John 14:1

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1–6)

Jesus doesn't hand us a destination—He gives us Himself as the way, and calls us to believe and then do.

A Command, Not a Request

Jesus begins, "Let not your hearts be troubled," which is itself an indicator that their hearts were troubled. In the Greek it reads "do not let your hearts be troubled"—not a polite request but a command. Why would the disciples' hearts be troubled? Jesus had just told them some very difficult truths: that He was going away, that they soon wouldn't see Him, that one of them would betray Him, and that Peter would deny Him three times. They had imagined they would always be together. So their hearts were disturbed.

But it's easy to tell someone to stop worrying and another thing entirely for them to do it. So Jesus gives them the cure in the second half of the verse: "Believe in God; believe also in me." If we believe that God is who He says He is, that goes miles toward eradicating whatever we're worried about. Worried about health? He's the great physician. Worried about making ends meet? He's Jehovah Jireh, the provider. The cure for a troubled heart is always to trust Jesus more.

The disciples faced two specific fears—Jesus leaving them, and them letting Jesus down. I run into the very same things. You stand in the back of a filling room, knowing you have to speak, and you pray, "Lord, don't leave me up there." And He reminds you, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." The cure is to believe in God and believe also in Him.

A Place Prepared, a Path Given

In verse 2 Jesus asks a rhetorical question: "If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" Since Jesus doesn't lie, we can trust this. And notice it's specific and singular—a place for you, and you, and you. The God who created everything out of nothing, who made Yosemite and sunrises and sunsets, is preparing a place for us.

He continues, "I will come again and I will take you to myself." He's not the kind of Father who abandons His children. It's a temporary separation—He's leaving for a short period and then coming back to bring us to where He is. Then He says something interesting: "You know the way to where I am going." He doesn't say you know where I'm going—He gives them a path, not a destination.

It's like following GPS without knowing where you're actually headed. Last summer we went to a camp on Catalina Island, and getting to the port in San Pedro was a disaster—they're rebuilding roads faster than the GPS can update. My Waze kept saying "turn right" where there was only cones and a drop-off. Wrong turn after wrong turn, until I finally arrived. Even with an inkling of where I needed to go, getting there was difficult.

Following a Person, Not a Place

The disciples often highlight what we'd miss, and here Thomas jumps up: "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" He wants the destination before he steps onto the journey. But that's not what Jesus said. Jesus said you know the way. It's not uncommon to want the destination first. We like to set our own agenda and plan our own pace—my family and I saved up for Disneyland and researched the deadest day for crowds (the day after Labor Day, by the way). We want to know everything in advance.

But Jesus is presenting a moving target—a Person, not a single point. If you searched your GPS for directions to me, it wouldn't work, because I move from place to place. But if you follow my family, eventually we'll all be together. That's what Jesus means: "I am the way."

Point one: we are following a Person, not looking for a place or destination. Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Thomas saw Jesus as just another guy with them; he didn't grasp who Jesus was. Jesus is the way—the path to the Father; the truth—revealed about the Father; the life—eternal life given by the Father. As John 17:3 says, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

The Only Way

We can't pass over the last part: "No one comes to the Father except through me." There are a lot of counterfeits out there, and a lot of people get upset about this phrase. If you're one of them, I'm sorry—I didn't write it, I'm just reading what's there. But He is the only way. Every other way is a counterfeit, every other truth is a half-truth at best, and every other life will leave you unfulfilled and missing the mark.

Point two: only in Jesus, and in Jesus alone, do we find the way to the Father.

When we went to Paraguay this summer, we visited Iguazu Falls, one of the seven wonders of the modern world—like twenty Niagara Falls in one giant valley, bordering Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The park is huge, confusing, and in places dangerous—a long way down if you mess around. So the first thing they give you is a guide who tells you where to go. That's exactly what we have in Jesus. Is life ever confusing? Half the time I have no idea what's going on. Is it dangerous? Yes. That's why we're called to stay with the One who is the way, the truth, and the life.

To Know Jesus Is to Know the Father

In verse 7 Jesus says, "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." He's talking to the very men who knew Him best on earth—and even they missed it. Something is about to happen that will change their perspective.

The truth is, even we who know Jesus don't know the vastness of Jesus. As you grow older spiritually and walk longer with the Lord, you realize there is far more about Jesus you don't know than you do, because you keep finding new things in the Word. Knowing Jesus, who is fully God, means we know the Father, because they are God. This is the doctrine of the Trinity, which is always hard to teach. People use illustrations—it's like an egg with shell, white, and yolk; or like water as ice, liquid, and steam—but none are good enough. God's not an egg. This isn't something we're fully meant to grasp; it requires a measure of trust and faith.

So Philip pops up in verse 8: "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough." If you'd just remove every doubt, then we'll totally believe. But would that be belief? If God answered our every doubt, faith wouldn't be required. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Believe the Words, or Believe the Works

Jesus answers in verse 9: "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" He's saying, I and the Father are one. He continues in verse 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 authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." It's not just His words testifying—His works testify too. No one else raised the dead, healed lepers, gave sight to the blind, or made the lame walk.

In verse 11 He says, "Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves." You can believe because you understand it, or believe because you've seen it—both are okay if they bring you to faith. There's often friction between the two, like the old Pharisee-and-Sadducee rivalry, each thinking their way is better. But works or words, either way is good if it brings you to faith.

Greater Works Than These

Verse 12: "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." Notice it doesn't say might or could—it says will. Belief without action isn't really belief, because believing something changes how you act.

But how do we do greater things than Jesus? I dug through commentaries looking for old, dead, smarter people. Some say it was limited to the apostles, but the verse says "whoever believes," not "whoever is in this room," so I don't buy a timeframe limited to Acts. Some say our tools are so flawed that anything we do for God's glory is great—like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel versus someone pulling it off with ketchup packets and a straw. I don't think that fits either. And it's not about mileage—I've been to South Africa and South America, so I've got more ministry miles than Jesus did, but that doesn't make it greater. I don't have a tidy answer for how, but Jesus said it, so I trust it.

Asking in His Name

So why don't we see more miracles? Verse 13: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Some twist this into "I'm going to get a Maserati." But notice the condition—that the Father may be glorified. God is not a candy machine where you punch B4 and get a Snickers. God wants glory, and He wants to use us to get there. We are most joyful when we bring Him maximum joy.

James says we have not because we ask not—so we need to ask. But he also says we ask amiss when we want to spend it on our own fleshly lusts. We rarely realize how much of our own agenda is wrapped up in our requests, and when you add our limited understanding, it's amazing we ever get it right.

Maybe we also don't see more miracles because we don't look for them, don't think we need them, and don't notice when they happen. We take in more information than any generation in history—a teenager today absorbs in an hour what once took twenty-five years. The amount of time we spend on devices is frightening; Apple now shows you, and it's scary. I sat in a half-full Panera yesterday and found only one table where the conversation wasn't everyone staring at their phones. Maybe we don't see the miraculous because it exists just past where we're looking.

If You Love Me

Then Jesus shows us how to grow. Verse 15: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." I take that as a simple if-then statement: if you love Me, then you will keep My commandments.

Point three: do something. Whatever God has called you to do, do it. But how do I know what He's called me to do? Read your Bible and you'll find the big no's and big yes's. Don't murder—there's a curb on that side. Love everybody—there's a curb on the other. Stay between those boundaries, then ask: What brings me joy? How am I glorifying God and finding fulfillment? Inside those boundaries is a plethora of options. And if you don't know yet what makes you joyful, try stuff.

We had a great summer of people trying stuff—VBS, the Kids Party Club, Paraguay, the Ronald McDonald House, camp. We are an active church. Take John as an example: several of us encouraged him to serve at VBS, and though he wasn't sure at first, the joy on his face and on his kids' faces was fantastic. Maybe you can't serve at VBS or go to Paraguay—there's a plethora of things you can do. Find something and do it.

Another Helper

But we can't do these things alone, and Jesus knew it. Verse 16: He'll ask the Father, who "will give you another Helper, to be with you forever." Notice He doesn't say He might—Jesus has complete confidence, because He and the Father are one.

In John 17 Jesus prays for us. In verse 21 He prays "that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you... so that the world may believe that you have sent me." That breaks my brain—Jesus wants us to be one with God the way He is one with the Father, to have that kind of fellowship and unity.

As we become more like Jesus, we'll gain that same confidence in prayer—not through magic words, but because we've come to know Him, seen Him work, and grown more like Him. My kids know what to ask me and what not to, because they know me. Our God is a good Father who wants to work in us and through us; we just have to be on the same page with Him.

A Father Who Does Not Abandon

Verse 18: "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." God is not a father who abandons. Some people have a skewed image of "father" because of a bad earthly father. If you had a bad earthly father, God is the things you knew you were missing. If you had a good one, God is the things you admire in him. He is the prototype of dad, the embodiment of Father, and He does not forsake us.

In verse 19 Jesus continues, "Because I live, you also will live." Then Judas (not Iscariot) asks how Jesus will manifest Himself to them and not to the world. How is it we see Jesus working and the world doesn't? Because of the Holy Spirit in us—our eyes are opened, and we have faith.

God Answers by Sending Us Out

Notice Jesus doesn't answer Judas directly. He says, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." Instead of explaining the mechanics, He tells him to do Jesus-type stuff.

Point four: very often God doesn't answer our question—He just tells us to go do what He's called us to do. In Paraguay, doing cross-cultural missions where you don't share the language, it's amazing to watch God work communication. Not everyone there speaks Spanish—many speak Guaraní—so even basic Spanish wasn't enough. But you can communicate the love of God just by spending time with someone, by eye contact, by listening, even without understanding their words. God knew the barrier would be there and provided ways. So stop getting hung up on the how. That admonition is more for me than anyone. God calls us to do stuff, and then we let Him worry about the results.

The Spirit Teaches Us as We Go

Verse 25: "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit... he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." The Spirit teaches and reminds us of Jesus' words so we can please the Father and dwell as one with God. In my life this happens mostly as I do what I'm called to do. Often I understand why we did something only afterward, sometimes during, often in hindsight—stepping out not knowing how it will go, then looking back and saying, "I could never have done that, but God did." We don't see those things unless we step out.

Verse 27: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." He ends this part of the conversation the same way He began it. How do we find this peace? I find it in knowing Jesus, learning more about Him through the Holy Spirit, drawing closer to the Father as I follow what Jesus commands. It's a package deal—you don't get peace by sitting on your hands. We receive peace as we step out and do.

Do Something—Including Resting at His Feet

Point five: do something. But one last warning—don't fall into the trap of Martha and think doing something means always cleaning or running from ministry to ministry. Part of doing something is sitting at the feet of Jesus: reading your Bible, spending time in worship, in prayer, in fellowship. We did a ton this summer, and I can tell you that you cannot keep that pace up forever before the wheels start falling off. We have to spend time at Jesus' feet—it's part and parcel of doing something.

We close with Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." If Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, it will change our way of living, what we believe, and the direction of our life. We grow closer to Jesus as we do stuff with Him.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, what an amazing thing it is to look into Your Word. Father God, I know that I can quickly fall into the trap of Martha—if I don't see action, I don't think people are doing things. But Father God, You know what we need to do and what we should be doing. Even now, Lord, I believe You are touching hearts, pointing out opportunities, and for some, simply tugging on their hearts, saying, "Spend time with Me, spend time in My Word." So Father God, I lift us up to You, and I pray, Jesus, that whatever it is You're calling us to do today, help make it clear to us. We know we don't often get the destination, but we know, Jesus, that You are the path. Lead us, and help us learn to stay close to You, because You are the way and the truth and the life. You have all those things we need, so help us follow closely. We pray these things, Jesus, in Your name. Amen.