A Place Prepared

April 2 A Place Prepared John 14:1-14

“He is the way because He leads us to the Father. He is the truth and the life because in Him we apprehend the Father… For Christ proves that He is the life, inasmuch as God, with whom is the fountain of life, can be possessed in no other way than in Him. Therefore, all theology separated from Christ is not only confused and empty but also mad, deceiving and counterfeit.” John Calvin “Commentary on John” Vol. 5:77

More questions followed Peter’s. This should have been a time for sympathy and support, an opportunity for the disciples to encourage Jesus, instead, graciously, He comforted them. They were going to have to trust Him, even though the coming hours would be incredibly discouraging and dispiriting for them. They had given up so much for Jesus; now He was telling them that He was about to leave them. No wonder they were afraid. Once again, in a simple yet exalted claim, Jesus showed His equality with the Father: they must trust Him, just as they must trust God.

Jesus spoke of “His Father’s house,” meaning heaven, as the place to which He must go. In that house, many rooms were prepared for those who put their trust in Him. The imagery behind the words is of opulence, which is why “rooms” was originally translated as “mansions.” The idea is that there will be no poverty in heaven, and no want. We shall have all that we need and more, for we shall be in the presence of God Himself. Jesus promised a place in heaven for His disciples; but He also promised that He would return. Some commentators take this as a reference to the Rapture, as they call it, but there is really no justification for doing so. Jesus promised that, one day, He would return, and that those who trust Him will join Him in His Father’s house.

There seems to be a reference here to Jewish wedding customs. Following the ceremony, the groom would take the bride from her home to a specially prepared apartment in his father’s house. There, she would take her place of honor. Jesus promised His disciples that they would have a place of honor in His Father’s house. And they knew the way there.

Thomas objected. They didn’t know where Jesus was going, so how could they know the way? Jesus replied with one of the best-known texts in the New Testament. They knew where they were going because Jesus Himself was the way, the truth , and the life. He was the way to God because He had the truth about God and because He imparted the life of God. He was the truth because He was the embodiment of God’s self-revelation. He was the life because He imparted divine life to those who believed. Moreover, Jesus was not one way among many. In order to come to the Father and to gain eternal life, the only way was to come through Him.

Evidently, the time for ambiguous language was over. When Philip asked to see the Father, Jesus replied that those who had seen Him had seen the Father. He claimed identification with God. He was not just a gifted teacher; He was more than a prophet; He was not just the Messiah sent by God. He was the Word incarnate, God made flesh. His words were God’s; His miracles were signs of His divinity. He intended to glorify His Father by His obedience, and encouraged His disciples to do the same. If they, too, would seek to live in accordance with the will of God, then they could ask for anything and it would be done.

For further reading: Psalm 41