The Way (John 14:1-14) - Holy Week Noon Service

You're able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

Are we in today comes from the Gospel of John chapter 14 verses

John 14:1–14

1 through 14. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God believe. Also in me.

In my father's house are many rooms.

If it were not. So would I have told you that I

go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place

for you, I will come again. And we'll take you to myself

that where I am, you may be also.

And you know, the way to where I'm going Thomas said to him,

Lord we do not know where you are going, how can we know the

way? Jesus said to him, I am the way

and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father,

except through me. If you had known me, you would

have known my father. Also, From now on you do know

him and you have seen him Philip said to him Lord show us the

father and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, have I been

with you so long and you still do not know me?

Philip Whoever has seen me, has seen the father.

How can you say, show us the father?

Do you not believe that I am in the father?

And the father is in me? The words that I say to you, I

do not speak on my own authority but the father who dwells in me

does his Works, believe me that I am in the father and the

father is in me or else believe on the count of The Works

themselves. Truly truly, I say to you,

whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and

greater Works than these will he do?

Because I am going to the father, whatever you ask in my

name, this, I will do that. The father may be glorified in

the son, if you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

Around the Leopold, family dinner table, our kids are

always asking us to hear stories from our childhood.

They want to know, when Mom and Dad were little, what was it?

Like, it's usually the same 10 stories that they asked over and

over again. And for some reason they really

like the stories when Dad got hurt.

I don't really know what that's about but those are the ones

they want to hear over and over again.

And I'm always Just fascinated, how interested they are in it.

It doesn't matter how many times they've heard it.

They want to hear it again. I think it shows us a bit of our

Humanity. God is gracious and our children

to show us a bit of who we are that.

We're kind of sometimes a little bit too hard of heart to admit

when we're adults, but we need stories.

We need stories to make sense of the journey that were on.

We're going to call it a little bit of the way that we're on

today. The stories we tell are like

road signs along the ways of life for kids and helps them.

Make sense of this new world that they're living in how to

make sense of getting bigger in the world for parents.

For ordered people, we just need stories to remind us of what is

familiar to help us. Come back to what we know when

the world seems very uncertain and very uneasy Jesus, The

Shepherd of our souls knew, his disciples would need to hear

stories and we're going to look at this great.

I am statement today, but I want to remind us that it's in the

context of a story. Jesus knew that the disciples

would need truth to mark their way.

Robbie reminded us of the context of what we're doing.

He is ready to go on his way to the cross.

And as we prepare our hearts to receive a new the significance

of the Resurrection, we want to relive the drama of what

transpired in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.

And we were getting to see some of the signposts that Jesus left

for the disciples for their way on the journey.

So yes, this well-known statement of I am a lot of are

passages of scripture will contain an IM statement this

week on Sunday looked at I am the resurrection and the life

today we're looking at I am the way the truth and the life that

no one comes to the father. Except through me, Jesus said

this and I think it's easy because in Christianity we hear

that that verse over and over again we think it's just a

doctrinal statement of fact but let's remember that it comes to

us in response to a question. And Jesus is approaching a

friend. I love that.

We just sang. What a friend we have in Jesus.

Jesus is approaching a friend and telling in responding to his

question and we're going to actually look at a little bit of

the life of that friend Thomas. It's kind of interesting.

The Gospel of John is the only gospel that really tells us more

about the life of Thomas so I think we should pay attention to

it. The other gospel is just merely

list him as on the list of disciples but he has kind of

several different Experiences in the Gospel of John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

he he's actually involved with the raising of Lazarus and verse

16. He talks about.

He actually makes this appeal that he wants to go and die to

like Lazarus. It's kind of this Brazen moment

of Courage that he's just kind of throwing himself into the

story and saying, yes, I want to die to not fully understanding

the purpose of what Jesus was doing.

Through raising Lazarus from the dead here.

In chapter 14, we see this question and and verse 5 that

Jesus is asking, are the Thomas is asking of Jesus.

Despite kind of rather in fatica Lee just before that Jesus tells

him the answer to his question and verse 4 and will go on to

see you later on in the gospel Thomas would have been among the

disciples who would leave Jesus side during his trial and

crucifixion. Many of us know the famous

moments with Thomas and Chapter 20, The Gospel of John that the

doubting Thomas moment, how he gets his Infamous name, where he

is needing to see the wounds of Jesus in his hands in order to

believe that Jesus had truly died and come back to life.

Jesus lovingly responded to him, he allowed him to touch and then

actually exhorted him that those are blessed who believe with who

have not seen and yet believe In the the funny thing from that

moment to from Jesus exert from Thomas, experiencing Jesus the

resurrected Jesus we know from church history Thomas would go

on from that moment to preach the gospel to plant churches and

Persia China. And India and many believe he

was actually martyred for his faith at the end of his life.

So who is this? Thomas he's certainly more than

just doubting Thomas that we Year from a lot of phrases.

I actually see some courage in him.

We know that he just followed Jesus.

He was one of his disciples he picked up, he just left what he

had there and picked up, what he could carry and follow Jesus.

And yet we see continually that he sort of misunderstands Jesus

comments, particularly when it comes to his death and

Resurrection. And here we come to verses 23

and four in our passage and kind of the essence of Thomas is

question. And actually, you know, Thomas

kind of gets called out. He has a bad rap, but I would

venture to say all of the disciples were asking this

question, Thomas, just kind of represents them in this moment,

they just fully have not fully grasp.

What Jesus has said about the destination on the way Even

though in verses 23, Jesus plainly tells them where it is,

that Jesus is going and where it is, that he's going to take them

Thomas, wanted more information. It's hard to kind of say why

that is I sort of see myself in Thomas, so I can make some some

Ventures to say. Maybe his mind, just didn't

fully comprehend, the idea of Heaven quite yet.

Maybe it was his heart, maybe his heart could not handle the

idea of losing a friend that he has been with for three years.

Maybe it was just his will. Maybe he was unwilling to leave

behind what they knew in this world to the idea of what would

be coming in the next. The The what we see in the

beauty of Jesus here is he just didn't take Thomas's question

and directly answer it. He could have said silly Thomas

he could have said, did you not just hear what I just said, but

he didn't say that. He offered himself.

Jesus showed that Thomas. Was asking a question that would

lead to a less significant answer.

He doesn't even actually say Thomas and say why did you ask

that question? He just gives a lovingly kind of

change of perspective. Thomas asked, the how, how is it

going to be and Jesus answered with the who who was going to

be? And I think we're all a little

bit more, like, Thomas than we'd like to admit.

I struggle with reducing faith in Jesus to just simply learning

facts, about Jesus, purely intellectually ascending to

those thoughts about him, that that's what Christina is all

about. There's these beliefs and as the

in to believe them and that's it.

And yes to be a Christian means to believe a baseline of truths

if we're going to follow Jesus. We have to believe something

about him in order to follow him and we do have to intellectually

Ascend to those truths. But it's more much more than

that. When one puts their faith in

Jesus. Yes, our whole world view

changes, but I ask the question. Are we following a worldview or

are we following a person? We can't forget the love of the

Savior. The love of the savior is, what

has transformed our minds to see the world differently?

We don't have the facts about God, apart from dependence on

the Savior, the way, the truth, and the life.

How are you tempted to try to rationalize God instead of

actively taking the hand of the Savior?

So Jesus doesn't always tell us the wire.

How But he always gives him himself.

Verse one, from our passive says, let not your hearts.

Be troubled, believe in God. And also believe in me.

And, and Jesus goes on to describe himself as the way.

But what was the way that Jesus was going to take and making

himself the way the truth and the life for us?

we remember that Jesus from this point on, in the story, he would

continue to teach For another way.

I'm not that other couple days of preaching here, so come back

for it. Jesus would continue to teach he

would sweat blood. He would beg the father for

another way. He would be betrayed.

He would receive Injustice. He would then be beaten flogged

bloodied, put on the crown of thorns, his hands and feet,

nailed to the cross. Die.

An agonizing suffocating death and then feel the torment of his

soul in hell. All this to make our way, look a

little different. What about our way?

For those who put their trust in Jesus, knowing that Jesus has

taken the way of judgment and destruction so that we may have

the way of truth and life. He has changed our way to look

something a little more like this.

These are promises taken from Psalm 23, but in different

words, the way to trust and is Shepherd a Good Shepherd who

feeds his sheep everything. They need along the way, the

Sheep do not want the way of being led by him to Green

Pastures even when we fight him, the way of being led beside

Still Waters, The way of being restored at the level of our

soul. The way of knowing what is

right? The way of Freedom From Fear

even though the darkness of death looms closely.

The way of comfort that comes from the protection of the

shepherd. The way of provision knowing

that a table is set for us, even though our enemies are close

around. The way of being anointed to

preach the message of the way, the truth, and the life that has

been given to us. The way of knowing God will

never leave us all the days of our life and that our future is

secure in the house of the Lord forever.

I encourage you throughout the state of look back at Psalm 23

and just reflect on how our way is different because Jesus Took

the way of Destruction and death.

I said earlier my introduction that Jesus gave his disciples

stories as signpost to mark their way as he was on his way

to the cross. The statement was true but it

was incomplete. D.

Jesus didn't just give them stories.

He gave them himself and that is what they needed.

I'm gonna close us in a time of prayer and an after my prayer,

we're going to have a time of Silent reflection for yourself,

as you consider the way the truth and the life.

God, we thank you for your graciousness to take our

questions and to ask to transform them and give us truth

God, we confess that we are often tempted to ask the how

when we need to be asking The Who God is a church body, we

come to troubled. We come to you in a state of

suffering. And yet we are grateful that you

have given us yourself. God, I pray that you would help

us to. Remember that there are the

truths of who you are important but ultimately that you extend

the hand to us. Help us to know when to take the

hand to even see in that hand. The the nails on the cross, the

holes in your hands from the nails on the cross.

And to come to you and worship Independence, and have our view

of this world transformed because of it.

And to come to you and worship Independence, and have our view

of this world transformed because of it.