Private Ministry: I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (14:1-14)

Introduction:

We learned last week in Jesus confrontation with his disciples from John 13:21-38, three essentials that were necessary in order for Jesus to fulfill has purpose:

Judas, his betrayer - the one in whom Satan had entered and who would, as a result, be instrumental in delivering Jesus to be crucified.

A New Commandment - from this perspective of his impending death, Jesus commands his disciples to love one another in the same way that Christ displays his love his sheep, and that this would be the hallmark of a Christ follower.

Peter’s denial of Jesus - though the necessity of what Jesus was about to do would bring about the effect of transformed lives immersed in his love, there was still much unfinished work to be done as was prophesied by Jesus with regard to his devoted follower Peter.

Now this morning, in the context of this sobering confrontation of Jesus toward his disciples, Jesus offers them the encouraging hope that will be necessary to see them through the journey. This hope comes in the form of another of Jesus’ great “I AM” statements, where he claims his own exclusive sufficiency by stating, I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life which we shall now look at from John 14:1-14.

Text: John 14:1-14

John 14:1–14 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 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? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Main Idea: Because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we must find him to be the all sufficient one in all of life.

Summary: In John 14:1–14, during a moment of impending sorrow, Jesus comforts His disciples by proclaiming that belief in Him is the key to understanding God and finding eternal life. He emphasizes that He is the exclusive path to the Father, offering not just a future promise, but also a present reality of peace and connection with the Divine.

I. Promised Peace and Presence (1-7)

Jesus begins by comforting the disciples with the promise of divine peace even when their hearts are troubled.

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Let not your hearts be troubled. This passage of supreme comfort is offered by Jesus in an hour darkened by the shadow of Judas’s treachery and Peter’s failure, only a few hours away from the agony of Gethsemane and death on the cross that was troubling Jesus’ soul (12:27; 13:21). Yet the statement conveys a sense of sublime peace, and is intended to minister to the fears of the disciples rather than to Jesus’ own needs. How will his disciples access that peace?…

Believe in God; believe also in me - Believe in God is translated as an imperative (or command). What troubles the disciples is Jesus’ imminent departure (see 13:36). “Believe,” in keeping with OT usage (e.g., Isa. 28:16), denotes personal, relational trust.

Isaiah 28:16 ESV

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

Jesus command here, is also a reminder that belief in Him and belief in God are taken together. Jesus now goes on to explain in further detail the outcome of this belief…

2 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?

many rooms. While the road is narrow and the gate small that lead to life (Matt. 7:14), it is also true that the number of Abraham’s children is like the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky (Gen. 22:17), “a great multitude that no one could number” (Rev. 7:9). The Gk. word translated “rooms” could be rendered “abodes,” since it is related to the verb “abide,” a pervasive theme in this discourse (14:10, 17, 25; 15:4–10; see 14:23).

As Jesus’ further explanation makes clear, the Father’s house is heaven (and, eventually, the new heavens and earth); yet the mutual indwelling of believers in Christ and of the Father and Son in believers offers a conformation and anticipation of our final destination.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? - In other words Jesus is saying: “If in my Father’s house there were not plenty of room for all God’s children, I certainly would have known all about it and would have told you so, for, by means of my humiliation and exaltation, I go to prepare a place for you. This is my mission. Without my death there would be no place for you; without my ascension and the sending forth of the Spirit, you would not be made ready for the place.”

Therefore, to prepare a place for you, means that Christ prepares the place in heaven for His own through his death, and the Holy Spirit prepares the redeemed on earth for their place in heaven through his indwelling presence (cf. 1 Pet. 1:4, 5).

Jesus now further comforts them by stating…

3 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.

if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again - it’s as if Jesus is saying, “there would be no reason for the work of preparation that I am about to do if I wasn’t coming back to…”

take you to myself. In John 1:51 (Jesus conversation with Nathanael), Jesus has compared Himself to a ladder between heaven and earth. He is the One who takes His people to heaven.

John 1:51 ESV

51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

4 And you know the way to where I am going.”

The way is the means by which the disciples are brought to the Father. Jesus means in essence, “You know me; I am the way”, which he is about to declare as the only way to the Father.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

His objection, although involving an element of weakness and sinfulness as it always does, in being slow to understand because one has not paid sufficient attention, nevertheless also reveals his devotion to the Master. He cannot bear the thought that Jesus is leaving. It is for that reason that he makes his protest.  Jesus now responds with the greatest of profound truths…

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - note the use of the attributive article (article of definiteness) the, showing the exclusivity of each of the nouns that are associated with Jesus.

I am - This is another “I am” saying that makes a claim to deity. It is God granting access to God!

Jesus as the one way to the Father fulfills the OT symbols and teachings that show the exclusiveness of God’s claim (see note on 3:18), such as the curtain (Ex. 26:33) barring access to God’s presence from all except the Levitical high priest (Leviticus 16), the rejection of human inventions as means to approach God (Lev. 10:2), and the choice of Aaron alone to represent Israel before God in his sanctuary (Num. 17:5). Jesus is the only “way” to God, and he alone can provide access to God.

Jesus as the truth fulfills the teaching of the OT (John 1:17) and reveals the true God, and is the true final word.

John 1:17 ESV

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus alone is the life who fulfills the OT promises of “life” given by God (John 11:25–26), having life in himself (John 1:4; 5:26), and he is thus able to confer eternal life to all those who believe in him (John 3:16).

John 11:25–26 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

No one comes to the Father except through me. This is a strong affirmation that Christ alone is the way of salvation. To imagine and proclaim other ways is to mislead people and forget the necessity of His coming and redemption (Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:14, 15; 1 John 5:12).

Acts 4:12 ESV

12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

1 John 5:12 ESV

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

This exclusive way to the Father is reminiscent of the unique oneness with the Father as Jesus reminds us next.

7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

If you had known (ginosko [plu, act, ind] - action of knowing experientially, that occurs and is completed in the past) me, you would have known (oida [plu, act, ind] - action of knowing absolutely, that occurs and is completed in the past ) my Father also. All the blessings previously named are summed up in the knowledge of God, which is more than a mere mental grasp, as it involves a personal relationship of wholehearted commitment.

From now on you do know (ginosko [pre, act, ind]) him and have seen (horao [per, act, ind] - become visible) him. - from now, Jesus is saying, with the same experiential knowledge you have of me, you now know and see the father as well, as Jesus is God in the flesh.

Jesus now drills down into this truth in answer to a question by Philip in…

II. Perceiving Divine through Christ (8-11)

This exchange between Philip and Jesus reveals the full revelation of God in Christ.

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

show us the Father. Philip’s request shows another misunderstanding (a theme throughout the gospel), but it opens the way for the following articulation of Jesus’ unique capacity to reveal God the Father.

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? - Are you not able to attain the reality of who I am although you have been with me all this time?

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Jesus is not denying the distinction of persons in God (heresy of Modalism). He is reminding Philip that He is the one who reveals God. Jesus goes on to explain this further…

10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

I am in the Father and the Father is in me. This is the reciprocal indwelling announced in John 10:38 and developed here, also in v. 20, and again in John 17:21.

Though there is a complete mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son, the Father and the Son remain distinct persons within the Trinity, as does the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), and the three of them still constitute only one Being in three persons.

This mutual indwelling is characteristic of the relationships within the Trinity. The Father indwells the Son and the Spirit; the Son indwells the Father and the Spirit; and the Spirit indwells the Father and Son. Theologians use the Gk. term perichōrēsis (peh-ri-koh-REE-sis) to refer to this indwelling. This mutual indwelling is the basis for the affirmations in this gospel that the glory beheld in the incarnate Word was “as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Though no human has seen God the Father, the Son has made Him known (John 1:18). Thus, the one who has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:9–11).

11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

on account of the works themselves. To disbelieving crowds, Jesus appealed to the confirming testimony of the mighty works that God had given Him to perform (John 10:25, 26, 37, 38). Now He points His disciples’ troubled and confused hearts to those same works to bolster their faith. 

The proper understanding of the oneness of the Godhead becomes the impetus for the commissioning of Christ’s followers, as we see next in the…

III. Powerful Works through Faith (12-14)

We now focus on the promise of powerful works through faith in Jesus. Puts into proper perspective the activity of Christ’s followers while we wait for his return…

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Truly, truly, I say to you - you must get this, Jesus says…

whoever believes in me - the profound truth that the totality of the Godhead (perichōrēsis) is now available to those who believe, thus equipping them for Christlike activities…

will also do the works that I do. In John’s Gospel, the term “works” (Gk. ergon), both in singular and in plural, is a broader term than “signs.” While “signs” in John are characteristically miracles that attest to Jesus’ identity as Messiah and Son of God, and that lead unbelievers to faith, Jesus’ “works” include both his miracles and his other activities and teachings, including the whole of his ministry. These are all manifestations of the activity of God the Father, for Jesus said, “The Father who dwells in me does his works” (14:10).

greater works than these will he do will be possible because of the power of the Holy Spirit who would be sent after Jesus goes to the Father (see 16:7; also 7:39; 14:16, 26).

Here Jesus is teaching his disciples to imitate the things he did in his life and ministry. The disciples’ greater works will be possible Jesus says, because I am going to the Father, subsequent to his finished work on the cross (12:24; 15:13; 19:30).

These greater works will include evangelism, teaching, and deeds of mercy and compassion—in short, the entire ministry of the church to the entire world, beginning from Pentecost. (E.g., on the day of Pentecost alone, more believers were added to Jesus’ followers than during his entire earthly ministry up to that time; cf. Acts 2:41.) These works are “greater” not because they are more amazing miracles but because they will be greater in their worldwide scope and will result in the transformation of individual lives and of whole cultures and societies.

During His lifetime, Jesus reached only people in Palestine and a population small in comparison to the total number of people in the world. The church, under Christ her head, preaches the gospel to all nations and disciple’s people of every tribe and tongue (Rev 5:9). In the context of this marvelous revelation, Jesus declares…

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Whatever you ask in my name. This does not guarantee that God will do whatever we ask if only we add to our prayer the words “in Christ’s name.” To pray in Christ’s name is to identify with the purpose of Christ to the extent that our will has become identified with the will of God (15:7; cf. Matt. 6:10; 1 John 5:14). Those who do not obtain what they specifically request are often surprised by a different but better answer—and “no” is sometimes the best answer (2 Cor. 12:7–10).

that the Father may be glorified in the Son. The close relationship of the persons of the Trinity is shown in Jesus’ teaching on prayer.

14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

If you ask me gives warrant for praying directly to Jesus. Many other verses encourage prayer to God the Father (see 15:16).

So What?

Do we understand that Jesus has promised us peace and his presence in all circumstances?

Do we understand that because Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life, that he is the only sufficiency that we truly need in our lives?

Do we understand that we have been given a great commission to do the works of Jesus Christ while we wait his return or our home going?