Commentary Comments Related to John
The gospel of John lends itself to various interpretations. I will highlight a few alternate interpretations
from John 14 in this short newsletter article.
“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” (14:2) The Aramaic verse says, “there are many
dwelling places on the way to my Father’s house.” It further implies that each believer is a dwelling place
for others on the way to the Father’s house. Might we commit ourselves to being dwelling places of
Christ as others make their journey on the way to the Father’s house?
John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” This verse includes three of the ‘I AM’ sayings of Jesus.
When we think about Jesus saying He is the truth, He is saying I am real. I will stand the test of time. I
will last. Visualize the things in your house or any building. Then visualize a scene from a movie where
the apocalypse has taken place. There is lone survivor. He enters a house. Everything is dusty, nothing
works, the very structure is falling apart. If we agree that what is true is real, then all of our possessions
that seem real are not real at all. Or they are only real to the degree that they are part of a world that
has an end. They won’t last.
When Jesus says I am the life He is saying I am eternal. In me you can live forever. Without me you will
cease to exist. You will become dust. One day it will all fall apart. Nothing will work anymore. In me you
will have life that will last.
The most fascinating of the I AM sayings before us in verse 6 is I am the way. Some things seem so
obvious that we never stop to think beyond our assumptions. So, we may immediately think that Jesus
is saying that He is the way to heaven, but Phillip asks Jesus to show him the Father. (14:8) Could Jesus
be saying that He is the way to the Father in verse 6? Sure, we can make that adjustment, but we still
hold another assumption that heaven and the Father are the same thing. Could there be a difference?
On the one hand, it doesn’t seem possible to experience the Father without experiencing heaven, but
could it be possible to experience realms of heaven without experiencing the Father, the inner sanctum
and source of it all? Jesus seems to be intent upon saying He is the way to the Father. We are the ones
who automatically think that heaven and the Father are exactly the same thing. I would ask you to ponder
these Christological considerations and remain open to various interpretations of Scripture.
Pastor Gary
