The Father’s House

Excite

Elderly gentleman in Guatemala who “dreamed” of his house.

His house is temporary…it will on day fade, but Jesus secures for us a forever home.

Explore

A Prepared Place

A call to be courageous despite what they will face…rooted in both the news of His departure and the fact that He knows the disciples will face persecution. Understand that Jesus doesn’t issue a blank, “stop worrying” command. It’s an invitation to personal, relational trust. He doesn’t even say that the disciples know this set of propositional truths. Rather, trust or believe also in me.

In life, we will go through the difficulties of living in a sinful world. We’ll face fear, doubt, trouble, grief, heartache, etc. These can and will evaporate our resources and exhaust us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The Life Application Commentary makes good application here:

God is trustworthy, has sent Jesus, and they are worthy of our trust.

There is ample provision in the house of God. There’s no need to fear being separated from Him.

Jesus’ words are true. His teachings and promises can be trusted.

His resurrection is His vindication, and it secures our promise of eternal life.

Through His indwelling Spirit, Jesus is our constant companion, with us until the end of the age. What comfort, especially when we feel like the outside world has abandoned us?!

Now, after a call to personal trust, He tells the disciples why they can trust. John 14:2–3 “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Key in on the bridegroom imagery Jesus uses here, remembering how it culminates in Jesus’ return and the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Notice that there is ample room and provision made for all who will come.

The promise of verse 3, that Jesus will come again, and the fact that Christ goes to prepare a place for us, provides a hope that goes beyond our circumstances. It gives us substance to attach bedrock hope to, something that stands firm through the hardships. There is a momentary present that will give way to an eternal future.

A Revealed Way

There is this interplay between Jesus and Thomas. Jesus says you know where I’m going, but Thomas, ever the thinker, probably remembers the fact that Jesus was just like, “You can’t come,” so he responds that they don’t know the way because they don’t even know where He’s going. This sets the stage for some of the most well-known, and divisive, instruction from Jesus.

First, Jesus is the way. Access to the Father is through a person — the Messiah, King Jesus. He does not show us the way, but He is the way.

Second, Jesus is the truth. Jesus is not saying that He is the revealer of a propositional set of truths that must be adhered to. Rather, He is the embodiment of truth and the only way to know this truth is through relationship with a person: Jesus.

Finally, Jesus is the life. Later in this address, Jesus will say that eternal life is to know God and Jesus, the Christ. Apart from Jesus is only death.

The fact that access to the Father is granted only through Jesus picks up on God’s exclusivity claims, such as the curtain of the temple barring access to God’s presence (Ex.26:33). Hebrews proclaims Jesus to be the new curtain by which we have access to the Father (Heb.10:20). Acts 4:12 says that Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved.

Commenting on these three, Thomas a Kempis said, “Without the way, there is no going; without the truth, there is no knowing; without the life, there is no living.” It very well could be said that in these three statements, there is the summation of the rabbi/disciple relationship. If we are to know a way, it means we must follow the One who leads in it. This is to spend time with the rabbi. If we are to be like Jesus, we must see expressed in Himself what is truth in order to have our character molded by that truth. And, if we are to do as the rabbi did, we must follow the life He has set before us.

A Deeper Relation

What Phil asks is similar to what Israel’s leaders before had asked: a glimpse of the Father. The deity of Jesus comes blazing through in Christ’s response.

Jesus and the Father are One. John said in the beginning of his gospel at least this much. And, Jesus will pray for the disciples, that they would share a similar unity with the Father and Son. Further, Col.1:15 says Jesus is the exact image of God. Therefore, to know Christ, to walk with Him in genuine fellowship is to know the Father, for Jesus has revealed Him.

Philip, certainly along with other disciples, still did not fully grasp all of Christ. This could be a subtle reminder that a full understanding of the complexity of the Messiah is not necessary to follow Jesus. Remember that we all are in the growth process.

So long the disciples have walked in close fellowship with Jesus, yet there was much left for them to grasp. In a moment, Jesus will promise the Holy Spirit who will guide the disciples into all truth. Still, there is a gentle rebuke of Philip here. Jesus reveals that nothing He says or does is outside of the Father and His will. It’s a stunning confession, that Jesus (the Son of God) speaks not on His own but is dependent on the Father working through Him.

Jesus' response to Philip is not unlike the response He gave to JTB When he asked if Jesus truly was the Messiah. In essence, Jesus says, "You've seen the evidence of my relationship to the Father through the things I've done."

Notice that Jesus’ response isn’t a full theological discourse. Though we may have a desire for absolute assurance or a constant emotional high from following Jesus or to be able to grasp concretely how all of the doctrines of Scripture work together, Jesus is under no obligation to satisfy them. Instead, the call, as it has been, as it always will be, is to faith. And, in Christ, 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,”. And this is what He draws us into, a deeper relation with Himself. He’s not distant. He’s not far off. Jesus reveals the God who is absolutely and completely other to people who are utterly incapable of looking on His divine holiness, in order that our relationship with our true Father and Creator

A Greater Work

While John organizes his gospel around the "signs" of Jesus, specific miracles that point to Jesus as the Messiah, these works are much broader, expanded to include Jesus' teachings and acts of service.

In the rabbi/disciple relationship, the culmination was the commission to go into the world, take on your own disci ples, and recreate new followers who embrace the yoke and burden of the original rabbi. Jesus is preparing the disciples for their commission: the things I've done, how I have ministered, you're going to go out and do it ... and more! How could our "works" surpass those done by Christ? Consider the fact that the Gospel ministry has spread around the globe, impacting countries and cultures by turning them from pagan lawlessness to God-honoring justice and righteousness.

Still, this work isn't based on the disciples' ability. Rather, their success is guaranteed because Jesus is returning to the Father. Though not fully fleshed out yet, Jesus lays the ground for His intercessory presence before God on the believer's behalf.

To ask in the name of someone is to ask in their stead or if they themselves were asking. This isn't not a formulaic add-on that ensures our prayers will be answered.

How does God's glory, Jesus' working, and our prayers intertwine? We are submissive to the will of Christ, which has already been revealed to intimately linked to the will of the Father. And, the Father's unique holiness is put on display through the Son's obedience, as He submits to the Father's will over and above His own. So, when we ask according to Jesus' will, it pleases Him to do it, for it means the Father's will is accomplished, bringing Him glory.