John 14:14-15 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14 is about calming troubling hearts with trust and hope in Jesus. In verse 14, Jesus further explained how greater works would be possible for His followers because Jesus would do His work through His prayerful people, who asked and acted in His name. He promised to do anything that His trusting followers asked for in His name; that is, according to His character and authority. The term "In My name" is not a magic incantation of prayer; it speaks of both an endorsement (like a bank check) and a limitation (requests must be in accordance with the character of the name). We come to God in Jesus' name, not in our own.

In verse 15 where He states "If you love Me, keep My commandments": Jesus had just demonstrated His remarkable love to the disciples by washing their feet (John 13:1-5). He told them what their loving response should be; to keep His commandments.

He commanded them to wash one another's feet, after the example He just displayed (John 13:14-15).

He commanded them to love one another after the pattern of His love to them (John 13:34).

He commanded them to put their faith in God the Father and in Jesus Himself (John 14:1).

Keeping the commandments of Jesus does speak to our personal morality, yet His emphasis was on love for others and faith in Him as demonstrations of obedience to His commandments. This is a fair measure of our love for Jesus. It is easy to think of loving Jesus in merely sentimental or emotional terms. It is wonderful when our love for Jesus has sentiment and passion, but it must always be connected to keeping His commandments, or it isn't love at all. For the believer, disobedience is not only a failure of performance or a failure of strength. In some sense, it is also a failure of love. Those who love God most obey Him most joyfully and naturally. To say, "I really love Jesus, I just don't want Him to tell me how to live my life" is a terrible misunderstanding of both Jesus and love for Him.

Jesus also spoke to the proper source of our obedience. It isn't fear, pride, or desire to earn blessing. The proper source of obedience is love. "Obedience must have love for its mother, nurse, and food. The essence of obedience lies in the hearty love which prompts the deed rather than in the deed itself." (Spurgeon)