfort. He doesn't dismiss their fear but commands them to combat it with their will. It acknowledges the deep distress but offers a pathway out of it—by faith. This reflects Jesus' understanding of the human condition and His power to alleviate its deepest anxieties.
• "You believe in God, believe also in Me": This powerful parallel statement serves as the foundation for overcoming their trouble. It's a re-grounding of their existing faith and an expansion of it. Their inherited monotheistic faith is now to be firmly extended to Christ. It implies that true, saving faith encompasses both Father and Son equally, and it is in this combined, holistic faith that true peace is found. This also implicitly confronts contemporary Jewish beliefs that might restrict "God" to the Father alone, expanding the scope to include the divine Son. It counters any fear of an absent or weak Messiah by assuring them of His full divine authority and purpose, mirroring the Father's.

John 14 1 Bonus section

• Empathetic Leadership: Jesus demonstrates perfect leadership by first identifying and acknowledging the deep emotional state of His followers (their troubled hearts) before offering a solution. He doesn't minimize their pain but directs them towards a spiritual antidote.
• Active Faith: The command "Let not..." and "believe..." implies that maintaining inner peace in Christ is not a passive reception but an active, willful engagement of faith against encroaching fear and despair. It's a continuous choice.
• Theological Foundation for Trinity: While not explicitly stating the Trinity, this verse, by equating belief in Jesus with belief in God, lays an important groundwork for understanding the unified yet distinct nature of God the Father and God the Son within the Godhead, and is expanded upon by the subsequent promise of the Spirit.
• Relevance for Today: The troubled heart remains a universal human experience. This verse continues to be a cornerstone of Christian comfort, offering solace and direction to believers grappling with loss, uncertainty, and fear, guiding them back to an active and trustful reliance on Christ as their ultimate hope and source of peace.

John 14 1 Commentary

John 14:1 is a direct address to human anxiety in the face of the unknown. Jesus’ initial command, "Let not your heart be troubled," sets the compassionate tone, acknowledging the profound fear and sorrow stirring within His disciples. This instruction is not a passive wish but an active charge, urging them to assert control over their inner state through the power of belief. The resolution to this spiritual turmoil lies in a foundational two-fold faith: an established trust in God (the Father) and an equally profound, unwavering trust in Jesus Christ Himself. This pairing of faith highlights Jesus' divine identity and co-equality with God.

In an impending period of extreme uncertainty and perceived abandonment, Jesus provides a remedy centered on His own person. By urging them to believe in Him just as they believe in God, He essentially states that the same steadfast, unwavering faith traditionally reserved for the Almighty should now be extended directly to Him. This provides the basis for all the comfort, promises, and future hope revealed in the subsequent verses. It signifies that Jesus is the ultimate source of peace, the revealer of the Father, and the provider of a secure future, thus assuring believers of solace and direction amidst life's gravest storms.