John 14
I think, if you study the Gospel by John, you will find it is taken for granted in chap. 11. that the Jews would not have Him He, the Son of God, brings in the doctrine of resurrection; in chap. 12 there is a flitting across the earth of His various glories—Son of Man and Son of David. then chaps. 13 and 14 form a little compartment by themselves. Chap. 13 gives a most amazing display of the Man Christ Jesus, when the time was come for the Paschal Lamb. He takes the ground of knowing all about the saints up to the present time. So you and I have a standing in chap. 13, seeing the Lord prepares us for all the evil that has taken place on the earth. Chap. 14 is in strong contrast to chap. 13. There He knew everything about the men down here; now He takes the ground of One who knew everything about the Father up there. This extends from ver. 1-20, and from ver. 21 to the end. He speaks and acts as the One who knew everything about His saints, and what would alone make them happy down here. He is bringing out all the amazing truth about “Abba,” and how it is to be learned; and that it is the word for us.
In the first chapter of the Gospel by John we find a remarkable testimony of the Spirit of God to the higher glory of the Son, as the only-begotten Son of the Father, ver. 14; and then in ver. 18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” There is this contrast between the two verses—in ver. 14 it is Himself presented as the Word made flesh; but what shines out, because it is seen to be in Him, is this glory of the Father. “We beheld His glory;” not merely Messiah presented with all the promises, but in the adorable Person of the Lord there was a glory that surpassed altogether the glory for the earth, whether as promised to Abraham or to David, “The glory as of the only-begotten Son of the Father.” Then in ver. 16 He speaks of our receiving out of His fullness grace for grace. In ver. 18 we see what the great object of the Lord was in coming into the world. It was not merely that He had the light in Him, but He “declared Him.” He told God out. The word translated “declared” has a particular force and meaning. He was the perfect presentation of the Father. In the Lord Jesus I get all about the Father. Any one whose eyes were opened saw nothing but the Father, and saw nothing superadded to it.
In chap. xiv. He takes the place of teaching them something more in detail about Him; and the way He approaches the subject is remarkable, and shows His grace. When He got to talk about the Father, neither Thomas, nor Philip, nor Jude could make out what it was all about; but He approaches the subject in a very beautiful way, by bringing the place belonging to the Father before them. He says, “If I go away, I am going to a place where My presence is needed to make it ready for you “; so He brings in this thought of the Father in that way to them, in connection with the place.
But oh! what was in the heart of Christ at that time, with all the sorrows pressing upon Him connected with the place He was going into as sin-bearer, as being the one forsaken of God—to bring before the cavilings of His disciples that He knew all about the Father? He displays His knowledge about the Father; He was going to the Father, and He was going to prepare a place for them there. Do you know the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is up there in glory, connects you individually (if you are believers in Him) with Abba, Father? Where was the first thought of Sonship found? If I say, “The Father,” you say, “Well, I understand that, because I am one of His children.” It is very blessed to. say this, but more blessed to say, “That Father had one only Son, and He deputed Him to bring many sons to glory. The only-begotten Son is the One to whom He committed it to bring many sons to glory.”
I suppose I may be bold to say, beloved, that never does a single child of God occupy the mind of the Lord Jesus, but His mind approaches him, as taking him up in connection with His Father, who “gave them to Him. The Lord Jesus, if He looks upon me as a son of God, says, “Well, poor thing, My Father gave you to Me; and in you I see the estimate of My Father's thought of the worth of My blood, in your blessing and acceptance in, Me.” Is this your thought when you say, Abba, Father? The Father thinks of the blessedness of having such a Son as that Son was; and of that Son to enlarge the circle, bringing us in. He knew me as one the Father had given to Him I was a child of wrath once, as others, and am now brought home to enjoy and live to God. I had nothing to bring to God and Christ in their holiness but my sins; and He has taken them all away, and given a stab to my selfishness; and yet something far better than that—Christ looks upon me as one in whom He sees His Father's estimate of His work. He thinks, “There is a man that I have plucked out of the world that belongs to Satan—there is a man that is to be led by Me into the Father's house.”
So He introduces the subject here. “I am going away, and where am I going? Well, My Father has got a house in heaven, and you could not be there; but I am the beginning of the creation of God Myself; I shall get there; and once there, the place will be ready for you.” If you think of all God's glory, the light and the brilliancy—if I think of the house which the Lord has made ready for me, I say, “What a blessed place, for my Lord will be there! not to do a work, but as the One in His Father's house.” The Lord will be up there at home, and you and I will find out what makes it a home; and this is, His own Self in the place.
Then He goes on to show what His own personal love is to the people He will come to fetch. He says, “I shall not do a work in the house, and send some one else to fetch you there—no, I shall do it.” “I shall come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” “I shall want you to be with Me.”
When He got to this point, He had made the first step in His subject. Then He enters on what is His subject. He says, “Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” He knew right well what the effect of His saying so would be. He was right in what He said; and what was He looking at? He was looking at the Spirit which was inseparably connected with them. There was a great deal more knowledge than they had any idea of. Thomas thought he had caught the Lord saying something inconsistent. “We cannot know where You are going until You tell us; how can we know the way? We cannot, until You tell us where You are going; for who can tell the way to any place whose name has not been mentioned?”
Just one word in connection with that as a practical point. You and I ought to receive things because Christ says them, not because we understand them. Take an instance of this. Suppose I had been with the Lord Jesus in chap. v., and heard Him say, “He that heareth My word, and believeth [on] Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life.” I might have done one of two things on hearing that word. I might have, said, “I know nothing about that word, eternal life, and therefore can form no judgment at all as to what its introduction depends on; “or else,” Here is a Person who knows all about it, and He says, if any man believes God, he has the blessing.” Which of the two is the wise man? He is talking about what He understands; and I receive it. What is the consequence? He says, “Hath everlasting life,” and He also takes the other side, “Shall not come into condemnation.” What Thomas ought to have done was not to have judged the words of His Master. He was only bandying words with the Lord. Surely, instead of saying what he did, he ought to have asked, “Well, Lord, and what next?” and thus taken the place of a learner. It makes a wonderful difference whether we take the place of being receivers from Him, or the place of being able to judge of what He says.
(To be continued, D.V.)