John 14
John 14:1-31 (NLT)
1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.
11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.
12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.
19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.
20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.
25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you.
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.
29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.
30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me,
31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
Acquiring belief was ever the mission and purpose of Jesus. Healing the sick, forgiving sins, and performing miracles were for much more than to garner popularity. For anything He was going to do to be effective, it would require belief that would receive the new life He offered. For all it would require dying to whatever beliefs they had been living by and receiving this new way, not just in the form of religious edicts, but in the dwelling of Jesus within. This could not ever occur apart from a belief in Him that transcended all others. For these people still in discovery He was worth following for the demonstrations of power and some fascinating teaching. However, He is delving into His real purpose in the discussion of eternal dwellings, the one the Father is preparing in heaven, and the sanctuary He desires in the heart. For understanding this to produce the leap of faith in acceptance, knowing who Jesus really is, and receiving Him requires unwavering belief. While He walked, the power in demonstration served as a powerful influence of this belief, but He indicates there is another gift to come in the Holy Spirit, who would build this belief up continually in a flow of eternal life. With the goal always to acquire access and residence, Jesus amazingly demonstrated what this would look like for the believer. Limitations and insecurities would no longer restrict the affirming and validating demonstrations in their walk. Just like Jesus, belief in the believer would precede belief in the Father. Testimonies and accessing the fullness of what’s been provided become one of the greatest convincers of Truth in Christ. A transformed life, living in power over every work of darkness, effectively draws the doubting heart into a proximity where believing, with its eternal ramifications, is inevitable.