John 14:1-14, Do not let your hearts be troubled, Lectionary Gospel for Sunday May 7, 2023

 

John 14:1-14, Do not let your hearts be troubled (Version: NRSV)

14‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe^* in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?^* 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to the place where I am going.’^* 5Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ ⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, you will know^* my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

8 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ ⁹Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me^* for anything, I will do it.

Alternative translation: John 14:1-14, Do not let your hearts be troubled (Version: The Gospels for Hearers)

1 "Don't tremble in your hearts.

You trust in God, trust in me too.

In my Father's household there is a lot of room -

if not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for

you?

And if I go and prepare it,

I'll come again and take you to myself

so that where I am you may be too.

And you know the way I'm taking to where I'm going."

5 Thomas says,

"Lord, we don't know where you're going

so how can we know the way?"

Jesus says,

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

Nobody comes to the Father except through me.

If you've known me, you know my Father too.

And from now you know Him and have seen Him."

8 Philip says,

"Lord, show us the Father - that's enough for us."

Jesus says to him,

"I've been with you so long and you don't know me, Philip?

The one who has seen me has seen the Father,

so how can you say,

'Show us the Father'?

Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words I say to you are not spoken out of myself,

but the Father who lives in me does His works.

Believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,

and if not, believe because of the works themselves.

12 I tell you the truth,

the one who trusts in me will do the works I do,

and will do greater ones because I am on my way to the

Father.

13 And whatever you ask in my name I will do it,

that the Father be glorified in the son.

Whatever you ask in my name I will do.

From “The Gospel of John”, Chapter 14, verses 1-14, in The Gospel for Hearers

(Translated from the Koine Greek by Elizabeth B. Edwards, Formatted by 

the Rev William A. Johnston), 2013, Diangellia Press.

Some questions raised by the text:

• Who is Jesus talking to?
• Who was the evangelist talking to?
• In these extracts from the Gospel according to John there are many references to "the Father". Jesus is fond of referring to God as his father. Would everybody listening to him have had the same experience of "fatherhood" and how might that have coloured their understanding of the points Jesus was making?
• In our contemporary social context fatherhood seems to be rather devalued. The media often portrays fathers as being stupid, redundant or irrelevant. Some contempoary fathers might be feeling a bit "left out".
• We don't know anything much about Jesus' dad, Joseph. Is that significant?
• Often we end our prayers of supplication with "In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord". Do we actually expect our requests to get a response just by adding this line?
• At its heart this passage seems to be about trust. The passage implies that trusting in God will lead to good outcomes. However, that is not everyone's experience. Things don't always work out for the best. Is that because we don't trust enough, or in the right way? Whose fault is it when things go wrong?