Thoughts to Ponder from John 14:1-12

John 14:1-12 (ESV)

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “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’? 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. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

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.

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9)

Marybeth is a born athlete, just like her father. Allie and her siblings have their mom’s flashing dark eyes and her spirit of community service. When John laughs, you’d think his dad was in the room.

An old saying tells us that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, meaning that kids are likely to take on their parents’ features, philosophies, and behaviors. And though some apples roll far from the parental tree, the likeness can still be quite remarkable.

Even so, nothing can compare to the “like Father, like Son” relationship we see in today’s Gospel!

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Linger over this for a moment and consider who this Father is. He is the all-powerful Creator of the universe, the Author of life who keeps everything in existence. He is the God whose beauty, only partially revealed, dazzled Moses and made his face so radiant that people were afraid to approach him (Exodus 34:30-35). Seeing this “holy, holy, holy” Lord of hosts on his heavenly throne, Isaiah was so overcome that he feared for his life (Isaiah 6:1-5). Glorious in holiness, robed in light, majestic beyond compare – that’s the Father.

And that is the Son as well. To see the one is to see the other, for “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10-11). Writing about these verses, one scholar said that it is a “peak point in the mountain ranges of revelation.” The God of ages is fully and definitively revealed in human form! If you want to know what God is like and how to reach him, look to Jesus. He has given you access to every grace and spiritual gift, to an imperishable inheritance, and to none other than God himself.

Thank you, Father, for letting me see and hear what many prophets and saints longed for. Thank you, Jesus, for revealing God’s face of love. Come, Holy Spirit, and bring me to a deeper and deeper knowledge of you. Amen.

From The Word Among Us, May 22nd, 2011