John 14:1-14
“ Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. And where I am going, you know the way to it.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus answered and said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you knew me, you would also know the way.” know my Father; now you know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Philip, have I been with you all this time, and yet you do not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who lives in me does his work. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; if not, at least believe for the sake of the works.”
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask the Father in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:1-14)
The words the Lord spoke to His disciples before He returned to heaven are comforting. He would prepare a place for them, and He wanted them to be with Him . The Father sent His Son to earth to lead us back to Him. He wants to be with us forever and to free us from all the evil that separates us from Him .
Jesus is the way to the Father. The disciple Thomas had not yet fully understood this, so the Lord again explained it to him in profound words that reveal the Son’s place in the work of salvation: “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me .”
In the light of the Holy Spirit , we understand the uniqueness of Jesus and thus clearly realize that only through him can we reach the Father. The Church has always been aware of her responsibility to bear witness to this truth and has received strength from God to proclaim it throughout the centuries .
However, in recent times, some have sought to water down the claims of these words of Jesus, even to the regrettable extent of claiming that all religions are paths to God . Such claims depart from the solid foundations of the Gospel andThe authoritative teaching of the Church. Moreover, this statement contradicts the logic of salvation offered to us through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This does not happen in any other religion, because their leaders are men, not the Son of God who became man. This is why other religions cannot offer people a path to salvation . Even if some wisdom can be found in them – as the Church says, there are “seeds of the Word” in them – they are still full of errors and lack the knowledge of God .
This statement that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life also applies to the Jews, although there is no doubt that God has specially prepared them for the coming of the Messiah and that they have a different degree of knowledge of Him . But if we no longer preach to them that Jesus is the Messiah who came from among them, we will be violating the mission He has given us and will also do great injustice to the Jews , because only the Son of God is the Messiah and Savior of the world, whether they believe it or not, whether they reject the truth or not. A few days ago, we heard Jesus’ statement: whoever receives him receives him who sent him (that is, the Father) ( Jn 13:20), and whoever rejects him rejects him who sent him (Lk 10:16). This truth is still applicable today, because the truth is eternal and unchanging.
The disciple Philip also did not fully understand the unity of Jesus and the Father. So the Lord explained it to him again: ” Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Then he asked him again: Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
He also assured him: Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do also; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father .
The disciples will perform great miracles in the name of Jesus . Whatever they ask, as long as they ask in His name, the Lord will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
On the eve of his Passion, Jesus again comforted and strengthened his disciples with these words, so that they would remember them even after the Lord’s mission was completed. The Church has preserved these words to this day, and they still guide us to follow the Son of God and glorify the Father.