John 14 is a passage of scripture which has given great comfort to many people. Chapters 13-17 of John record the events and conversation in the "Upper Room" on the night before Jesus was betrayed. Almost one quarter of John's Gospel is devoted to less than one evening in the life of Jesus! It is a hugely significant passage as it allows us to listen in to the intimate conversation between Jesus and his disciples, recorded for us by someone who was there.

The disciples may have been expecting a normal sort of evening, but things turned out very differently. Jesus washes their feet - culturally odd thing for him to do. He has a conversation with Judas, which the other disciples don't seem to understand. Judas suddenly leaves and they don't know why. Next, Jesus tells them he's going to leave too, and they can't come with him. Finally, in 13:38 Jesus tells the confident Peter that he's about to fail, big time. Today we have the benefit of hindsight; these disciples didn't know what was immediately ahead. It is into this confused and worrying situation that Jesus speaks in 14:1-3.

1. An Antidote to Fear
   "Troubled is the same word John uses when describing the water in the Pool at Bethesda (John 5:2). The disciples' hearts were churned up! Knowing what was immediately ahead, Jesus instructs them not to allow their hearts to be troubled. Despite appearances, he is still in control, and nothing that was about to happen would be outside the control of the hands "that flung stars into space".
2. An Encouragement to Faith
   The instruction to "trust in God; trust also in me" is two-fold. Firstly, it encourages us to have a continuous, on-going, active trust in our God. To trust means "to have confidence in the truth of something". We need to act on what we know to be true! Secondly, it is a resounding statement about who Jesus is. In effect, Jesus is saying, "you've already learned to trust in God; now go on trusting in him and treat me the same way as you treat him!"
3. A Hope for the Future
   Jesus give his disciples a hope beyond the sorrows of the next few hours. "Rooms" or "Mansions": think of the English word "Manor" - a place of community, industry, belonging. Our future home is:
   
   • a place - not a state of mind or mere spiritual existence, but a place in which some are included and, sadly, from which some are excluded
   • prepared - made ready for you
   • personal - prepared with you in mind, tailor-made
   • plentiful - not cramped or inadequate
   • preserved - no one's going to claim it in your place (1 Peter 1:3-4)
   • permanent - "forever with the Lord"
   • personal escort - "I will come back and take you..."
   And until we reach home, he has promised to be with us (Matt 28:20). Nonetheless we should be moved to cry "Hallelujah! Come, Lord Jesus!"

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