whether he went," and the way also which he was to take, and by which he
was to bring them to the Father, to the mansion spoken of, and so to
life eternal. But Thomas rashly and incredulously (as too usually he
did, chap. xi. 16; xx. 25,) venteth himself, and little less than
contradicteth his Master, saying, verse 5, "We know not whither thou
goest, and how can we know the way?" wherein we have an emblem of many a
believer, who may have more grace and knowledge of God and of Christ
than they will be able to see, or acknowledge that they have; what
through temptations, inward distempers, sense of their many defects, and
great ignorance, strong desires of high measures, clearer discoveries of
the vastness of the object, mistakes about the true nature of grace,
despising the day of small things, and indistinctness as to the actings
of grace, or want of understanding and right uptaking of grace in its
various outgoings and actings under various notions, and the like.

Whereupon Christ, after his usual manner, taketh occasion to clear up
that ground of consolation further unto them; and to let them see the
true way of coming to the Father, that thereby they might be helped to
see that they were not such strangers unto the way as they supposed; and
withal, he amplifieth and layeth out the properties and excellencies of
this way, as being the only true and living way; and that in such a
manner, as they might both see the way to be perfect, full, safe,
saving, and satisfying; and also learn their duty of improving this way
always, and in all things, until they come home at length to the Father,
saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto
the Father but by me."

Christ then saying, that he not only is the way to the Father, even the
true way, but that he is so the true way, as that he is also truth
itself in the abstract, and so the living way, that he is life itself in