For those of you who have joined me this week in reading John 14 daily, I pray it is becoming a welcome habit, a little respite of peace. And, if you still need to begin, joining in is still possible! I encourage you to read the entire chapter daily and focus more deeply on the verse corresponding to that date. Daily, I have posted a thought on Instagram that caught my attention from each verse. But I encourage you to read and meditate on the words of Jesus first before reading my interpretation. The following is what I have shared, and I look forward to you joining me this week as we seek to discover Jesus in a new way!
John 14:1
What if we did what Jesus commanded and, in faith, trusted Him? What if we stop picking up all our worries individually, as if we could handle them better than He, showing our defiance of His Word every time we allow Satan to trouble our minds? This isn’t a conditional statement; let not your heart be troubled if…no, Jesus says, “Believe…Believe in God, believe also in Me.” PERIOD. Stop right there. Let not your heart be troubled, believe. This concept. Wrestle it out in God’s presence. Don’t let go until He blesses you with His peace, as promised. This should be the outcome of this verse. Not to solve our problems or gain direction but to believe. To be blessed by His peace through belief.
John 14:2
I think Jesus is building a foundation of trust, knowing that’s where it all has to begin. “…if it were not so, I would have told you…” Here, Jesus tells His friends—There is hope; I promise something better to come, but first, learn to believe Me. And if we choose to believe Him, like that sunbeam that breaks through a heavy cloud cover…hope beyond what we can see! To build on this hope, read 1 Corinthians 2:9.
John 14:3
Jesus promises, “If I go…I will come again.” He knew they were in the shadow of the cross looming dark. He knew how they would soon cling to the promises of His return, assurance that there was a plan, every action and event unfolding intentionally, with purpose. What if we begin even to consider trusting Him with our circumstances? Tiny steps of trust lead us to discover a new perspective. His perspective. His endpoint often looks very different from our starting point. Can we learn to trust Him in the blurry in-between?
John 14:4
Here, Jesus instills confidence in His disciples. They have been in His Presence; they know His teaching. He is pushing them to believe it for themselves. To process their thoughts related to all they know from scripture and what they’ve heard Him say and seen Him do. He wants them to discover for themselves what He knows they know. I love this! This is parallel to what I have been discovering. Truth is so much more real when discovered personally. He encourages them to evaluate the evidence in His presence with an open mind to see it from all angles, despite what religion has taught. To discover His true mission looks very different than what they’d expected!
John 14:5
And a sign escapes Jesus’ soul. Not a sigh of frustration but of love, ache, longing. He longs for them to understand, know, and feel the Father as He does. Jesus’ closest friends were in His presence and didn’t recognize the Father. But in time, He knew they would see. He didn’t preach to them to make them understand; He just remained with them, speaking the truth. What can we learn from this? We get to know God the Father by getting to know Jesus. Time in His presence— a beautiful pathway to eternal life (John 17:3)!
John 14:6
I never expected as I cleared away excess in my life, to find Jesus underneath. All my plans and stuff were cluttering the path of the Way. The Way to actual life. Here, Jesus spoke to my heart. He says so clearly, I. Am. The. Way. Not books, theology, doctrine, works, stuff, or all of the other million other things that you pacify yourself with. Look at Me, Me alone. I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am your Life.
He is enough.
John 14:7
Jesus is a pure reflection of the Father. Nothing in His flesh stands in the way of the Father flowing through Him. Nothing. This is my standard—the complete sacrifice of self to reveal the Father. Jesus’ sacrifice began long before his lifeless body hung on the cross. He exhibited a sacrifice of His will to the Father every moment. To the point of telling us, When you look at Me and when you are with Me, it’s Him, My Father, you see. This superpower of invisibility. Supernatural disappearance of self. Am I even coming close? Disappearing so others only see Jesus when they look at me becomes my standard.
I would love to hear what you are uncovering as we go! Feel free to share your discoveries in the comments here or on Instagram!