John 14 Round Two: Jesus is Exclusive and the Promise is Coming

Start with the honest question so many of us carry: are there really many ways to God? We open John 14 and sit with Jesus’ most direct words—“I am the way, the truth, and the life”—and trace what that means for anxious hearts, honest doubts, and everyday discipleship. Without jargon or hedging, we explore why exclusive truth can actually lead to expansive grace, deep freedom, and real peace.

We walk through the text line by line: a prepared place, a promised return, and a path that is not a system but a Person. Thomas asks the question we all ask, and Jesus answers with Himself. From there we wrestle with the claim’s implications in a world that prizes options, and we show how the gospel does not flatten differences between faiths but clarifies them—rooting hope in the Son who reveals the Father. Along the way, we unpack the promise that believers will do greater works, not for spectacle but for mission, fueled by prayer aligned with Jesus’ name and focused on the Father’s glory.

The center of our comfort is the Advocate. Jesus will not leave us as orphans; the Holy Spirit comes to teach, remind, and guide, forming the inner life that bears lasting fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We share how obedience flows from love, why God’s commands are the rails that make freedom possible, and how the peace Jesus gives is stronger than the storms we face. As the scene shifts from the upper room toward the garden, the call becomes clear: trust the way, walk in the truth, and receive the life that only Christ can give.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Today’s Focus
• 0:20 Jesus’ Exclusive Claim In John 14
• 1:46 Are There Many Ways To God
• 2:43 Reading: I Am The Way
• 4:35 Greater Works And Praying In His Name
• 5:16 Love Proven Through Obedience
• 5:22 Promise Of The Holy Spirit
• 7:10 Peace That The World Cannot Give
• 7:50 The Hour Approaches And Next Steps
• 8:39 Life With The Spirit Today
• 9:45 Prayer And Final Encouragement

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the Biblebreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's word together. Well, everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, John chapter 14, and Jesus is getting so very real. Throughout the life of Jesus, he's talking in parables. He's talking in just the Bible says he would say things and he'd say, Hey, you got to be listening to hear me. He's not doing any of that right now. He is talking straight up. And if I were to give today a title, it would be Jesus is exclusive and the promise is coming. Jesus is exclusive and the promise is coming. I cannot wait to get into this today. But before I do that, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you are liking the videos on social on uh the social medias, on the YouTubes, make sure you are leaving us a five-star review on the podcast. And I want you to go to our Facebook group, Bible Breakdown Discussion, and let me know in this text or in this chapter, have you ever had to deal with people saying there are many ways to God? You ever had that happen before? How did it go? It's one of the things that it's kind of in these worlds where people will say, Well, you know, they're all really the same. All religions are really the same. They all really kind of say the same thing. And so there's many ways to get to the one God. Can I tell you, if anybody says that as politely as I can, they don't know what they're talking about. If you've ever actually studied any of the major religions, they're actually quite different. And if there is, let's just say though, for the sake of argument, you were to put all of them together, Christianity would still stand alone because the king himself, Jesus said, I ain't like nobody else. And I love it that Jesus loves us enough to say, I love you enough to tell you the truth. And that is, any other way to heaven besides me won't work. And I love that so much. You may have 99 problems, but Jesus ain't one of them. And what I love about this is he's gonna tell us the truth. And so if you have your NLT Bibles open with us to John chapter 14, we're gonna read this in two sections. One is gonna be Jesus says, I am the only way. And remember, every time he says an I am statement, he's declaring that he is God. And that's the context of the whole Gospel of John, is John is saying the primary message of Jesus, I want to make sure you get is he is saying, I am God. So seven different times, seven different times in the Gospel of John, he declares who he is. We've already seen where he says, I am the gate or the door, I am the bread of life, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and life, I am the light of the world. And then now he's gonna say, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And he is going to declare an uncomfortable truth for those who don't want to follow him. So here we go. You ready? John chapter 14, verse 1 says this. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Modern terminology would be stop worrying. Trust in God and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my father's home. If this were not so, I would have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. What I have told you, I'm going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am, and you know the way where I am going. No, we don't know, Lord, Thomas said. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know the Father, that you would know who my Father is. And from now on, you do know him and you have seen him. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. Jesus replied, Have I been with you all this time, Philip, yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who sees me sees the Father. So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does the work through me, does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. So what's going on here is that Jesus is saying, I am getting ready to go back to the Father. But this is not the end. I am going to prepare a place for you, and there's room enough for you as well. And then he even promises that when I go, I'm not taking my power and authority with me. I am leaving the power and authority I have given to you. That I've already given it to you, because in other uh gospels we know that he would send out people two by two to work the miracles of God. And he's saying, I am going to give that authority to you, and you are going to be able to do even greater things than I have done. Verse 15 says this if you love me, obey my commands. Like you don't have to earn it, do whatever. Do what I say. Because in doing what I say, you're going to have freedom. Verse 16, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and it doesn't recognize him, but you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans. I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, and since I live, you will also live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commands and obey them are the ones whom the ones who loves me. And because they love me, the Father will love them, and I will love them, and I will reveal myself to each of them. Judas, not Iscariot, but one of the other disciples with that name, said, Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large? Jesus replied, All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and he will come and make our we will come and make our home in each of them. Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, that is the Holy Spirit, he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give, so don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I have told you. I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen, so that when they do happen, you will believe. I don't have much more time to talk to you because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going. So Jesus knows his time is almost over. Judas has already left. He knows that they are likely already on their way. And so as we go from chapter 14 to chapter 15, now Jesus is mobile. At this point, they leave the upper room where they've been having the Passover celebration and they start to walk toward the Mount of Olives. And so when we get into tomorrow, he's going to talk about the vine and the branches and all that. And it's likely that he is walking past these things. And as he is walking past them, he is starting to talk about them. But I love what happened today. Jesus says, guys, you need to understand the only way to the Father, the only way to heaven is through me. And when you love me and you obey me, you are now part of my family. Think of what Jesus could have asked us for. He could have asked us for so much, but you know what he asks for? Obedience and allegiance. That's what he's asking for. Man, we may have 99 problems, but Jesus ain't one of them. You know what he's saying? I want you to live as free as possible. You know the free, the freest way we can live is in his goodness. And he says, you know what? I want your love. I want your obedience. You do those things, we got this together. And I think that's amazing. What I love even more is he says, I'm not going to leave you comfortless, but I'm going to bring, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And he said, the Holy Spirit is going to live within you. And as he lives within you, he walks with us every single day. That's what when you feel conviction, is the Holy Spirit pointing you away from darkness and pointing you toward light. When you feel the peace of God, the peace of mind and the peace in your heart, that's the Holy Spirit. When you feel that still small voice speaking to you and calming you and leading you and guiding you, that's the Holy Spirit. When you're reading God's word and something jumps out at you you never saw before, it's the Holy Spirit within you, leading you in every way. The fruit, which is the byproduct of the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, self-control. These are all byproducts of our relationship with the Holy Spirit. And Jesus says, I'm going back to the Father and the Holy Spirit is going to come. I love it. Once again, we may have 99 problems, but our King Jesus ain't one of them. Let's pray and we'll be done for today. Father, thank you so much that you're with us and you're for us. Thank you, Jesus. That you came to this earth, you lived, you died, and you rose again. And thank you, Holy Spirit, that you fill each one of us with love, with joy, with peace of mind, and peace in our heart. And we celebrate you today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Don't forget God's word says in John chapter 20, these things are written that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him, you will have life and the power of His name. I hope you experience that life and power today. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for John chapter 15.