"The gift of peace, therefore, is intimately associated with the gift of the Spirit-Paraclete"- Francis J. Moloney, Daniel J. Harrington


"The Paraclete and the disciples (vv. 25-26).

The theme of departure (cf. vv. 1-6; vv. 18-24) returns. There are two "times" in the experience of the disciples: the now as Jesus speaks to them (v. 25) and the future time when the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of Jesus, will be with them (v. 26). The Paraclete will replace Jesus' physical presence, teaching them all things and recalling for them everything he has said (v. 26). As Jesus is the Sent One of the Father (cf. 4:34; 5:23; 24, 30, 37; 6:38-40; 7:16; 8:16, 18, 26; 12:44-49), so is the Paraclete sent by the Father. The mission and purpose of the former Paraclete, Jesus (cf. 14:13-14), who speaks and teaches "his own" will continue into the mission and purpose of the "other Paraclete" (cf. v. 16) who teaches and brings back the memory of all that Jesus has said. The time of Jesus is intimately linked with the time after Jesus, and the accepted meaning of a departure has been undermined. The inability of the disciples to understand the words and deeds of Jesus will be overcome as they "remember" what he had said (cf. 2:22) and what had been written of him and done to him (cf. 12:16). The "remembering" will be the fruit of the presence of the Paraclete with the disciples in the in-between-time. In v. 16 Jesus focused on the inability of the world to know the Paraclete, but in v. 26 the gift of the Paraclete to "his own" is developed. As Jesus was with the disciples (v. 25), so will the Paraclete be with the disciples in the midst of hostility and rejection (v. 16). As the story has insisted that Jesus' teaching has revealed God to his disciples, so will the Paraclete recall and continue Jesus' revelation of God to the disciples (v. 26).

The gift of peace (v. 27a).

Jesus is leaving a precious gift with his disciples; a peace that the world cannot give. The peace Jesus offers is his peace (eirénén tén emén), and it is this qualification that makes it something the world can never match. Earlier parts of the discourse return in this promise. The peace of Jesus flows from his oneness with his Father, his return to the Father from whence he came, and the authority he has with the Father, so that whatever is asked in his name will be given (cf. vv. 13-14, 16). The gift of peace, therefore, is intimately associated with the gift of the Spirit-Paraclete, the ongoing presence of Jesus in his absence (cf. vv. 16-17, 26), the source of the disciples' being loved by the Father and Son, the agent for the ongoing revelation of both Jesus and the Father to the one who loves Jesus and keeps his commandments in the in-between-time (vv. 20-21). But the two gifts are not identical, as Jesus' departure leads to a oneness among the believer, Jesus, and the Father that transcends the Spirit, however much it may be the result of the abiding presence of the Spirit. Jesus' gift of peace is "from God," a gift that the quantifiable and fragile peace produced by the politics of this world can never match. In this peace (v. 27a) inspired and enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, the other Paraclete (vv. 16-17, 26), a community of disciples will perform "greater works" (v. 12) than Jesus himself, continuing the revelation of the Father and the Son (vv. 18-21)... His departure will not bring this revelation to an end. The gift of the Paraclete will continue this revelation "forever" (v.16).”

The Gospel of John, Francis J. Moloney, Daniel J. Harrington
Liturgical Press (April 1998), pg. 409-12