John 14:18

18 I will not leave you orphans -- I am coming to you.

John 14:18 Meaning and Commentary

John 14:18

I will not leave you comfortless
Gr. "orphans", or "fatherless". Christ stands in the relation of a Father to his people, and they are his children, his spiritual seed and offspring; and so the disciples might fear, that as Christ was going from them, they should be left as children without a father, in a very desolate and comfortless, condition: to support them against these fears, Christ promises that he would not leave them thus, at least not long:

I will come to you;
in a very short time, as he did; for on the third day he rose again from the dead, and appeared to them, which filled them with great joy. So among the Jews, disciples, and the world too, are represented as fatherless, when their doctors and wise men are removed by death. Says R. Aba, ^F24 and so sometimes others, concerning R. Simeon ben Jochai,

``woe to the world when thou shall go out of it, woe to the generation that shall be in the world when thou shall remove from them, (Nymty Nwratvyw) , "and they shall be left fatherless by thee".''

And in another place ^F25;

``afterwards R. Akiba went out and cried, and his eyes flowed with water, and he said, woe Rabbi, woe Rabbi, for the world is left, (Mwty) , "fatherless by thee".''

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Zohar in Num fol. 96. 3. & in Lev. fol. 42. 3. & in Exod. fol. 10. 3. & 28. 3.
F25 Midrash Hannealam in Zohar in Gen. fol. 65. 4.

John 14:18 In-Context

16 and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.

17 The world cannot receive him, because it neither sees nor knows him. You know him, because he is staying with you and will be united with you.

18 I will not leave you orphans -- I am coming to you.

19 In just a little while, the world will no longer see me; but you will see me. Because I live, you too will live.

20 When that day comes, you will know that I am united with my Father, and you with me, and I with you.