John 14:1-14

There’s no place like home. Home is where we’re safe. Home is where we know our way around, and where we are known. People know who we are and how we act. They know our likes and dislikes, what makes us happy, and what makes us nervous. Home is where we come back to at the end of a rotten day. Home is supposed to be the place where we can relax and rest and re-create. Home, sweet home.

There’s a saying, "Home is where the heart is." That maybe it’s not our particular front door or color of rug or even favorite chair that makes home, home. Maybe it’s the people that we are home with. Even living alone, we’re home with memories, we’re home in a community where people know us and are just a phone call away, or a walk across the street. Where our heart is full and happy and safe, that’s where we are at home.

And we want to go home. The house and the family and the friends are warm and good and comforting. But in each one of us, there is a deeper desire to go home, our real home, our truly, completely safe home. The place where there are no rotten days to come home to, the home that is not quiet, too quiet. Where memories are all sweet, not mixed in with bitter regrets. We want to go home.

And in John 14, we hear about home. This place is where we belong, where we are known. And this home is where our heart is. And this home is where the Father is.

Jesus was looking forward to going home, here in John 14. It’s the night before He would die. He would be in heaven in just a few hours, but those hours were going to be filled with unimaginable pain. He wanted to go home, but He had to wait, and there would be suffering in the waiting.

And while our suffering is not the suffering of nails in our hands and feet, and thorns on our head, our suffering is real. Our suffering comes from words spoken that pierce like nails. Our tears come from loss of loved ones, whether through death or relationships that are torn. We want to go home, and we can’t yet.

So Jesus, knowing this deep desire, because He had it too, tells us in verse 1:

I know it’s hard, Jesus says. I know you want to go home. I know it’s a little scary, and it’s sometimes terribly hard, to live in this sinful, cruel world. I know you want to be done, I know you’re waiting for quitting time, and you can’t wait to go where your heart is.

Trust Me, He says, that’s what God wants. Trust Me, He says, that’s what I want. And let me tell you a little about it. Verse 2:

Our home, that we’re looking forward to so much, is big. There’s space. There’s room enough, even for me. Even for you. It’s not just the Billy Grahams and the Apostle Pauls that have a place at home. You do, too. Jesus so wants to assure us:

Jesus has work to do. He’s going to be going to heaven, to pave the way there. But His work starts already later this evening. Preparing this place for us starts with His suffering, His beating, the mocking He receives, the whipping, and finally the crucifixion. We can’t have a room in this big spacious house unless Jesus does the prep work first, and His work is to die.

But, here’s the promise. Verse 3:

Jesus is talking, of course, that He would be coming back at the end of the world, coming to usher in the kingdom of heaven, and bring us home.

But He’s also coming back that next Sunday, in just three days after He died. His coming back to life was to make a way for us to get to that eternal life, a way to get home. You know, home. Verse 4:

Thomas, though, isn’t so sure. Verse 5:

Where is home? And how do we get home? We haven’t been there before, and you’re going away. We need to know how to get there? What way do we go?

Verse 6:

Thomas, you don’t need to do anything. You don’t need to say certain words or look a certain way or belong to a certain group, or anything. I, Me, I am the way home, I’m the truth that sets you free from this world of sorrow, I’m the life that never ends.

But then Jesus seems to go off on a tangent. Thomas wants to go home, to this home with plenty of rooms. He asks how to get there, and Jesus explains that it’s Him. And then He says where He’s taking us. Yes, He’s taking us home, but home isn’t really a big, big house. Home is a Person. Home is the Father. Verse 6:

Everything that you’re craving, that safety, that comfort, that relief, the place that you know and are known, all this doesn’t come from being in a certain place. All this comes from being with a certain Person. All this comes from knowing the Father. Verse 7:

You’re already home. You’re going home, but you’re already home. You will be comforted, but you already know comfort. You will be safe, but you’re already safe. Your at home because the Father is with you.

Well, okay. I guess that makes sense, is what the disciples are thinking right now. At the same time, I think that being in a place seems safer, more secure, than that the Father is with us. Being in a place means we can see the place and touch the place, and that makes us feel better. The Father is invisible, and while He’s powerful and almighty, He’s still invisible. So, Philip says, in verse 8:

If the Father means home and wholeness and healing, then let us see the Father. If He’s enough, then, great, let us being with Him.

But this request that Philip makes shows that he hasn’t been paying attention. He’s looking for the Father, and the Father has been there the whole time, right there in front of him. Verse 9:

After three years of following Jesus, after hearing parable after parable, seeing miracle after miracle, knowing Jesus for so long, Philip still doesn’t understand. As long as Jesus was with them, the Father was with them.

And as long as the Father was with them, they were home. They were with the Father when they were with Jesus.

Being with the Father means safety and comfort. We want to be with the Father because it’s the Father who makes everything okay. It’s our Abba, our Daddy, who knows us and draws us to Himself.

But knowing our Father in heaven, the God of all creation, the Spinner of galaxies and Upholder of universes seems a little impossible. Like how do we get close to that Father? Is He safe? Is He comforting? Or is He stern and demanding and distant? If the Father is safe, if the Father is comforting, if the Father is home, then show us the Father.

And Jesus responds, verse 9:

You know the Father. He’s the Father who welcomes women caught in adultery and does not condemn them and sends them on to sin no more. He’s the Father who runs up the road to his lost son, His son who smells of pigs and has thrown away his inheritance. He’s the Father who wraps His arms around this son and throws a party because His son has returned. He’s the Father who calms the wind and the waves. He’s the Father who touches lepers. He’s the Father who frees from our demons. He’s the Father who Himself would give everything for us to be with Him.

When we’ve seen Jesus, we’ve seen the Father. When we’ve seen the look of love in Jesus’ eyes when He’s looking at a tax collector up a tree, we’ve seen the eyes of the Father. When we’ve felt the touch of Jesus’ assuring, calming hand, we’ve felt the touch of the Father. When we’ve heard the commanding voice of Jesus bringing a twelve year old girl back to life, we’ve heard the voice of the Father, governing death itself. Verse 11:

If you know Jesus, then you know the Father, and if you know the Father, then you’re home. Yes, we have a home we are looking forward to, when Jesus comes back or when we die. Yes, we can’t wait to come into the presence of the Father and stand before Him and hear His voice.

But we have some of that right now. 1 John 4:15 tells us:

So follow this: The Father is in Jesus, making Him able to do these incredible things and speak these incredible words. And if Jesus died for you and rose again for you, then God lives in you. Verse 12:

Think of the great things you can do. You can have faith, when everything looks hopeless. You can be comforted, even in the middle of grief. You can be strong, even when you feel week. You can give a word of comfort to someone else who is grieving, even when you don’t know what to say. You can help someone who is very different from you, someone you’d never hang out with on your own. You can be home, safe, even when you’re not home. Because Jesus is in you, and the Father is in Jesus. Verse 13:

With the Father in Jesus and Jesus in you, you’ll be asking for the right things. Don’t worry, Jesus won’t let you ask for the wrong things, and even if you do, He’ll fix it. That’s our lives right now. We’re getting closer to home. Jesus went to prepare this place, and He’s been working on this home for 2000 years. But as we get closer to home, we can already experience some of the joy of being home. We can know the wonder of being known by the Father. We can live with the loving eyes of the Father gazing on us, and we can gaze back at Him. While we’re waiting to be safe, we’re safe. While we’re waiting to be comforted, we can be comforted. While we’re waiting to go home, we can still be home.