John 14:4-6 September 30, 2001
Let's quicky review a little bit about the gospel of John:
Presents Jesus as the Son of God
Written as the Gospel to the World
Probably the last of the gospels to be written
Organized not by chronology, but by theme.
Limited number of miracles or as John calls them "signs."
1 - Prologue
2 - 12 - Jesus's Public Ministry and signs
13 - 19 - The last 24 hours of Jesus' Life
20 - Resurrection Accounts
21 - Epilogue
Signs instead of Miracles
miracles are windows into the person and glory of God.
Became the framework for Teaching or discourse
Addresses false teaching of his day
a. That John the Baptist was the Messiah
b. The gnostic heresy that matter is evil and spirit is good
This morning we will read the same passage we read last week, but today I want to look at the end of that passage.
Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
[14:1] "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; and trust in me. [2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [4] You know the way to the place where I am going."
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
[6] Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
[8] Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Do you remember what was happening when Jesus said these word? Peter had just proclaimed that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. And Jesus responded by predicting his betrayal. The scene that John paints for us is one of terrible confusion for the disciples. It is a scene of anxiety for the disciples, but in the middle of the confusion, like an island in the anxiety, Jesus stands as a non-anxious presence who can provide strength and peace.
This morning we are still in a state of not knowing where to go, or what is next. This week I spoke with a young woman whose fiancé is in the marines finishing basic training and waiting for his orders. Then earlier this week her father had a heart attack at 47. When I asked about these people, her eyes filled with tears that were being released from the anxiety in her heart. Throughout the congregation parents and grandparents and spouses are wondering what will be next. Many of you are dealing with aging parents who can not do things for themselves anymore. Wherever we are we find people who are carrying burdens greater than anyone knows. Today, perhaps more than at any other time we need a non-anxious presence in our midst.
Last week we heard Jesus' battle cry, "I shall return!" What a promise, when the world is falling in around us, to know that the One who loves us most will return for us is reason for us to rejoice, it is a source of strength. So let's look again at Jesus words.
I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
[5] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
I. Thomas' Confusion
Someone once suggested that this verse proves that Thomas was actually a woman. No man would ever admit he did not know the way, unless he was at the end of his rope. "we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Have you ever felt like Thomas? There have been times when Sheryl and I have set out to go somewhere and she has had the nerve to ask, "Do you know how to get there?" And I respond with words that strike terror in her heart, "I've got a pretty good idea." And then, she asks "How long should it take us?" And I make up a time, "About 45 minutes." Fact is, I don't really know where we are going, and so I figure that within 45 minutes, at least I will be able to figure out where we are headed. Then, after half an hour she will ask, "Are we almost there?" And I try to find another excuse. You see, the last thing I want to do is admit I am lost. But, finally, when there is nothing left to do, I set out to find a gas station where I can ask someone who does not speak English how to get to a place that I don't even think exists any more.
Perhaps some of you have been in a similar situation. I think that is where Thomas was. He had been with Jesus for years, he had tried to follow Jesus' words, he had tried to listen closely. And now, when the tension was the greatest, when talk of denial and betrayal and death is swimming through his head, he blurts out the question that is in each of their minds, "What do you mean we know the way to where you are going? We don't even know where you are going, how can we possibly know the way?"
This question was a question blurted out because Thomas was exasperated. "What are you talking about, Jesus?"
Have you ever felt that way? Perhaps you have read the scripture, "Peace I leave with you." the day before the attack on America. And my first cry was, But God, you said Peace." Perhaps you have read verses about prayer and then found your prayers apparently unanswered. Or maybe you have sought to be faithful only to find that your spouse has not been faithful to you. And with Thomas you want to shout "What do you mean, 'We know the way' we don't even know where we are going." Please remember the doubt and questions that Thomas raised were not things Jesus yelled at him for. Instead Jesus patiently answered him. When doubts rise in your heart, don't run from them, face them, ask them, shout them to the heavens and Jesus will come to meet you in your doubts.
Yes, once again anxiety was growing among the disciples. And Jesus replied with words the disciples had grown to know. He said, "I am. . ."
Throughout John's gospel we find statements by Jesus that declare something special. Time after time he says, "I am. . ." Once he said, "I am the good shepherd." Even if others desert you, I will stay with you, you are my flock, sheep I love dearly.
Another time he said, "I am the living water, if you drink of me you will never be thirsty again." The thirst of a heart is the greatest thirst of all. Jesus said, "I will redefine what it means to have your thirst quenched."
Another time he said, "I am the door if any one enter through me, he will come in and out and find rest." Jesus promised to be the entrance to a place of refreshing and an exit to a place of service.
"I am" this expression redefined the source of truth for God's people.
And so in this passage, when Thomas declared, "we don't know where you are going, how can we know the way?" And Jesus said to Thomas: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." That is a great saying to us, but can you imagine how it would sound to a Jew who heard it for the first time. In it Jesus took three of the great basic conceptions of Jewish religion, and made the tremendous claim that in him all three were fully realized.
The Jews talked much about the way in which men must walk and the ways of God. God said to Moses:" You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you" (Deuteronomy 5: 32, 33). Moses said to the people: "I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you" (Deuteronomy 31: 29). Isaiah had said: "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30: 21). It was the Psalmist's prayer: "Teach me thy way, 0 Lord" (Psalm 27: 11). You see, the Jews knew a lot about the way of God in which a man must walk. And Jesus said: "I am the Way."
We all know the importance of following directions. This is illustrated in the following little radio drama: (cut 46 on volume 1 of LifeLines) It seems that men are notorious for not reading the directions, but it is not only men is it? Whether male or female, we want to do things our way. The only way the son in our drama will learn how to build a model airplane is if someone leads him along the way.
Suppose we are in a strange town and ask for directions. Suppose the person asked says: "Take the first to the right, and the second to the left. Cross the square, go past the church, take the third on the right and the road you want is the fourth on the left." The chances are that we will be lost before we get half-way. But suppose the person we ask says: "Come. I'll take you there." In that case the person to us is the way, and we cannot miss it. That is what Jesus does for us. He does not only give advice and directions. He takes us by the hand and leads us; he strengthens us and guides us personally every day. He does not tell us about the way; he is the Way.
Then Jesus said:" I am the Truth."
The Psalmist said:" Teach me Thy way, O Lord, that I may walk in thy truth" (Psalm 86: 11). " I have chosen the way of truth," he said (Psalm 119: 30). Many men have told us the truth, but no man ever embodied it. There is one all important thing about moral truth. A man's character does not really affect his teaching of geometry or astronomy or Latin verbs. But if a man proposes to teach moral truth, his character makes all the difference in the world. An adulterer who teaches the necessity of purity, or a greedy person who tries teaches the value of generosity, a proud and rebellious person who teaches the beauty of humility, an anxious creature who teaches the beauty of serenity, an embittered person who tries to teach the grace of love, is bound to be ineffective. Moral truth cannot be conveyed solely in words; it must be taught by example. And that is precisely where even the greatest human teacher must fail. No teacher has ever embodied the truth he taught--except Jesus. Many could say: "I have taught you the truth." Only Jesus could say: "I am the Truth."
The tremendous thing about Jesus is not simply that the statement of moral perfection finds its peak in him; it is that the fact of moral perfection, that truth is captured in him. Jesus said, "I am the Truth." And he said,
"I am the Life." The writer of the Proverbs said: "The commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light; and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life" (Proverbs 6: 23). "He who heeds instructions is on the path to life" (Proverbs 10: 17). "Thou dost show me the path of life," said the Psalmist (Psalm 16: I1). In the last analysis what man is always seeking for is life. His search is not for knowledge for its own sake: but what will make life worth living.
Victor Frankl had survived the terrors of a Nazi concentration camp when one day he was forced to march to an unknown destination. He wrote,
as we stumbled on for miles slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew; each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise."
For Victor Frankl, love had brought life. That is what Jesus does, the love he shares knows no boundary and his love bring life. And for this reason, life with Jesus is life indeed.
And all of this can be summed up in one phrase. "No one," said Jesus, "comes to the Father except through me." Why? Because He alone is the way to God. He has shown the way. In him alone we see what God is like; and he alone can lead men and women into the presence of the Father without fear and without shame.
Let me ask you, are you still trying to put the model together without the directions? Do you find yourself filled with questions that you are afraid to ask? Then today is the day to set aside your pride and fear and come to the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.