³ “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.”

Finally, Jesus assures them that His leaving them will only be a hiatus, a temporary situation. They could not possibly imagine life without Christ, they had given up everything to follow Him, to be with Him. They were not committed to the cause of Christ; they were committed to the person of Christ. Without Him, there was no cause. He was the cause!

The teachings of Christ are wrapped up in the person of Christ, because so much of what He taught was designed to reveal who He was and is. Yet today many claim to follow Jesus’ teachings, but are not committed to Him personally. Jesus didn’t leave that as an option. To be sure, many follow the so-called “golden rule” and life is better for it. Some trace their non-violence ethic back to Him (and to Ghandi, Martin Luther King and others)—all which is good “humanitarian” stuff. But Jesus’ teaching included an all-out commitment to Him in everything He taught. The disciples in the Upper Room got that, and that is why Jesus’ bombshell that He was leaving them was so disconcerting.

This verse provides the salve for the earlier shock. The teaching of Christ’s return, as a result, comprises a major teaching of the NT and of Christianity historically. Great systems of theology have wrestled with the details of Eschatology, as scholars have named it, the study of the future and end times. Jesus gave very little detail, but He incited their imagination and anticipation. His goal was not to give them “correct” theology, but to whet the greatest yearning of their souls, that is to be with Christ. No time table was given, but this truth of His return would bring hope and anticipation to millions of Christians for many centuries into the future.

The apostle Paul wrote these encouraging words of hope, “…in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:8). Do you love the idea that Jesus is returning? John loved His appearing, as reflected in this: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

In his final written words, the beloved apostle pens this final revelatory interaction with the Jesus, the One Who loved him, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Re 22:20).

Lord, I too am looking for Your return. Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!