“That you may be where I am”
April 18, 2021
14:1 – 15:17 Being in Jesus, just as Jesus is in the Father
Read John 14:3-4
“These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor.13:13). These words of Paul echo the farewell teaching of Jesus, prioritising loving one another just as he has loved us (13:34-35). But faith and hope are also important. In the face of the coming uncertainties, Jesus had already urged the disciples to keep on having faith, both in God and in him (14:1), and he had already begun to speak to them about hope – “I am going to prepare a place for you” (14:2). Those who believe in him have the living hope of eternal life (1 Pet.1:3).
Heaven is beyond our imagination, but two things about it are clear. It is the "Father’s house” (14:2) and it is the place where we will be with Jesus (3). That is really all we need to know about heaven to assure us that it is the perfect place for us – with the Father and the Son for ever. And Jesus himself is the way there (4). Because the disciples know Jesus, they know the way to heaven – they just don’t know yet that they know it! The following verses will make that clear (14:5-6).
There is a second aspect to Christian hope which is also spoken of by Jesus in these verses. Besides going to prepare a place for them, Jesus promised to come back to collect them (3), a reference to his second coming. This is a central part of what Christians believe about Jesus and it is referred to many times throughout the New Testament (e.g. Matt.24:42-44; Col.3:4; Titus 2:13). Jesus is coming back again to complete his saving work (Heb.9:28) and then “we will be with the Lord for ever” (1 Thess.4:16-18). It’s this hope which is the wellspring of faith and love in our lives (Col.1:5).