Slices
Prepare
‘Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name’ (Psalm 103:1). Use this psalm or your own choice of song to worship God.
Bible passage
Jesus comforts his disciples
14 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Jesus the way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’
6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’
8 Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’
9 Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Explore
It’s clear that the disciples want to stay with Jesus, but they don’t really know how, or what that even means: their confusion and honesty persist. Thomas (v 5) adds to Peter’s desperate questioning from the previous passage (13:36) and Philip just doesn’t seem to have heard what Jesus has said (vs 7,8). What tone do you think Jesus uses in response (v 9)? Despite the gravity of his situation, Jesus still offers them comfort (v 1), which perhaps Peter especially needed to hear at this point.
So where is Jesus going? He seems sure enough that the disciples already know (v 4). The clearest answer within the passage seems to be: to the Father (v 12). Jesus circles towards this by reasserting the relationship between the Father and the Son (v 9). What themes in verses 9–14 have we already seen in our previous passages? What new ideas are brought in?
The significant events of Jesus’ glorification continue to play out (v 7). Even if they don’t grasp the full meaning, the disciples are on the inside of the story, witnessing the eternal mystery of the Father and the Son.
Respond
Pray: ‘Jesus, I want to follow you, but I wasn’t there with the disciples when you were explaining who you are. What does it mean for me today that you are the way, the truth and the life?’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 47,48; John 17
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner Artless as they wind up the 2024 tour of If Prison Walls Could Speak and prepare to begin touring Amos & the Grumpy Owl to schools and churches. Pray they will continue to hear God’s voice as they prepare for 2025.
