Keep Following and You Will Eventually Arrive Home

David W Palmer

(John 14:3 NKJV) “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.”

John’s gospel’s concluding chapters are very relational. We see Jesus enjoying a meal with his disciples before facing his most extreme ordeal. They sat together in an upper room, temporarily secluded from the busy city and the furore of those plotting his death. In his most trying hours, Jesus made time to draw close to his apprentices, to open his heart to them, to treat them like friends, and to conclude their training. He made time and emotional space for this most touching scene before being betrayed by one of the ones he loved so dearly.

The next verse shows that in his conversation with his friends, our Lord makes an assuring statement: �

(John 14:3–4 NKJV) “... where I am, there you may be also. {4} And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

The Master’s original call to his apprentices was, “follow me.” Not only had their instant and obedient response borne fruit in receiving impartation and training for the ministry they were about to inherit, it would also bear them personal fruit in the eternal future. Simple logic tells us that if they kept following him, they would finally arrive at the destination to which he was headed. But, perhaps through confusion or curiosity, their response was almost predictable:

(John 14:5 NKJV) Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

Even if you don’t know the exact destination to which he is leading you today, you can be assured of one comforting point; it will be good, and he guarantees to get you there.

Again, I make the point: if you keep following Jesus, you will end at his destination. For the eleven remaining apprentices, Jesus may not have been there yet in earth time; but he would soon ascend before them into heaven, where he now sits at Father’s right hand. So even if—at that moment—they didn’t know where he was going, they should have been able to see very easily how to get there: keep following the leader; he knows the destination and how to get there.

(John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is now imparting to his followers a principle that would work for the rest of their lives on earth: even if you don’t fully understand or know where you are [temporarily] headed in God, just keep following Jesus. Then, no matter what short-term valleys, shadows of death, or tribulations you pass through on earth, you will always arrive at the place Jesus is leading you to; and eventually, you will be with him eternally. After all, he went to his exalted position via the cross.

Jesus can say quite absolutely that he is “the way,” and that “no one can come to the Father except through” him. We can always arrive at the “place” he has prepared for us. All we have to do is to enjoy the close fellowship he modeled for us—even amid his worst and most testing trial. And we have to keep following him, no matter what comes our way. So, if we keep our eyes on him in the storms, keep following him through the shadowy valleys, etc., we will always arrive safely at the destination to which he is leading us.

Today, I encourage you to draw near to him, listen to his friendly voice, and keep following him no matter what. He will guide you; he is your Good Shepherd, who said:

(John 10:27–28 NKJV) “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. {28} And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

You are safe if under the guidance of your Good Shepherd’s voice today. So draw near to him, open your heart no matter what your situation, and listen for his still, small voice:

(James 4:8 NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.