“"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me."In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."And you know the way where I am going." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
Notes:
- This is intended as comfort following Jesus’ assertion that He is going where the disciples cannot follow.
- The comfort is based in faith in both God and in Jesus
- There is room in God’s house for the disciples
i. Jesus would have told them if it was otherwise
ii. Jesus Himself is going to prepare a place for them
- Jesus will come again to receive the disciples so they can be together with Him.
- Jesus tells them that they know the way to where He is going, His Father’s house.
- The disciples have a hard time being comforted, but Jesus teaches them that He is their comfort
- Thomas voices their confusion
i. “We don’t know where you are going.”
ii. [Therefore], “How can we know the way?”
- Jesus clarifies His meaning:
i. “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
1. No one comes to the Father except through me. (so the Father is our destination)
2. If you know me, you will know my Father also. This is what it means for Jesus to be the way, truth, and life. Our hope is to know God. We do so by knowing Jesus. (Many have interpreted this verse as a mild rebuke, as though Jesus were telling the disciples that they should be ashamed for not having known Him well enough. NIV, KJV, NASB all translate it this way. Jesus soon rebukes Philip for a statement that claims not to know Jesus. But the NRSV translates it the way I take it. It seems that Jesus is here still teaching his disciples. His goal, after all, is their comfort. Clarifying their confusion will aid their comfort.)
ii. “From now on you know Him (the Father) and have seen Him.”
1. Again, if Jesus is seeking their comfort, can there be any greater joy?
2. Jesus is teaching the disciples that because they know Jesus, they know the Father. And now they should know that they know the Father (before they didn’t).
Our comfort is Christ. Our comfort is the Father. Our comfort is God. This is the comfort Jesus leaves with His disciples as He prepares to go where they cannot go. As they wonder what they will do without their master, as they think about how directionless they will feel, Jesus provides them with comfort. And that comfort is Himself. Jesus says, “Trust me.”
What are they supposed to trust in? First, there are many rooms in God’s house. Second, Jesus is coming back to bring His disciples to be with God. Third, the disciples know the way (so they will arrive). What is that way to God? Jesus Himself.
We have the same comfort today. Jesus is still the way to God. We can still look forward to finding a place in God’s house. We can still look forward to Jesus’ return, when He will take us to be with God. Although Jesus is not here, we have His words, so we can trust Him. And He promises that our trust in Him will bring us to the Father. If we know Jesus, we already know the Father, so we will certainly be welcomed into His house! If we know Jesus, this promise is for us!
Father, thank You for the comfort You left behind for us, the comfort of Christ’s promises. The comfort of understanding that we do not have to physically see You to know You, that we have a relationship with You because we listen to You and trust You. The comfort of knowing that one day You will do what we cannot do so that our relationship is completely fulfilled, so that we can be with Jesus and You in every way, not separated from You at all. What a great comfort for those of us who believe!
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