John 14:1-11

Recap:

Last week we saw some really interesting thing take place. Judas left Jesus and the disciples to go and betray Jesus. After leaving Jesus was able to be more open with His disciples, soon to be apostles.

He told them that He would be leaving them soon, and that they were not going to be able to follow Him. But encourages them to love one another as He had loved them.

Remember the greatest expression of love prior to the cross would be the washing of their feet. We talking in greater detail of the importance of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Peter chimes in and asks where Jesus is going that he would not be able to follow. Stating that He would even die for Jesus right then and there. Peter is a good example of emotionally following Jesus. One minute on fire willing to die, the next denying Him. Jesus would rebuke Peter telling him that he would in fact deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows.

v 1) Encouragement

Why tell the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled?

Jesus had told them some hard things. He was going to leave them and they were not able to follow Him yet. Called them to also love one another like Jesus loved them, remember that they argued who was the greatest among them and could not humble themselves to wash one another’s feet. All of the disciples would also abandon Jesus before it was all over.

Jesus wants to comfort His disciples. He knows what they are going to go through the next couple days. I cannot stress enough how incredible it is to see Jesus who is about to become sin so that we might be right with God, care so much about His disciples. I would be so worried about what was going to take place...

How has God comforted you?

Psalm 42:5 ESV

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

Psalm 30:5 ESV

5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 119:50 ESV

50 This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

Jesus never wants us to have a life without trouble, but He promises that we can have an untroubled heart even in the midst of a troubled life.

“He (Jesus) takes no delight in the doubt and disquietude of His people. When He saw that because of what he had said to them sorrow had filled the hearts of His apostles, He pleaded with them in great love, and besought them to be comforted.” -Spurgeon

Jesus also gives them the remedy to a troubled heart and that is trust in Him. This was another radical call for the disciples to place their trust in Jesus just as one would trust God the Father. In doing so though there is a promise of comfort and peace.

This is another case where Jesus claims equality with God.

vv 2-4) A reunion to come

[2] The Father’s house refers to heaven, where there are many dwelling places. There is room there for all the redeemed. Jesus could see what the disciples never could- millions upon millions, even billions from every tribe, language, nation in His Father’s house.

“I go to prepare a place for you:” II believe has a twofold meaning. The first is that Jesus went to Calvary to prepare a place for His own. It is through His atoning death that believers are assured a place there.

The second is that the Lord went back to heaven to prepare a place. We do not know very much about this place, but we know that provision is being made for every child of God. Similar to expectant parents preparing a room for the baby. Jesus prepares a place for His people because He loves them and is confident of their arrival.

James Barrie was the man who wrote Peter Pan, among other works. One of his books was about his mother, Margaret Ogilvy, and his growing up in Scotland. His mother endured a lot of misery in life, including the tragic death of one of her sons. Apparently Barrie wrote that His mother’s favorite Bible chapter was John 14. She read it so much that when her Bible was opened and set down, the pages naturally fell open to this place. Barrie said that when she was old and could no longer read these words, she would stoop down to her Bible and kiss the page were the words were printed.

[3] Verse three refers to the Second Coming of the Lord. When those who have died in faith will be raised, when the living will be changed, and all the redeemed will be taken home to heaven. For further study look up 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.

What does this tell you about the heart of Christ for us?

His desire is to have His own with Him for all eternity.

The entire focus of heaven is being united with Jesus. Heaven is heaven not because of streets of gold, or pearly gates, or even the presence of angels. Heaven is heaven because Jesus is there. We should take comfort in know that even as He prepares a place for us, Jesus also prepares us for that place.

vv 5-6) The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Thomas clearly did not understand the meaning of the Lord’s words. Like Peter, he was probably thinking of a journey to some place on earth. There is nothing wrong with honestly and clearly explaining his confusion.

Notice how the disciples speak with Jesus. It is very natural and familiar. Jesus talks to them with full sympathy regarding their confusion and weaknesses. Teaching them little by little as they are able to learn.

“often they show their ignorance, but never do they seem timid in his presence, or ashamed to let him see how shallow and hard of understanding they are.” - Spurgeon

What sticks out for you in verse 6?

Jesus didn’t say that He would show us a way; He said that He is the way. He didn’t promise to teach us a truth; He said that He is the truth. Jesus didn’t offer us the secrets to life; He said that He is the life.

We can often find ourselves in these different places in life:

I’m wandering around; I don’t know where I’m going. Jesus is the way.

I’m confused; I don’t know what to think. Jesus is the truth.

I’m dead inside and don’t know if I can go on. Jesus is the life.

In light of what was about to happen to Jesus this declaration was a paradox. Jesus’ way would be the cross; He would be convicted by blatant liars; His body would soon lie lifeless in a tomb. Because He took that way, He is the way to God; Because He did not contest the lies we can believe He is the truth; because He was willing to die He becomes the channel of resurrection- the life to us.

Family without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. Jesus is the way that we must follow; the truth in which we must believe; the life for which we must hope.

Jesus makes a remarkable statement to the disciples, claiming that He was the only way to God. In this He set aside the temple and its rituals, as well as other religions. The way to the Father is exclusive. It isn’t through the 10 commandments, the Golden Rule, ordinances, or church membership, it can only be accessed through Jesus Christ.

This statement is one of the more controversial things Jesus said. Many people don’t mind saying that Jesus is one legitimate way to God, but other religions and even individuals have their one legitimate way to God. Many think it isn’t fair for God to make only one way.

As we have been studying through Romans on Sunday mornings, we have learned that God does nothing that is unfair ever.

This exclusive theme is consistent throughout the Bible. The Ten Commandment begin with:

Exodus 20:2–3 ESV

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Throughout the OT God denounced and mocked the supposed gods others worshipped. Isaiah 41:21-29 and 1 Kings 18:19-40. The bible consistently presents One True God, and Jesus is consistently presented as the only true way to the One True God.

Lets follow the logic on this for a moment. If Jesus is not the only way to God, then He is not any way to God. If there are many roads to God, then Jesus is not one of them, because He absolutely claimed there was only one road to God, and He Himself was that road. If Jesus is not the only way to God, then He was not a honest man; He was most certainly not a true prophet. He then would either be a madman or a lying devil. There is no middle ground here.

The word of God is not up to personal opinion. If there is something that really is bothering you that you see in scripture, the problem isn’t with the word of God it is with you. The only conclusion we can come to then is either reject Scripture or accept it.

But is Christianity bigoted? Certainly, there are some who claim to be Christians who are in fact bigots. But Biblical Christianity is the most pluralistic, tolerant, embracing of other cultures religion on earth. Christianity is the one religion to embrace other cultures, and has the most urgency to translate the Scriptures into other languages. A Christian can keep their native language and culture, and follow Jesus in the midst of it. An early criticism of Christianity was the observation that they would take anybody! Slave or free; rich or poor; man or woman; Greek or Barbarian. All were accepted, but on the common ground of the truth as revealed in Jesus Christ. To leave this common ground in Jesus is spiritual suicide, for both now and eternity.

vv 7-8) Knowing the Father and knowing the Son

Jesus once again teaching the mysterious union that exists between the Father and Himself.

Why is the union between Jesus and the Father important to us as Christians?

To know Jesus is to know God. The disciples have learned much about God in the last three years, but they had so much more to learn especially after the cross the and the resurrection. They were going to understand in a more complete way God’s love at the cross and His power at the resurrection.

This verse also doesn’t teach that God and Jesus Christ are the same Person. There are three distinct Persons in the Godhead, but there is only one God.

Philip seen and experienced much in following Jesus, but had not yet seen God the Father with his physical eyes. Perhaps he though that such an experience would bring changing assurance and courage. He didn’t understand that everything the Lord was, and did, and said, was a revelation of the Father.

vv 9-11) Unity with and Dependence on the Father.

The patiences of Jesus is incredible. He corrects Philip here. They had all been with the Lord for a long time. Philip was one of the first disciples to be called:

John 1:43 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

Yet the full truth of Christ’s deity and of His unity with the Father had not yet downed on him. He did not know that when he looked at Jesus, he was looking at One who perfectly displayed the Father.

No material image or likeness can adequately depict God. Only a person can give knowledge of Him since personality be represented by an impersonal object.

This forever finishes the idea that the Hebrew Scriptures present a cruel God and Jesus showed us a nicer God. But rather, Jesus shows us the same love, compassion, mercy, and goodness that was and is in God the Father.

Exodus 34:5–9 ESV

5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

The unity that Jesus has with the Father is something that is incomprehensible. They are separate Persons, Yet They are one as to attributes and will.

Don’t be discouraged if we cannot understand this. No mortal mind will ever understand the Godhead. We must give God credit for knowing things that we can never know. If we fully understood Him, we would be as great as He.

Jesus repeated something emphasized earlier in the Gospel of John; that Jesus lived and spoke in constant dependence upon God the Father and did nothing outside His authority and guidance.

John 5:19 ESV

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

John 8:28 ESV

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

Jesus and the Father are not only one in nature, but also in operation. We are called to believe Him, not only to believe in Him. Faith includes a recognition that what Jesus says is true.