John 14 Commentary
Yes, He is departing but what happens to their hopes? The disciples take turns interrogating Jesus over His departure. What does it mean? Where is He going? How do they get there?
Peter (Chapter 13) is followed by Thomas, then Phillip and Judas (not Judas Iscariot). It is a difficult time for the disciples. Where do they go from here? Is it all smoke, a hoax that temporarily brightened their lives?
They all ask childish questions – like there is ever anyone with mature questions under these circumstances!
They are believers. They all love Jesus, but whatever Jesus is talking about isn’t understandable. They ask questions that come from deep down their hearts. They get answers but it’s always a square peg in a round hole!
Through Peter’s mouth, we understand the disciples have decided to follow Jesus. They will follow Him all the way. They want to be with Him. Let nothing come between them, not even death.
Through Thomas’ mouth, we now know the way to God (Father). Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Granted, but Jesus is departing, so, what happens? The map is lost! The truth is gone! The hope for life is equally vanished!
You probably don’t need the map if you have the treasure box. Phillip has a point. “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us”.
Jesus is the Father! How can mortals understand this? They have been on road trips and shared meals and bed spaces with the El-Shaddai God! How? When? What? Who? Me? Us? Why me, us? They all come at once and you know how headaches come.
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Isaiah saw this impossible situation and wrote about human confusion.
Jesus would help the situation. Their faith interaction with Jesus has transformed them. Of course and again, they cannot get their heads around this fact. But they have a world out there in which to live out their new lives. They can ask Jesus and they will do impossible things like their master. Jesus wants them to learn by experience. Let them experience the power of their new selves. Then they will understand who Jesus is. Yes, He is the Son of Man, but more importantly, He is the Son of God.
After several years, John penned down this gospel with loads and loads of such experiences. His understanding of Jesus was complete. He is the Father! He is the Creator God – the Word who was with God at creation and was the Creator God Himself. That’s how John started his gospel but first was this impossible moment of doubt, confusion, anxiety, and emptiness.
Even today, one of the reasons the LORD wants you to ask for things is for your faith. It should register in your spirit that you have asked and achieved the impossible feat in the name of Jesus. Jesus would be glorified in this way – the way God was glorified through Jesus.
Miracles are never an end by themselves; glory is – God’s glory.
So what happens to the promise, “I will be with you always…”? The answer is the Holy Spirit. He will be to the disciples what Jesus has been to them. We shall see in the Books of Acts that the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus. Replace the occurrence of the name “Holy Spirit” with Jesus and you immediately know the promise is perfectly kept. He is Immanuel!
See how Jesus describes the company of the chief priests, the leaders, the Pharisees, and the scribes. They collectively disappear and the prince of this world appears. Verse 30.
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