John 14:1-4 BELIEVE

Jesus prepares a place for us, within the Body of Christ, that only you can fill.

He is the only way home!

1 Corinthians 2:12 (ESV) "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."

We are tempted to value the influential and powerful. We struggle with our inclination to exalt teachers who are compelling and persuasive over those who are humbly teaching the Word of God. We are lured by the lie of sexual freedom outside of marriage and the celebration of behavior that God calls sin. We sometimes misplace our hope and trust in the things of this world, which is idolatry. We act selfishly rather than humbly loving others with the spiritual and material gifts God has given us. The answer to these problems, both then and now, flows from the saving work of Jesus Christ. First5 

Philippians 1:6 says, “God began doing a good work in you, and he will continue until it is finished.” May I spell out the message? God isn’t finished with you yet! Max Lucado

John 14:1–4

14 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” The New King James Version

Jesus is referring to the heavenly abode, where God the Father sits enthroned. Jesus had already declared God’s symbolic earthly dwelling, the temple, to be insignificant in comparison to God’s work through His new temple, Jesus. This and Jesus’ condemnation of the conduct of the earthly keepers of His “Father’s house” establish Jesus as a better, heavenly alternative. 

Heaven is depicted as God’s throne and the earth as God’s footstool. This is symbolically represented in the temple as the cherubim wings being God’s throne (heaven) and the ark of the covenant being His footstool (earth). 

There is room for many people in God’s kingdom and His heavenly abode, where those who accept Jesus dwell eternally. 

The person and work of Jesus serves as believers’ pathway to God the Father. Jesus is the source and power of believers’ resurrection to eternal life. Jesus denies there is any other method but belief in Him for receiving eternal life. 

In the first century, the Pharisees proposed that people could receive eternal life by obeying the law. The Sadducees didn’t believe in eternal life or the resurrection of the dead, so they would have seen this as a moot point. Most Jewish people followed the Pharisees’ beliefs, but they did not abide by all their rules. Doing so would have been virtually impossible, especially for anyone who wasn’t very wealthy, due to the requirements for labor, sacrifices, and giving. Jesus claims that these things are not the way to eternal life, which can be attained only through belief in Him 

This claim does not mean people are free to sin—rather they are called to love one another as Jesus has loved them. Salvation does not come through the law, sacrifices, religious practices, or the overthrow of foreign oppressors—all of which were beliefs held by Jews in the first century. Instead, Jesus Himself is the channel through which people can have relationship with God the Father and spend eternity with Him. Faithlife Study Bible

After announcing Judas’s betrayal, His own imminent departure, and Peter’s denial, Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled, but to trust Him. 

Mansions refers to dwelling places. Everybody has a longing for a permanent, secure place. Such places have already been set aside for all of God’s children.

I will come again and receive you: Peter may have failed Jesus, but Christ will not fail to return for Peter and for everyone else who has believed in Him. The NKJV Study Bible

believe (Gk. pisteuō) 

Strong’s #4100: The Greek word for believe literally means “to place one’s trust in another”; it occurs over 90 times in the Gospel of John alone. To believe in Jesus is to believe in His person and to trust in Him completely for salvation (3:15, 16). Many of Jesus’ contemporaries believed in Jesus’ miraculous powers, but they would not believe in Jesus Himself (6:23–26). Others wanted to believe in a political Messiah, but would not believe in the One who suffered for their sins (Mark 15:32). But we must be careful to believe and trust in the Jesus presented in the Scriptures, in the Son of God who sacrificed His life for our sins (Gal. 1:3, 4; Phil. 2:5–8).