John 14

John 14:1-6

CHRIST’S John 14:1-6THE man who said, “The Bible has yet new light waiting to break forth from its sacred pages,” was voicing a truth attested by the personal experience of every student of God’s Book. There are great sections of this fertile field that will break into beauty and bear fruit the moment a man cultivates them; and even its oldest and best-worn parts are, like the valley of the Nile, ever producing newer and greater harvests to those who feed upon them. Scores of times I have spoken from John 14:1-6, and yet only at the request made by an aged and dying sister did I see its new, and as I believe, its true beauty. Hitherto, this text had conveyed to my mind some impression of Heaven, and but little more. But its new study impresses its great and blessed doctrines, and we see in it a fourfold declaration concerning Jesus of Nazareth—The Sonship of Jesus, The Ascension of Jesus, The Second Coming of Jesus, and The Sufficiency of Jesus.THE SONSHIP OF JESUS “Let not your heart he troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). There is a declaration of the Sonship, of the Deity of Christ. He means in this text to put Himself on an equality with the Father. This is no assumption; it is His own statement. When Philip said unto Him,“Lord, shew us the Father and it sufficeth us”, He declared,“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayeth thou then, Shew us the Father? “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father, that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very work’s sake” (John 14:9-11). It is impossible in the limits of a single discourse to define all that Christ meant when He said, “Believe in Me”; but a part of it we may properly phrase.“Believe in Me” as the express image of His Person. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we are told that“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; “Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3). Faith in the Deity of the Son of Man was fundamental to Christianity. Carnegie Simpson, in “The Fact of Christ”, says that when Jesus put to His first disciples the question, “Whom say ye that I am”? and Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ”, on the strength of that reply the Master affirmed His purpose of building His Church. And from that time every true disciple and apostle defended to the utmost the utter Deity of the Man from Nazareth. And, as if to confirm Him in this claim, God compelled three worlds to bear their testimony to its truthfulness. From Heaven a voice was heard, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. On earth one testified, “Truly, this was the Son of God”, and the devils out of hell said, “Jesus, Thou Son of God, what have we to do with Thee”?Henry Van Dyke but voices an evident fact when he says, “The early Christians looked at God through Christ; they did not look at Christ through a preconceived idea and a logical definition of God.

The true development of theology, to put the matter plainly, was not abstract; it was personal and practical. The doctrine of the Trinity came into being to meet an imperious necessity.

That necessity was the defense of the actual worship of Christ, the actual trust in Christ as the Unveiler of the Father, which already existed at the heart of Christianity. It was recognized instinctively that the loss of this trust, the silencing of worship, meant the death of Christianity by heart failure. Every speculation which threatened this result; every theory of human nature or the Divine nature which seemed to separate the personality of Christ from the personality of God, was regarded by the Church as dangerous and hostile. Every attempted statement of theological dogma which appeared to obscure or to imperil the reality and the eternal validity of the unveiling of the Father in the Son was resented, and a counter statement of theological dogma was framed to meet it.”Hence, we have John in his first Epistle (1 John 5:20) saying of Jesus Christ, “This is the true God, and eternal life”. That is the meaning of His own statement, “Believe in God: ye believe also in Me”—as His eternal Son, His revelation!“Believe in Me” as the embodiment of His mercy. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16, R. V.).Anticipating the birth of Jesus, Zecharias, the father of John, was filled with His Holy Spirit, and said,“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, “And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David * * to perform the mercy promised to our fathers” (Luke 1:68-72). Christ Himself declared to the Pharisees, “Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). The Law taught men the justice of God; the lamb slain on Jewish altars typified the mercy of God to be manifested in “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”.It is only as we see God in Jesus that the expectation of mercy is excited. As Thomas Babington Macaulay said, “God, the uncreated, the incomprehensible, the invisible, attracted few worshipers. The philosopher might adore so noble a conception, but the crowd turned away in disgust from words which created no image in their mind. It was before the Deity, embodied in a human form, walking among men, partaking of their infirmities, leaning on their bosoms, weeping over their graves, slumbering in their manger, bleeding on the Cross, that the prejudices of the synagogue and the doubts of the academy and the pride of the portico and the forces of the lictors and the swords of thirty legions were humbled in the dust.” Aye, and it is only before such Deity that men fall, smiting their breasts, saying, “God be merciful”, in any spirit of expectation.‘This precious truth His Word declares, And all His mercies prove; While Christ, the atoning Lamb, appears To show that God is love.” “Believe in Me” as the Minister of His grace. No one disputes that “grace” as well as “truth” “came by Jesus Christ”. “If, through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15). What is this that we hear that Jesus Christ was the Minister of the circumcision only? God forbid! The surest foundation for heresy of teaching is a detached text. When Paul wrote,“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers”, he did not stop, but added,“And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles” (Romans 15:8-9). Paul, writing to the Hebrews, said,“Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man * * He hath obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:1-2; Hebrews 8:6)— the covenant of Grace versus Law. “For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”.“ ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear. The hour I first believed!” Christ, by His Spirit, is not only the Minister of grace in salvation, But also sanctification. “Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.” THE OF JESUS “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). There are days in which men often discuss the descent of the Son of Man and ministers make much of the necessity of it, whether applied to His First or His Second Coming. But has it not occurred to us that the ascension of Jesus into the heavens is just as fundamental to all spiritual life and progress? Think of the results of the ascension of Jesus!It demonstrated His Divine origin. The logic of Christ’s words made so profound an impression upon the minds of men that even His enemies were compelled to say, “Never man spake like this Man”. The deeds of Jesus were as relentlessly logical as was His language. He professed to have come down from above, but what proof had man of it?

No one on earth had ever seen Him in the heavens, and His generation by the Spirit was not observable. Who will take stock in the testimony of Mary, His Mother, in view of the fact that women for ages had coveted this very experience, and some had even claimed it?

There was an occasion when Jesus said to a palsied man, “Thy sins be forgiven thee”, and the unbelievers scoffed the suggestion, saying, “Who can forgive sins but God”? and derided His words as blasphemous. And to prove His right to speak them, Jesus said to the sick of the palsy, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk”, attending His command with imparted power, and giving a demonstration to the eyes that could not be derided nor even doubted. He did not argue the subject of His Divine origin; He proved that He had come down from Heaven by going back to it again, and if no one saw Him come down, hundreds looked upon Him as He “went up”. No event in the life of Jesus ever gave such a perfect demonstration of His Deity as did His ascension into Heaven. The resurrection from the grave even was not so unanswerable an argument as His departure to the upper world. Other men have been resuscitated; no other man, save Jesus of Nazareth, ever ascended at will.

It was not the man from Nazareth who made many converts; it was not even the Christ of the Cross who convinced Jewish leaders, but it was the ascended Jesus who won Saul of Tarsus, overturned Judaism, swept the Roman Empire for His Church, mastered the Gentile world and gave to the earth a Christian civilization. O.

P. Gifford says, “The sea on the Maine coast beats itself into a white foam against the rocks; the rocks abide, and visitors are amused by the struggle. Fie upon those philosophers who are wasting their mental tides upon the Rock of Ages!” The ascension of Jesus of Nazareth puts past dispute His Deity, and lends all needful weight to the words of the Apostle, “The first man is of the earth, earthy, the Second Man is the Lord from Heaven”.It defined His present location. “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).Heaven is where Jesus is. I believe the Book is clear to the effect that Heaven is a locality, and that character is demanded for entrance there. When Judas was about to betray Jesus, the Master said,“Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come * * Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, whither goest Thouf Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards” (John 13:33; John 13:36). It is significant that this conversation immediately preceded the words, “Let not your heart be troubled * *. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself”. Men and women are often much concerned as to whether they will get home to Heaven. Settle it once and for all—come home to Jesus. Christ has said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out”. The man or the woman who has come to Christ is certain of Heaven, for where He is there will they be also.Again, it defined His present occupation. “I go to prepare a place for you”.

There is a picture of Jesus which represents Him as on the right hand of the throne of God and sitting down. That is the place of intercession of the priest; but it is also the place of power, and He who “spake and the worlds were, and without whom was not any thing made that was made” may yet sit down, and but utter His voice and mansions will result. The one reason why the Church of God can be content in the absence of the Christ is that this Groom is getting ready the home of His Bride. The John of the Epistles is the John of Revelation, the man to whom the revelation was vouched, and by whose hand the message was sent, and he said,“I John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. “And I heard a great voice out of the Heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2-3). Men and women talk sometimes about the joy of the honeymoon. Did you ever reflect upon the joy of the season preceding the nuptial ceremony? It has been my observation that brides are as happy in anticipation of the marriage as in the experience of the same. What pleasure in self-preparation; what joy, knowing that the groom also is engaged in the work of preparing for the one of his love! And if in our impatience at times we cry with John, “Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly”, and He does not answer, that is no evidence that He loves us less, but may be only the proof that He loves us more, for He is delayed by love, engaged in preparing a place for the object of His affections.THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS It is positively predicted. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again”. If that “if” did condition His ascension, the condition is now removed and the ascension is assured, for “He went”! There came a day when, followed by worshiping disciples, the Risen Christ led them to the hilltop, and after having once more spoken of the promise of the Spirit, “He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight”, and He who predicted His going, promises His Return. The men who believe in the former anticipate the latter. It is by the strictest logic that those who have rejected the Second Coming of Jesus are now saying that He never did rise from the grave, never did ascend up on high; and it is equally rational for those who accept the testament of God’s Word to the effect that “He went up”, to watch for His “down-coming” in keeping with the promise of the same Word. One evidence of the truth of premillenarianism is in the fact that no man has ever yet rejected the authority of God’s Word so long as he held to the imminent Coming of the Christ. He who sings: “Thou, Lord, art gone on high,” will add “But Thou shalt come again, With all the bright ones of the sky Attendant in Thy train,” and pray “O by Thy saving power, So make us live and die, That we may stand, in that dread hour At Thy right hand on high.” This appearance is to be in Person. “If I go, I will come again”. The testimony is that He was taken up. He went in Person; He went visibly; a cloud received Him; He was attended by angels. As He went, so He shall come. When men talk of Christ’s appearing in death, they forget more facts than one. Christ never identified Himself with death; Christ never appointed death as His representative. On the contrary, death is declared to be His enemy. Preceding the appearance of Christ, on His own Word, “The sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the heavens”.

What sign appears in the heavens when men die? Even the Spirit was not His representative in this return, for He spoke of Him as another person, who should come immediately upon His going, but never visibly, while of His own appearance it was affirmed, “Every eye shall see Him”.Louis Albert Banks tells a beautiful story which requires but a single change to make it a perfect illustration of the Word’s most precious truth. It is the story of William Montague Dyke, who by an accident was blinded at the age of ten. But his brilliant intellect won universal honor, and his magnificent face, curtained as it was, and his splendid fortune and intellectual attainments made him a successful suitor for the hand of one of England’s most beautiful girls, Miss Cave. Before the wedding day, he submitted himself to a course of treatment by experts who believed they could recover him from his blindness. The nuptial hour was on.

Dyke had taken his place in the church, led in by the groomsman. The bride, attended by her father, Admiral Cave, dressed in the blue and golden lace of the quarter deck, was approaching the altar, when suddenly the expert physician cut away the bandages, and the first sight vouchsafed the groom was the face of his love!

As she looked into those eyes, she said, realizing that they were the windows of his soul, “At last!” to which he answered solemnly, bowing his head, “Yes, at last!”One change only, and what a symbol! With us it is the bride whose eyes are blinded, but there is a day coming and it will be her wedding day, when her eyes will be opened indeed. She shall behold Him, who loved her and gave Himself for her, face to face!“The Church has waited long Her absent Lord to see; And still in loneliness she waits, A friendless stranger she. “How long, O Lord, our God, Holy and true and good, Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering Church, Her sighs and tears and blood? “We long to hear Thy voice, To see Thee face to face, To share Thy crown and glory then, As now we share Thy grace.” The purpose of this appearance is plainly affirmed. “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”. His appearance is our resurrection. His appearance is our translation. Abraham received Isaac back in a figure. Christ will receive His own in fact. Oh, what an hour!“Ye servants of the Lord, Each in his office wait; With joy obey His Heavenly Word, And watch before His gate. “Let all your lamps be bright, And trim the golden flame; Gird up your loins as in His sight, For awful is His name. “Watch! ’tis your Lord’s command; And while we speak, He’s near; Mark every signal of His hand, And ready all appear. “Oh, happy servant he, In such a posture found! He shall his Lord with rapture see, And be with honor crowned.” Finally,THE OF JESUS. “Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? “Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me?” (John 14:5-6). Christ is the Way to Heaven. The man that takes any other path than that which leads by the Cross will never come to the wicket gate of the Celestial City. John Bunyan’s allegory no more clearly affirms that as the fact than the Scriptures teach the same. Oh, that the Unitarian world, made up of good men and bright women, but Satan-deluded, could be brought to give audience to Jesus while He says, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me”. Oh, that the men and the women who are going after the fads of the present moment, after sciences that are not Christian, and Christianity that is not scientific nor Scriptural, could be led to give audience to Peter while he, speaking by the Spirit, says, “He is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the Head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

It is not in Heaven that we are to find God; but it is in God, manifest in Jesus, that we are to find Heaven.Christ is also the Truth of God. “In the beginning was the Word”. Dr. Dale truthfully reminds us of the fact that Jesus did more than come into this world to preach the Gospel; He came into the world that there might be a Gospel to preach. Apart from Christ there is no Gospel. To preach Him is to preach the Gospel, and while we speak of men as set free by the truth, we mean that He is the Truth; hence the meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy,“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). When Christ said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”, He meant, “You shall know Me and in Me your freedom will be found.”Christ also is the Life Eternal. “I am the Life”. There is a natural life apart from Christ; but the life everlasting and blessed is by Him and by Him alone. I have sometimes wondered if there is not an intimate relation between Christ the Way, Christ the Truth, and Christ the Life. Truth is to the moral world what the sun is to the physical; it is its light. Hence Christ could say, “I am come a Light unto the world”. Light is absolutely essential to life.

Produce perfect darkness and death is the result. Light on the other hand not only produces life, but accomplishes health. Medical men are now insisting that the diseased live not only in the open air, but under God’s sunshine. Dr. Bethune once defined life as “God’s power in us”. “And in Him is no darkness at all”. Some one has said, “We give ourselves too much to making a living.

God gives Himself to making a life.”If we would live, there is but one way, and that is not “back to Christ”, but unto Him who said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out”. Oh, men and women, mystified in your thought, distracted by many voices, and discouraged by the false steps of the past, shall we not be silent a moment and let Jesus speak? Would we press our feet upon the path that leads to Heaven? Would we know the Truth that makes men free? Would we come into the experience of life abundant and be blessed? Listen!

The Son of God is about to utter a single sentence that shall clear your path. It is this: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me”. The old preacher who said, “There are three steps to glory,” had it right. “Out of self; into Christ, and into Heaven,”