We Are With Jesus
It would be hazardous to assume that the disciples took all this in. What is certain, however, is that these were the prospects that occupied Jesus’ mind as he moved ever closer to Calvary.
As we see from his agony in Gethsemane, he could not close his mind against the awful prospect of the cross, but he pressed on, sustained by his enduring love for his people (John 13:1) and by the assurance that his death would redeem a multitude so vast, they would need a house with many rooms; or, as we see in John’s vision of New Jerusalem, a city of breathtaking proportions (12,000 stadia, or 1,500 miles, in length, breadth and height—unimaginable even by today’s standards).
But how will they (and we) get there? When Jesus remarks that they know where he is going, and know the way, Philip immediately corrects him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5).
Jesus is the truth about the Father; and he is the way to the Father. At the deepest level, this means that it is his self-sacrifice that removes the flaming sword that guards the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). But if we keep to the imagery of John 14, the way into the Father’s house will be to be able to say, “We are with Jesus.”
And in the meantime, he will not leave us orphans, alone and friendless: “I will come to you” (John 14:18).
All in all, enough to give us food for thought till we see him face to face.
