Summary:
The Lord probably figured the reason they didn’t listen when He said He had to die was because they knew they’d be sad, so He tells them they should “rejoice” since He was going to the Father (v.28), who was “greater” than He was.
How was the Father greater? Weren’t they “equal” (Phil. 2:6)? Don’t we teach that all three members of the Trinity were equal? Then why does the Father call Christ “My righteous servant” (Isa. 53:11). Doesn’t that indicate the Father is greater than the Son?
I used to think the Father was greater before the Son’s incarnation, but the Father “sent” the Son into the world (John 5:30,36,37; 6:44,57, etc.) Isn’t the sender greater than the one sent? Then I thought maybe after the Lord ascended into heaven the Father ceased to be greater, but Paul calls the Father “the God…of our Lord Jesus” (IICor.11:31; Eph. 1:3; cf. IPe.1:3). Then I thought that maybe the Father wouldn’t be greater in the ages to come, but Paul says otherwise (ICor.15:24-28).
The solution is in I Corinthians 11:3, where Paul compares the headship of the Father over Christ to the headship of a husband over his wife. The husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:23), but she is his “help meet” (Gen. 2:18). The word “meet” means “to be equal or equivalent to.” Eve was Adam’s equal, and yet we are told that he was her head. This means headship doesn’t affect equality.
Our constitution says that all men are created equal, and yet the president is your head, and the governor is greater than you. It’s a question of order, not inferiority. Christ was “subject” to His parents (Lu. 2:51), but wasn’t inferior to them. So wives who are subject to their husbands (Eph.5:24) aren’t inferior to them, and Christ is not inferior to the Father. God is a God of order (cf. Col.2:5), and the order in our homes reflects the order in the Godhead.
The Lord told them about dying and going to the Father (Jo.14:28) before “it” came to pass (Jo.14:28). He was trying to avoid the hopelessness they experienced on the road to Emmaus (Lu.24:17-21). If He told them about dying before He died they’d “believe” that He was Jehovah (Jo.13:19). Only God knows the future (Isa.41:23).
Compared to the previous three years of His ministry, the Lord wasn’t going to “talk much” more (Jo. 14:30) because “the prince of this world” was coming, i.e. Satan. But if it was actually Judas that was coming with soldiers, why does the Lord say Satan was coming? Well, remember, the Lord called Peter “Satan” when he refused to believe His Word (Mt.16:21-23).
If you’re thinking it was nice that the Lord knew the devil was coming, you too can know he’s coming. Satan hindered Paul from fellowshipping with saints (IThes.2:17,18), and he’ll hinder you too, through family, neighbors, friends, etc. He comes for you every Sunday.
When Judas & his gang got there they’d find nothing in the Lord to charge Him with (Jo.14:30 cf. 8:46). Even though He’d done nothing wrong, He let them arrest Him “that the world may know that I love the Father” (Jo.14:31). He said “the Father gave Me commandment” to lay down His life (Jo.10:18), and obeying it would prove He loved the Father.
Wouldn’t you think it would prove He loved us? It did, but it was more importantly proof that He loved Him. You too should do things for others to prove your love for the Father, not for them. The former makes you look good, the latter makes God look good.
The Lord ends the chapter by telling them to “arise” from the table where they ate the Passover and the Last Supper (14:31). His words “let us go hence” meant that even though He knew Satan was coming, in the person of Judas, rather than sit and wait for him like a victim, He was going to meet him (John 18:1-3). You too can be “more than conquerors” in your tribulations (Ro.8:35-37). A conqueror merely overcomes adversities; someone who is more than a conqueror benefits from adversity (Ro.5:3; IICor.4:17). You don’t have to be a victim!
