There are so many gifts to pick up in these familiar verses. Let’s
pick up a few!
In John 14:6, Jesus says no one comes to the Father except through
Jesus. Jesus is God’s embodied love. That means: no one gets to God
except through God’s love. In theological language, we sometimes call
this “prevenient grace,” an acknowledgment that our relationship with
God begins with God’s movement toward us.
In John 14:1, our Lord invites us to believe in Him. Some students of
the Bible think a better translation of pisteuete is “trust” rather
than “believe.” The argument for that view is that “belief” sounds
like having all the right doctrines in place; “trust” is more like
“having confidence in.” Having confidence in God is what leads to an
untroubled heart.
In John 14:2-3, Jesus says He goes to prepare a place for us. Not
only that, but He says He will come and get us to make sure we get to
the place He has prepared. What a gift! Jesus is promising that
there is a tomorrow with Him! When today seems heavy, let us draw
hope and rejoice in the promise that there is a tomorrow with Him!
In John 14:12, the Master astonishes us by saying that in the future
believers will do even more good works than He has done. He is saying
that His ministry was limited to Palestine, but our ministry of
caring, of healing, of inclusion, of proclamation, of celebration will
reach into every corner of the world we touch.
In John 14:8-11, Jesus has an exchange with Philip. Our Savior makes
it clear that He is more than just a nice and helpful man. He is
fully an expression of God. There is a voice within Him that is more
than a human voice; it is indeed the voice of God. By getting to
know Jesus, we are getting to know God.
In John 14:2, Jesus makes it clear that God’s house has room enough
for all. And that is yet another breath of Good News!
What Someone Else Has Said:
In When the Church Woke (Cascade Books),
William B. Lawrence has written: “The initial words of the risen
Christ in the New Testament also show that the mission of the church,
while consistent with the past, conveys the promise of the future.”
Prayer:
As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Lord
Jesus, I come before You as did those early disciples, sometimes
uncertain, sometimes with troubled hearts, but we hear with them Your
promise to share these future days with us...”
