⁵ “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Overwhelmed at His leaving them, the disciples were oblivious to even considering where He might be going. The question was not on their minds. The thought of His absence was too much to handle; it didn’t really matter to them where He might be going, what would be the point of knowing that information?

We must give the disciples some slack here, for their devotion to the Kingdom of God rested solely in their devotion to Jesus. It was Him that they were following, not a system of belief or a political movement that was greater than their leader. The movement was not greater than Him, Jesus was the movement they were following. Never has any person lived who has evoked such devotion to himself as the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself had said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32). What is it about Him that makes Him so attractive? It is not only His gracious teachings, but also His ultimate gracious act: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He … ” (John 8:28). The people understood clearly the implications of these words. “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:58-59). He was God in the flesh—this “claim” was clearly understood to be the meaning of His words by those who sought to stone Him (assuming blasphemy for using a self-referential term appropriate to God alone) and ultimately crucify Him.

But, in that very act of rejection, He was “lifted up” on the cross, and this is the ultimate attraction of Christ. He was God in the flesh dying for the sins of all people. And that is the attraction of Christianity, it is Jesus Christ Himself. All other religions follow prophets who point to God, but in Christianity, we have Jesus, who is God Himself. The disciples got it, although in the Upper Room they had not yet comprehended the final, and ultimate demonstration of Jesus’ personality, that of His sacrificial love. They allowed themselves to be completely abandoned to Him—and the thought of His leaving was cause for sorrow. But they needed to remember what He had already told them, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1).

Lord, I too need to calm my troubled heart when You seem silent, when I don’t feel Your presence. I believe in You, though my senses tell me You are not there.