Day 4
The way
To Start
One minute. No active thoughts. If you can’t get still, ask God to make you still.
Pray
Father, we come to You through Jesus. In His name and by His power we ask You to reveal Yourself to us in Scripture today.
Show us the way. Show us the truth. Show us the life.
Read
Read John 14:5-11
Summarize the passage in your own words.
What might God want you to see or know?
How does Jesus answer Thomas’s question, “How can we know the way?” Do you think Thomas was satisfied with Jesus’ answer?
Meditate on Jesus’ words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” You might read them over and over allowing your understanding to deepen.
What does it mean that Jesus is the way?
What does it mean that Jesus is the truth?
What does it mean that Jesus is the life?
Why do the Apostles want to see the Father so much?
Jesus’ unity with the Father is quite difficult to get our heads around. How would you explain “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” in the simplest terms?
John 14:5-11
5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.”
From JL
On any given Sunday 80% of the songs sung in my church offer direct praise to Jesus. We thank Jesus for the cross and resurrection— “Thank you, Jesus, for the blood applied. Thank You, Jesus, you have saved my life.” We talk about having a relationship with Jesus. We talk about abiding in Jesus. The students in my Tuesday night Bible study use the name “Jesus” interchangeably with the word “God.” So, in a church culture where Jesus is what we might call the “front of house” person (or face) of the Trinity, it’s easy to find oneself confused by the Apostles’ eagerness to bypass Jesus on their way to see the Father.
Of course it makes sense: In this time and place, God’s people would not have understood the Father-Son-Spirit nature of Yahweh. To them, God was the Father, and the Apostles wanted to see God. Like Moses saw God on Sinai. Like Elijah experienced God at the cave.
Essentially, the Apostles say to Jesus, “Show us His glory.” And Jesus answers, “I am His glory.”
And as a modern Christian reader you nod along. Amen.
And that’s good. Very good.
And also, I find myself compelled to notice, Jesus is not the way to Jesus. As we see in this passage, Jesus is the way to the Father. Even now, Jesus isn’t sitting on the throne (as we so often imagine Him). Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father; the Father is the One seated on the throne (Hebrews 12:2). As we noticed yesterday, Jesus is bringing His bride into his “Father’s house” (not His house).
Jesus isn’t saying to Phillip, “You don’t need to see the Father, because you’ve seen me.” He’s not erasing our need for the Father. And He’s not claiming “sameness” with the Father. He’s actually saying, “You HAVE seen the Father because the Father is in me.” You’ve seen His love and His power. You’ve heard His truth. Jesus isn’t claiming to be the Father. He’s claiming to be a vessel carrying the Father.
Pray
As we walk through these three chapters, try to hold the persons of the Trinity in open hands. Ask God to reveal to you their relationship with one another. Ask Him to help you not smudge them into one, and ask Him to help you refrain from putting boundaries up between them.
Process
How would explain the concept of “the Trinity” to a five-year-old child?
Do you struggle to get your head around the oneness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What questions do you have? What answers have you been given over the years?
Which Person of the Trinity is easiest for you to approach? When you think “God” which Person of the Trinity comes to mind first? Which Person of the Trinity are you most likely to praise?
What would it look like for you to intentionally offer more respect and glory to the parts of the Godhead you’re less likely to honor? Make a plan!
In the Comments
I’m interested in your meditation on Jesus’ declaration of His identity: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” What did you discover, wonder, or receive? Tell us all the things…
Thanks for this saint.
Here are my notes in meditating on the prompt.
As long as we know Jesus, we know the way to a place we've never been and we know the Ruler of place.
How can we arrive at a place we have never been? How can we know what we are looking for if we do not know what it is? (A big question in Plato's "Meno")
What is God trying to show us? As long as you trust in Me as evidenced by doing what I command you, you are walking in the way of true life.
Why do the Apostles want to see the Father so much? Bc they believe that their confidence and glory is in their seeing, but they misunderstand the Beatific Vision. Seeing God with our natural eyes do not bless us unless we are changed. How are we then changed? We are changed by listening to His authenticated authority - Jesus - and doing what He says. Then the Beatific Vision is to our profit.
We do need to see the Father. It is the vision that we are longing to see. We do need to see the Father. This is the sight we are dying to recover, but we must become seers first. Jesus is the Great Optometrist.
I completely relate with Thomas asking for a path to follow, instead of a Person. A path is fixed, with a clearly marked trailhead and destination; a Person, however, is much more unpredictable. Following a Person requires constant attention and close proximity of the follower. You have to abide by the one who’s leading you, and be willing to trust and follow when they take a turn that you can’t make sense of. You have to match the Person’s gait and pace. You probably won’t know you’ve arrived at your destination until you’ve already crossed the finish line. ALL of this requires a quiet submission and a steady faith, two qualities that are particularly slippery when I’m feeling scared and out of control; I usually grasp for short-term relief instead (“just show me the Father!” Just make this waiting end!) Jesus reminds me that His way of being, His truth-infused reality, His example of the Good Life, is the solid ground I’m actually yearning for.