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A Mountain Too High – John 14: 9-10a

Picture of a high mountain in the distance.

Jesus answered: ”Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?”

Today’s verse represents what is for me a theological mountain too high to climb. Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” How does that work?

At this point, I have to step back from my earthbound human perspective for a moment. Remember that Jesus speaks like someone from outside space and time. He looks at things from a heavenly perspective. We tend to look at things from an earthly perspective. This difference in perspective is why people did not understand Jesus.

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Enough – John 14: 8

Philip said, ”Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Philip’s comment in verse eight amazes me. It is almost as if he is saying, “Look, Jesus, we aren’t asking a lot here. Just show us the Creator of the Universe, you know… the Invisible God, the One who can bring people to their knees just by the sound of his voice, the One whom our forefathers feared to look upon or they would die…just show us Him and that will be enough for us.”

Enough for what?

Enough to turn you into a vapor? Dust? A pillar of salt? What did Philip expect to accomplish by seeing the Father?

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Arguing With God – John 14: 5-7

Thomas said to him, ”Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, ”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Don’t you just hate it when someone argues with you? Especially when you know you are right?

Imagine being the Creator of the universe! You really <I>do</I> know everything because you made it. You were there at the beginning of creation. You have been intimately involved with the world and its people since the beginning of time. Nothing is hidden from your eyes and you never make a mistake.

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The Way – John 14: 4

You know the way to the place where I am going.

If you have never read Ralph Moody’s books about his childhood, I strongly recommend them. Ralph was born in 1898 and grew up during a time when our country seemed much younger. He writes in a comfortable, engaging style. It is like he is sitting next to you by a campfire telling you the story himself.

In his first book, “Little Britches – Father and I Were Ranchers,” he tells of how he came to live in Colorado. The story is about the many adventures he had there while he was growing up. At one point in the story, he meets an Indian who works at their ranch for a while. The Indian’s name is Two Dog.

One evening, sitting by the barn, Two Dog shows Ralph where he lives by pointing towards the mountains in the distance. He explained the path to his camp and pointed out landmarks along the way. All this was miles away. It was evening, and they were just passing time.

Sometime later, after Two Dog had gone back home, the family horse, Bill, came down sick. Very sick. Ralph’s dad declared the horse was “done for.” Ralph believed two important things. One was that Two Dog could make Bill better. The second was that he could find Two Dog. The next morning he set out by himself, without telling anyone where he was going.

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Home – John 14: 2-3

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jewish tradition holds that a young man would have to build a home for his bride before they could be married. Typically the home was added on to the family home of his father’s. When the father declared the new addition to be ready, then the son could go and take his bride to be with him in their new home.

Jesus uses this tradition as an analogy for where he is going and what he is doing. He wants us to be with him in heaven so he prepares a place for us in his Father’s house.

Here again, we see Jesus telling us about this place he is from. Clearly, he is not from around here. He is just visiting the earth and when he leaves he is going where we cannot go. (John 13: 33) The good news is that we can follow later. (John 13: 36)

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Believe – John 14: 1b

The book reads, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

You believe in God; believe also in me.

A prerequisite for believing in Jesus is believing in God. The Jews already believed in God, they just didn’t know Him very well. The Gentiles in the days of the early apostles all believed in gods, too. They simply didn’t know about the real God. Today we are confronted by a new thing. People believe that everything, including life, thought, and emotion is some kind of cosmic accident.

To the Jews, Jesus said, “You believe in God…”. In essence, he is speaking to the only race of people on the planet that had a unique and ongoing relationship with the Creator of All That Exists. When God spoke to His people, he told them about the coming Messiah. They heard the message but they did not understand it.

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Story Time – John 14: 1a

“Do not let your heart be troubled.”

Spending time in God’s Word is the best investment a person can make. The book is packed with life treasures. Whatever your needs are, God’s Word has something for it.

Lately, I’ve been struggling. You know how it is. Personal issues can be like a stone in your shoe. Small things at first, but as the days go along they become more and more irritating. Finally, it gets to the point where a person wonders if they can go another step.

Which reminds me of a story…

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Later – John 13: 36

Simon Peter asked him, ”Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, ”Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter wants to know where Jesus is going. He is thinking in human terms, like the Pharisees. Jesus, of course, is speaking from a heavenly point of view. Jesus knows where he is going.

When Jesus says “…you cannot follow now, but you will follow later,” we see a foreshadowing of Peter’s fate. He, too, will be crucified. Thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, he will also see Jesus in Heaven.

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