John 14:27 (KJV)

Bible Commentary

John 14:27 is a Bible Verse where Jesus comforts His disciples with words of peace.

Jesus was preparing the disciples for His departure. Before He speaks these words of comfort to them, He said in John 14:25-26:

These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Then in John 14:27, He gives them what they need to make it through. He gives them peace, and then He told them the Father would send them the Helper, or Holy Spirit, Who would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all the things He said to them.

He gives them what they need for the “here and now,” and then promises them the Father will send them what they need later when He is no longer present with them.

He’s Got Us Covered

His grace is for our past, our present and our future. King David said in Psalm 52:8, “I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.”

Forever covers all time, not just the future. In the Hebrew, “forever” means: always, eternity (past or future).

Notice in the middle of John 14:27 that Jesus says not as the world gives do I give to you. Many times, we’re looking for something in the physical to comfort us, but the Holy Spirit operates in the spiritual.

The peace Jesus gives us is at a spiritual level, which then manifests outwardly in all areas of our lives.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

The last part of John 14:27 has been used by people all over the world. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

This is our instruction after Jesus imparts His peace to us. Once we’ve got that supernatural peace, the way to hang onto it is to not let our hearts be troubled; neither let them be afraid.

As Christians and believers in Christ, we have access to the gifts of Heaven, but if we don’t know how to hang onto them, they’ll slip right through our fingers. The devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), and he will snatch those gifts away if we let fear intervene between us and the truth of Christ.

In Jesus Christ, we have a continual flow of heavenly gifts freely available to us, but we must see past the lies of fear and doubt to the brightness of the truth. The devil is a master at getting our minds distracted from the truth with the shock of fearful and murderous things.

We are the ones who decide what path our thoughts will travel. Will we follow the dark thoughts of fear and “what if,” or do we instead stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1)?

Choose Your Path of Thoughts

So what does Jesus mean when He says let not your heart be troubled? The word “troubled” in John 14:7 means: to stir or agitate.

Fear is one thing to overcome, but troubled is altogether something different. In the recent season of national political elections and vicious hate crimes all over the world, many have been stirred up or agitated.

When we focus on things other than the truth of Christ and His mercy, we are easily stirred up or agitated, or we can easily succumb to fear and insecurity.

Just like a father might tell his teenage son when he hands him the car keys to be careful, we also have a responsibility to take good care of the gifts God has entrusted to us.

Christ gives us this responsibility when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

It takes practice to keep our minds focused on Christ, but the rewards of peace and comfort are worth whatever effort and discipline it requires.

Ephesians 2:14 says, “For He Himself is our peace…” When we are at peace, we are grounded in Christ. There is no better place to plant our roots. In Christ, we can’t help but flourish. The deeper our roots grow into Him, the more fruitful we become in the kingdom of God.

Study the Bible verse of John 14:27, stand fast in the peace that Christ gave you, and keep standing.