The Gospel of John Lesson 54 (11-23-2013) John 14:1-6

The Gospel of John Lesson 54 (11-23-2013)

Lesson 54 – John 14:1-6

Chapter 14

In chapter 14 Jesus turns from His personal but not private conversation with Peter and continues to inform them about His departure. Even though Jesus is leaving temporally, He will not leave them without words of comfort, nor would He leave them without instruction. (What words of comfort and instruction has He left us/you with till His return?) In the next few chapters we will see Him prepare them for His departure and the task ahead of them with not only words of comfort, but also with promises and words of hope.

It is good to remember that at this point Jesus is less than 24 hours from the Cross. In the next few chapters of John’s Gospel we will see that He will cover an unbelievable amount of detail and information with His disciples in such a short time. It reminds me of a weekend seminar in which at the beginning of the weekend you are only aware of the basics related to the area of study, but at the end of the weekend you somehow now become an expert on the topic. Information overload! They will have to work out these details over time. Jesus knew that they would not understand all these important topics that He would share with them at this time, but He also knew that they would get it later, completing the course, truly becoming an expert with the ongoing help of the soon coming Holy Spirit.

The first thing He tells them is to not let their hearts be troubled and that He indeed can be trusted. He did not lead them here with false intentions to just abandon them now. He tells them that He is worthy of their trust. They can trust Him as they would put their trust in God. Good advice, even in our day.

Fear, worry and concern dominate this life. These emotions would be the obvious first response from them when Jesus told them that He was going to leave. Their response like ours would be, “Oh, no, what are we going to do now!” Jesus knew that ‘fear’ can in some cases motivate, but He also knew that more times than not fear can also cripple and defeat us. A large part of Jesus’ ministry and ministering to us is to help us see things clearly and to have courage to act and move forward and not be afraid reminding us that He is leading the charge.

We remember the disciple’s earlier response to Jesus’ majesty was one of fear of Him. At that time He told them and helped them to not be afraid of Him as they saw Him perform the mighty works of God. Now, He would tell them to not be afraid of the real dangers that are found in this world which would lie before them while He was gone. In their eyes they would have to face these dangers seemingly without Him. It’s a scary world out there. But, would they be facing it alone? Even though He was leaving, would they be facing the whole world without Him? Alone? On their own? Jesus will show them that there is more to this life than literally meets the eye. And, He will not just give them an empty pep talk to temporarily pump them up, but will share with them realities that they did not know even existed.

The first thing that He does is that He tells them that they have a place and that they still belong to Him even though He is leaving for a season. Down deep inside this is the longing in our heart, first that we have a purpose for our life, but also that we have the knowledge that we belong. You can do a lot with that!

He says to them in v. 2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions (or rooms or dwelling places).” However, in the next part of the verse He tells them something that can be translated in at least two different ways, and, we see different translations do just that. We see the NIV translate the next part of this verse, “if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” and the NASB translate the same passage as “if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

In essence the outcome and practical application of what Jesus was saying to both His disciples and to us in meaning is essentially the same. However, one translation would indicate that He was sharing this truth with them at the moment, essentially saying that they should have assumed this, while the other translation indicates that He had previously told them about this, having discussed this promise with them at an earlier time.

Having shared His leaving with them previously makes sense since He had discussed and talked about His leaving much earlier in John’s Gospel in Jn. 7:33-6 and 8:21 their being present at the time. It is likely and actually probable that at least some of the disciples would have picked up on His comments at the time and would have asked Him more questions about what He had said. If so, Jesus’ comments here would have been a reminder about what He had discussed with them earlier, letting them know plainly that now was the time that He had been referring too.

He tells them, “If it were not so I would have told you.” Wow! In one short sentence, in just a few words, He gives them not only hope and purpose, but He also gives them a destination that is definite and sure to shoot for. He tells them, “I am going someplace, and you may not be going there now, but you will be joining me there later!” He tells them in essence “You belong to Me!” This is what they wanted and needed to hear.

Prior to this when Jesus had shared that He was leaving they were thinking abandonment, possibly wondering if they would ever see Him again. Now they were assured that this was not true. He made it very clear that He was committed and connected to them even though He was leaving for a season. Very soon they would need to know this as the events of the next few days will challenge their faith in all that He had told and taught them. In this John 13:1 is made clear…He loved them to the end. As yet they did not know the mechanics and the details of how their future would actually play out, but their hearts were very comforted in this statement by Jesus knowing that He was not abandoning them.

In v. 1 He had reminded them that they should believe and trust in God during this time. Jesus knew the sadness that was in their heart because of His leaving, but He also knew the difficulties that lie ahead of them. He also told them that they should put that same trust and assurance in Him, and, that they should not doubt, resting fully in what He was telling them. They were assured of the ultimate outcome. They were assured of a home with Him. In this we see that Jesus did indeed love them, and us for that matter, to the very end. He had promised. It was belonging to Him that comforted them. This also is our comfort.

At the end of v. 2 and into v. 3 He shares with them some of the details of what He will be doing while He will be away. He was going to prepare a place for them. These details are brief, but are more than enough for them at this time. When hearing this, in their mind, I am sure that they were not thinking 2000 plus years. It would seem to me that their perception would have been more short term, days, weeks, months or even a year or two in an extreme case. It was not uncommon for a master to leave for a season to conduct business or to visit someone like a relative or dignitary. In their mind I am sure that they were thinking more short term.

We remember at the end of chapter 13 that Peter had the impression that he would travel with Jesus to where He was going. It is sure that their perception of Jesus leaving did not include ‘death’, and, surely did not include death on a cross. In less than 24 hours, what He tells them here will definitely add to their confusion concerning what to make of what He was saying to them. But, for now, He assures them with these few words of the promise of His return and their eventually being reunited with Him.

However, in v. 4 He says something that is confusing to them. He tells them that unlike the religious rulers found in chapter 7 and 8 of John who did not know the destination and the way to where Jesus was going that they supposedly knew where He was going and the way to get there. We remember that Jesus had said to the religious rulers that they did not know where He was going and that they did not know the way. What Jesus said here in John 14:4 was meant to reassure them that His relationship with them because of their belief in Him was different. But, apparently it had confused them instead. Had they been listening? Had they been paying attention? (Had Jesus also told us the Way? Why then is there so much confusion?)

In v. 5 Thomas asks Jesus to make the way clear to them. Thomas clearly and openly tells Jesus that he does not understand and that he and the others are confused as to the destination where they will meet up with Him and join Him. Do we say the same today in our day?

 Jesus’ reply to them in v. 6 is that it is as plain as the nose on your face, saying that He Himself is the Door to Heaven. Thomas and the others were still thinking earthly thinking that to rejoin with Jesus in His Kingdom they would have to physically travel to where He was. They did not realize that they were already there… at the Door, and, that the Door to their home with Him was right before them. Had they not been listening? They lacked what Mary had learned, ‘a little less me and a lot more You’. They lacked the spiritual part of the equation. They were still thinking time and space. They did not know and realize that time and space stood before them. But, there is more to the equation that Mary paying attention understood and they as yet did not see as yet. In our next lesson we will see Jesus give them the rest of the equation helping them to come up with the right answer that they will need to apply to the difficult days ahead.