The Way

Twenty years ago, a young kid sat up in that mezzanine up there.

! Half his hair was bleached white.

He was pretty new to the city.

He didn't know anything about this place.

He'd even been questioned on his way into the car park,

whether he knew where he was going,

whether he realized he was parking at a church.

And that kid was pretty troubled.

Confused in life.

And there were a few things going on that made this passage seem really attractive.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Because to that kid, God felt like a boss.

He was constantly getting angry and frustrated when this kid didn't measure up to him.

God was like an angry boss.

And 20 years ago, roughly, that was me.

and I have the privilege of opening this passage for you all this morning

we're going to let me pray

Father I just want to thank you for how you lead us

and you have so kindly given me the responsibility this morning

of sharing your word with people

I thank you that it is powerful

and that Lord you have shown us who you are in your son Jesus

please help us to see him this morning through the power of your Holy Spirit

just like Martin Luther did

Amen

I'm going to tell you another story

500 years ago

five men had gone out to lunch

they were blind

their meal had been great

because they knew what to water and they walked out arm in arm

walking down the main street of their town

and then they encountered something strange

it was something huge

something living

something unknown

and because they were blind

they surrounded this thing

reached out their hands to try and figure out what it was

the first said

this is a very strong snake

the next thought it was a huge plant

with big fan-like leaves

another had wrapped his arms around it

and said this is the trunk of an ancient tall tree

one ran his hand along it

and said

I'm leaning on a wall

and the last had trouble holding on to what he said

was some kind of a rope

this is my version

this morning

of an ancient parable

found in Hindu and Buddhist texts

and the parable is called

the blind men

and

the what?

elephant

different versions of this parable

are shared nowadays

by religious sceptics

to illustrate how world religions

are all holding on to some bit

of the truth

about God

but it's a truth they can't fully see

it'd be arrogant for any religion to claim otherwise

but

Jesus

claimed exclusive rights

in the God business

we just heard it in John 14 verse 6

John 14:6

when he says this

I am the way

and the truth

and the life

no one comes to the Father

except through me

so are the sceptics right?

are Christians arrogant?

or more to the point

is Jesus arrogant?

over the next three weeks

we'll be looking into Jesus' claims

to be the way

the truth

and the life

John

who's leading today

and I

are going to

join with Steve

through this series

he's preached these sermons before

and inspired by him

we're going to be taking

these three steps together

and we hope

thinkers will believe

we hope believers

will think

will you be led to believe?

will you be led to explore

what you believe in

and find deeper joy

confidence

and hope

in the claims

of Jesus Christ?

when Jesus says

I am the way

the truth

and the life

he is making

an exclusive

claim

that only

he is right

and if

he is

right

anyone else's

claims about God

are wrong

so today

we begin to test

these claims

with the first

Jesus said

I am the way

the way

to God

so our three points

for today

are these three

the dilemma

of Jesus'

exclusive claim

the sweetness

of Jesus'

exclusive claim

and how

Jesus'

exclusive claim

leads away

from arrogance

to humility

so let's begin

with the dilemma

of Jesus'

exclusive claim

in John 14

Jesus is providing

his disciples

with truth

that must be

believed

if they are

their faith

is to be

triumphant

and peace

present

in their

troubles

he tells

them that

he is

departing

to

his

father's

mansion

to prepare

a room

for them

he assures

them

that they

know

the way

there

and at

this point

Thomas

speaks up

in verse

5

and says

Lord

we don't

know

where

you

were

going

so

how

can

we

know

the

way

I don't

know if

you've

ever been

to a

foreign

country

or a

big city

where you've

never been

before

and you've

got to get

somewhere

might be to

your hotel

it might be to

go see a

friend

it might be

just to get

from where you

are to

somewhere safer

in the city

imagine opening up

your phone

and you're all

prepared

you've got an

internet plan

and you go to

Google Maps

and you type in

your address

and Google Maps

just comes up

with a message

that says

you already

know

the way

you already

know

calm down

you've got

this

no

no

I'm not

calm in

that moment

at all

how frustrating

would that

be

Thomas's

question

implies

that the

way

Jesus

takes

to God

the Father

is going

to be

the same

way

the disciples

will take

to get

to the

Father

but Jesus

clears up

Thomas's

confusion

he stops

talking about

his own

way to

the Father

and tells

the way

the disciples

will take

have a look

at verse 6

I am the way

and the truth

and the life

no one comes

to the Father

except through

me

the way

of Jesus

was the cross

the way

of the

disciples

is Jesus

because

Jesus

took

his way

he himself

became

the way

for all

people

he really

is

insisting

that he

is the

exclusive

way

to God

and we

must grapple

with the

magnitude

of this

claim

when you

take a look

at Jesus

he's a

great

teacher

he taught

people

how to

love each

other

he himself

was kind

to the

poor

and the

outcast

he healed

the sick

and fed

the hungry

as he

invited

others

to do

the same

throughout

history

others have

taught

and lived

likewise

so why

did

Jesus

Christ

this

teacher

become

the most

influential

figure

in history

not because

of some

of the

nice

things

he said

and did

or even

just because

he did

those

nice

things

and said

those nice

things

better

than anyone

else

ever

it's actually

for the

controversial

things he

said

and did

the outrageous

claims of

Jesus

Jesus

is

humble

gentle

kind

loving

weeps

with the

weaving

weeping

is gentle

with

children

he joins

the strongest

commitment

to justice

with astonishing

mercy

and grace

he is

tenderness

without any

weaknesses

he's

boldness

without any

harshness

he's

humility

with

towering

confidence

his character

is strikingly

beautiful

and compelling

this week

I thought

about

Mark 5

I want

to give

you some

homework

right now

if you're

taking notes

second half

of chapter

5 of

Mark

is a

beautiful

witness

to

Jesus

character

he embodies

transcendent

self-sufficiency

and get

entire

trust

and reliance

on his

father

combined

with

majesty

with

like

humility

with

no

modesty

his

character

and his

actions

were so

completely

unself-centered

to the point

where

he raised

a dead

little girl

from the dead

and said

don't tell

anyone

and yet

his claims

about himself

are so

completely

self-centered

powerful

meek

approachable

and majestic

a man called

Hudson Smith

in his book

the world

what the world's

religions

it's called

he says

that only

Jesus

and Buddha

so impressed

those around

them

that they

asked

not just

who are you

but

what

are you

he makes

the case

that these

two men

had characters

so far

beyond

ordinary

human life

that that

question

what

are you

became

necessary

Buddha

said openly

and clearly

that he

was not

God

or a

God

or an

angelic

being

of any

kind

but Jesus

was totally

different

he repeatedly

claimed

to be

the

God

the creator

of the

universe

we can't

truly see

the real

Jesus

until we

take in

the vastness

of his

claims

here's just

a few

about

Jesus

that Jesus

made about

his own

identity

they're going

to be on

the screen

in full

but let me

summarize

John

8 58

Jesus

said

before

Abraham

was

2,000

years

before

Jesus

Abraham

before

Abraham

was

I

am

John

16

28

Jesus

says

he was

eternally

with

God

and

always

will

be

in

John

17

11

he

was

and

is

a

one

being

with

God

the

average

person

in

Chatswood

in

Australia

thinks

well

enough

of

Jesus

maybe

with

some

reservations

in

there

he's

a

pretty

good

guy

does

some

good

things

right

but

if

you

open

the

historical

accounts

of

Jesus

in

the

Bible

just

like

the

book

of

Mark

for

instance

you

will

see

that

Jesus

is

always

trying

to

avoid

being

just

thought

well

of

in

fact

he's

not

interested

in us

liking

him

with

reservations

at

all

he

wants

us

to

love

him

on

his

own

terms

if

we

listen

to

Jesus

with

intellectual

integrity

he

pushes

us

to

our

extremes

we

must

either

embrace

him

on

his

terms

or

reject

him

all

that

Jesus

claimed

as

he

taught

everything

it's

either

the

worst

things

ever

said

or

the

best

things

ever

said

either

he

is

right

and

we

have

to

adore

him

or

he

is

wrong

and

we

destroy

him

but

how

dare

we

just

like

him

number

two

the

sweetness

of

Jesus

exclusive

claim

let me

show

it to

you

it's

important

to

see

that

when

Jesus

says

no

one

comes

to

the

father

except

through

him

that

he's

not

just

saying

that

without

him

you

can't

know

anything

about

God

he's

saying

that

he

is

the

only

way

to

come

to

God

and

really

know

God

the

father

there's

a real

sweetness

in that

word

when we

begin

to

understand

it

Jesus

is

promising

so

much

more

than

just

information

about

God

he's

promising

intimacy

and

connection

with

God

Jesus

is

the

only

way

to

change

God

from

being

a

boss

into

a

father

he's

the

only

way

to

turn

a

relationship

with

God

from

fear

and

uncertainty

to

absolute

confidence

warmth

and

love

I have

three

children

and my

three

kids

know

that

when

I

ask

them

to

do

something

to

help

around

the

house

and

they

say

yeah

sure

dad

and

then

go

and

watch

the

cricket

or

a

movie

or

something

that

there

will

be

consequences

but

I

know

they're

not

worried

about

being

fired

or

let

go

as

my

kids

they

have

so

much

confidence

well

enough

confidence

in

my

love

for

them

that

they

often

and

boldly

ignore

the

requests

I

make

of

them

they

know

I'm

their

father

and

not

their

boss

but

what

they

can't

fully

understand

is

they

haven't

been able

to

dig

down

to

the

depths

of

what

their

dad

would

do

for

them

I

moved

up

here

by

then

but

in

2008

there

was

a

father

who

took

his

two

very

young

sons

fishing

at

Tarthra

Wharf

in

New

South

Wales

down

near

down

the

far

south

coast

where I

grew up

and

yeah

that's

the

wharf

there

it's

a

notoriously

dangerous

stretch

of

water

the

current

comes

really

quickly

around

the

point

there

and

it's

very

very

deep

really

tall

ships

used

to

pull

up

against

that

wharf

very

safely

it

is

very

murky

and

deep

but

the

wharf

is

picturesque

and

the

fishing

is

great

lots

of

very

very

large

fish

down

there

if

you

know

how

to

catch

them

and

as

it

got

dark

on

that

day

this

dad

and

his

two

kids

and

a

whole

other

big

crowd

of

people

some

locals

and

some

tourists

were there

fishing

together

and

then

all

of

a

sudden

the

pram

with

the

youngest

son

and

the

other

son

the

toddler

were

in

the

water

the

father

jumped

in

to

save

his

kids

and

a

tourist

fishing

nearby

who

heard

the

first

splash

he

jumped

in

after

the

dad

to

try

and

save

the

kids

the

tourist

trying

to

help

was

rescued

and

revived

and

survived

the

father

and his

kids

died

it

was

a

tragedy

that

devastated

the

region

and

when my

first

child

was

born

only

a

couple

of

years

later

I

remembered

this

dad

his

name

is

Shane

I

remember

holding

each

of

my

kids

first

my

oldest

and

then

as

he

grew

and

then

my

second

and

my

third

I

have

thought

about

that

event

every

single

time

I

know

I

would

do

the

same

for

them

even

as a

normal

flawed

average

dad

I'm

going

in

but

Jesus

is

saying

here

is

that

there's

no

other

way

to

find

this

kind

of

confidence

in

God

our

father

a

confidence

that

God

would

love

us

even

more

extremely

than

I

love

my

own

children

the

way

to

find

that

confidence

in

God

is

to

see

the

way

Jesus

lived

to

show

us

God's

love

there

is

no

other

religion

that

declares

God

loves

us

with

perfect

father

grade

love

God

is

not

a

disconnected

uncaring

creator

he's

not

a

frustrated

angry

boss

no

other

religion

declares

that

once

we

are

in

you

can't

be

fired

from

that

religion

God

is

not

malicious

every

other

religion

philosophical

system

even

the

no

religion

is

right

way

says

that

if

you

follow

their

special

advice

and

live

in

a

particular

way

and

obey

their

rules

then

you

will

achieve

the

goal

of

life

but

Christianity

is

good

news

not

good

advice

Jesus

has

not

come

to

show

us

how

to

strive

in

life

instead

he

did

the

striving

in

his

life

for

us

he

didn't

come

to

show

us

a

mountain

of

good

living

to

climb

to

the

top

or

die

he

climbed

it

and

he

died

measuring

up to

the

standards

of

God

our

father

must

be

done

for

us

because

we

are

incapable

of

living

up

to

his

standard

Ephesians

2

explains

why

we

can't

do

it

from

verse

1

you

were

dead

in

your

transgressions

and

sins

in

which

you

used

to

live

all

of

us

also

lived

among

them

at

one

time

we

were

by

nature

objects

of

wrath

God's

diagnosis

of the

human

condition

is that

we are

in danger

of death

we are

in a

state

of

real

and

present

death

all

people

all

around

us

all

look

very

much

alike

usually

you

walk

down

through

Chatswood

their

bodies

are

active

their

minds

are

sharp

and

creative

their

personalities

are

overflowing

with

pep

and

zest

but

in

the

area

where

it

matters

most

the

human

soul

for

many

there

is

no

life

for

everyone

without

Jesus

there

is

no

life

we're

all

blind

to

the

reality

demands

and

the

glory

of

our

creator

God

we

simply

do

not

love

him

he

is

dead

to

us

and

spiritually

us

to

him

there

is

a

wonderful

book

called

Deeper

written

by

Dane

Ortlund

about

what

it

might

look

like

for

you

to

explore

a

relationship

with

God

in

an

ever

deepening

and

deepening

way

and

he

talks

about

our

bleak

spiritual

situation

like

this

there's

a

quote

we

were

not

drowning

in

need

of

being

thrown

a

life

preserver

we

were

stone

dead

at

the

bottom

of

the

ocean

Jesus

pulled

us

up

breathed

new

life

into

us

and

set

us

on

our

feet

and

every

breath

we

now

draw

is

owing

to

his

full

and

utter

deliverance

of

us

in

all

our

helplessness

and

death

Jesus

saves

that's

us

we are

helpless

hopeless

and in

great

peril

unless

something

is

done

for

us

to

save

us

dead

people

cannot

do

anything

for

themselves

we

cannot

act

to

save

ourselves

and

the

very

next

verse

in

Ephesians

2

declares

the good

news

of

Christianity

like

this

because

of

his

great

love

for

us

God

who

is

rich

in

mercy

made

us

alive

with

Christ

even

when

we

were

dead

in

our

transgressions

it

is

by

grace

that

you

have

been

saved

in

seeing

our

state

of

spiritual

death

God

acted

with

grace

he

knows

our

true

state

and

what

is

required

to

fix

it

and

we

might

try

to

climb

the

mountain

to

God

to

be

good

enough

to

get

up

to

the

mountaintop

to

him

but

we

are

dead

on

the

mountain

frozen

and

forgotten

so

Jesus

climbs

it

for

us

to

die

in

our

perilous

place

to

lift

us

to

the

mountaintop

he

went

to

the

cross

to

be

the

way

to

God

for

all

people

Christianity

isn't

good

advice

on

how

to

improve

your

life

it's

not

mountaineering

tips

it's

not

swimming

instructor

lessons

it's

life

altering

news

there

is

only

one

way

you

can

have

your

sins

forgiven

and

be

saved

one

way

to

be

raised

from

spiritual