TEXT: John 14:1-14

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #35: The Father's House

John wrote his Gospel to make us "Believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". But he was not up to the task; only God can give faith. I pray He will. For Christ's sake. Amen.

Chapter Thirteen closes with the disciples in despair. Having left all for Christ, they're shocked to learn He's going to leave them. Not one of these days in the distant future, but tonight. The men are disappointed, confused, and scared to death.

Our Lord knows this, of course. And He does something about it. He begins with a command: "Let not your heart be troubled". This means "Quit worrying". This seems rather insensitive, doesn't it? Maybe even rude. And so it would be, if there was not a good reason to hope. Is there? Yes. What is it? We needn't wonder.

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may also be".

The words are lovely, to be sure. But what do they mean? To us, not much. But to the first hearers, they were rich with meaning. Our Lord is evoking the images of the Hebrew wedding. Their weddings were different than ours. A man proposed to a woman, and if she accepted, he left her, often for months. Where did he go? He went back to the house of his parents. What was he doing there? He was adding on a bedroom! When he finished, he went back for his bride and took her home.

This is what our Lord is doing. He's leaving the disciples, but not forsaking them. He's going to His Father's House in heaven. There, He's working like crazy, making it just right for them. When He completes the work, He'll come back for them. And they'll be together. Always. An eternal love nest. A never-ending honeymoon.

The promise, though made to the Apostles, applies no less to believers in every age. This is the time of waiting. Waiting is always tedious and often quite painful. But the waiting will one day end. When it does, we won't feel cheated. "Forever with the Lord" is worth any wait.

Blessed words these are. But are they true? Can they be relied on? They can be; v.1 explains why: "You believe in God, believe also in Me". Our Lord is equating His trustworthiness with God's! He is no more capable of lying than God is! If God's Word is sure, so is the Word of Christ. Therefore, believers have a certain future in God's House, with Christ, forever. "If it were not so, [He] would have told us!"

"Surely I come quickly".

"Even so, come Lord Jesus".

Thomas is puzzled, vv.5-7.

All this talk of coming, going, and following has left Thomas badly mixed up. If the disciples don't know where our Lord is going, how can they be expected to follow Him?

Dumb question! They know where's He going. He's going to "The Father". And they know how to get there: Through Jesus Christ. Three times he uses the definite article--"the Way, the Truth, the Life". And, in case we don't know our grammar, He adds: "No one comes to the Father, except through Me".

What audacity! Our Lord has dismissed every faith, including Judaism. And named Himself as the only Mediator between God and men. Who is He? He is a Madman. Or He is Messiah. He won't be patronized; He doesn't want respect; He demands your worship. Thomas knew:

"My Lord and my God".

To know Jesus Christ is to know God.

Philip's plea, vv.8-11.

Philip is starting to "get it". If God reveals Himself in Christ, then "Lord, show us the Father"--give us that Vision Splendid. Hadn't Moses begged: "Show me Thy glory"? Philip wants to see it too.

The response is electrifying: "Philip, you want to see the glory of God? You're looking at it!" "My voice is God's voice! My character is God's character! My works are God's works!"

Our Lord and the Father are distinct Persons, but

"The same in essence,

Equal in power and glory".

This is why the disciples could say "We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". They "did not follow cunningly devised fables, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty".

"Veiled in flesh,

the Godhead see;

Hail the Incarnate

Deity".

He urges Philip to "believe Me (if for nothing else) "for the sake of the works themselves" (which are undeniably of God).

The blessings of faith, vv.12-14.

The word "believe" leads Him to one further thought: the blessings of faith. People who believe in Christ will "do the works that He did". In the immediate context, these "works" signify "miracles". Believers will perform miracles. Notice carefully, He doesn't say "Every believer will perform miracles". But some will; and some did. If you read the Book of Acts, for example, you will find: devils cast out, sick men healed, the dead raised to life, and "many signs and wonders done among the people".

But He doesn't leave it here. He goes on to say: "And greater works than these he will do..." Believers (including you and me) will do something of greater importance than these amazing miracles. What is that? We will win and disciple men to Christ. Is winning a soul greater than performing a miracle? Yes. For example: It is a greater display of Divine glory; miracles prove only His power; conversions demonstrate His full nature. It is also greater in its duration. A man raised to life will one day die again. But a man won to Christ will "never die".

We will do these "greater works"--not because we're somehow better than Christ, of course, but because He "goes to [His] Father". From God's Right Hand, He empowers His people to do His work. That's why The Acts begins: "The former account I made...of all that Jesus began to both do and to teach..." The Lord is now in heaven, but His work goes on through His people. And His work did not end at Acts 28:31! It goes on.

From that Seat in Glory, our Lord listens to our prayers, and--insofar as they agree with His will--He answers them in power and grace. Therefore, we must ask Him to do His work...through us. When we do, He will.

"Here am I; send me".

Why? So that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Our Lord does nothing for Himself, but all for the Father's glory. Thus, when He uses us to do His work, we bring glory to God. That's why He chooses "the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, and the things that are not"...so that "no flesh will glory in His sight, but

"He who glories,

Let him glory in the LORD".

Whatever remains obscure in this passage, this much stands out: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". Because He is, you--yes, even you--can "have life through His name". Not by reforming; not by passing through the waters of baptism; not by reading the Bible or by praying, but by believing in Christ. Nothing more is needed; nothing less will do.

What's more, because Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, those in fellowship with Him through faith are enabled to do the work of God in this world. What a privilege! "We are laborers together with God!" Your good works, therefore, are of value...eternal value. So...

"Be steadfast, immovable, always

abounding in the work of the Lord,

For you know that your work in the Lord

is not in vain."