March 21, 2014: John Chapter 14

The Gospel According to John Chapter 14

Originally posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008

John Chapter 14:1-14 Jesus as the Way to God

We all will be familiar with the opening words of this passage. It is a Scripture selection of the funeral service found in the United Methodist Book of Worship. In John these first verses establish where Jesus is going (to the Father) and how his disciples will follow him (he will return and take them back with him). To be in the Father's house is to be in heaven. The use of the Greek text, "dwelling places," was corrupted by the old English Tyndale/King James translation to read "mansions." Dwelling places as John uses it has the meaning of staying with and abiding. The place Jesus goes to prepare for the disciple is a place in heaven much the same as we would say we have a place in the church.

Actually this passage may be an example of the evangelistic preaching of John's community. Whether John's audience is made up of Jewish Christians who face the decision of leaving the Synagogue - and most likely their familial connections, pagan worshippers of the Roman deities, or the Gentile God Fearers attached to the Synagogue, the aim of preaching is to convince all groups that Jesus is the way to God, not Moses as interpreted by the Pharisees. Jesus says this in the context of being a reformer not a replacer of Judaism.

Thomas serves as the representative for all who would ask the same question, "How can we know the way?" John's answer to them is, "I am the way and the truth and the life." Neither Moses nor the useless collection of deities can assure a place in God's domain. Jesus is the Way to God, the truth about God and the life offered by God to the believer. The sentence structure is awkward and is better understood as the truth of God (revelation) and eternal life of God, explaining the meaning of "Way" since Jesus both shows the truth and gives the life of God. Also, the second part of the verse leaves out truth and life, an indication that Jesus is the "Way" which is the truth and the life.

Not only is Jesus the Way to God, John writes that God is known and seen by those who know and see Jesus. The disciple can see God by seeing Jesus because he is [abiding] in God and God is [abiding] in Jesus. God is also seen in the works Jesus does and the words he speaks. Both are revelatory and are extensions of the Father who works and speaks in and through Jesus. This is the meaning of the saying, "The Father and I are one" (very much in keeping with the Jewish idea that the messenger and the sender are one in authority). The disciple will do the works Jesus does because through belief in Jesus he/she shares God's power. In the post-resurrection time the disciple will do even greater works, for God will do these works through the disciple who asks in Jesus name, thus bringing honor and praise to God.

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Some find vs. 6b difficult to understand. "No one comes to the Father except through me." There is a troublesome exclusivity which announces a universally single path to God the Father, to the exclusion of all other possibilities. Based on the latest world and world religious population figures, that means 4,594,000,000 are in the "all other" category. Depending on who's counting It could be more since there are a number of Christian denominations and sects that would label Roman Catholics as ineligible and at least one denomination that contends all groupings of Christians except their own are not qualified. The Roman Catholic Church after Vatican II could be considered as inclusive in accepting the truth of other major world faiths. However, since October, 2000 and the release of the Dominus Jesus, published by then Cardinal Ratzinger (the current Pope) this position has been all but obliterated with other faiths being "gravely deficient and suffering from defects. On the whole mainline churches seem to be more tolerant and accepting of the validity of other faiths. Perhaps the problem of accepting/rejecting non-Christians as included within Jesus' gift of eternal life (or however we understand his gift) is one of judgment. Deut. 1:17assumes that ultimate judgment about who does and does not belong to God's community belongs to God. In 1 Sam. 16:7, in the choosing of David as King, God says to Samuel, who would have rejected David, "...the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

In Christianity we have developed the creedal idea of believing in Jesus as the sole criteria for eternal life, yet there are New Testament examples of eternal life being given based on a person's practices. The classic example is Matthew 25:31-46 in which those who have acted with justice, kindness and compassion are invited into the Kingdom. Also in Matthew 19:16-17 (the rich young man) Jesus implies that receiving eternal life depends on faithfully keeping the commandments. Only when Jesus realizes this particular person needs a higher level of commitment does he urge him to sell everything and to follow him as a disciple. In neither passage is there a mention of a specific belief in Jesus. Also, in MT. 5:8 Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Not that we should find an answer through proof-texting, for anything can be proven through Scripture. What seems to be at stake is to determine who among us is invested with the authority to make the judgment of who God accepts and who not. If ultimate judgment belongs to God are we flirting with the sin of Adam, wishing to be like God? Does our proclaiming the lost nature of others based solely on their religion mean that God is precluded from acting as God wishes? Perhaps we should leave such matters up to God and be more concerned of how we stand before God. Perhaps the proverb is instructive: "Physician, heal yourself."

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John Chapter 14:15-31 The Promise of the Paraclete

John presents a new word for us, the Paraclete. This is more concept than word and it is found only in the New Testament and there only in the writings of the evangelists of John's community (John, I, II, III John, and Revelation). The word parakletos is variously translated as Advocate, Teacher, Reminder, Witness and Helper. While there is some similarity to the Holy Spirit the Paraclete is much more personal and is not involved in the typical functions of the Holy Spirit (comforter, baptism, gifts). One could say that the Paraclete is the Holy Spirit in a special role but that would lessen the uniqueness of the Paraclete. In John the Paraclete serves the primary function of being the returning Spirit of Jesus present and abiding in the disciple and the community. The Paraclete is the spiritual presence of Jesus after Jesus departs to heaven. Vss. 15-16 promises that God will send another Paraclete to those who love Jesus and keep his commandments. That is to say, God will send another Jesus but as Spirit and not flesh. The Paraclete/Jesus is the Spirit of Truth just as Jesus is the truth.

The idea of the second person being sent to fulfill and carry on the task of the first is rooted in the Old Testament with examples such as Moses/Joshua and Elijah/Elisha. The presence of the first is seen in and through the acts of the second. In that way some saw Jesus as the continuation of John the Baptist and believed him to be "the prophet who was to come," promised by Moses. In the example of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and others, the Word of God is sent by God to and proclaimed by the prophet.

Vs. 21 returns to the theme of the disciple's love of Jesus shown in the keeping of Jesus' commandments (words). Those who love Jesus will be loved by the Father and both will come and make their home in the disciple. The Paraclete will come to teach and remind the disciples of all that Jesus has taught. Jesus gives the disciples his peace, not the world's peace but one of confidence in what Jesus has promised. He is going away and coming back again. Soon he will not be with them for the "ruler of this world" (Satan) is coming. But he has no power over Jesus. Jesus will do as he understands God's will is guiding him. It will be by this action that the world will know he loves God.