6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and life; no one come to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 translated from the NA28 Greek text)
We continue with the time our Lord spent with His disciples in preparation for His separation for them as He was arrested, tried, crucified, died, and laid in a tomb. In John 13 He has told them that He is about to be betrayed by one of their number and that Peter this very night will deny that he ever knew the Lord at all. All of these are extreme jolts and tests of their faith therefore our Lord encourages them greatly. In this post we will look how He begins this by exegeting John 14:1-14.
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you 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 am coming again and will receive you to myself that where I am you may be also. 4 And where I go you know the way.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord we do not know where you go, how are we able to know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one come to the Father except through Me. 7 If you know Me, you know My Father also and from now on, you know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:1-7 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)
What is troubling the disciples? It is our Lord’s continual reference to His imminent departure. This belief in v1 implies trust doesn’t it? Notice in v2 our Lord’s reference to his going to prepare a place for His people in His Father’s house. The Father’s house is Heaven and these “rooms” translates μοναὶ the nominative, plural of μονή or monē, “dwelling places.” These are believers “eternal dwellings” in Heaven. Notice also that since that is true then our Lord promises to return and receive believers to Himself to be with Him forever. What is the way in order for us to follow the Lord to be with Him forever where He is? It is to know Jesus as the way, the truth and life by coming to the Father through the Son by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8,9).