Section 14:1–14 Jesus is the way to the Father
Jesus continued to prepare his disciples for his death. He encouraged them to keep trusting God and told them that he would prepare a place for them in heaven. He also talked about his unity with God the Father and said that he was the way to go to his Father.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Jesus and God the Father are one
-or-
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life
Paragraph 14:1–4
Jesus’ disciples were upset because he had told them he was leaving. Jesus comforted and encouraged them. He told them that he would come back for them and take them to live with him in his Father’s house.
14:1a
Jesus continued the speech he began in 13:38. However, there he spoke only to Peter, while here he began to speak to all the disciples. In some languages it may be natural to supply a quote introducer here, because it is a new chapter. For example:
Jesus said to his disciples (Contemporary English Version)
Do not let your hearts be troubled: This sentence is a command addressed to all the disciples and means “Stop being troubled” or “Stop being upset.” Jesus had just told them that he was leaving so all the disciples were very worried. This sentence tells them to be at peace. Here are other ways to translate this sentence:
Do not be worried and upset. (Good News Translation)
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Set your troubled hearts at rest. (Revised English Bible)
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You must not let yourselves be distressed. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
your hearts: The pronoun your is plural which indicates that Jesus now spoke to all the disciples, not just Peter. Jews thought that the heart was the source and center of the will and emotions. In some languages it is more natural to speak of another body part. Or it may be more natural to refer to the emotions rather than to any body part. For example:
Don’t be worried! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Do not be troubled in your livers. (Yakan Back Translation)
14:1b
You believe in God; believe in Me as well: This sentence gives positive commands in contrast to the negative command in 14:1a. Rather than being troubled, the disciples should trust God and trust Jesus.
You believe in God: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as You believe can be interpreted in two ways:
(1) It is a command. For example:
Trust in God (New International Version)
(New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
(2) It is a statement, a description of what was already happening. For example:
You trust in God (New Jerusalem Bible)
(Berean Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, NET Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English translations. Jesus was encouraging his disciples to find peace by trusting God and trusting him.
This phrase includes the idea of believing the facts about God and what he has done. But it also includes the idea of trusting God instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about God, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated similar phrases about believing in Jesus in 1:12, 7:31, and 7:38. Here are other ways to translate this idea:
Have faith in God (Contemporary English Version)
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Trust in God (New Living Translation (2004))
believe: The two verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as believe in this context mean “keep on trusting.” The disciples already believed/trusted in God and in Jesus to a certain extent. Jesus wanted them to continue to trust, and to trust deeply. For example:
Trust in God always; trust also in me. (Revised English Bible)
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you must hold on to your faith in God and to your faith in me (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
believe in Me as well: See the note about “Believe in God” just above and how you translated that clause. Translate this clause in a similar way. For example:
have faith in me (Contemporary English Version)
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trust also in me (New Living Translation (2004))
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