Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 14:24

"He that loveth me not keepeth not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father`s who sent me." — John 14:24 (ASV)

And the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

It is a wonderful denial of originality on the part of Christ. If anybody could have spoken his own word, it was surely the Christ of God. But he was a messenger, and he delivered his message.

Now, if this is so with Christ, how much more so with us who are very inferior messengers. We ought to be very careful that we do not deliver our own thoughts or suggestions, or our own elaborate reasonings and philosophies. The word which you hear is not mine, (that I can most emphatically say) but the Father’s who sent me.

You see, when we deliver a message that is not ours but the Father’s, we feel safe about it; we feel sure of its success. In contrast, if we were the makers of it, we would often question whether we had spoken truthfully.

But if we can fall back upon the Word of God, and prove it from what the Father has said, then do we feel we are no longer responsible.

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Notice that important truth again, and observe what weight and what stress Christ lays upon it.

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

You see that the Lord Jesus Christ does not profess to be a great original thinker, but he speaks as the Messenger sent by the Father, and unless we also are commissioned and taught by the Father, of what value will our poor feeble thoughts be? Our only power lies in the fact that we do not utter our own thoughts, but the truths which have been taught to us by the Holy Spirit. To some, this may look like weakness, but it is real strength.

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:

There is much talk of loyalty to Christ, but the teachings of Christ are despised. The teachings of His apostles are the teachings of Christ; they are but a prolongation and exposition of what Christ taught. In rejecting them, we reject Christ. He will not accept that we can be loyal to Him and yet refuse His teaching.