For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of
John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already
written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave
off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily
word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the
time being.
In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first
posting in the series – John 14 (One).
When Jesus told the
poor disciples where He was going, they had not yet understood. They still
relied on their physical senses. Up to then everything they observed had to be
seen or heard. They still expected Jesus to become their physical king. I can
therefore imagine Thomas thinking in terms of the geographical map of the
Middle East. I can picture him paging in his mind through all the possible
places in the surrounding areas where Jesus’ Father’s house possibly could be.
He might even have thought of Joseph as Jesus' father - who knows. So he asked
the most logical question, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can
we know the way? (John 14:5)” to which Jesus answered: "I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you
really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him
and have seen him (John 14:6, 7)."
Did the disciples
really attempt to know and understand Jesus or were they just focusing
outwardly on His works and their own concerns? It’s difficult to say. We do
find much evidence in the Bible of their carnal thinking and their anticipation
of Jesus as an earthly king. Think of their reactions when the children wanted
to come to Jesus, during the multiplication of the food, when the blind man
called after Jesus, when Jesus was glorified with Moses and Elijah, and so on.
Their response was protecting Him physically, caring for His physical needs.
They saw the physical miracles, but did not connect it to a spiritual Kingdom.
They simply didn't have an idea of who He really was and why He came to earth?
Do we take trouble
to get to know Jesus? Do you, dear reader, know the Way? It is not whether you
know about the Way, whether you heard a description of the Way or an
explanation of His character or His abilities. Have you personally experienced
the Way?
If one travels a
road for the first time, one carefully follows the instructions given you and looks
out for road signs and turnoffs, but by the second and third time you have
established beacons and eventually have no difficulty finding the place.
In your
relationship with the Lord, do you know how He would react to some of your
behaviour? In an earthly relationship we eventually know our
friend/spouse/employer so well that we know what turns her on and off, what
irritates her and what frustrates her. We know when she is happy and what makes
her sad. Do you know this about your Saviour and Master? Jesus actually said to
Thomas: “If you know Me and are one with Me you would have no trouble to relate
with my Father because we are the same”.
Why did Jesus say
He is the way, the truth, and the life? Why did He not
only say the way, in other words the door to the Father? He had already answered
Thomas’ question. Why did he carry on saying “If you really knew me, you would
know my Father as well?” I believe it is because He wants us to know
His way of doing things on a daily
basis, what He truly is like (the truth about Him) and the life that is in Him.
He wants to show Himself to us; what it's like to have the right purpose and
direction (Psalm 32:8), how to live in truth (John 8:32) and how to live life
to the full (John 10:10).
The disciples knew
Jesus very well. They walked very closely with Him every day. They, however,
according to the record in the Bible, had no experience of His spiritual
relationship with His Father. They were not there when He prayed, they could
not hear when His Father answered back and they could not hear the Word of Knowledge
and Wisdom that Jesus received whenever He needed it in His ministry. In fact,
when He invited them to pray with Him during His time of anguish in Gethsemane,
they were so bored they fell asleep. They just did not have any insight into
the spiritual realm.
How many modern day
Christians have understanding of the spiritual realm? My observation is that
too many only see the physical. We tend to focus on our physical needs and
outward worship activities, don't we?
But the disciples
would, once they received the Holy Spirit, know that side as well, which is why
Jesus said: “From now on, you do know him and have seen him”.
The Holy Spirit is
the connection between the Father and us. Through Him we view Jesus and
therefore Father God. It is impossible to get to know everything about a person
by reading about such a person. The only way you get to know someone is by
living with him.
Lord, help me to
obey so you could reveal yourself to me.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
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