Day 84, John 14
Yesterday we concluded our reading with Jesus’ instructions to “Love each other just as much as I have loved you”. Today His instructions at the Last Supper continue with many truths for us to embrace.
Time may have shaped our understanding of these words in ways that Jesus did not mean. As you read today, ask for fresh revelation that increases your revelation of God’s love for you and all humanity.
For example, the first portion of the chapter is usually read to mean ‘I’m going out of this world to heaven, to get a room ready for you to inhabit when I come back to take you away’ but that would be inconsistent with what Jesus says later in answer to the question “where are you going?” Jesus tells Thomas that He is the way to the Father - the destination is a relationship not a location. His description of His Father’s House having many rooms is not some heavenly palace far away. Remember that Jesus referred to the Temple as His Father’s House when He had stayed on in Jerusalem as a young man and His parents had to go back to find Him (Luke 2). Putting all this together, we read the first section of the chapter in a different light: ‘I’m going to the cross, so that my Father’s House will be the Body of Christ. I will come to you like a bridegroom comes to take His bride and bring you into my Father’s arms.’
In that light, why not re-read the rest of these final words and see how Jesus re-interprets them for you in terms of relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? And at the end of the supper, as the chapter concludes, He invites you and me: “Now come with me.”
Have a great day!
Mark.