Since the beginning of John 14, Jesus
had been comforting His disciples and us as well. He assured us that He was going to the Father,
and His going back to the Father was to prepare a place for us. And when that
was done, He would come back to receive us to Himself. Jesus also assured
everyone that He was the only way to the Father and that we would be enabled to
do greater things through prayer. He also promised to send the Holy Spirit to
indwell us, to guide and strengthen us. One wonderful thought is that we will
not be left as orphans. Just as He and the Father are one, so we who share this
relationship will also share that oneness.
Jesus promises us that as we keep
His commandments, He will manifest Himself to us. More than that, the Father will
also shower His love upon us. In talking about manifesting Himself to us, Jesus
was referring to the realization and awareness of His nearness. Every time we seek
Him through the Word we can have an awareness of His nearness. We will be able
to sense His love and favor as we read and meditate on His words. It’s a sense
of Him being right by our side.
Among Jesus’ disciples, there was
more than one who was named Judas. The one referred to in John 14:22 was not
Judas Iscariot but the brother of James, the son of Alphaeus (Refer to Luke
6:16). This Judas here asked Jesus, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to
disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” He failed to realize that having the truth would separate those
who belong to Jesus, and those who do not. What was Jesus telling us here? It
is the privilege of those who are His, to experience His manifestation. From
Jesus’ response to Judas, we know that God will only fellowship with those who
welcome Him and love Him, and would be willing to submit to His Word. It is to such
people that Jesus and the Father will be near, and will love them in return.
The way
to keep the commandments of Christ is to obey them. And obedience is the key to
experience His nearness. Jesus knows our heart because He is always looking at
it. He knows when we desire and yearn for Him. Thus we must draw near to Him through
His Word. This is the surest way to experience His nearness. When that happens
we will have the assurance that we have kept the Father’s word as well. How so?
Because the Lord Jesus’ and the Father’s word are the same. Our love for them is
demonstrated in our obedience to those words, written in the Bible.
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