Recently I finished up at my job as a School Chaplain after six years. I loved my job, and for lots of reasons I didn’t want to leave. But I knew it was time, I knew I had to; I had plans. Plans for my future. I could be excited about leaving because I was excited about my future plans.
The plans I have made. The plans I have been putting in place that brought me to the point where I could leave my job.
But gratefully and sadly some of my co-workers and some of the children were very sad that I was leaving. The news I brought was unexpected, and they had no say in it, and they were going to have to work out how they do what they do without me.
Now I am not comparing myself to Jesus, but I think we have all had that experience of someone leaving and being unprepared for that move. Or being the person that leaves with good plans, and full knowledge of what is ahead for them, rather than what is left behind.
Even when I explained my plans, which are good plans. Not just good for me, but hopefully good for others, it didn’t relieve the immediate impact of the hole my departure might leave. I could remind them that the hole would close up very shortly, but that knowledge isn’t initially a comfort.
It is hard to say goodbye to friends when they leave, or move way, even when we live in a time when we have every means available to keep in touch. The best I could do was offer comfort, and assurance I would keep in touch.
Jesus knew how hard it was going to be for His disciples to say goodbye when it came time for Him to leave. He understood our natural human response to change. But equally He knew His goodbye was a different kind of going away. He knew the impact His departure would have on those who loved Him most would be eternal.
The good news they couldn’t quite see yet was that He had so much He ultimately left with His disciples, so much He left with us, and this is highlighted for us the book of John Chapter 14.
The chapter begins with Jesus comforting His disciples. He tells them not to be concerned because when He leaves, He is leaving to get things sorted for their future.
Their future with Him.
Jesus is kind of saying, “I’m not going to go to the trouble of setting up a room for you, a place for you in my home, make it pretty and comfortable, and then not come back and get you. That’s not my style.”
Jesus has shown that what He says He does, and this is what He’s saying. That was the comfort Jesus offered. How comforting it must have been for the disciples to know they knew Jesus.
Right?
But no, they weren’t comforted. They were confused.
Because now Jesus adds this little disclaimer that the only way to get there is through Him. But they know Him, and they know God, so why is Jesus saying this.
So, Thomas, pipes up and says,
“Hey Lord, I think I missed a bit.
I haven’t seen a map.
Did I come late to the PowerPoint presentation?
You haven’t left a forwarding address.
Did I miss an email?
I can’t know where I’m going if you haven’t given me the details!”
So, in the plain and simple language that Jesus often uses to explain something no one understood in the first place, He told Thomas, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
For now, I would like to focus on the first part of verse 6 in John Chapter 14
I am the way the truth and life. This is a powerful statement. But it is a statement to help each of us, including the disciples, know how to be with Him in the place Jesus has prepared for us for eternity.
Jesus hasn’t left us out in the cold with no understanding of how we can actively and consciously enjoy what He has prepared for us. He has prepared a place for a for a reason, for our good, and He wants to us to enjoy His gift to us. We can do this when we understand better who He is, and what He means by the way, the truth and the life.
If we have a look at the definition of the different parts of this statement, we start to see just how much these words meant to the disciples and means for us today.
“The way” can be translated to mean, not just the travelled road or path, but also a course of conduct. The way we do things, not just where we go.
It is a way of thinking, feeling and deciding. It is everything about how we do what we do. Or more clearly how we are to act and conduct ourselves just as Jesus did. You could think of it like this.
You are planning a trip, and when you look at a map there are many paths that you might take. You can research and get advice and mark out some options. Some of those roads might be your good works, or being at church every Sunday morning, hanging on every word of every preacher that stands up as definitive and infallible. All those roads have some merit, but none of them will actually get you to where you want to go. None of them alone or collectively will bring you to the end of the road which is eternal life.
But when you know Jesus, and you love Jesus the right path with light up your map like the blue line on Google Maps. When you put in your destination as eternal life, the blue line will lead you straight to Jesus, and into God’s loving embrace. You don’t want the grey line, don’t be deceived but the alternative routes, you want the blue. The blue is the direct path to where you need to go.
That’s the way, now here’s the truth
If we look at a concordance ‘the truth’ might be better understood as, ‘What is true in any matter under consideration – WHAT IS TRUE IN ALL THINGS.’
What I know for sure is that God is truth in all things. Therefore, it stands to reason that Jesus is truth in all things.
Seeking truth in all things is an active statement. When we believe in Jesus, we can no longer be passive.
Some of the best parts of the bible are the parts where we see promises fulfilled. This is truth. Because of my faith I technically shouldn’t need to see the evidence of God’s truth and faithfulness, but I’m glad that I can. God’s truth, and Jesus’ truth, are abundant in both the Old and New Testament.
Jesus is truth as the fulfillment of God’s truth, and truth because of what He gave us while He was here.
Truth is hard, and standing strong in your belief, because you know God put you here for a purpose, that is true and real.
And then comes ‘The Life’, and Strong’s concordance gives us this as a definition.
“Life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ,…” (Strong's Greek 2222)
Active and everlasting – that is Life in Jesus. Life in our Father! But most importantly it is the confirmation of a home and a place for eternity. A life that doesn’t end with what is here on earth but continues forever with those who love us most.
This verse is an explanation of the active participation Jesus offers us if we choose to follow Him. If we love Him.
I have made plans for my future. Practical, active, and exciting plans, but these plans always include God. I do not walk alone in my plans. I have to check my plans with God, because I understand He has a bigger plan for me. Not just for my eternity, but for the life before eternity.
Every plan I have for myself in underpinned by the greater plan and promise Jesus made in John. He made a plan for my future, and He provided the map, the promise, and the tools to actively participate in life with Him.
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