John 14-17: “Continue Ye in My Love” (June 5-11)

The Last Supper (fragment) by Carl Bloch

What did Jesus most want His disciples to remember when He was gone?

At the Last Supper, just prior to His suffering and death, Jesus taught His disciples a number of truths and made promises to them. He expressed His love for them, and He prayed for them. Here is some of what He shared with them on that occasion:

1. “I have loved you.”

Jesus expressed His love and His Father’s love for His disciples on that occasion. He also expressed the hope that they would continue to feel His love for them, that they would love one another, and that they would show their love for Him by keeping His commandments. Here are a few examples:

• “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (John 15:9).
• “The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me” (John 16:27).
• “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
• “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).

Here is a blog post about the Savior’s love for us:

• The Friend

2. “Peace I leave with you.”

The Hebrew word shalom (שָׁלוֹם) means “peace,” but it has broader connotations. It indicates not only freedom from conflict but also good health, prosperity, and contentment. The word is also used as a greeting and as a farewell. Just as we say “good-bye” in English, meaning “God be with you,” the word shalom says, “I wish you peace in my absence.”

Jesus repeatedly promised His apostles peace as He prepared to leave them:

• “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
• “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Here are some blog posts about how the Savior gives us peace:

• How Does the Savior Bring Us Peace?
• Peaceable Things

3. “He shall give you another Comforter.”

Jesus knew that His disciples would miss Him, that they would feel vulnerable and weak without Him nearby. So He promised to send a helper. The Greek word paraklétos (παράκλητος) means someone who has been called to be close to you and provide assistance. The word is generally translated “Comforter” in the King James Version of the Bible. Jesus promised that after He was gone, the Father would send the Holy Ghost to His disciples so that they would not be alone:

• “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17).
• “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).
• “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26).
• “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).

I hope you enjoy this blog post about the Holy Ghost as our Comforter:

• Peace, Peace Be unto You – Helaman 5:46-47

4. “That they may be one”

Jesus wanted His disciples to not only to love one another but also to become unified. He offered a prayer, known as the Intercessory Prayer, in which He emphasized His unity with the Father and pleaded that His disciples might enjoy that same unity. “I have glorified thee on the earth,” He declared, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are” (John 17:11). “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:20-21).

During His subsequent ministry on the American continent, Jesus offered a similar prayer. Instructing a large group of people to kneel, He walked a short distance away and offered a prayer on their behalf. “I pray unto thee for them,” He said, “and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one” (3 Nephi 19:23). After His visit, they lived in peace and unity for nearly two hundred years. (See 4 Nephi 1:2, 15, 18, 22.)

Here is a blog post about the unity that is possible through Christ:

• “That They May Also Be One”

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