With Dale Ratzlaff
John 14:1-14
“Do not let 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. 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.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
As we begin our study of John 14 through 17, we will find some of the most sublime teachings of Scripture. We will discover that the relationship between Jesus and the Father becomes a pattern—but not an exact copy—of the relationship we can have with Jesus through the Spirit. Some of the statements Jesus makes seem beyond our ability to comprehend. Yet they are there for our admonition. Personally, I feel as though our study now leads us on “holy ground.” I have to ask myself, “Who am I to understand, no less explain these profound statements?” May God guide us each is my prayer.
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
Jesus has just told his disciples that he is going to go away from them, and they cannot follow. Now, knowing their uncertainty and anxiety, He gives them words of comfort. The word “believe” used two times in the above verse can be either imperative or indicative. The New King James translates the first as indicative and the second imperative,
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me (Jn. 14:1).
This gives the idea, “You already believe in God, now believe also in me.”
It is one thing for the disciples to have faith in the God who acted in the day of old. It is another to have faith in Jesus who stands before them, especially when He is about to be betrayed by one of His followers, denied three times by the chief of them, abandoned by the rest, and crucified by His enemies. To call for faith in these circumstances is not to utter a platitude ( Leon Morris, The Gospel of John, p. 638).
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places.
Some of us grew up thinking these were literal mansions. The best translation is probably “permanent residences.” There is plenty of room for all believers. We look forward, not to the gold on the streets, or jeweled staircases. Rather, the drawing point is that we will dwell with the Lamb. If we are in our Savior’s presence, we care not for the appurtenances. His presence is all sufficient.
If it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 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.
We can best understand this verse if we read it like this:
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. (If it were not so, I would have told you). If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again…
Jesus wants these precious men that He has nurtured the last three years to realize that His departure is not designed to leave them to themselves—He will later explain this in more detail—but His going away is necessary so that the way will be prepared for their reunion. We should not doubt that He would go away and prepare a place for us. When Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you” we should understand it as if He said, “If I go, as I will, and prepare a place for you, I will come again.”
In his Gospel, John’s description of the second coming is very limited, and He will write much more about it in Revelation. For example, here is a good description of the “many dwelling places” found there:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true” (Rev.21:3-5).
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.
The blessed hope of the Second Coming grows in importance as we get older. I am now 82, and many of my close friends have “gone to be with the Lord.” I look forward to that day when we will be reunited.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus (1 Thess. 4:14).
About two weeks ago our grandson was taken from us in the most tragic circumstances imaginable. We now have an even greater desire, and we pray with more fervency, “Even so come Lord Jesus.”
I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
It is with great anticipation we await that day for a double blessing. We will be where Jesus is, and we will be with all of those who have gone before!
Jesus said, “And you know the way where I am going.” The disciples were not even sure where Jesus was going, how could they know the way? Thomas asked the question, but doubtless, the confusion was in all the minds of the disciples. This was not a question of lack of faith but of seeking clarity, and Jesus accepted it as such. Many times, Jesus asked a question to get their attention and then, in answer to their question, gave further revelation. The disciples once asked about the stones of the temple in the Synoptic Gospels; this question gave Jesus an opportunity to give further revelation.
The answer to the “way” where Jesus was going is highly significant.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
At Life Assurance Ministries we often speak of the “simple gospel”, and here it is in the most succinct form.
“I am the way.” We note that this is another “I AM” statement of Jesus pointing to His divine nature. Further, the “I AM” is emphatic in Greek. We are to understand that Jesus is the ONLY way. The disciples came to realize the full meaning of these words.
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Luke shows the power of the name of Jesus. The thief crucified next to Jesus witnesses the selflessness of Jesus and His love for others and came to realize who Jesus was and is.
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:42-43).
By proclaiming Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, we give a witness to the power of His name. Today, there are liberal “Christian” groups promoting “many ways” to God. This theory cannot stand the test of Scripture.
Jesus is not only, the one and only way, He is also “the truth.” This too needs careful scrutiny. Why is Jesus “the truth?” It is because He is also the “life.” Eternal life is found in Jesus alone. We would do well in our teaching to focus on the life-changing topic of Jesus alone.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes [in Me] has eternal life (Jn. 6:47).
Too often I have been sidetracked in my study and teachings with peripheral topics:
“What is the order of last day events?”
“How does one interpret the trumpets in Revelation?
“How long and hot will hell be, if there is a hell?”
“Is the thousand years a literal or figurative number?”
I am not saying that these and other such topics never need to be studied. Some feel called to do so, and I have no argument with them. However, of late God has been impressing me to stay close to the gospel that brings eternal life to the hearers. What else is important at my stage and position in life?
Jesus is the only WAY to the Father. He is THE TRUTH. He is THE LIFE.
If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.
Over and over again in the Gospel of John, Jesus had given evidence of the close relationship He had with the Father; however, when He told them that they had seen the Father, they could not grasp the deep meaning. This time Phillip, speaking for the disciple group, said, “Show us the Father.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
Throughout the Old Testament, few claimed to have real knowledge of God. David indicated the blessings of those who did know God.
O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart (Ps. 36:10).
The full knowledge of God was something that most people in the Old Testament understood to be in the distant future. That Jesus and the Father are One, and as Jesus told His disciples, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” is a revolution in experience and theological understanding of major consequence. Mark describes how the disciples reacted when they received glimpses of who Jesus really was and is.
They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mk. 4:41).
The disciples were more fearful of Jesus who calmed the storm than they were of the storm itself.
The oneness between Jesus and the Father have consequences, not only in our Bible study but also in our prayer life as well.
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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
The importance of the truth that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus is accentuated by Jesus giving them more than one piece of evidence to hang faith on. The disciples had heard Christ’s powerful teachings; they had also seen the numerous signs given by his works. Jesus bids them use these things as sufficient evidence for true faith.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
The promise is staggering. It is given expressly to the disciples as encouragement. Jesus may no longer be visible in their presence, but since He has gone to the Father if they continue to believe in Jesus, they can expect to do His works. They “will do”, not “may do,” the works Jesus did. But more yet, they will do even greater works. While this promise is directed to the disciples, it is not limited to them. It is valid for whoever “believes in Me.” On the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 were saved at the preaching of Peter. Later we read in Acts that “multitudes” believed. The promise is good for today. It is said that Billy Graham preached the gospel to as many as 215 million people in 185 countries. All these “greater works” were done and continue to be done because Jesus is at the Father’s side.
Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
At first read, this appears as a promise with no conditions. However, there are two. First, asking in “Jesus name” is more than just saying, “in the name of Jesus” at the end of our prayer. It limits this promise to what is in harmony with the will and moral principles of Jesus. Second, our request must be something that will bring glory to the Father. If our asking meets these two criteria, it will certainly be done. “That will I do,” “I will do it” are promises with surety.
We find a similar promise written by John in his first letter to the churches:
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 Jn. 5:11-14).
Here John spells out clearly that if we expect to get answers to “anything we ask” it must be according to God’s will.
In what we call “the Lord’s prayer,” Jesus taught His disciples to address prayer to “Our Father.” However, here, Jesus says, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. Because Jesus and the Father are One, prayer can be addressed to either. Jesus encouraged the woman at Jacob’s well to ask Him for living water.
If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water (Jn. 4:10).
However, it appears from the teaching in the whole of Scripture that the Father is the one who is to be primarily addressed in prayer in the name of Jesus.
Application
- There is much comfort in the promise of Jesus. The disciples saw Him with their eyes as recorded in Acts 1:10,11. Therefore, we know He is preparing many dwelling places for us. Unlike Bethlehem where there was no room, there is room in the Heavenly Inn for all believers.
- Just as sure as He went away, He will come again and receive us to Himself, that where He is there we may be also. I am looking forward to attending classes there. We will probably start with “Introduction to Heaven 101.” Then later we can enroll in “Redemption, 303.”
- That Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life should cause us to focus on the centrality of the gospel and spend less time and attention on peripheral things.
- That Jesus and the Father are One should help us to honor and reverence the name of Jesus, and when we see Jesus, we see the Father. He is more than a man; He is God in the flesh.
- The “greater works” that are promised to believers should cause us to search our souls. Only as we live a life characterized by love and a willingness to make the gospel plain to others will we see these “greater works. This can be a prayer point.
- Probably one of the most staggering promises is this: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. Here there is truth to contemplate. Here there is subject matter for prayer. Here there is opportunity to become involved in the “Greater Works” promised to believers.
Prayer
Father, thank you that Jesus will be coming back to take us to be where He is. Thank you that you answer prayers that are in harmony with the will and values of Christ and that bring glory to you. Guide me in my prayer and work that I might glorify you and proclaim the gospel that changes lives.
In Jesus name.
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