John 14:1-14 – Seeing the Father
(Joseph Bianco)
John 14:1-14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 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 authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
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How can we know the way home? That’s a fundamental question in the life of every human being. We long for home, for a place, for belonging. What is the way home? Jesus answers this question by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In Jesus we find home.
John 14:6 is generally memorized by students who are looking for a quick reference to Jesus’ claim that there is only one way to God. Referred to as the “exclusivity of Christianity”, this doctrine is especially offensive to our modern society. How can Jesus say there is only one way to God? What about all the other religions in the world?
Yet, Jesus answers this question as well. Phillip says very logically, “Show us the Father” and Jesus replies, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus is showing us that you can be right in the room with him and not recognize that he is the pathway home. To say it another way, we ought to doubt our doubts. We ought not to assume that we can clearly see the way things ought to be. It’s a modern notion that all paths lead to heaven. Even 150 years ago this thought would have been considered silly.
If Phillip can’t clearly see that Jesus is God and he is with him in person, what hope do I have? Verse 11, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Jesus says that the pathway home requires faith, faith in what we do not immediately perceive. Faith or belief is at the core of the Chrisitan faith. We see all the signs Jesus does, and he asks us to believe that these signs point to the greater reality of the unity he shares in the Godhead.
My faith has been tested and tried many times over the course of my 25+ years of being a Christian. I have wrestled through pain and suffering, the problem of evil, friends abandoning Jesus, Covid, and all sorts of things that have tested my faith. What I consistently come back to is the character of Jesus, the centrality of the gospel. I find the greatest miracle of Jesus is that a sinner like me can be forgiven. I then see my ability to forgive others as an outflow of that miracle. I see the outworking of the gospel in my life, and it points me to the reality that Jesus is Lord and Savior.
Faith is a gift from God. We can’t muster it and produce it, but God promises to give it to us when we ask. Yet, God doesn’t ask of us a blind faith. Rather, like Jesus says, “or else believe on account of the works themselves.” The evidence for Christianity is overwhelming. God has given us so many pointers to Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life.
Think about your life. Think about all the ways Jesus has pointed you back to himself as the way, the truth, and the life. Where does God consistently keep bringing you back to the truth of himself? For me it’s seeing forgiveness and reconciliation play out in my life and the lives of others. Maybe for you it is something else? Perhaps the love of Jesus, that he would choose you while you were yet a sinner? Perhaps grace? Perhaps joy? Perhaps the peace he brings?
Pray and ask God to remind you of this core truth, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and life.
Weekly Prayer Focus: University and Medical Community
Daily Prayer Request: “Duquesne University.” While we have not had many students attend from Duquesne over the years, it is a major institution in the city and there is great potential there. This year we have had a trickle of students attending from D.U. Pray that we would be faithful to serve them well and that the door to ministry would open wider.