John 14:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

NIV: I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,

NASB: I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in regard to Me,

CSB: I will not talk with you much longer, because the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me.

NLT: I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me,

KJV: Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

NKJV: I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

Near the end of chapter 12, Jesus "cried out" in proclaiming His ministry to Jerusalem (John 12:44–48). After that, the public phase of His teaching was over. The gospel of John has focused chapters 13 and 14 on Jesus preparing the disciples for His impending arrest and crucifixion. Chapters 15, 16, and 17 will follow suit. In this context, when Jesus indicates that He "will no longer talk much with" these men, it's a very literal remark. Within hours, He will be captured by His enemies (John 18:12). Before the following sunset, Jesus will be dead (John 19:30–31).

When Jesus was making His final appeal to Jerusalem, He mentioned both His upcoming death and the idea of "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31–32). That is a reference to Satan (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12), and "the world" is a concept used in Scripture when speaking of the fallen, godless system of humanity. Here, Satan is directly and personally involved (John 13:26–27), through his influence and possession of Judas (John 13:2).

The last comment of this verse is not cleanly translated into English. Jesus' remark is a reference to something Satan does not have, or cannot do. It's rendered alternately as "no claim on me" (ESV), "no hold over me" (NIV), "nothing in me" (NASB), or "no power over me" (CSB). The literal Greek words are en emoi ouk echei ouden. Different English translations each capture a facet of this statement, but Jesus' words seem to imply all of them. Satan has no control over Jesus, and Christ will submit to His fate voluntarily (John 10:18; 19:11). Satan has no valid accusation against Christ (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15). Satan has no authority to keep Jesus in a state of death (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). Nor does Satan share in Jesus' divine nature (Romans 16:20).

John 14:15–31 contains a prediction about the Holy Spirit. Jesus refers to this as the Spirit of Truth, and promises that the Spirit will arrive to help the disciples carry on after Jesus is ascended to heaven. Throughout this section, a person's love for Christ, their obedience to His teachings, and the indwelling of the Spirit are intertwined. As in prior statements, Jesus is focused on comfort and encouragement. He will continue to highlight the need to maintain faith, based on all He has said and done so far. Later, after advance warnings about what Christians will face, Jesus will return to describing the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant.

Christ reassures His followers that faith in Him is faith in God. To know Christ is to know ''the way, and the truth, and the life'' (John 14:6). The words, actions, and miracles of Jesus should give Christians confidence to trust that He will make good on His promises. Among those are His guarantee that He is preparing to come for us, so we can be where He is. Jesus also predicts the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is only available to believers, and this Helper acts to guide, teach, and remind us. Both for the disciples, and for future Christians, these words are meant to be comforting during hard times. Since Christ knew, in advance, what would happen, we can be even more confident to trust Him.

After completing His public ministry in Jerusalem (John 12:36–38), Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:3–5), predicted His betrayal (John 13:21), and foreseen Peter's denial (John 13:37–38). Chapter 14 begins a series of remarks meant to encourage the disciples, in the face of dire warnings. Among these are reminders that Jesus is planning to bring them to be where He is, assurance that He is ''the way,'' and the first explicit promises of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 15 will continue this address, beginning with Jesus' claim to be ''the true vine.''

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.