Failures and the Hope of Heaven (John 13:36–14:3)
The Bible frequently joins together incidents that we might imagine should not be joined together. To whom should Jesus speak about heaven? Should he speak only to the dedicated and the ones who are expressing their devotion by acts of earnest obedience? Is it wise to connect together failure and the hope of heaven? Whatever we might think, Jesus connects them here, although the connection is blurred a bit by the chapter division. Chapter 13 ends with a failing disciple and chapter 14 begins with Jesus talking about heaven to his disciples.
The curiosity of Peter
It is not clear if the incident involving Peter was an interruption in the flow of the teaching that Jesus was giving to his disciples as he prepared them for his imminent departure. Peter had been listening to the words of Jesus and I suppose we could ask this question, ‘Which of the topics that Jesus was speaking about would Peter refer to?’ Would he ask about what Jesus meant when he said that he would be glorified? Or would he ask about what Jesus meant when he wanted the disciples to love one another? Instead Peter asked about why he could not go with Jesus to the place where Jesus was going.
What can we make of Peter’s first question? From one perspective, his words were an expression of love because he did not want to be separated from Jesus. Yet we can also see that his question also showed a lack of submission to the revealed will of Jesus. The Saviour had said to Peter in verse 33: ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ This lack of submission would be seen more clearly in his later response to the next answer that Jesus gave to him.
We should not be surprised that true love for Jesus and a failure to submit to Jesus can exist together in a disciple. No doubt, we have been guilty of such a combination at times. We know that we love Jesus and we know that there are certain things that he wants us to do such as profess him in a public manner. Yet despite our love, we can persist in disobeying him for a while.
The Saviour does not ignore Peter’s question. He gives to his disciple an expanded answer: ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.’ Perhaps it was the case that Jesus responded to the loving desire of Peter to be with his Master by giving him the assurance that one day he would be with him.
What should Peter have learned from this statement by Jesus? One answer is obvious. There were some things that Jesus intended to do by himself without any involvement by Peter or anyone else. We cannot say for definite whether Jesus was referring to what would be done by him on the cross or was he referring to what he would be doing when he ascended to heaven.
Another detail is also obvious, which is that Jesus would not forget about Peter even although there were some things that Peter could not be involved in. That prediction by Jesus of Peter yet going to be with him should have been sufficient assurance for Peter not to ask another question. After all, the One who was speaking always told the truth and he had just said that Peter would yet be with him after he had completed those other activities. Peter should have rested on the word of Jesus.
Is that not how we get assurance? We are not meant to understand everything. Instead, we are to take Jesus at his word and let his statements that we can understand give us spiritual comfort. Often we lose our assurance by curiosity, by delving into things that we can never know the answer about in this life. The promises that are in the Bible are what we are to go by. Don’t be curious about unrevealed matters!
The catastrophe of Peter’s fall
We have suggested that Peter should have accepted the additional information that Jesus gave to him about yet being with Jesus in the future. But Peter’s traits were to get him into trouble. We know that the advice ‘Know yourself’ is very wise, and we all know that if we watched out for our weak points we would avoid a lot of trouble. Peter had strong love for Jesus, but he was not yet the rock that Jesus had previously predicted he would become. Peter could not control his curiosity and his impetuosity.
Peter must have sensed that Jesus was going into a place of danger probably connected to the betrayal by Judas. Therefore he stated strongly to Jesus that he was willing to lay down his life for his Master. Peter was prepared to be a martyr for the cause. In his mind, if Jesus was going to die, then he would love to die alongside Jesus.
What was wrong with Peter’s enthusiasm? His commitment was not based on listening properly to the teaching of Jesus. The Saviour had told his disciples several times that he was going to die in Jerusalem and then be raised again on the third day. Peter had even heard Moses and Elijah speak about that death when they came to be with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. There was no excuse for Peter here. Although he loved Jesus, he was not feeding his love for Jesus on the words of Jesus. And because he was not doing so, he had a catastrophic fall.
Jesus told him what would happen later that evening. He did not tell Peter where it would happen, although his prediction indicated it would happen before the dawn (when the rooster would crow). It is striking that Peter did not ask for more information as he had done with the previous statements by Jesus. After all, a rebuke from Jesus would have been most solemn.
The obvious lesson from this catastrophe is that the way to avoid one is to listen to the words of Jesus. As the psalmist said about his own experience, ‘the entrance of God’s word gives light.’ Love by itself is not enough. The man who denied Jesus was a man who loved Jesus, but he was a man who was not listening to Jesus.
The challenge of Jesus
Perhaps Jesus saw the troubled expressions on the face of the disciples. They had heard something that would have deflated them. It was as if the second-in-command was going to fail, and if he was going to fail, what would the rest of them do? Peter had so often been their spokesman, ready to urge them on. The problem, of course, is that in the kingdom of Jesus there is not a second-in-command, only a Commander. And Jesus reminds them of that when he says, ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me’ (14:1). Our translation has two imperatives in the sentence, ‘Believe in God; believe also in me.’ Some translations have a different rendering, which is also accurate as well: ‘You believe in God; believe also in me.’ Both possible translations indicate that Jesus was saying that the disciples should respond to him as fully divine.
What would that mean for the disciples on that evening? I suppose they should have asked themselves a simple question: what would God do in this situation we are in? One thing that he would do is speak the truth. Therefore, they should realise that Jesus was speaking the truth. Another thing that God would do would be to act in a gracious way. Therefore, they should expect Jesus to do gracious things. A third thing God would do is to express his plans. Therefore, they should expect Jesus to indicate his divine intentions.
Is that not how we are meant to respond to Jesus? We know that he is fully God, so we should expect him to speak the truth, act in grace, and reveal his plans for his people. And that is what Jesus went on to do here when he spoke to the troubled disciples.
The comfort of Jesus
The consolation that Jesus gave to them was to speak of heaven, the place that they could not go to at that moment, but the place they would yet reach. On the evening of his death, he spoke to them about his future in heaven and their future in heaven. So what did Jesus say?
First, Jesus said that heaven is a place with many rooms. His disciples may have thought he meant that there were eleven rooms, one for each of them. If they thought that was what he meant, their vision was too small. How many rooms are in the Father’s house? The answer is, as many as will be needed. Heaven will have residents that cannot be numbered, but the Father’s house will hold them all.
Second, Jesus said that he would be spending part of his future in preparing a place for them. I think this means that he recognised the individuality of his people. After all, he made each of them unique. No two of them are the same. He knows what kind of room each of them would need in order for their experience of eternity to be as blessed as possible. It is only an illustration, so we should not push its content too far. Sufficient to know that we get there, the room will be ready, and when we see it we will say, ‘It is just what I always wanted, but it is only now that I can see what I was always looking for.’
Third, Jesus said that his experience of heaven after he has made the rooms ready requires that his people must also be there, including the ones who were going to fail him on that evening. In fact, it can be written above the entrance of each room, ‘Only forgiven failures can come in.’
Fourth, Jesus reveals that the experience of heaven is primarily contact with himself. Is that not what his words mean when he says, ‘I will come again and will take you to myself.’ It will be great to see the new heavens and new earth in their purity , it will be great to see the crowd that on one can number singing the new song, it will be great to see and hear the angelic host worshipping before the throne, but the best thing about heaven is to be with Jesus.
Fifth, the title ‘my Father’s house’ points to two things. It highlights obviously that heaven is home. Home, after all, is where we feel at home. The other meaning could be that heaven is a place of worship – Jesus referred to the temple in Jerusalem as his Father’s house. And certainly we know that heaven is a place of worship.
Application
Curiosity, catastrophe, challenge and comfort reveal the amazing ability of Jesus to deal with different situations. It is good to know that he can do so.