Knowing the Father – John 14
The Father’s House P1 - Going Home vs 1-3

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Introduction
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As we have previously observed v 31 of chapter 13 marks a transition in the Lord’s upper room ministry. The departure of Judas the betrayer signals the arrival of the hour for the Son of man’s glorification as He in unswerving devotion honours the Father through His unwavering obedience. The ‘wheels are now in motion’ and the Cross is about to unfold and His return to the Father has now come fully into view. He is going home and has but a ‘little while’ (13:33) left with His disciples.

Verses 31-35 of chapter 13 set the tone and theme of the Lord’s teaching in those final scared hours before His trial and crucifixion with the men He so dearly loved. His glorification is the overarching theme. He states it as he begins (v 31) and finally prays for it as He brings His ministry to a fitting climax and conclusion with His intercessory prayer to the Father (17:1-5). Thus He is going and it is essential that the love He has shown to His disciples is continued by them toward each other (13:34-35). He will explain why in chapter 15.  

Before coming directly to vs 1-3 of chapter 14 it is worth mentioning an often discussed and debated issue. In light of the Lord’s statement – “Arise let us go hence” or “from here” – chapter 14 v 31, it has been thought that they did indeed leave the upper room at that point which means the teaching of chapters 15 to 16 were given as the Lord and His disciples made their way through the streets of Jerusalem under the light of the Passover moon toward the Kidron valley which the Lord after praying crossed and went into Gethsemane as we read at chapter 18 v 1.  

While some reject this idea, it does makes sense. However like most debated points in scripture whether minor or major, I expect this will always remain a debated issue. I have lived long enough and attended enough meetings and Bible readings to realize that the debates, discussions and differences over the understanding of certain scriptures don’t really change; the same issues keep coming up and with the same range of possible explanations! It is best therefore when this is the case to be humble and open and simply accept that there are different ways to understand some things.  
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David Gooding, for example, takes this view. He helpfully points out that the Lord’s ministry or the ‘lessons’ He taught were not given in the same place because He was teaching that ‘there are two sides to holiness’. Therefore, the Lord’s discourses divide into two parts which parallel or correspond to each other. Chapters 13 & 14, Mr Gooding suggests, are about holiness ‘Inside the Christian Community’ while chapters 15 & 16 are concerned with holiness ‘Outside in the World’. He sets out the ‘major elements’ like this:

INSIDE THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
                   (chs. 13-14)
   I. THE ENACTED PARABLE OF
      THE FOOT-WASHING:
        God’s basic provision
        for making us holy
        (13:1-20)

  II. CHRIST’S EXPOSURE OF JUDAS’
      TREACHERY:
         Showing us what the
         basic principle of holiness
         (and of unholiness) is
         (13:21-32)

III. CHRIST’S GOING AWAY:
        Its purpose and implications
        for the perfecting of our
        holiness
        (13:33-14:31)

      OUTSIDE IN THE WORLD
                (chs. 15-16)
  I. THE PARABLE OF THE VINE
    AND THE BRANCHES:
       God’s basic provision for developing
       our witness in the world
       (15:1-17)

II. CHRIST’S EXPOSURE OF THE
     WORLD’S HATRED:
         Helping us to understand
         the world’s hostility
         to our witness
         (15:18-27)

III. CHRIST’S GOING AWAY:
         Its necessity and
         implications for
         victory over the world
         (16:1-33)

​(In the School of Christ. A Study of Christ’s Teaching on Holiness. John 13-17. David Gooding, Gospel Folio Press).

This certainly gives us a comprehensive perspective of chapters 13 to 16 and a sense of how they relate as the Lord develops the major themes He teaches relevant to the disciples both within the fellowship of the believing community and with regards to their fruitfulness in a hostile world. Chapter 17, as we have already observed, is the fitting climax and conclusion to it all. 

Clearly though, central to all of the Lord’s teaching, is the promise of the Holy Spirit. The disciples understanding and development depended on the enlightening and empowering ministry of the ‘Comforter’. The Lord Jesus gives four particular explanations at strategic points in His teaching of the Spirit’s coming and ministry  – chapter 14 vs 15-17 & vs 25-26; chapter 15 vs 26-27 and chapter 16 vs 7-11 & vs 12-15.

How thankful we are for the person, presence and power of the Holy Spirt. The disciples struggled to grasp the significance of all the Lord taught them that evening, but they soon came realize its reality with the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He is the ‘Spirit of truth’ who, says the Lord Jesus, teaches and testifies of Him (Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-15). His ministry to us and activity within us is essential to Christian living and testimony. Perhaps we don’t give enough thought to the person of the Spirit, nor sufficiently grasp how significant He is in the life of a believer. We are indwelt, sealed and anointed by the Spirit (John 14:16-17; Rom 8:9-11; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13-14; 1 Jn 2:20, 27) who assures us of the love of God (Rom 5:5), intercedes for us with God (Rom 8:26-27), enlightens us as to the things of Christ and of God (John 16:13-15; 1 Cor 2: 9-10) and enables to confess the true humanity of Christ and Jesus as Lord (1 Jn 4:1-6; 1 Cor 12:1) to mention a few things. We gladly sing the words:

Our Father! For Thy gift divine,
The Holy Ghost, whose light and love
Within are darkened bosoms shine,
Through Jesus glorified above,
To Thee in grateful love we raise,
Adoring songs of joy and praise.

Knowing the Father

Reading John 14 we are struck by the many direct references to the Father by name. In chapter 17 the Lord in prayer addresses His Father by name six times and, if I have counted correctly, by the second person pronoun, Thy, Thee and Thine in the KJV, 53 times. But in the 53 times the name of the Father is mentioned in chapters 13 to 17, 23 of them are in chapter 14 (chapter 13 =2; chapter 14=23; chapter 15=10; chapter 16=12 and chapter 17=6). So Knowing the Father seems an appropriate title for this chapter for as the Lord said: “If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him” (v 7).

The Father’s House vs 1-7

Going Home vs 1-3

Anyone who has ever travelled a little, particularly for work or business purposes, will readily agree that the best part of any trip is going home! Who can doubt the ‘pull’ of home? It’s where we feel the most comfortable, the most secure and the most relaxed. Warren Wiersbe writes in his commentary, ‘Some years ago, a London newspaper held a contest to determine the best definition of “home.” The winning entry was, “Home is the place where you are treated the best and complain the most” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, NT Vol 1). Sounds about right. The familiar surroundings, the furniture and décor as well as the things we own all combine to make home what it is. When you enter someone’s home what you see reflects the personality, tastes and interests of the person or family who live there. And of course, one of the greatest things about home is who you share it with. Who can doubt the blessing of family?
Well the Lord Jesus was going home. He was returning to His Father, His ‘Father’s house’ (v 2). What this must have meant for Him. He left His eternal home in glory for His lowly pilgrimage on earth and now, His mission reaching its climax and almost complete He was anticipating home. Yet, things were different. He came forth, the Son of God to become man and now as a physical and soon to be glorified man He was returning to the realm of light and spirit and in so doing would prepare a place for His people in His Father’s house to where He will ultimately bring them in their glorified bodies at His return (vs 2-3).

His Purpose in Going vs 1-2
 
His Appeal v 1
The disciples were slow to absorb the fact that the Lord was going to the Cross despite the number of times He told them as He moved toward Jerusalem (Matt 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). Now they were finally becoming aware to the truth that the Lord was leaving and yet, being so limited in their understanding and grasp of what was happening, the disturbance in their hearts probably showed on their faces. The Lord begins by seeking to address their fears. He appeals for calm and He asks for faith. He is about to assure them of His plans. Yes, they needed to grasp that everything was working according to the divine plan. Nothing was out of control. He appeals or perhaps we could say, graciously commands that their hearts be not troubled. This is the same word we have previously noted used in relation to the Lord Himself at the grave of Lazarus (Jn 11:33) in anticipation of the Cross (Jn 12:27) and because of the presence of the betrayer (13:21). The difference being, the Lord was troubled because of what He knew, the disciples by what they didn’t know.
 
Indeed twice in this chapter He says to them, “let not your heart be troubled” and when He said it the second time He added, “Neither let it be afraid” (v 27). In the first He follows the command by calling for faith – “Ye believe in God, believe also in Me” and in the second He precedes the command by promising peace – “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you”. The disciples couldn’t have one without the other and neither can we. Peace won’t be enjoyed unless we trust the Lord and believe His word. Isaiah 26 vs 3-4 reminds us: ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength’.
 
Fear and anxiety are real. Throughout scripture we read of the reassuring word from God, “Fear not” followed by reasons as to why not (Gen 15:1; 26:24; Isa 41:10; Acts 27:24). The Lord Jesus is doing the same here. There are at least four causes that underpin fear and anxiety – ignorance, danger, change and helplessness. The disciples were facing change which they didn’t fully understand and were helpless to do anything about. What their situation needed was trust. They had believed the testimony of the God concerning the Lord Jesus and put their faith in Him, now they needed at that time to turn toward God and Christ Himself and depend entirely upon them. He is really saying to them, ‘Trust in God, trust in Me, neither God nor I will let you down, we know what we’re doing’.
 
The disciples found themselves in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee after the feeding of the five thousand. The Lord had sent them on this trip (Matt 14:22). It was evening when they sailed (John 6:16) and soon not only did the darkness descend, but a storm raged. A disorientating and distressing experience, but what ‘troubled’ the men and caused them to fear was the sight of Christ walking on the water (Matt 14:26; Mark 6:50; John 6:19). Through the wind and over the turbulent water the Lord walked toward them causing them to cry out in their terror. It was then that He spoke to assure them. His word to those fearful men was as simple as it was powerful; “It is I; be not afraid” (John 6:20). If they were ‘troubled’ by how they saw Christ on the sea that night, in the upper room they were ‘troubled’ by what they were hearing from Him. The Lord Jesus spoke to alleviate their fears and calm their hearts in view of the ‘storm’ coming their way. Just like the storm on the sea, the Master of wind and wave was in full control. What a comfort this is for our hearts. The presence of Christ and the assurance of His word still bring peace to us in the midst of our storms.
 
His Assurance v 2
Between the two appeals of the Lord to His troubled disciples (vs 1 & 27) He gives two promises to comfort their hearts and strengthen their faith. The first is that He will come again to bring them to His Father’s house (vs 2-3). He didn’t say when, only that He would. One day soon this promise will be fulfilled. The second promise relates to the period between His going and coming again. The Lord says that He will ask the Father and He will send “another Comforter”, the Holy Spirt who will come from the Father to abide with them (vs 16-17). When the Lord gave these promises to the disciples both were in the future, but the second must precede the first. The Spirit’s coming was in the very near future; the Feast of Pentecost fifty days after the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:3, 5; 2:1) while the promise of His return looked to an unspecified and undated point in future. It remains a promise unfulfilled to this day, but no less sure than when the Lord uttered it that evening in Jerusalem.
 
“In My Father’s house are many mansions”. Notice He says ‘are’ not ‘will be’. The noun translated ‘mansions’ means ‘dwelling places’. The idea of the word is ‘a place to dwell, an abode’ not as a temporary stop over but a permanent home. It appears only twice in the New Testament with both occurrences in this very chapter – here, v 2 and at v 23 where we read “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him”.  ‘Mansions’ of the KJV comes from the Latin Vulgate translation. It was also used by William Tyndale whose translation of vs 1-3 read:
 
'And he sayde unto his disciples: let not youre hartes be troubled. Beleve in God/and beleve in me. In my fathers housse are many mansions. If it were not so/I woulde have tolde you. I go to prepare a place for you. And yf I go to prepare a place for you/I wyl come agayn/& receave you even unto my selfe/that where I am/ther may ye be also'.
 
What the Lord is simply saying to His disciples is that there is a dwelling place in the Father’s house for them and for all His people. The Lord is not talking about the ‘size’ heaven; it’s not about heavens capacity to cope with numbers nor is He indicating that the disciples or any of us for that matter will have some kind of a very large mansion of grandeur on some hilltop in glory, an idea that comes from sentimental songs, not the Bible! Rather the Lord is saying that there is a place in, and there will be a welcome to the glory of the Father’s house for redeemed humanity who do not naturally belong to that sphere being physical beings fitted for earth. He was going to prepare, or make ready the place. But how? Through His death, resurrection and ascension. It was by His glorification in His Father’s house in His perfect manhood that He prepared the way for His people. He is ‘the man in the glory’. The fact that He has entered bodily into that realm of spirits assures us that we will be welcome there too when He come for us. 
 
The Lord also spoke of the earthly temple as His “Father’s house” which men by their greed had defiled (John 2:13-16). The Lord speaks here of the heavenly house or temple, God’s undefiled dwelling. The many dwellings in the Father’s house, as Mr Gooding and similarly Mr Heading suggest, perhaps reflect the dwellings in the earthly house used for the accommodation of the priests and levites who served and worshipped in its courts. In the Father’s house above, the redeemed will be accommodated and in their priestly service worship in the ultimate courts of holiness.
 
One other thing to mention regarding the Lord’s use of the word dwelling place. How blessed for the disciples and us to know that we will ultimately dwell in the Father’s presence and yet to realize that now the presence of the Father and of the Son dwell with the believer – “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him” (v 23). We will ultimately dwell with God who presently dwells with us.
 
His Promise to Return v 3
 
His Personal Return
The Lord was not speaking here, obviously about returning to His disciples after the resurrection. He is looking to that day of His return to take His people, His Church home to Himself. Now these dear men lived their lives only to ‘fall asleep in Jesus’ as did Paul, who further revealed this great truth of the Lord’s coming, and as have all the saints over the ages who are presently enjoying the Father’s house, but not in the ultimate reality of which the Lord spoke here. They are in ‘the unclothed state’ of which Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5 vs 1-10. This state, according to Paul, means ‘to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord’ (2 Cor 5:8). Therefore when the Lord spoke in this way to His apostles He evidently spoke to them as representing all of His people who will share in the joy of His coming. The Lord here doesn’t speak about resurrection or ‘rapture’ directly. He leaves that for Paul to do, what He says here is to assure them of the fact of His coming – “I will come again”.
 
In thinking upon this I’m reminded of the words of the hymn:
 
We'll all gather home in the morning,
On the banks of the bright jasper sea,
We'll meet the redeemed and the faithful;
What a gathering that will be!
 
What a gathering, gathering,
gathering that will be!
What a gathering, gathering,
What a gathering that will be!
 
We'll all gather home in the morning,
At the sound of the great jubilee;
We'll all gather home in the morning,
What a gathering that will be!
 
We'll all gather home in the morning,
Our blessed Redeemer to see;
We'll meet with the friends gone before us,
What a gathering that will be!

We'll all gather home in the morning,
To sing of redemption so free;
We’ll praise Him for grace so abounding,
What a gathering that will be!
(Isaiah Baltzell 1832-1893)

Yes, ‘what a gathering that will be!’ It sure is something to look forward too.

Paul wrote: ‘The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord’ (1Th 4:16-17).
 
He Himself is coming for us. The greatest thing in that day will be to see Him ‘alive and in person’. The dear believers who have gone before have seen and met Him; isn’t that something! But in that day when He comes personally we will see Him from the vantage of our glorified bodies ‘fashioned like on to His glorious body’ (Phil 3:20-21). As John writes in his first epistle: ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is’ (1 John 3:2).

His People’s Reception
Not only will He come personally, but He will receive us Himself. We are going to join Him and be with Him forever.
 
So the Lord assures these men and us of three glorious things: He will come for us personally, He will receive us personally and He will be personally with us forever and us with Him.   
 
As it has often been said my dear brother and sister, ‘the best is yet to be’.
 
Next time we’ll continue from v 4 and think about the Way Home vs 4-7.
 
AJC


Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the King James Version.