I AM : THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
READ JOHN 13:31-38 (for Context)
31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times
READ JOHN 14:1-6 (the focus of the study)
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
DISCUSS:
1. In John 14:1, Jesus tells his disciples not to be troubled. What in the preceeding verses could be giving them reason to feel troubled?
2. What reasons does Jesus give that they should not be troubled?
3. What is it that Jesus is going to do in order to ‘prepare a place’ for his disciples?
4. What does Jesus description of himself as the way, the truth and the life communicate?
5. Based on this passage, how would you respond to someone who said that Jesus’ claim to be the way, the truth and the life is an overly exclusive one?
6. Based on this passage, how would you respond to someone who said, Christianity is just about being a good person to get to heaven?
7. How should the hope of heaven affect our day to day lives?
8. How often do you dwell on the reality of heaven? How could you become more aware of the reality of heaven in the everyday?