Prepared Places & Perfect Peace

4/22/25 Bible Thought (John 14)

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

I can only imagine what it would have been like to be a disciple of Christ on the eve of His death. Slowly the message was unfolding that Jesus would be departing. He told them,

“Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’” (Jn. 13:33).

Then, as if this weren’t enough, He tells Peter specifically that He can’t follow Him now, nor will He follow Him because in the same night, he will deny that he knows the Lord a total of three times (Jn. 13:38). Bad news, and then more bad news.

In my humble opinion, these are troubling things. These guys devoted their lives to following Jesus for three years, and all of the sudden He says that He’ll be leaving them behind and that they can’t come with Him. Really? It seems that He’s merely abandoning them!

But then comes hope: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (Jn. 14:1).

Sure, there was bad news on the horizon. But that wasn’t all. There was no reason for anguish in the soul. Jesus might be departing, but He was departing to prepare a place for them (Jn. 14:2).

The destination is secure. Even better, they wouldn’t need GPS to get there for Jesus Himself is the way (Jn. 14:6). All those who have trusted in Him will not only have a place prepared for them, but certainly He will bring them there. Through Him alone one can come to the Father in heaven. There aren’t two or three ways to the Father—it’s Christ and Christ alone. All religions don’t lead to God. They might lead to a god, but not the true and living God. The place is prepared, and the way is paved only through the Lord Jesus Christ.

To all those who are troubled down here, we have the assurance of a place prepared, and we know the way. Furthermore, even though He wouldn’t be here in the flesh any longer, He promises to send the Holy Spirit down for His disciples. The One known as the Helper (Jn. 14:26) meaning, “one who helps, by consoling, encouraging, or mediating on behalf of—‘Helper, Encourager, Mediator.”^[1]

We aren’t alone on the journey for the Spirit of God is with us and in us.

Through all this, Jesus leaves peace. Perfect peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn. 14:27).

If your heart is troubled today, look to Him! He has a mortgage-free residence in heaven with your name on it. If you know Him, He will take you there, for He Himself is the way. As if this isn’t enough, He brings us the comfort of His Spirit, the assurance that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5b).

He’s with us in life; He’ll be with us in death. He’s with us on the mountaintop, in the valley and everywhere in between. These things ought to bring peace to the troubled heart, today.

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^[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996) 141.