20: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life — John 14:1-31

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?^{a  3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to the place 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 know me, you will know 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 we will be satisfied.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 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; 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; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
¹⁴ If in my name you ask me^a for anything,I will do it.

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷ This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹ In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus answered him,, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; ³¹ but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Why does Jesus begin the way he does? What do you think of Jesus’ description of his Father’s “home?” [see Notes]. Do you think the disciples understood?

2. How does Jesus respond to Thomas’ concern? To Phillip’s request? What does Jesus promise the disciples about their future? What does he promise about our future? What is the key to achieving this promise?

3. Who does Jesus introduce in this passage? Why would he tell the disciples about another “person” at this point? How do you think the disciples felt about this “Advocate?” 

4. How does Jesus describe the Holy Spirit? What seem to be his important attributes? What links the disciples to Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit? How does Jesus describe the relationship between the disciples and the Trinity?

5. How does Jesus attempt to prepare the disciples for the immediate future? What gift does he leave with the disciples? 

Get Personal

How does knowing “the way, the truth and the life” affect the way you conduct yourself each day? How has the Holy Spirit been your advocate? Your comforter? Your helper? How does he help you deal with an uncertain future?

14:1. Trust in . . . — Jesus again claims equality with the Father.
14:6. The way, the truth, the life — Jesus sums up Christian theology in this threefold description: he is the means (way) by which we have access to God the Father; in himself he reveals all the truth about God the Father; and he has and is the life we have in reunion with God the Father. Early Christians called themselves followers of “the Way.”
14:9-10. All this time — you can sense Jesus’ frustration; and he uses the same appeal he made to the Jews earlier: “believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done,” [10:38]. It is hard to understand how the disciples could not see what Jesus was really talking about – until we remember all the times we were blind or deaf to what Jesus was trying to tell us.
14:12. Greater works — earlier Jesus told the people “this is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent,” [6:29]. As the Gospel has spread around the world and more people from a greater variety of backgrounds and circumstances “believe in the one he has sent,” greater works are being accomplished.

14:13. In my name — this may be the most discussed of all Jesus’ promises. For me the key is “in my name” – we need to be completely “in synch” with Jesus and his ministry and purpose if he is to respond to our requests and “bring glory to the Father.” 
14:16. Advocate — also translated “Counselor,” “Helper,” “Encourager,” and “Comforter.” Advocate is appropriate because the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, just as Jesus does on the cross, in our relationship with God the Father. This verse is also one of the first descriptions of the Trinity: Jesus, the human manifestation of God, says he will ask “the Father,” who will give another Advocate: “the Holy Spirit.” There clearly will be three “persons” involved with the disciples.
14:17. Be in you — an echo of Ezekiel: I will put my Spirit in you so you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations, [36:27].
14:22. Reveal — Jesus’ answer in v. 24 makes it clear that God’s plan for salvation involves our hearts – love – not our heads: “the world.”
14:27. Peace — which comes from trusting in Jesus’ promises about our ultimate future.