Jn 14:1-6
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. 2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. 4Where [I] am going you know the way.” 5Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
JESUS’ FAREWELL: “Farewell address” is a common literary form in the Bible. We have farewell addresses from Jacob (Gn 49), Joseph (Jn 50), Moses (Dt 31-33), Joshua (Jos 23-24), and Paul (Acts 20), among others. In general, the address is introduced by an indication that the speaker is about to die or depart. Then follows an exhortation to his successor/s or followers.
There is also reference to God’s intention for the future. Joseph tells his brothers that God will take care of them and lead them out of the land of Egypt. Tobit tells Tobiah to depart from Nineveh later because God will punish the city for its wickedness (Tb 14:8-10).
The successors are also told to follow the example of the departing and pass his message to others. Paul tells the Ephesian elders that he had preached the gospel to them with no ulterior motive. In everything, he had served the Lord in humility, and endured hardships for the sake of the gospel.
In his farewell address in John, Jesus intimates with his disciples his impending departure. He speaks of his death. He consoles them with the fact that his absence will redound to their benefit: he will prepare “dwelling places” for them in the Father’s kingdom. Moreover, it is by his going away that the Holy Spirit will come, sent by the Father as their consoler.
Jesus also tells them how they should live from then on. He gives them a new commandment: that they love one another. This is how people will know that they are his disciples: their love for one another (Jn 13:34-35).
Jesus also shares with his disciples a “secret”: the “way” to the Father, the “way” to meet God. It is none other than through him who is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” Focus here is on “life.” The Fourth Gospel harps on the theme of Jesus as the giver of life. If we truly want to live life to the full, the kind of life that the Father desires and preserves, then we must follow the “way” of Jesus.