Sunday 07 May 2023
- Bible Book:
- John
Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (vs 5-6)
Background
There are a few contenders for the best-known verse in the Bible, but John 14:6 is likely one of them. And like so many verses, when used on its own it can be thought to say one thing, and when read in context it's a bit more nuanced.
The verse appears in a long passage of Jesus' teaching just before his arrest. The disciples have gathered with Jesus, and it's clear they don’t fully understand what is happening. Thomas’ question could stand for the whole of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The disciples know there is something about Jesus, they know he brings hope and life to them, they have witnessed the miracles and they realise he points them to eternity, but they can’t quite grasp his message. So, Jesus says don’t worry (v. 1), just trust me (v. 1), I’m going to my father (v. 2) and you know this (v. 4). But Thomas can’t get it. Perhaps the one verse he has missed hearing is Jesus saying "I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (v. 3).
To me, this is the key part of this section. The disciples aren’t getting what Jesus is telling them, so Jesus reminds them that they don’t need to know everything, they just need to know and trust him. That is enough. Just what heaven is actually like is beyond us and not something we need to focus on. We are promised a future in the presence of God. That’ll do.
One of my favourite hymns is by William Fullerton from Belfast. In ‘I cannot tell why he whom angels worship…’ he is very aware of all that he doesn’t understand and lists these areas. But then each verse turns around with ‘but this I know …’. We won’t understand everything but can know enough to turn to God in trust and faith.
To Ponder:
- Have we intellectualised the faith and so made it less accessible?
- What is your one-sentence summary of Christian faith?
Prayer
Gracious God, may we continue to wrestle with your word to better understand you and your world, and may we continue to testify that "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so".