Day 37 - John 14-16

There are so many very familiar verses in these chapters. I hope you didn't rush over them quickly just because they were familiar! They are familiar because they so clearly communicate such wonderful truths about our Savior and who He is and what does. A very familiar verse, yet somewhat misunderstood, is 14:2. Earlier versions use the word "mansions" to describe what is in the Father's house. This is an unfortunate translation, as the word really only means "a dwelling place." It also doesn't make a whole lot of sense to say that a "house" is full of "mansions." A better translation is "rooms." The whole "mansion" idea has spawned way too much "heaven-is-about-me" expectations with people arguing over how big each others' "mansions" are going to be. Now don't get me wrong, the "rooms" in my Father's house are going to be exquisite, because they are being prepared by Jesus Himself! However, the glory of heaven will not be how nice my room is, but how wonderful and glorious my Savior is! Jesus also adds these words of comfort and encouragement, "I will come again and will take you to myself." This is a wonderful hope for us!

The exclusivity of the Christian faith has been much maligned particularly as relativism has swept our modern culture. However, the reason for being exclusive is not to make much of ourselves, but rather to believe what Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is the only way.

Do you love Jesus? I mean really, really love Him? I am amazed at how so many people claim to love Jesus and yet they ignore the things that He Himself taught! Jesus said that if you love Him you will prove it by the way that you keep/obey His commandments! Jesus repeated this reality several times in this passage (14:15,21,23,24). The depth of our love for Christ is measured by our faithfulness if obeying His commandments!

The illustration of the vine and branches is powerful. So many implications for our lives! How dependent must we be! Without Him we can do nothing (15:5). If we are attached to the Vine, then we will bear fruit and thereby prove to be His disciples (15:8). This is the way for us to glorify the Father. This is why He chose us (15:16), so that we would bear fruit that remains. We who are His servants, though He calls us "friends" (15:15), are to be faithful workers bearing fruit for the Kingdom.

It is better to have the indwelling Holy Spirit than the physical presence of Jesus. That is was Jesus said! “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you” (16:7). This is not the way we think. We tend to think that if we could only have Jesus right here with us, things would be different…better. But Jesus said that it is more advantageous for us if His physical presence is gone and the Spirit comes to be with us. Amazing! What we have in the indwelling Holy Spirit is better than the physical presence of Christ! Maybe that is the case because the physical presence of Christ could not be with every believer at every moment due to the physical limitations that Christ endures being in physical form; whereas the Holy Spirit does indwell every believer in every location on this earth. Or maybe it is because the indwelling Holy Spirit does for us what the physical presence of Christ was never intended to do. Either way, we are better off now because we have the indwelling Holy Spirit!