In John 14:1, what does it mean to 'let not your hearts be troubled'?
In John 14:1, Jesus tells the disciples: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled after He had already told them of the difficulties that were to come. In John 12, He prophesies His crucifixion and in John 13, He alerts the disciples to the fact that one of them would betray Him (Judas Iscariot) and also told Peter that he would deny Him. All of this news was disturbing to the disciples, and it was after this that Jesus told them "Let not your hearts be troubled." He did not leave them without hope. He proceeded to tell them that He was going to prepare a place for them and also that He would be sending the Holy Spirit.
In the following couple chapters, John 15 and 16, Jesus tells the disciples about the victory over the world that they can walk in when they are indwelled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The promised Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. We see the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work among believers in the book of Acts and we still see evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers today.
The disciples knew that there were going to be difficult days ahead, and this is the point at which Jesus told them to not let their hearts be troubled. Later in the same chapter, He says again: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27). Jesus gave the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit to hold on to.
Similarly, we face difficulties in our lives, but Jesus' encouragement to "Let not your hearts be troubled" still applies to us. As believers, we already have the Holy Spirit within us and His presence provides peace in the midst of both joy and hardship. The promises Jesus gave the disciples still stand for us today. And now, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).
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