Monday: I Will Certainly Come Again
Daily Lesson for Monday 2nd of December 2024
Read John 14:1-3. In what context did Jesus say these words?
At the end of John 13:1-38, Jesus says that He is going away (John 13:33). This elicits from Peter a query about where He is going (John 13:36). The disciples do not understand that Jesus is talking about His death, resurrection, and ascension. Peter says he is ready to lay down his life for Him (John 13:37). This is when Jesus predicts Peter’s denial (John 13:38).
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It is in this context that Jesus tells His disciples not to let their hearts be troubled (John 14:1). The verb troubled is translated in Greek as tarassō, which means to stir up, disturb, unsettle, throw into confusion. It is not surprising that the disciples would be thrown into confusion at Jesus’ words.
But, countering their fears, He talks about His Father’s house, where there are many rooms (not mansions but rooms as in an inn). He is going there to prepare a place for them. His words look beyond the coming storm of the cross to the time when He will return to redeem His people. He is looking to the time when this whole tragedy with sin is finished once and for all (see Daniel 7:27).
Jesus says, “ ‘If I go . . . , I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also’ ” (John 14:3, NKJV). It is clearly a promise of His second coming.
What is the basis for confidence in that promise? Many would say the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and that is certainly true. But in John 14:3, the basis is stated differently. In this verse, I will come is actually in the present tense in Greek (I am coming). This is a use of the present tense in Greek called the futuristic present. It is a future event spoken of with such certainty that it is described as though already happening. Thus, it is fair to translate the phrase as, I will certainly come again.
The basis of our hope in the return of our Lord is not simply the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is also, and more certainly, based on our confidence in the Man who made the promise. He said He will certainly return for His people. We can place our confidence in that promise because of Who made it.
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What does the Cross teach us about the certainty of Christ’s second coming? Without the Second Coming, what good did Jesus’ death do us at the first coming? |
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John 14:1-3 in the King James version:
... was one of the first passages of Scripture I learned. And, I pictured myself in a heavenly mansion surrounded by a garden with no weeds; lambs and lions frolicking in the front yard; a road of pure gold passing in front of the house. But as I matured my vision changed, not about the reality of heaven - although I felt somewhat enlighten when I found that the word translated as "mansions" is more realistically represented by "dwellings" - but about the meaning of heaven now.
The change in thinking came as I started to read the rest of the chapter. It is not a utopian view of the hereafter, but a pragmatic understanding of the present. Thomas kicked off the discussion with his cynical:
Jesus provided a map of what would happen when he was no longer with them.
The disciples had thier wakeup call only a few days after this discussion. Their view of a heavenly kingdom on eath with them holding the reins of power and throwing off the Roman oppressors was tempered by the curifixion and resurrection of Jesus. For me, the reality of the present has filtered my vision of a utopian heaven. What was seen somewhat selfishly as a very nice retirement package is tempered by a vision of the needs of others now.
I commend the reading of the whole of John 14 as part of your study today.
The certainty of Jesus' promise of His second coming is foundational to Christian faith, supported by His character, divine authority, and track record of fulfilled promises. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35). Jesus’s track record in fulfilled promises is an absolute certainty. Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, such as His birth (Isaiah 7:14), death (Isaiah 53:5-6), and resurrection (Psalm 16:10). His resurrection itself validates His authority to make promises about the future, including His return. Unlike flawed human leaders, Jesus is perfect, truthful, and unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). The second coming is not a mere ambition or intention—it is a divine, predetermined event tied to God’s ultimate purpose for humanity and the world. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8)
The New Testament contains several promises made by Jesus Himself about His return, his Second Coming.
1.John 14:1-3 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. 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? 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."
2.Matthew 24:30-31 - "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
3.Matthew 26:64 (Paralleled in Mark 14:62 and Luke 22:69) - "But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
4.Revelation 22:12-13, 20 - "Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
And again:
"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.'"
5.Acts 1:9-11 (Indirect Promise) - "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven."
The very act of Our Lord’s death on the cross, tells us that His Coming is true. Why would He have done it if it were not so? I have read ‘The Great Controversy’ 6 or more times since the early 2000’s. The things that I have read in that book that are fulfilled exactly as depicted there in the precise order told, have convinced me without a doubt, that everything God says is true, and His return is soon, without a doubt. If you don’t remember the things that God has revealed in that book, read it again, brush up on it, and know that God is real.
It is the cross that makes the certainty of His second coming come to life. Without the cross we would have no hope. With the cross we can look forward to the certainty of His return.
Yes, the cross makes all the difference for me!!!
As a human being, I forget things too quickly. I have to keep reminding myself how God has guided me until now. Jesus would not make such a sacrifice for us to leave us alone. His efforts will be completed, for sure! He will take His followers with Him forever.
As I read the whole chapter as per your suggestion, Maurice, I came across this.
Today's memory verse (John 14:1-3) resonates really well with John 14:23 ~ Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
I believe the dwelling that Jesus was referring to could also the dwelling in our own heart. As we believe in Him whom the Father sent and faithfully keep His commandments, They will both come to make a dwelling in our heart. We don't have to wait in the future for this dwelling, but it can happen right now!
We discussed about this last week. Eternal life does not come at the end of time, but it starts right now at the time when we say "Yes" to our Lord.
I had similar thoughts when I read John 14. Jesus was about to go to the cross. He was going to a place of complete surrender to His Father because He loved His Father. He was going to show the world the way of total surrender to the Father. He and the Father were preparing a way that we can live that total surrender with Him. He was not preparing a way for us to play with lions on pavements of gold. He was preparing a way for us to experience ultimate joy with God. He was also preparing a way for God to experience joy by having us with Him. His death was a love gift to the Father as well as to us. When Thomas told Jesus that they did not know where He was going or the way to get there, he was being more truthful than he realized. Jesus replied that He was the way. We get to the Father, to that place of total love and surrender to God, through Jesus. Jesus said that they would soon see the way, because they would witness His love gift to us and to God.
The author of the lesson stated that the word normally translated as "will come" could also be translated as "is coming". I agree with Antonio that the process is going on right now. Christ, through His Spirit is coming into our hearts and transforming us, bringing us into that "dwelling" of love and surrender to God. As Maurice appropriately points out, this transformation should be visible to those around us. They should be able to see God's love in us.
In today's vernacular Jesus would say, "I'll be back!". No equivocation, or uncertainty at all. He wanted the disciples to not have the slightest bit of doubt that He was going to keep His word.
Of course in their minds they probably expected Jesus to return in short order, possibly days, weeks, or months at the most. They most likely couldn't conceive that it wouldn't be in their lifetimes. They fully expected "soon" to mean soon, not a couple millenia later.
Hasn't it always been that way though? Each succeeding generation thinks most certainly He will return in their lifetimes. When I first learned of the Second Coming as a boy, in Catholic elementary school, I wondered "what's taking so long"? "Why hasn't He kept His promise"?
When I learned more about the Second Advent through a Revelation Seminar, when I was in my early twenties, I then thought certainly Jesus will return in a few years, possibly no later than the year 2000. Fast forward in my life four decades and He is still a "no show". It does test one's faith to wait. In speaking with my wife just the other day, I stated, "it's beginning to look like Jesus may not return in our lifetime". I don't want to die on this planet. I want to be alive to see my Lord's return. I want to see the upper-taker, and bypass the undertaker. However long it takes, I will faithfully wait. What other choice is there? This world has nothing to offer that's better than a moment in His presence, and we are offered an eternity in His presence. Indeed, I, we, are "waiting for another time and another place. Where all my hopes and dreams will be captured with one look at Jesus'face".
Don't give up your hope. Don't throw in the towel thinking it's just another disappointment or abandonment issue to work through. No, hold fast to the "Blessed Hope" because it's our only hope. Each day that goes by brings us one day closer to the reality of it's happening. Faithful is He who said it, and He will do it.
It reminds me of a song sung by Sandi Patty and other artists, regarding the subject.
Jesus will return! He said it, and I believe it! Maranatha!
Maranatha!