I was reading this morning in John 14, and I had forgotten how some of the statements here puzzle me. The chapter is a part of Jesus’ final teaching to his followers, still in the upper room on the eve of his arrest. In this teaching, Jesus makes some astounding statements. Some of them are very difficult for me to understand, and I don’t know if the reason is because of the apparent implications of what He is saying, or because I am think-headed, or what. But it is certain that He said these things, and they cannot be disregarded. Here are verses 6-26.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '? 10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.

This passage is the first one that intrigues me, but it seems fairly straightforward in some ways. First is Jesus’ claim that there is only one way to God, and that is through him. That creates a problem for those who hold that there are “many paths to God.” Apparently, according to these words from Jesus himself, that just isn’t so.

But the question arises, what about those who have never heard – had no opportunity to hear – the name of Jesus. What about “the native in deepest Africa,” or an indian in the remotest jungles of the Amazon, for example. If they have never heard of Jesus, and have never had the opportunity to accept or reject him, are they condemned out of hand for a lack that is not of their causing? Many say yes. They say that unless a person consciously “accepts Jesus as his savior,” he is lost.

How do we reconcile that with a God who tells us that He is loving, and even more, that He is a God of justice?

Perhaps what Jesus had in mind was not that his name would become a sort of “magic word” that opened the gates of heaven, but rather that it is only by the death and resurrection of Jesus that we have entrance to the Father. Perhaps the truth of God is that He will turn away no one who sincerely cries out to him, marking down the blood of Jesus next to their name on the rolls of heaven.

I suspect we will be surprised at who will be – and perhaps not be – in heaven.

12 "Truly, truly, 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 the Father. 13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

This is a biggie for me. What can Jesus mean when He said that those who believe in him – that included me, and perhaps you – will do greater works than He did? This is mind blowing. It’s a simple straightforward statement, and it doesn’t seem like it should be some sort of theological mystery. Does it mean that we will reach more people than He did? That seems a possibility. After all, Jesus only reached a few thousand people in his fairly short and local ministry. So does He refer to numbers? Perhaps. What if He is talking about a qualitative comparison, and not a numerical one? Could He be saying that we will do the kinds of things – works, He called them – that He did, but that we will do many more of them, because there will be many more of us doing them?

Jesus healed scores of people – it was a central part of his ministry – and set people free from demon influenced. He raised the dead, and He demonstrated in a variety of ways his authority over the physical world. Are we expected to do those kinds of things, too? If that’s his intent, it seems to me that we have missed the boat, big time.