John 14:18
in John 14I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you.
KJV
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
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This verse in John 14
Commentary
17 notes on this verseOf necessity our Lord Jesus the Christ at this point finishes the discourse touching the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity. For He has already shown before, setting forth both words and facts for assurance unto them that love Him, both that He is in His nature God and is begotten of God the Father, and is of equal might and like mind with Him. For to this end He also at one time said: What I speak, I speak not from Myself; and at another time again: If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not.
This site's exposition
I will not leave you as orphans
on John 14:18-20
Orphans translates orphanous, children left with no father, and Jesus promises to come to them Himself. The world loses sight of Him while the disciples see Him, and they live because He lives. On that day they will know they are in Him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
After the promise of the Holy Spirit, lest any should suppose that the Lord was to give Him, as it were, in place of Himself, in any such way as that He Himself would not likewise be with them, He added the words: "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." Orphani [Greek] are pupilli [parentless children] in Latin. The one is the Greek, the other the Latin name of the same thing: for in the psalm where we read, "Thou art the helper of the fatherless" [in the Latin version, pupillo], the Greek has orphano. Accordingly, although it was not the Son of God that adopted sons to His Father, or willed that we should have by grace that same Father, who is His Father by nature, yet in a sense it is paternal feelings toward us that He Himself displays, when He declares, "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." In the same way He calls us also the children of the bridegroom, when He says, "The time will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall the children of the bridegroom fast." And who is the bridegroom, but Christ the Lord?
(Tr. lxxv. 1) That no one might think, because our Lord was about to give the Holy Spirit, that He would therefore not be present Himself in Him, He adds, I will not leave you comfortless. The Greek word ὀρφανοὶ signifies "wards." Although then the Son of God has made us the adopted sons of the Father, yet here He Himself shows the affection of a Father towards us.
Now how it is that we are in Him through the sacrament of the flesh and blood bestowed upon us, He Himself testifies, saying, "And the world will no longer see Me, but ye shall see Me; because I live ye shall live also; because I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." If He wished to indicate a mere unity of will, why did He set forth a kind of gradation and sequence in the completion of the unity, unless it were that, since He was in the Father through the nature of Deity, and we on the contrary in Him through His birth in the body, He would have us believe that He is in us through the mystery of the sacraments? and thus there might be taught a perfect unity through a Mediator, whilst, we abiding in Him, He abode in the Father, and as abiding in the Father abode also in us; and so we might arrive at unity with the Father, since in Him Who dwells naturally in the Father by birth, we also dwell naturally, while He Himself abides naturally in us also.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 9 · Written before 444.
proposed
It is impossible for one's soul to accomplish anything good, or to have power over its own passions or to escape the great subtlety of the devil's snare if the soul is not fortified by the grace of the Holy Spirit and has Christ himself within it.… Christ promises nothing less than that he will be present and will help those who believe on him through the Spirit, even though he ascends into the heavens after his resurrection from the dead.
(Hom. lxxv. 1) At the first He said, Whither I go ye shall come; but as this was a long time off, He promises them the Spirit in the interval. And as they knew not what that was, He promises them that they most desired, His own presence, I will come to you: but intimates at the same time that they are not to look for the same kind of presence over again: Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more: as if He said, I will come to you, but not to live with you every day as I did before. And, I will come to you alone, He says, thus preventing any inconsistency with what He had said to the Jews: Henceforth ye shall not see Me.
10 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
I will not leave you orphans. Here secondly, to the disciples who keep the commandments, he promises consolation concerning his visitation; on account of which he says: I will not leave you orphans, that is, desolate: I will come to you, namely by visiting: in …
Above, our Lord promised that the Holy Spirit would be our Consoler. But because the apostles had not risen very high in their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and their attention was absorbed by the presence of Christ, this consolation seemed small to them. Thus, …
"Do not be afraid," He says, "that I said to you 'I will send another Comforter.' Do not think that you will no longer see Me. For I will not depart from you forever. I will come and will not leave you orphans." Since at …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I will not leave you orphans - A word that is elegantly applied to those who have lost any dear friend. I come to you - What was certainly and speedily to be, our Lord speaks of as if it were already.
I will not leave you comfortless,.... Gr. "orphans", or "fatherless".
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
I will not leave you comfortless - Literally, orphans. The original word ορφανος, is by some derived from ορφνος, obscure, dark, because, says Mintert, an orphan (one deprived of father and mother) is little esteemed, neglected, and is obliged to wander about in obscurity and darkness. Others derive it from the Hebrew חרף charaph, to strip or make bare, despoil, because such a child is destitute of comfort, direction, and support, and is a prey to misery and disease, to sin and to death.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
The short passage before us is singularly rich in "precious promises." Twice our Lord Jesus Christ says, "I will." Twice He says to believers, "You shall." We learn from this passage, that Christ's second coming is meant to be the special comfort of believers. He says to His disciples, "I will not leave you comfortless—I will come to you." Now what is the "coming" here spoken of? It is only fair to say that this is a disputed point among Christians. Many refer it to our Lord's coming to His disciples after His resurrection.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I will not leave you comfortless--in a bereaved and desolate condition; or (as in Margin) "orphans." I will come to you--"I come" or "am coming" to you; that is, plainly by the Spirit, since it was to make His departure to be no bereavement.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
The short passage before us is singularly rich in "precious promises." Twice our Lord Jesus Christ says, "I will." Twice He says to believers, "You shall." We learn from this passage, that Christ's second coming is meant to be the special comfort of believers. He says to His disciples, "I will not leave you comfortless—I will come to you." Now what is the "coming" here spoken of? It is only fair to say that this is a disputed point among Christians. Many refer it to our Lord's coming to His disciples after His resurrection. Many refer it to His invisible coming into the hearts of His people by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Many refer it to His coming by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It may well be doubted, however, whether any one of these three views conveys the full meaning of our Lord's words, "I will come." The true sense of the expression appears to be the second personal coming of Christ at the end of the world. It is a wide, broad, sweeping promise, intended for all believers, in every age, and not for the Apostles alone—"I will not stay always in heaven—I will one day come back to you." It is like the message which the angels brought to the disciples after the ascension—"This same Jesus shall come in like manner as you have seen Him go." (Acts. 1:11.) It is like the last promise which winds up the Book of Revelation—"Surely I come quickly." (Rev. 22:20.) Just in the same way the parting consolation held out to believers, the night before the crucifixion, is a personal return—"I will come." Let us settle it in our minds that all believers are comparatively "orphans," and children in their minority, until the second advent. Our best things are yet to come. Faith has yet to be exchanged for sight, and hope for certainty. Our peace and joy are at present very imperfect. They are as nothing to what we shall have when Christ returns.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Comfortless - Greek, “orphans.” Jesus here addresses them as children, Joh 13:33. He says that he would show them the kindness of a parent, and, though he was going away, he would provide for their future welfare. And even while he was absent, yet they would sustain to him still the relation of children. Though he was to die, yet he would live again; though absent in body, yet he would be present with them by his Spirit; though he was to go away to heaven, yet he would return again to them. See Joh 14:3.
The words behind it
7 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὐκ | ouk | Not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἀφήσω | apheso | I will leave | G863 → | 143 times |
| ὑμᾶς | humas | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ὀρφανούς, | orphanous | as orphans, | G3737 → | |
| ἔρχομαι | erchomai | I am coming | G2064 → | 628 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| ὑμᾶς.¶ | humas | you. | G4771 → | 2973 times |
οὐκNot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἀφήσωI will leave
aphesoG863 →143 times
ὑμᾶςyou
humasG4771 →2973 times
ὀρφανούς,as orphans,
orphanousG3737 →
ἔρχομαιI am coming
erchomaiG2064 →628 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
ὑμᾶς.¶you.
humasG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Psalms 138:7
If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Psalms 3:6
I will not fear the myriads set against me on every side.
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Matthew 18:20For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 5:4
When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- 1 Corinthians 5:4
Through
John 14:16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
it leads to
- John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- John 14:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
- “Great Is Truth.” The Three Guardsmen
- Asking in His Name
- The Fruit of the Spirit
- Jesus on Himself
- Theological Words
- The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
- Names of God
- The Bride & the Jewish Wedding
- The House
- The Name
- The Narrow Gate
- The Paraclete
- The Rapture: the Blessed Hope and the Four Timings
- The Way, the Truth, and the Life
- The Man Who Asked to Touch: John 20:24-29
- Unto Us a Child Is Born
About John
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 75; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 14; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 9; Hilary of Poitiers, On the Trinity, Book 8, Section 15; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.