John 14.3..."...and I will come again and receive you unto Myself...".
You know, the devil had charge over us once, and then H.S took charge, and finally...into the arms of Jesus! That's His heart's desire...to receive us as His own, which should be our heart's desire too..."...that where I am, you may be also".
Do you have spiritual heart trouble? Are you burdened by the load of your sin? Well, consider first, faith in the Lord Jesus; then, believe that you have a better future in a better place. Third, know that Jesus has perfected that place, just for you; next, look to the hope that He is coming to receive you to Himself. And last, know that we're talking about eternity here...not a yesterday, or a today or tomorrow...but about forever without end! If your heart, like those disciples' hearts, is troubled, then be consoled. He's watching as His little sparrows fall into His eternal care!
Note now, 14.4-5...do you know the "whither and the way"? Or are you like Peter, back in chapt. 13? The time for going is coming. The place we are going is being prepared, and yet, there are still those of us like the Doubter, there in vs. 5. You see, the minds of those disciples were so earthly, there was no room for heavenly thinking. Jesus had spoken as plainly as He possibly could, and He was still misunderstood...WHOOSH...right over their heads! It's true that the humanistic, the rationalistic and the materialistic will, and do find it impossible to fathom spiritual truth, after all.
Now was Jesus referring to the Father's heavenly home in disciple-code, as being some hidden place, away from Jerusalem where He was going to set in motion His secret plan for Jewish national self-government? If so..."Where should we meet you Lord? And what is the password?!" Fall on us, Spirit of Truth! And yet, Jesus speaks of just that in vs. 6...the Way, the Truth and the Life...Spirit-talk! "I Am", He said.
Thomas was in the flesh, while His Lord was in the Spirit. Thomas was a servant of his father, Adam. Thomas was thinking greatness, while His Lord was thinking humility. Thomas was thinking of his friend Jesus, while Jesus was thinking of the glory of the Father. You see, Thomas and the others were still worlds apart from the Mastermind of creation, so when Jesus said.."I Am", He was bringing the focus back to God...the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Jesus was for them, as He is for us, the only Way to that eternal home. He spans the distance, while man would build a tower, or climb a ladder, or fly a rocket ship! But none of those can get us to the mansion He has prepared for us in His Father's eternal home. Satan would have us waste our time, involved in bigger and brighter worldly ventures, while Jesus has provided the way for a bigger and brighter eternity! Satan would have us weighed down under our personal burden of misadventure, while Jesus has already borne that burden on His cross! They could not, and we cannot get to God, or even find a way to God, without believing He is indeed, "I AM".
You know, it's such a blessing that Jesus reveals to us here in that one verse, three of His blessed Names...The Way, The Truth and The Life. This entire written Word is about Him, all in the context of this one verse. He is the full, and the final revelation of God to man, so we don't need to wander aimlessly down the wide road to Hell, any longer. We have the Truth, right before us! Over in chapt. 18.38, we will see that Pilate asks Jesus..."What is truth?" Well Pilate, if you reject the Truth because of your self-imposed ignorance, when He's right in your face, then God can only have mercy on your soul. Wash your hands of that!
Do you desire truth? Then stop, look and listen. Stop whatever it is you're doing with your life right now, look to your eternal future, and listen to Holy Spirit as He directs you to the path of life. Life...that is, vitality, existence, being, breath, lifeblood, force, source...all the things Jesus is, and can be, for each one of us. Life...that is, the opposite of death, end, loss, extinction, departure, grief, agony...lifeless, breathless, sightless, soundless, motionless. Less than God meant for us to be. Godless, and hopeless...all that we are, outside of Jesus! And He says that is to be our eternity, world without end.
In vs. 8 it's Philip who still needs more light..."I still don't quite see it Lord; give us a little more, and that might keep us going"...WHOOSH! You know, we're in good company with this band of brothers, because that is exactly how our human minds perform for us...one track at a time. Just when the Teacher is making His point, our minds are still dwelling on the story He told us at the start of the lesson. Or we're so hung up, or anxious about something He has said along the way, we completely miss His point. That was Philip...he just couldn't grasp Who Jesus was. So in vss. 9-11 we read Jesus' futile response..."Philip, open your eyes and behold your God!" The Word made flesh, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, the visible image of the invisible God, in Whom dwelt "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"! "There never was, nor will there ever be, Philip, a closer union between two Beings."
When Jesus spoke, the worlds existed; and when He spoke, Satan resisted. But when He spoke, death desisted; and when He spoke, His works persisted. Persistent...that's what Jesus is!
Believe this, doubter, whoever you are...Jesus is God, and God is Him! If you can't believe His word, believe His works. He doesn't just promise to see us through...He sees us through!
Spoken to His nearest and dearest...even you and me.
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