John Lesson 37

Introduction

A very pleasant good day to you, and welcome to Let the Bible Speak. Our study today is in John the 14th chapter, one of the loveliest and most comforting of passages to be found in all the gospel of John. In fact, in John chapter 14, it’s one of those passages that we often hear read at the time of a funeral, or times when we’re heavy hearted and distressed, for Jesus promised his disciples that he would be going away, but he would be preparing a place. In fact, he described it as a place where there’d be many mansions for those who are his believers, who are his disciples. Surely the passage in John chapter 14 is one that gives us all hope and comfort, even as we contemplate walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

I hope you’ll get your New Testament open and that you’ll turn and read with me in John chapter 14. Our lesson today, we’re going to be studying the first fourteen verses of this chapter. In John 14, beginning in verse 1, the scripture says, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.

Actually, the translators have divided the text here at John chapter 14. But you recognize that as we’ve been studying verse by verse through this book, that we must understand the context in order to understand any single verse. And while this begins with verse 1 saying, Let not your heart be troubled, it may leave us wondering, well, why would he make such a statement as that? But you may remember in our last study that we were at the time of the Last Supper. In fact, the words of John 14 are being spoken to his apostles as he’s gathered with them for the last time before his crucifixion. In fact, his death is going to occur in less than twenty-four hours after he makes this statement. In John chapter 13, the scripture tells us that it was at the time of the Passover, and Jesus had his disciples to prepare the Passover feast that he would eat with them.

But while he was with them eating at that feast, there were several things that would have been rather upsetting to them or troubling to them. For one, Jesus had taken a basin of water and had done the work of a servant and had gone about washing the disciples’ feet. And they were somewhat troubled at that. In fact, you might say they should have been embarrassed by it. Because what prompted that was that there was strife among the disciples over who would be the greatest in the kingdom. In Luke chapter 22 and verse 24, particularly, we notice that that’s what prompted Jesus teaching them a lesson of humility, teaching them that if he, their Lord and Master, would do the work of a servant in washing their feet, even so should they have this attitude of humility and of service one to another.

They should love one another, even as Christ had loved them. But not only had they been embarrassed, you may say, by being taught this all important lesson of humility and of serving one another, but also Jesus had made the statement that there would be one of them who would betray him. In fact, he had quoted from Psalm 41 and in verse 9 how that there would be one who would eat bread with him that had lifted up his heel against him. And Jesus actually pointed out to Judas as he gave him the sophomore bread and said, What thou doest, do quickly, and Judas left. Judas knew what Jesus meant by this. It was also troubling to them that Jesus had spoken about his own death. Now he had used the terms that he was going away from them, and that where he would go, that they could not come.

1. Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled; Believe Also in Me

They didn’t quite comprehend totally what all of this meant, no doubt. In fact, uh they questioned, well, why couldn’t they come? But Jesus had made the statement that he was going. And when Peter said, Where do you go? And why can’t we come? And in fact, he said, I’ll lay down my life for thee. Then Jesus said, Peter, even before the cock shall crow, you will deny me three times. Surely with all this scene at the last supper, they are troubled in heart. But now Jesus says these comforting words, don’t let your heart be troubled. If you believe in God, believe also in me. Truly they were the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were convinced no doubt by this time that Jesus is more than just a mere good man.

He is more than just another prophet. He is the Son of God. And Jesus says, if you believe in God, if you believe in the Father, then have confident trust in me. Believe also in me. He’s made significant statements. We’ve already talked about as we’ve gone through the Gospel of John, passages like John 5 and verse 17, My Father worketh and I work. What Jesus did was the work of the Father. In fact, he made the statement in John 10 and verse 31, I and my Father are one, united. Now the Jews, who were the enemies of Jesus, understood his claim to be deity, to be the divine Son of God. He was not merely mortal man. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the anointed one.

2. I Go to Prepare a Place for You

And his disciples now gathered with him at this last supper. They understand that. And Jesus is actually saying, Because you believe in God, and you believe in me, then do not be troubled in your heart. And in fact, he said, In my Father’s house are many mansions. I’m going to prepare a place for you. And whither I go, I I will come again and will receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. I had someone ask me one time, does this mean that heaven had not been built before this point in time? That Jesus is going to build a place that we know as heaven. Well, I don’t know that that’s actually what is meant by this passage, but simply that that if Jesus goes away, he is going to prepare the way by which men might be saved.

That is, that he would go to prepare a place for you really probably meant that he is going to prepare the sacrifice by which our sins can be forgiven. In Hebrews chapter nine, for example, in verses twenty four through twenty eight, the passage says, For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the truth, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others, for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. So Jesus Christ suffered. He died on the cross, and he arose from the grave. He sacrificed himself. In that way, he’s prepared for us many abiding places. All who believe on him can have the promise and do have the hope and the expectation of heaven itself, that we can be with the Father, that we can be with the Son. What a beautiful passage that we turn to often when we describe heaven as the Bible closes in Revelation chapter 21 and 22, passages like, especially chapter 22 and verse 17, which says, The Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him that heareth say, Come, and let him that is a thirst come.

And whosoever, whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. That salvation is for all. Jesus has prepared a place for us, and whosoever will, let him take freely of that water of life. In Revelation chapter 21 and verses three through about seven, where he describes the redeemed ones, how that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Truly the Bible describes heaven as a wonderful place. And you know, if you’ve missed heaven, you’ve really missed it all. We ought to live our life in such a way that we’re certain that we can spend eternity with the Lord in heaven.

3. I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

But as we read John 14, he tells us how it is that we can have assurance of heaven. And you might also say that he tells us in a in another way how we can miss heaven. In John 14, verses four through six, Jesus said, Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. How can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. You know, just after Jesus has spoken these very comforting words, verses one through three, he actually speaks some words in verse six that are rather exclusive. They’re narrow. In fact, Jesus made some statements here that’s more narrow than what some of his professed preachers today claim to be preaching.

I say that in all kindness, but there are some who claim to be preaching about Christ today, who teach a doctrine as though it really doesn’t matter what one believes or what one does, just so he is religious. But Jesus was very exclusive. He limited those who are going to be saved as the people who come through Jesus Christ. Now he said, I’m going, and if you want to know the way, Thomas said, Well, how can we? And he said, Well, you know me. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. And then listen to the words. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And that excludes those who are followers of Mohammed who practice the religion of Islam. For they reject Jesus as the Messiah.

They reject him as the divine Son of God by whom we have redemption or forgiveness of our sins. It excludes those who would practice the religion of Hinduism. It excludes those who are Buddhist. It excludes those who are Jews who reject Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. It excludes all men, even the good moral men who are unbelievers in Christ. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man come unto the Father except by me. You see how pointed that is? How limited that makes salvation? It is so important, therefore, that we know who the Christ is and that we believe in him. And as we’ve been studying through the Gospel of John, I’ve been pointing out from time to time how that it is a very important matter that we understand that Jesus is deity, that he’s the Son of God, and that we believe that fact.

You cannot simply say he’s a good man, he’s more than that. You cannot say simply he was a prophet of God, he’s more than that. And if in fact he’s only a good man, you would say, but not the Son of God, then that within itself would nullify the fact that he’s good. For a good man would not lie. But Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. And if he is a good man, then what he said is so. Do you believe him to be the Christ, the Son of God? Do you believe him to be the way, the only way of salvation? Jesus said, I am the way. And you remember in certain uh allegories or stories, illustrations you use in John chapter 10, for example, he said, I am the door of the sheepfold.

If you want to get into his sheepfold, or if you want to be in his protection, his place of protection, then Christ is the way. And if if you want to know the truth, that is the truth relating man and his relationship to God, Jesus Christ is the truth. In John chapter 7 and verse 16, he said, My doctrine is not my own. What Jesus preached was not from himself, but he said it is of the Father. In John 8, 32, he said, Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. But furthermore, Jesus Christ is the life. And in John chapter 1 and verse 4, in the very opening word of the book, that he in him is life, and the life is the light of men.

If you really want to have life, not only here, that is understanding how to live on this earth to the fullest, but if you want to have life that is everlasting, then it’s only through Christ Jesus the Lord. Are you ready for his coming again? Are you really prepared as a believer, a believer who has obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ? I hope and pray that God will grant you the time, if you’ve not yet obeyed, that you will arise immediately and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. We’re going to pause for a moment, we’ll come back and we’ll conclude our study through John chapter 14 and verse 14. Stay with us, please. Have you ever seen God? Do you know him personally?

4. He That Hath Seen Me Hath Seen the Father

Well, I know in a literal sense that you’d have to say no to both of those questions. For passages like 1 John 4 and verse 12, as well as John chapter 1 and verse 18, says that no man hath seen God at any time. We have not seen God personally, and we do not know him in a literal way. And yet Jesus Christ told his disciples that they could know the Father. In John chapter 14, verses 7 through 9, he said, If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?

He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? There are those who read these passages and have assumed that Jesus and the Father were one and the same, or one person. In fact, there are those among us today who teach a doctrine sometimes referred to as the Jesus only doctrine. That is, they believe that Jesus is simply that He was the Father in heaven, but He manifested Himself as the Son on the earth. And passages like this certainly seem to say something like that. But I believe if one really gets the overview of Jesus Christ and his life on earth and gets the full view of his life, you’d have to admit that he could not be the same person as the Father.

In fact, there are just two in the different ways to show that that just is not so. For example, passages like in John chapter 17, he prays to his Father. Is Jesus on earth praying to himself and then runs up in heaven and receives his prayer? Or passages later that we’ll read where when Jesus ascended into the heaven, he was seated at the right hand of the Father or of the Majesty on high. Is Jesus seated at his own right hand? How do you explain passages such as that? But when Jesus said that I and my Father are one, John 10 and verse 30. Or when he said in John 5 and verse 17, My Father worketh and I hitherto work. He was simply showing the perfect unity between the Son and the Father.

For example, even here when he says, If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. I believe he was saying the very same idea as expressed in John 1 and verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time. But Jesus Christ declared the Father.

Colossians chapter 1, and in verse 15 describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. He is the image, or Hebrews chapter 1 and in verse 3. There the scripture describes Jesus as the effulgence or the brightness of his glory, the express image of his of his person. If you’ve seen the Son, then you know the Father. For Jesus Christ came and described, defined unto us, illustrated for us the very character, the very attitude of the Father. He carried out the will of the Father. He’s not the same person as the Father, but he rather has described for us who the Father is. He is the expressed image of the Father. We sometimes use the expression of a son. Oh, I can see your father in you.

Or we say of a daughter, that she’s like her mother. Well, what we mean by that is that there is such an influence of the Father upon the Son, or the mother upon the daughter, that you can see one in the other, that is their influence, their characteristics, the attitude. And so it is with Jesus Christ. He is not the same as the Father. In verses 10 through 12, he said, Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work’s sake.

Verily, barely I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. Now again, these verses would be rather confusing if we try to think in our mind and visualize how can Jesus be in the Father and the Father be in Jesus, and again one might read those passages and say, Well, well, that must mean that he’s the same person as the Father. But again, I say just read the full context. And you’d have to understand that that’s not what is meant by it. For example, compare verse 20, where Jesus says, At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Now, just as he’s used illustration that he’s in the Father, he now says, I’m going to be in you. Do you understand that as a believer that Jesus Christ personally and literally is the same person as you? No. That’s not what is meant by Jesus being in you. Or even verse 17 says, For he, the last part of verse 17, he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. What we understand is that as believers of Jesus Christ, there’s such a union, there’s such a relationship that we are at one. We are united one with the other. We are followers of his. We are his disciples. And just as the Father and the Son abide in believers, so we abide in them. That’s the Bible language.

Verse 23. We will come unto him and make our abode with him. Who is it that the Father and the Son make the abode with? The man who loves him and keeps his words. So it is, we abide in the Father and the Father in us. Jesus abides in the Father, the Father in Him. But what is meant by that? Perfect unity. Perfect union. A relationship. For example, there’s unity in doctrine. In John 7, verse 17, Jesus said, My doctrine is not my own, it’s of the Father. And perfect unity in works. In John chapter 5 and in verse 17, he said, My Father worketh, and I hitherto work. They understood that he made himself equal with God. That is, Jesus is deity. He is the Son of God, but he’s not the same person as the Father.

5. Greater Works Than These Shall He Do

Now, not only is that an important thought to consider, but look at verse 12. Where Jesus said, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also. And greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. Now the expression, greater works than these shall he do. What’s meant by this? Well, I suggest unto you that when you look back at John chapter 5, we get a little understanding of it. Those who have said, Well, this must indicate that we can work miracles and do greater works than Jesus. But Jesus was not speaking about temporal miracles here. In John chapter 5 and verse 20, Jesus, after healing the man who was uh lame or who was afflicted at the pool of Saloum.

You remember that he said of him that uh that the work that he did in healing this man, he said, Why there are greater works than these. It was at Bethesda that it was that he healed this man, and he said, Why, greater works than these uh will he show unto you. Well, what greater works was we talking about? In John 5 and verse 22, he spoke about how that the Son had judgment committed unto him. There’s going to come a day when all shall stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. And it’s a greater work to be able to judge men and save some and condemn others. That’s far greater than any temporal blessing. The man that Jesus made whole has since died. But there’s going to come a day where judgment is going to involve eternity.

In fact, in John chapter 5 and in verse 24, he spoke about having everlasting life, not coming unto condemnation if you believe in him. And in John chapter 5 and in verse uh 28, he spoke about the resurrection. All who are in the grave shall come forth. Those who hear his voice shall come forth. They who have done good under the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil under the resurrection of damnation. I say to you, the greater works that Jesus did and can do have to do with judgment, have to do with everlasting life, have to do with the resurrection itself. And those today who are the followers of Jesus Christ even do greater works than miracles, that is of a temporal nature.

What is there greater that you can do for man than to teach salvation? When Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be down. I say to you that when you can give man the words of life, you can preach to him about the Savior, you can promote promote a belief in that individual so that he can come to the knowledge of who Christ is, and that he can have salvation. That when he dies, it won’t be the end of all things, but rather it will be the beginning. It will be the time at which he passes and unto a better world than this. Isn’t that greater than giving him some kind of physical healing?

6. Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask in My Name

That’s the greater works Jesus was speaking about. Now reading verse chapter 4 of John 14, verses 13 and 14, notice he said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, what does that mean? Does it mean that we can pray and any kind of covetous or selfish desire shall be given unto us? That surely couldn’t be the right answer. There may be those who would pray to drive a Mercedes, but that doesn’t mean because we say, Oh, in the name of the Lord Jesus, Lord, give me a Mercedes, that that person is going to be having one.

But if we ask anything in his name, he says he’ll give it. What’s he talking about? Again, not the fulfillment of some kind of fleshly, temporal, covetous desire, but rather what Jesus Christ was saying, you ask according to my will. When you say in the name of someone, you are saying by the authority of someone. Colossians 3 17, whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. That we do it by his will or by his authority. Passages like 1 John chapter 3 and in verse 22 talk about prayer. And there it says, Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him. But notice why? Because we keep his commandments. It isn’t that we say some kind of magical phrase in the name of the Lord Jesus, we claim this.

Conclusion

But rather because we keep his commandments and do those things pleasing in his sight. That is, we’re asking in his name according to his will. And in 1 John chapter 5 and verse 14 and 15, that we have assurance if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. We know that he will give answer. Jesus prayed to the Father according to his will. Thy will be done, not mine. That must be our prayer as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you have the promise of the many mansions? Once you come to Christ, believe in him and obey his gospel that you may have eternal life through him. Until our next study, may the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.