And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  

 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  

 

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so 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 speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake to the works themselves.  

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  

 

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

- John 14:1-14 

 

On Saturday, we read that  Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

 

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  My study Bible explains the phrase many mansions as a word-picture of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speak of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life.  My study Bible says that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Christ is the life who became Man so we might have life, and as Christ is our life, then not even death can hinder us from coming to Him.  Only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and life found.  

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"  Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  My study Bible comments that therefore this indicates that it is our response to Christ that determines our relationship with the Father.  If we reject Christ then we will never find the Father; but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," living eternally in the love of God the Father (see John 1:12).  

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake to the works themselves."  My study Bible explains that while human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), the Incarnate Son is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ did not say, "I am the Father," for He is not.  Rather, He declares that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature while being distinct Persons in the Godhead.

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  The greater works, my study Bible tells us, are an indication that Christ's working through mere human beings after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works, attested to in the Book of Acts, include spreading the gospel through the world, miraculous healings, and raising the dead.

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  To pray in Christ's name, my study Bible says, does not simply mean to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  It says that rather, to pray in His name

means to pray according to His will.  It gives the example of an emissary of a king, who can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say.  So also, we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here is not to get God to do our will, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus says, "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  I am intrigued by my study Bible's explanation of what it means to "ask in My name."  In Wednesday's reading, we read that Jesus prayed to the Father, "Father, glorify Your name."  My study Bible explained at that passage that the Father's name is an extension of Himself.  So it is also with Christ's name.  As the name is an extension of His Person, and all that this would indicate, to pray in Christ's name, as my study Bible explains, means to pray according to His will.  Note also that the example my study Bible gives in today's reading is of an emissary representing a king.  It would be the same with a representative of, say, the President of the United States, or one of any other leader of a country.   If a person used such a position to act with the leader's authority (and thereby the authority of the government and the people) following only his or her own will, and not the will of the leader, then we would call that corruption, exploitation, selfishness.  So it is also with prayer, if we understand this example correctly.  Therefore, when Christ explains to the disciples that He is "the way, the truth, and the life," what He is saying is that through discipleship to Him, to seeking His way, the truth He can give us, and the life He can give us, we also pray in His name, we ask for what is truly spiritually profitable and right for us.   The word for Christ's way, in the Greek (ὁδὸς/odos), means "road" or "path."  (It is used to mean "road" in modern Greek.)  It may also mean "journey."  So, this "way" indicates a span of time, a length of road to travel, a way not simply to do things, but to walk through life.  It is His path that guides our footsteps, and a path leads somewhere; deviating from that path does not lead to the Father, and it does not give the truth nor the life that Christ offers.  What this means is that we seek to walk a road in life following His commandments, learning from His teachings and living by them, and we pray in His name that we may deepen our pathway and commitment, and also to find His will for us, the place He wants us to go.  We may set all kinds of goals in life.  We are constantly distracted with "shoulds" and "musts" -- things we must have and goals we must achieve, the great things society offers us to consume, or the patterns that will make us applauded by others, or great in the eyes of the world.  We may seek approval from our families for all kinds of achievements.  But to pray in Christ's name asks us for a dedication and a purpose that sets everything else aside in putting His name, His kingdom, first, finding His way first.  It is entirely possible that Christ's way or road will lead us to all of those things that seem so desirable and good.  But the road also includes the humility to find His way, and to change our "way" if necessary.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).  So the One who will be sent after Christ is glorified, the "Helper" who helps us to find Christ's way, and truth, and life, will also help us to know what to "pray for as we ought."  As we move forward in this week's readings, of Jesus' final address to His followers at the Last Supper, let us consider this deeply, for He will also tell of the Helper to come.