John 14:1-14

John 14, verses 1-14

John 14:1–14

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 will take you to myself,

that where I am you may be also, and you know the way to where I am going.

John 14, verses 1-14

John 14:1–14

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 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 account 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 for anything in my name, I will do it.

We live in a world that has a strange relationship with the truth, don't we?

If you read the newspapers, or believe what politicians tell you,

no one really cares for the truth anymore.

Emily Maitlis, the Newsnight presenter on television,

says in her new book, they are really struggling more and more

to have politicians give them straight answers to straight questions.

What's your favorite color?

And they'll answer something like,

well, what I think the public really wants to know is the color of the sky,

because that's what they can see.

It's so bad that people who write and talk about this kind of thing

say we're in a post-truth culture.

Truth doesn't even matter anymore, I see.

Your truth is your truth, and my truth is my truth.

It's whatever feels right to you.

Now, Oprah Winfrey made this phrase popular a long time ago,

but it's really now that it's becoming so part of our language

that everyone talks in these ways now.

The President of the United States even talks about alternative facts,

when what he really talks about is lies.

But here's the thing, it's not just politicians or celebrities who talk in this way.

Your truth and my truth sounds like this in our conversations, doesn't it?

Well, if you feel that way, then you should follow your feelings.

You must be true to your own heart, because that's who you really are.

If you feel you are one of the 99 different genders that you can choose,

then that's your truth.

Any way you choose to believe is the right way for you to get to God.

And that's really the part that I want to focus on today,

because if we unpacked everything in that passage,

we'd be looking at it till Christmas 2020 at ELT.

All religions are really the same, aren't they?

That's something we hear quite a lot, that people say.

If someone feels their faith is right for them,

and it feels good, it feels right,

then that's the right way for them.

That is their truth about knowing God.

It's the old story about people climbing up a mountain from different sides,

is how people sometimes describe it, isn't it?

It's the same mountain, it's just different ways to the top,

and everyone gets to the top eventually.

And all different religions and faiths and beliefs

are different ways to get to that top of the mountain.

If you think about it, when you say that,

that sounds a bit arrogant, doesn't it?

Because in a way you're saying,

I'm the only person who can see that everyone else

doesn't know that they're just using different ways to the mountain.

I'm the one who can see what everybody else can't see.

But maybe deep down we like that kind of idea,

because it makes life easier.

If all religions lead to God,

then we don't have to choose.

We don't have to commit.

If you're on the fence about Christianity,

it makes it easier.

Because you don't have to put your faith in Jesus

and commit to everything that he asks us to do,

because any other religion will be okay too.

And if you are a Christian,

and you've got colleagues or family

who are not Christians, friends,

it takes the pressure a bit off

to share your faith with them.

And more generally, just think about society.

We don't like to give offence, do we?

I mean, British people even apologise

to a street light

when they bump into it,

inanimate objects.

So ingrained is that desire not to give offence.

And one of the big buzzwords of our time

is tolerance.

And the whole idea of there being one way to God

is offensive to many people.

So it's really not just people out there

who sometimes think like this.

Christians are also tempted to think like this.

And who doesn't like a bit of freedom?

We've fought wars for freedom.

Nations have been founded to gain freedom.

So freedom in deciding how to know God

is a good thing.

Sounds like it.

Or at least it's not a bad thing.

But we shouldn't be fooled

by that kind of thinking.

It's dangerous.

A wise man once said,

if everything's allowed,

then man becomes a slave again.

A slave of anarchy.

And that's no comfort at all, is it?

Now, you see, in this passage,

Jesus is giving people comfort.

He's starting to say farewell to His disciples.

And He knows soon

they're going to be so emotionally distraught

at His death

that they'll be tempted to moral failure.

They'll be put under pressure

to renounce their faith.

And the Roman authorities

are going to do everything they can

to stamp out this new Christian faith

in favour of worshipping

all their multiple gods,

including Caesar.

And especially Caesar.

Now, at Jesus' kangaroo trial,

Pontius Pilate would already say,

what is truth?

Doesn't he?

And it sounds like he was

way ahead of his time.

That's the kind of question

people ask now.

So maybe our post-truth era

isn't as new as we think.

And this is a massive problem.

Because if all religions

are just really different sides

of the same coin,

and I think we'll see here

that Jesus disagrees,

either that's the case,

or if these gods all do exist,

then we believe in different gods.

Either all religions are the same,

or they are different religions,

and then there are different gods.

And that's a right mess.

So we forget what a mess that is.

Because we don't generally think in those terms.

But in the Roman and Greek times,

I mean, they had multiple gods,

didn't they?

And you always had the problem of,

what if you offended one of them?

What if you didn't please all of them?

You never had the assurance

that you were right with the gods.

And you can't please them all,

so you're always at risk.

And that's really not a very comforting place

to be in.

And Jesus is talking to his disciples,

and he wants to give them confidence

in knowing God,

because that is what they need

when he isn't with them anymore

after his death and resurrection.

So how can we have confidence

in knowing God in a world

that does its best

to take that confidence away?

And Jesus tells his disciples

in verse 1 there, doesn't he,

don't let your hearts be troubled.

And this is our first point.

Jesus says,

you know the way to God,

and it is me.

Believe in God,

believe also in me,

he says in verse 1.

So you don't have to guess

how to know God.

You believe in God,

so believe in me as well.

Have faith in me.

Trust in me.

Now haven't I proven to you

that I am who I said I am?

And Philip asks him in verse 8,

show us the Father,

and he says,

I've been so long with you

and you don't know me.

If you've seen me,

you've seen the Father.

When the Apostle is asking

where he's going

and how they might know

the way to God here,

he tells them,

he doesn't tell them,

you figure it out now.

You decide what is right for you.

What does your hearts tell you?

There are many ways up the mountain.

Find your own way to God.

No, he tells them,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes to the Father

except through me.

Verse 6.

See, it's interesting.

The first Christians

weren't called Christians.

That came later on.

We read in the book of Acts,

they were called

followers of the way.

So, it seems that

right from the beginning

what Jesus is teaching

his disciples here

stuck with them

and caught on.

He doesn't say,

I am making a way.

He says,

I am the way

to the Father.

And it's counter-cultural,

isn't it?

To claim that kind of exclusivity.

It's counter-cultural now,

but it was counter-cultural

in that time too.

And it always will be

because it means

submitting to Jesus.

It means acknowledging

that without him

we've got no way

of getting to God.

No way of knowing God.

And that's a very hard thing to do.

See, this morning

I got in my car

and started it.

But it didn't start.

The radio came on

and the lights came on

but there was no engine noise,

no spark plugs spluttering,

no fan belt turning,

no fuel being ignited,

nothing.

And thinking back over it,

my first thoughts

weren't helplessness.

It was,

what can I do to fix this?

How do I problem solve this

in a way that allows me

to regain control

of this situation?

And it was only when I realised

that wasn't going to work,

that I was helpless

to do anything

in that situation,

that I'd have to leave it

for now

and call someone later

and get to work

on my own two feet,

that I actually came to know

the way of solving

this problem,

is that I am reliant

on someone else.

But that's a hard thing to do

to get to that point.

And that's just my car.

That'll be fine.

And we'll solve that.

But we do the same thing

with our search for God.

We want to be in control.

And that's why

it's so hard to accept

that Jesus is right

when he says

he is the way.

Not a way,

but the way.

The only way to God.

And he can say that

because he is God.

In verse 10 he says,

do you not believe

that I am in the Father

and the Father is in me?

It would be an arrogant claim

otherwise.

It would be an arrogant claim

for any of us to make.

But for him it isn't.

Because he is God.

You see, that's our second point,

is that we know the way to God

because he is the truth.

You see,

Jesus shatters the idea

that truth is an abstract concept.

You know,

an abstract concept

you can apply

and you can debate

and, you know,

if there are any mathematicians here

they probably would disagree with me,

but an abstract concept

is much easier

to make subjective.

If it's something out there,

it's much easier

to kind of,

to approach it

with my view

and your view

and it's much harder

to debate

is this stand black

you know,

than talking about

an abstract idea

of a lectern.

And the message

by Jesus in this passage

is the only way

to God,

that he is the only way

to God

is only good news

because he is God.

He is the truth

because he reveals

the God

who is truth

to us.

Truth isn't an abstract concept,

is it?

It's God's character.

Jesus is truth.

He is the truth.

And he's also the way

and the life.

But in this passage

the emphasis is on

the way to God.

So,

we read truth and life

when he talks about that here

and that,

in light of that.

Why is he the way to God?

Because he is the truth.

Because he is God.

The Son of God.

He's part of the Trinity.

And therefore

he is the only direct way

that we can know

what God is like.

What his character is like.

Here's the writer

of the book of Hebrews

who talks about

how God promised

to be faithful

to his promises.

And he writes

this incredible thing.

He says,

God swore an oath

on his own name

so that by

two unchangeable things

in which it is impossible

for God to lie,

we who have fled

for refuge

might have strong

encouragement

to hold fast

to the hope

set before us.

Hebrews 6.

It's impossible

for God to lie

because his character

is truth.

So,

Jesus is entitled

to claim that

he's the only way

to God

because he's the only one

who can display

the character of God.

None of us

are capable of saying

it's impossible

for us to lie.

He's the only one

who was able

to make that kind

of a claim.

He doesn't make a way,

he is the way.

The third point is,

he says,

you know the way

to God

because I am the life.

Now,

we're not talking

about the good life

there in this kind

of sense of

this is,

I'm living the life.

You sometimes hear

people say that,

isn't it?

What Jesus is saying

is that God

is the very source

of life.

God created

all life

from nothing.

He has always been,

he doesn't have

a start

or a beginning

or an end

for that matter,

he is the very

fountain of life

itself.

Knowing truth

and having life

beyond death,

they're the kind

of two fundamental

quests of all humans

to all time,

isn't it?

When you boil it down

to that,

to those two questions,

that's what it comes to.

Adam and Eve

in the Garden of Eden

wanted the knowledge

of good and evil.

They were tempted

by Satan

to eat of the fruit

they were forbidden of.

They wanted truth,

they wanted the knowledge

of good and evil

at its base.

And because of that,

God prevented them

from also getting

eternal life

other than through faith

so they were banished

from the Garden.

But if you look at it,

right from the beginning,

that's what those two

human beings wanted.

They wanted to be like God.

They wanted truth

and life

for all eternity.

That's why I said,

you know,

we have a strange

relationship to truth

at the beginning.

We pretend like

it doesn't matter.

The world around us

can talk as much

as it wants to

about how we're

post-truth

and alternative facts

and truth doesn't matter

and your truth

and my truth

and subjective truth

and all kinds of things

and we pretend

like that's the case

until we're wronged.

Isn't it?

When someone tells

a lie about us,

we're very insistent

on the truth.

And similarly,

we pretend

there's only one life,

there's only this life,

make the most of it

while you can

and we don't care

about death

until we're facing

the death

of someone close to us

or we're facing

death ourselves.

See,

that's just another way

of saying

we long for salvation.

See,

we long to be free

of the lies

the devil tells us

and keeps on telling us.

We long to be free

from the lies

we tell each other

and the lies

we tell ourselves.

And every sin

is a lie.

Every sin involves

a lie that we're

our own authority

and that we don't

rely on God

for our very existence

when we want

to take control,

when we want

to be in charge.

That's a lie.

So Jesus says

the only way

you can answer

those fundamental

longings

for truth

and life

after death

is with God.

And the only way

to God,

he says,

is through me

because I am God

in the flesh.

I am God

come to you

to make God

known to you.

If you don't

believe my words,

he says,

there doesn't he

in verse 11,

he says,

which are the words

of the Father

who is in me

and I in him.

It's really an

astonishing claim

for him to make

that he is God.

Then believe

because you have

seen the works

I've done,

he says to them.

Believe on account

of the works

themselves.

What did he do?

He did many

miracles.

Probably the most

astonishing miracles

he did was

to raise people

from the dead.

He says,

I have power

over death

because I am

the God of life.

I am life

itself.

See,

there is no

little irony

here in Jesus

saying I am

the way

when he would

soon be hanging

helpless

on a cross

and I am

the truth

when the lies

of evil people

would soon appear

to have a

spectacular triumph

over him.

I am the life

when he would

soon be in a

tomb.

And when he

tells the disciples

not to be

troubled in heart,

he was deeply

troubled in heart

and spirit.

We read in

chapters,

two chapters

before this.

If he is

comforting them

because they

are confused

and uncertain

and scared,

he was about

to endure

the agony

of the cross.

But he could

say these things

without any

irony because

he knew

who he was,

where he came

from,

and after rising

from the dead

where he would

return,

didn't he?

That is where

his comfort

lay in facing

this trial.

And he wants

to give us

that same

comfort in

knowing who

he is and

knowing where

we will go

with him to

God.

Now if he

claimed to have

given the

disciples enough

reason to put

their faith in

him as the

way, the

truth and the

life before

his death and

resurrection,

he has given

them and us

the reason

to do that.

When he

conquered death

and overcame

the lies,

when he

reclaimed life

and when he

proved his

words true.

You see,

later in

John he

says,

and this is

eternal life.

When he

prays to the

Father, he

says that they

know you,

the only true

God, and

Jesus Christ

whom you

have sent.

we face

our own

trials and

uncertainties,

and it's a

very confusing

world we live

in, but in

some ways no

trial is bigger

than the

struggle we

face to be

free from the

lies and

death looming

for each of

us.

No one of

us has a

bigger struggle

to overcome

than admitting

our inability

to succeed

on our own

to reach

God, to

find another

way.

And even

if you're a

Christian already,

putting your

trust in God

is a daily

exercise of

faith.

And Jesus

calls each of

us to put

our faith in

him as the

only way

to God.

Let's

pray.