WHERE ARE WE GOING? – (4)

“Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”  John 14:9

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:1-31&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.14  

I’ve heard it said that Jesus never claimed to be God.  That his disciples just misconstrued his words.  Or followers in later centuries got it wrong.  But what can Jesus possibly mean by saying, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”?  He always referred to God when he talked about the Father, so that translates:

“Anyone who has seen me (Jesus) has seen God.”

Now, it’s true, Jesus didn’t state this quite so clearly to everyone as he did to the Twelve.  Why was that?  Judas (not Iscariot) wanted to know the same thing.

“But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

Obedience and love precede intimacy.  Why would you marry someone who doesn’t love you?  Jesus is telling his friends that just as they have shown their love and trust by staying with him, and now they are in the “inner circle,” others will also do the same.

In other words, God is not going to issue a mass invitation by a giant billboard, but a private invitation that requires a personal response.

Amazing, that the God of the Universe is creating such a private space for each one of us.  Comforting.  And comfort is what Jesus was giving them on his last night with them.

^“ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 Powerful words.  But they would not comfort them for very long unless Jesus really was one with God as he claimed.  All of them were about to go through a grueling ordeal – one that would test each of them to the core.  Before the night was over they would doubt almost everything.  But they wouldn’t forget his promise to come back for them after he went away.

So, where are we going, ultimately?

^“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

WHERE ARE WE GOING? – (1)

I am the way …. John 14:6

“You know the way to the place where I am going” John 14:4

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:1-9&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.14  

Jesus said: “I am the way.”

But where are we going?

Watch  Going As Fast As Possible!  for an interesting view of our modern how-and-where movements.  And that is just in Singapore!  I could post time-lapse movement videos from New York, Tokyo, Jakarta … you name it.  We are all pretty much moving as fast as we can … but where?

The first step in planning the way is knowing the where; we plan the route after we set the destination.   In daily life we think we know.  Going to London, take a plane.  Going downtown, take a car or bus.  Then you can get on MapQuest, plot coordinates into your GPS, or just ask Siri.  With modern technology, it’s easy to find the way.

Jesus told his friends at dinner one night, “You know the way to the place where I am going.”  Thomas, confused, said “We don’t even know where you’re going!”

What was Thomas’s problem?  He wasn’t listening.  Jesus had just said, “My Father’s house has many rooms; …  I am going there to prepare a place for you.” 

Not that I blame Thomas – at the time Jesus was saying a lot of strange things about leaving, and he was giving speeches like it was his last meal or something.  Rather disturbing.  Who would understand that Jesus could know he was about to go into heaven and be with God the Father? 

But that’s exactly what Jesus meant.

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”

Translation: I am the way to God.  The only way to God.  You have access to him and know him because you know me.

So, now do you know where Jesus was going that night?  He was going to heaven to be with the Father.  If you want to go too, you know the WAY.