João 14
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 14
Phillips - So a new peace is introduced on earth. "When sorrows like sea billows roll" we have a place to which to flee, "a shelter in the time of storm." The disciples were about to face the darkest three days in the history of this planet. Every prop and anchor, every familiar landmark and guiding star, were to be swept away. Jesus would lie still and cold in death, his body riddled with wounds, his voice silent, his presence gone, his personality removed somewhere on the other side of the grave, beyond their reach. Jesus prepared them. He offered them a new peace: "Believe." (BORROW Exploring John) ( Phillips has an interesting alliteration - John 14:1 = "A New Peace. John 14:2 = "A New Place." John 14:3 = "A New Pledge.") (Borrow Exploring the Gospel of John)
João 14
Phillips - How wonderful that Jesus should describe heaven in the homey way he does: "My Father's house." Death can be a terror to our souls, chilling our thoughts. Often the doorway by which human beings make their exit from this life is terrible enough. Our total lack of acquaintance with what lies beyond the portal adds to our fears. Nobody comes back. There is a stillness, a silence, a distance, a great gulf fixed, which strikes our hearts with dread. Even those who have the assurance that all is well with their souls draw back at death. We have an instinctive horror of the grave. But the words "my Father's house" give us a gleam in the gloom. Most of us can remember our childhood days, when our parents' house was home, a place where we were loved, cared for, and protected, where we could be ourselves, where we enjoyed warmth and fellowship and stored up a thousand precious memories. His Father's house is like that. It is home. If heaven were a strange and unfamiliar place, he would have told us. It is not like some bizarre locale, full of the weird and grotesque, as might be imagined by a science fiction writer. "I would have told you," Jesus assures us. We shall instinctively feel at home there. It is a real place. (BORROW Exploring John) ( Phillips has an interesting alliteration - John 14:1 = "A New Peace. John 14:2 = "A New Place." John 14:3 = "A New Pledge.") Believer's Study Bible - The word for "mansions" (monai, Gk.) is found only here and in v. 23 and can be translated "resting places," "abodes," or "permanent dwelling places." Clearly, Jesus knew that the disciples anticipated some such heavenly abode. He assures them that He would have corrected the notion if it were not true. The place where Christians will abide is a "prepared" place in heaven. While it is impossible to determine its location, the believer is promised the escort of Jesus Himself (possibly a reference to the rapture of the church, cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18), and then eternal fellowship with the Lord (v. 3). "I will come again" (v. 3) is a futuristic present tense in the original Greek: "I am coming back." The present tense is used to express the certainty of the future return. This is an explicit statement from Christ's lips. He is coming again! His purpose will be to receive us. if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare (hetoimazo) a place (topos) for you - It is so! And so Jesus describes a place in Heaven for His disciples (all of us). He is leaving them but He is not leaving them without a future and a hope! Rod Mattoon comments "Jesus tells them, “If it wasn’t so, I would have told you.” Christ was a carpenter on earth. He is also like a carpenter in Heaven, preparing a place for us. The word “prepare” is from the Greek word hetoimazo {het-oy-mad’-zo}. This word means “to make ready.” It was used to describe the custom of sending people before kings that were on a journey. The roads would be leveled and cleared of obstacles. This is a fitting word for us for we are special to Christ. We are His bride. The Lord blazes the trail that we are to follow. He is preparing Heaven for us." (cf Hebrews 6:20+ - Christ is our forerunner. The word “forerunner” is from the Greek word prodromos. In the Roman army, the prodromoi were reconnaissance troops that made sure the trail was safe and secure for the army to follow. They were the point men. On the waterfront, the ships in the harbors had “pilot boats” called prodromos, that went first into the harbors to make them safe for the ships. Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ blazed the way to Heaven for us.). Lowell
João 14
Phillips - He talked too about a new pledge (14:3): "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." The message was confirmed after the resurrection, as the disciples stood on the mount of Olives and watched him ascend the skyway to glory. The angels announced, "This same Jesus... shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." It is what Paul calls "the blessed hope" of the church: Jesus is coming again. Around those words, "I will come again," the Holy Spirit has built an entire eschatology in the New Testament epistles. Benjamin Disraeli was a member of the British House of Commons in the days of empire. When he was elected to Parliament he stood out from his fellows. His dress was foppish, his manner eccentric. And he was Jewish. When he rose to make his first speech he was mocked by his fellow Members of Parliament. The uproar was so loud he had to abandon his attempt to speak. He raised his voice in defiance. "I will sit down now," he said, "but you will hear from me again." He went on to lead Britain to greatness. This is the day of the Lord's rejection. Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, the Jews mocked him, the Romans crucified him. To this day the world at large has no use for him. He has gone back home now. He is saying, "I will sit down now, but you will hear from me again." (BORROW Exploring John) ( Phillips has an interesting alliteration - John 14:1 = "A New Peace. John 14:2 = "A New Place." John 14:3 = "A New Pledge.") Where I am is a beautiful description of heaven. That where I am (present tense), there you may be (present tense) also - Notice the two uses of the present tense, in context speaking of them (and all saints) forever being with our Lord Jesus Christ. I can hear a "Hallelujah" from some of you reading this. Amen! Maranatha, Lord! Compare the parallel passage in 1Th 4:17 "we shall always be with the Lord." Another "Hallelujah!" For the Christian, the return of Christ is not a riddle to be solved or a code to be broken, but rather a day to be anticipated. -- Max Lucado David
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Phillips points out "He had been telling them where He was going: home. As for the way—well, He would make that clear too in a moment—He was Himself the way. They were looking right at it (HIM)!" (BORROW Exploring the Gospels. John PAGE 264) Merrill Tenney on you know the way - He assumed that they knew the way to their destination; all they would need to do would be to follow the road. His sheep would follow him and find "the house of the Lord" at the end of their journey (Ps 23:6; John 10:27-28). (BORROW Expositor's Bible Commentary PAGE 344) A T Robertson on you know the way - First, notice "the way" is a key word being repeated 3x (Jn 14:4, 5, 6). Definite allusion to the puzzle of Peter in John 13:36-37. The path to the Father's house is now plain. Leon
João 14
Phillips has an interesting comment about Jesus repeatedly reference to God as Father (pater) - Many times the Lord had spoken to his disciples about his Father. He delighted to use this novel name for God. Throughout the Old Testament, God is seldom spoken of as a Father. This lovely name for God was, really, the Lord's revelation, and a wonderfully comforting one it is. God is not merely Elohim, the awesome God of creation, omniscient in his purpose, omnipotent in his power, omnipresent in his person; he is not just Jehovah, the God of covenant, wise and loving, but strict in his requirements; nor is he merely Adonai, God of command, sovereign Lord, and owner of the universe, who must be obeyed. He is a Father, a God of comfort, a God of compassion, one who has a home and a family. The Lord used this name for God over and over again. How well John remembered it! In his gospel the expression "the Father" or its kindred expression "my Father" occurs 156 times. (Borrow Exploring the Gospel of John) A KEY WORD IN JOHN 14 - "FATHER" - Father is found 23 times in 17 verses in John 14 - Jn. 1:14; Jn. 1:18; Jn. 2:16; Jn. 3:35; Jn. 4:12; Jn. 4:20; Jn. 4:21; Jn. 4:23; Jn. 4:53; Jn. 5:17; Jn. 5:18; Jn. 5:19; Jn. 5:20; Jn. 5:21; Jn. 5:22; Jn. 5:23; Jn. 5:26; Jn. 5:36; Jn. 5:37; Jn. 5:43; Jn. 5:45; Jn. 6:27; Jn. 6:31; Jn. 6:32; Jn. 6:37; Jn. 6:40; Jn. 6:42; Jn. 6:44; Jn. 6:45; Jn. 6:46; Jn. 6:49; Jn. 6:57; Jn. 6:58; Jn. 6:65; Jn. 7:22; Jn. 8:16; Jn. 8:18; Jn. 8:19; Jn. 8:27; Jn. 8:28; Jn. 8:38; Jn. 8:39; Jn. 8:41; Jn. 8:42; Jn. 8:44; Jn. 8:49; Jn. 8:53; Jn. 8:54; Jn. 8:56; Jn. 10:15; Jn. 10:17; Jn. 10:18; Jn. 10:25; Jn. 10:29; Jn. 10:30; Jn. 10:32; Jn. 10:36; Jn. 10:37; Jn. 10:38; Jn. 11:41; Jn. 12:26; Jn. 12:27; Jn. 12:28; Jn. 12:49; Jn. 12:50; Jn. 13:1; Jn. 13:3; Jn. 14:2; Jn. 14:6; Jn. 14:7; Jn. 14:8; Jn. 14:9; Jn. 14:10; Jn. 14:11; Jn. 14:12; Jn. 14:13; Jn. 14:16; Jn. 14:20; Jn. 14:21; Jn. 14:23; Jn. 14:24; Jn. 14:26; Jn. 14:28; Jn. 14:31; Jn. 15:1; Jn. 15:8; Jn. 15:9; Jn. 15:10; Jn. 15:15; Jn. 15:16; Jn. 15:23; Jn. 15:24; Jn. 15:26; Jn. 16:3; Jn. 16:10; Jn. 16:15; Jn. 16:17; Jn. 16:23; Jn. 16:25; Jn. 16:26; Jn. 16:27; Jn. 16:28; Jn. 16:32; Jn. 17:1; Jn. 17:5; Jn. 17:11; Jn. 17:21; Jn. 17:24; Jn. 17:25; Jn. 18:11; Jn. 18:13; Jn. 20:17; Jn. 20:21 Spencer - A carpenter sees by his eye, when he applies the square, whether the wood be straight or not; but yet his eye (without which he could not see) is not the judge to try whether the wood be straight or not: of that, the square alone is the judge. So reason in man, without which, it is true, he could not judge, is not the square to try what is right or wrong in order to salvation. The word of God alone can determine that. Thomas à Kempis - Follow Me: I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way thou canst not go, without the truth thou canst not know, without the life thou canst not live. I am the Way which thou oughtest to follow; the Truth which thou oughtest to believe; the Life which thou oughtest to hope for. I am the Way unchangeable; the Truth infallible; the Life everlasting. I am the Way altogether straight, the Truth supreme, the true Life, the blessed Life, the uncreated Life. If thou remain in My way thou shalt know the Truth, and the truth shall make thee free, and thou shalt lay hold on eternal life. (BORROW The Imitation of Christ PAGE 135) ILLUSTRATION - Nobel Prize-winning author William Saroyan lay dying from cancer in May of 1981. He picked up the phone next to his hospital bed and called the Associated Press. Getting a reporter on the line, he said, “Everybody has to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?” Indeed—“now what?” (Gangel) THE ANSWER IS TO BELIEVE John 14:6! D A Carson writes the following beautiful sonnet that relates to John 14... I am the way to God: I did not come To light a path, to blaze a trail, that you May simply follow in my tracks, pursue My shadow like a prize that’s cheaply won. My life reveals the life of God, the sum Of all he is and does. So how can you, The sons of night, look on me and construe My way as just the road for you to run? My path takes in Gethsemane, the Cross, And stark rejection draped in agony. My way to God embraces utmost loss: Your way to God is not my way, but me. Each other path is dismal swamp, or fraud. I stand alone: I am the way to God. I am the truth of God: I do not claim I merely speak the truth, as though I were A prophet (but no more), a channel, stirred By Spirit power, of purely human frame. Nor do I say that when I take his name Upon my lips, my teaching cannot err (Though that is true). A mere interpreter I’m not, some prophet-voice of special fame. In timeless reaches of eternity The Triune God decided that the Word, The self-expression of the Deity, Would put on flesh and blood—and thus be heard. The claim to speak the truth good men applaud. I claim much more: I am the truth of God. I am the resurrection life. It’s not As though I merely bear life-giving drink, A magic elixir which (men might think) Is cheap because though lavish it’s not bought. The price of life was fully paid: I fought With death and black despair; for I’m the drink Of life. The resurrection morn’s the link Between my death and endless life long sought. I am the firstborn from the dead; and by My triumph, I deal death to lusts and hates. My life I now extend to men, and ply Them with the draught that ever satiates. Religion’s page with empty boasts is rife: But I’m the resurrection and the life. (FROM "The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus) ILLUSTRATION - A missionary hired a guide to take him across a vast desert. When they arrived at the edge of the desert, the missionary saw before him trackless sands without a single footprint or road of any kind. He asked his guide with a tone of surprise, “Where is the road?” With a reproving glance, the guide replied, “I am the road.” Jesus is the way to heaven. We must trust Him to take us there. (From Steven J. Cole Sermon) ILLUSTRATION - How would this assurance of going to heaven help to calm the disciples’ troubled hearts? Dr. James M. Gray put it beautifully in a song he wrote years ago: “Who could mind the journey, when the road leads home?” The assurance of a heavenly home at the end of life’s road enables us to bear joyfully with the obstacles and battles along the way. (Wiersbe) J C Philpot - "Jesus said unto him, I am the way." John 14:6 How is Jesus the way? In everything that he is to God's people he is the way. His blood is the way to heaven; "for the whole path," as Deer speaks, "is lined with blood." By his precious blood shed upon Calvary's tree he has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and opened a way of access to God. His righteousness, also, is part of the way; for only so far as we stand clothed in his glorious righteousness have we any access unto, any acceptance with God the Father. And his love is the way; for if we walk in love, we walk in him, for he is love. Every part of the way was devised and is executed by the love of his tender heart. But the way, also, is the way of tribulation. Was not Jesus himself the great Sufferer? And if he be the way, the only way, I must be conformed to his likeness in suffering. Not to know afflictions and tribulations, is not to know Christ. He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief!" And if so, to have no sorrow, to have no acquaintance with grief, and to know nothing of tribulation, is to proclaim to all with a loud voice that we have no union and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. But we are continually turning aside "to the right hand" or "to the left." There is that cowardice in the heart which cannot bear the cross; there is that slipping into carnal ease and fleshly security, so as to get away from under the painful cross of affliction and suffering. But when we thus turn aside "to the right hand" or "to the left," the voice the Lord sends after us is, "This is the way"--the way of affliction; no other; the way of tribulation, the way of trial, the way of exercise. This is the way in which the King walked of old; and this is the way in which all his people have walked before him and after him; for this is the only path in which the footsteps of the flock can be found. NO LOOPHOLES! I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. JOHN 14:6 One continuing concern about American tax structure is the problem of loopholes. Some people spend more time looking for loopholes than they do figuring how much tax they owe. Corporations hire experts to look for legal ways to avoid taxes—and they find them. The result for the U.S. government is the loss of millions of dollars. Some people develop a "loophole mentality" in their relationship to God. I've heard that when W. C. Fields was on his deathbed, a visitor found him reading the Bible. Asked what he was doing, he replied, "Looking for loopholes, my friend. Looking for loopholes." CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN; ALL OTHER PATHS ARE DETOURS TO DOOM. O pilgrim, as you journey, Do you ever gladly say, In spite of heavy weather And the roughness of the way, That it really does not matter, All the strange and bitter stress,- Heat and cold, and toil and sorrow,- Will be healed with blessedness! Refrain: For the road leads home, Sweet, sweet home! O who would mind the journey When the road leads home? O who would mind the journey When the road leads home? 2 O safe and blessed shelter, Heav'nly mansions of content! There are the holy kindred From our hearthstones early rent; And our precious, loving Saviour, Who our sins on Calv'ry bore - Who would ever mind the journey, With such blessedness in store? [Refrain] 3 There's comfort on the journey, There is also guide and chart; There's wisdom for the asking, And there's solace for the heart; And there is no need of turning To the left or to the right, And no fear need stir the bosom At the coming of the night. [Refrain] Life (2222) zoe in Scripture is used (1) to refer to physical life (Ro 8:38+, 1Co 3:22+, Php 1:20+, Jas 4:14+, etc) but more often to (2) to supernatural life in contrast to a life subject to eternal death (Jn 3:36+, see all 43 uses of "eternal life" below). This quality of life speaks of fullness of life which alone belongs to God the Giver of life and is available to His children now (Ro 6:4+, Ep 4:18+) as well as in eternity future (Mk 10:30, Titus 1:2+). Wuest (in comments on 2Pe 1:3+) writes that zoe…speaks of life in the sense of one who is possessed of vitality and animation. It is used of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God. It is used to designate the life which God gives to the believing sinner, a vital, animating, spiritual, ethical dynamic which transforms his inner being and as a result, his behavior. (In comments on 1John 1:2