The Way, the Truth, and the Life | What's in a Name

We continue our sermon series, What's in a Name,

where we're looking at the distinctives, the

titles of Jesus in the Gospel of John. We're

connecting them to our three forms of unity,

which are the Belgic Confession. We're going

to do this alphabetically. Belgic Confession,

Canons of Dort. Heidelberg Catechism, if you're

here and go, what gibberish did they just say?

That is in our Reformed tradition. We are a confessional

church. So we stand on the Word of God first

and foremost. No ifs, ands, or buts about it,

period, end of sentence. The next sentence is

we also look to our confessions, which are writings

that stand on the Word of God. Our confessions

would mean... absolutely nothing without the

gospel. We are not a church that will ever uphold

our confessions over Scripture, but we understand

that they help us understand Scripture, that

God has endowed people much, much smarter than

me. Amen? I cannot believe you actually did that.

But that's okay. Now it's on the interwebs. But

it is something that we can draw from. And there's

some beautiful understanding. So maybe you're

here today and you don't know what our confessions

are. You don't really know Heidelberg Catechism.

What is that? Belgian Confession. Canons of Dort.

Look them up this week. They're actually fascinating

writings that really break down the truths of

Scripture. And we as a confessional church uphold

those. So I try to utilize that lens because

it can be helpful. It can add along our journey

of faith as we hopefully daily are continuing

to kind of deepen our waters of faith so that

we have that energy and we have that gospel that

we can go forward with. So we're in the gospel

of John, and last week we got up to a pretty

pivotal moment in Jesus' ministry. It is the

raising of Lazarus, but notice we didn't even

get to that last week because we got to his claim

as the resurrection and the life. So you've got

Lazarus' sisters. One meets them. One's holding

back. We talked about that last week. But now

we're to the point, if you kind of can remember

last week, we're now to the point where he's

made this declaration. There was a profession

of faith. Lord, if you had been here, then my

brother would not have died. But you are all

the things that you say that you are. So there

is a profession of faith, if you will, but there

has not been a quote -unquote miracle yet. But

Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life.

So I have a question for you this morning. How

many of you know somebody that I would say kind

of oversells themselves and under delivers? You

don't have to raise your hand. Don't point. But

understand that there are people in life that

they can talk a good game. They talk a good game,

right? And maybe they don't walk that same level

of game, whether it's in sports, in academics,

maybe even just in everyday life. Maybe you have

that neighbor that always is talking about what

they're going to do to the outside of their house

or their lawn. They have all these grand ideas,

yet they never do anything, nor do they pick

up after their dog when they're on my lawn or

something like that. Very not specific. But understand,

I live on Melbrook Drive. Understand that there

are people like that. And you could, maybe you're

a skeptic about Jesus or a believer. Is Jesus

really who he says he is? The thing I love about

Jesus, there's many. He was a man that talked

the talk and walked the walk. Because think if

you're Lazarus' family. Jesus, a good friend,

someone who's known for doing miracles. You know,

raising the centurion from sleep to life, though

they thought she was dead. All of these things.

The servant. And Jesus makes this declaration.

I am the resurrection and the life. You know

what? Let's not even put it in Lazarus' day.

Put it in your family. Think of a loved one that

died maybe in the last five years. And you're

sitting at Smith's funeral home or wherever you

are. Casket in the room. And Jesus shows up and

gives this declaration. I am the resurrection

and the life. My guess is there would be a high

percentage of us that would interpret that, that

would hear that, and go, prove it. And I say

that because we live in a very skeptical age.

We are skeptical about everything. And guess

who makes that even harder to believe in things

in 2025? Us. We, ourselves, make ourselves skeptical

about everything. And I'm thinking that might

be a little bit of what they were thinking. Now,

that's the gospel according to me. We don't know

that yet. Though there is some angst, right?

We talked about that last week. There's some

angst in this passage. But one of the things

we're going to look at is that Jesus walks into

his words and brings them to fulfillment. Because

as we talked about last week, Jesus could have

been talking about his resurrection. And he was

in some respect. But he's going to double down

on the situation. And we're going to go from

John 14 and John 11. Because there's an aspect

of John 11 that we need to understand. 14 and

11 just to kind of tie the narrative together.

Because the thing we're going to talk about today.

So not only does he say that he's the resurrection

and the life. That was last week's distinction.

The titles. He's going to double down, and he's

going to say that he is the way, the truth, and

the life. Because if we're looking at both of

those sets of distinctions, that Jesus is the

resurrection and the life, that he is the way,

the truth, and the life, so doubling down on

life, really that's all we need. If you think

about your life, he's the way, so we don't need

to ever be lost. He is the truth, so we understand

what to believe, why to believe, when to believe.

And he is the life over death. And then he is

the resurrection, the life, which says, even

death itself is now conquered through me. I don't

know what more we need. Yet some of us will go,

I wish he was the winning lottery ticket. I wish

he was the new car. I wish all of a sudden we

get this kind of like genie mentality or ATM

mentality that because Jesus does what he says

he's going to do and is who he says he is, that

we can put our own spin on it. But maybe, just

maybe this morning, what Jesus is uncovering

for us is maybe this is all we really need. In

our heart of hearts, in the deep parts of our

soul, None of us want to be lost. None of us

want to be alone. And all of us want to know

that there's somebody that sees us, that loves

us, that knows us. That in these kind of five,

four distinctions, if you will, resurrection

and life, way, truth, and life, Jesus does that

for us. So let's dive in. We're going to be in

John 14, and then we're going to flip to John

11. Okay, so John 14, starting with verse 1.

Jesus says, do not let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in me. My Father's

house has many rooms. If it were not so, I would

have told you that I am going to prepare a place

for you. 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 going. You

know the way to the place where I am going. But

Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where

you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus

answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes through the Father except through

me. Now let's go back to John 11. And John 11

reminds us of kind of Jesus continuing from last

week. And after she said this, she went back

and called her sister Mary aside. The teacher

is here, she said, he and is asking for you.

When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and

went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the

village, but was still at the place where Martha

had met him. When the Jews who had been with

Mary in the house comforting her noticed how

quickly she got up and went, they followed her,

supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn

there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus

was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said,

Lord. If you had been here, my brother would

not have died. So we're re -entering the tension.

We're re -entering this tension. And it kind

of comes to us in two different ways. A very

practical way with this confession, right, with

Mary and Martha. If you had only been here, my

brother would not have died. Which is an interesting

thing if you break it down. If you break it down,

she is... Living in the temporal. She is living.

I don't want my brother dead. And if Jesus was

here, he would have saw that maybe he was sick

or saw that he was declining or saw something

and would have intervened before the death had

occurred. Remember, he's been dead now four days.

So culturally speaking, it was dunzo. They thought

that that was it. The body was now completely

dead. We went into a little bit of that last

week. So she's making kind of an observation

that really is out of selfishness. And I don't

think anybody can blame her. If the Messiah,

the one that she knew, right? Lazarus, Jesus,

really close, good friends, he's known. She knew

that she knew he would have intervened prior

to death. There's still a death issue here. And

Jesus reenters that tension in John 14. Because

that is what's read in what we know, kind of

Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper. That he is

telling the disciples, I'm going to die. And

I'm going to rise again. And I'm going to prepare

a place for you so you are with me when you die.

That is that ultimate direction. We talk about

it almost every week. The goal has never been,

never will be earth. The goal has never been,

never will be what you do in your profession,

not even your families. Though those are important

things and we need to be good stewards of that.

The goal has been, always will be glory and getting

as many people as we can there. So Jesus is entering

this tension around death. And if we're being

completely honest this morning, none of us handles

death well. 20 years in the ministry. Sitting

with a family who has lost a loved one or is,

you know, kind of is in the process of losing

a loved one is a very sacred time for a family.

Because a thousand different emotions can happen

all in one minute. But Jesus is telling us, I

meet you in this place. And this definition of

physical death is not the final definition for

you and me. That if we understand him and follow

him as the way, there is a way where he is going

and we will be with him. Jesus is reminding them

that though in the culture it says there are

many ways to find that enlightenment, to find

all of the things for you, much like 2025, he

is that only way. So we see the struggle. We

see the struggle that Jesus is claiming to be

the only path. And if we're being honest, it's

a struggle. Because there are things that we

want to follow, do, think, say, live, that are

different than the way Jesus wants us to do it.

It's more comfortable to do this. I don't want

to go that route. I don't want to die to self.

I don't want to pick up my cross. I don't want

to follow Jesus. And for some of us, we choose

not to. We go, no, I want this. I want the instant

pleasures of the world. I want the success, the

fame, the finances, whatever it is. But Jesus

is saying something very specific here by calling

himself the way. You see, in the ancient world,

paths and roads were crucial for travel and communication.

The way was also a term used to describe the

followers of Christ after he rose and ascended.

That he's using terminology because he's so good

that way that people would understand. They're

all trying to find the way. The Roman road back

in this time of history, that was the main highways

and byways that people got around. And Jesus

is saying, no, do not follow those things. Follow

me for I am the way. The Jewish people believe

that access to God came through the temple and

the sacrificial system. Jesus is now declaring

that access to God is through him and him alone.

So the Belgian Confession, one of our confessions.

The Belgian Confession, Article 26, reminds us

this morning that we believe that we have no

access to God except through the one and only

mediator and intercessor, Jesus Christ the righteous.

April, leave that up there. This is important

to understand because we live in an age, and

guess what? It's nothing new. It's always been

there. There's more than one way to get to heaven.

You can follow other world religions. You can

follow yourself. You can follow the money. You

can follow the power. You can follow the whatever.

But what the Belgic Confession is really doubling

down on for us is we believe there is no access

to God except through Jesus. So what does that

mean? You can't earn your way to the table. You,

you know, though it is good and right and faithful

to give and to be a part of things, but you could

have been a Gems leader for 60 years. And without

Jesus, you can't Gems your way into heaven. You

can't cadet your way into heaven. You can't Bible

study your way into heaven. You can't pastor

your way into heaven. You have to understand

and submit that there is one road to the Father,

and that is Jesus, and that is good. Yet, we

work ourselves tirelessly to think we can earn

that seat. Friends, that cannot be. Because then

you can kind of backdoor Jesus, what he did for

you out of love for you, to try to earn it yourself.

And I look out here today, and I know we have

some workhorses. I know we have a lot of worker

bees. That a 70, 80 hour work week is not uncommon

for you. I, as your pastor, or maybe just some

guy talking to you because this is your first

time here, that's probably not a good thing.

Life balance is important, but we get this worker

mentality. So that's fine. As a pastor, I'll

utilize that. What do you, after submitting your

life to Jesus, what is he calling you to do?

Because if he's the way, he wants you to point

people to the way. And the only way we can do

that is by knowing him and recognizing him as

Jesus Christ, the righteous. So have you fully

embraced Jesus this morning as the way? Or is

he a way? Is he an option? When it suits me?

When it feels good? Or just on Sundays? Or is

he the way in your life? None of us ever want

to be lost. That feeling of being lost, that

feeling of not knowing, has it gone down now

because of GPS and all of those things? Absolutely.

Remember when we used to use maps? So maps are

things that have like towns and cities and to

show where the roads are. Or do you remember

when MapQuest first came out and you had to print

out sheets and you had to try to do that while

driving? Which no one ever thought that was a

good idea, yet we would do it anyway. But now,

okay, under the house of grace, how many of us

still use GPS to places you absolutely, I didn't

even ask the question and your hand is up, you

absolutely know where it is, you've been there

hundreds of times, you still put it in your GPS.

Yeah, the rest of you are liars. That's absolutely

junk, right? I know that you do, right? Maybe

not for your house, but your kid's house, you

still do it. But understand that Jesus isn't

just some option. Jesus is not a rerouted route.

He is the way. And as we're going to dive into

the truth. You see, these are kind of a package

deal. Way, truth, life, they all are built onto

each other. Because if you don't believe that

Jesus is the truth, guess what? You don't believe

that he's the way. And ultimately, life at the

end, we'll get there in about seven minutes,

that's going to get real hard. But Jesus then

doubles down, right? He's the truth. So we're

going to read in John 14, 7 through 11, then

John 11 to round out that story, that Jesus is

the truth. Chapter 14, verse 7. If you really

know me, you will know my Father as well. From

now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip

said, Lord, show us the Father and that will

be enough for us. Jesus answered, don't you know

me, Philip? Even after I've been among you such

a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen

the Father. How can you say, show us the Father?

Don't you believe that I am in the Father and

that the Father is in me? The words I say to

you, I do not speak on my own authority. Rather,

it is my Father living in me who is doing his

work. Believe me when I say that I am in the

Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe

on the evidence of the works themselves. Leave

that one up before we jump. believe on the evidence

of the works themselves. For all you analytic,

scientific, engineering type people, right, which

I am not, but I know plenty of you are, this

is where I love that Jesus is going straight,

not only to the heart, but to the mind of anybody

that reads this. That he is giving empirical

evidence of the fact that him and the Father

are one. And for some of us, you need that evidence

in order to believe. You need to understand and

try to analyze that 2 plus 2 equals Jesus in

your life. Now, pastorally, I'm going to say,

you're going to be frustrated because more times

than not, Jesus is going to ask you to believe

in a higher understanding. It's called faith.

Now, some of you can give scientific equations

for faith, and for that, I applaud. For some

of you, it's as easy as... God said it. I believe

it. That's the end. Okay. And everywhere in between.

But Jesus, this is the talking talk, walking

walk. This is where he's going to prove unequivocally

that he is who he says he is. Because he's going

to do things like we're going to see in John

11. So John 11, starting with verse 33. When

Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come

along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved

in spirit and troubled. Where have you laid him,

he asked. Come and see, Lord, they replied. Shortest

verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. Then the Jews

said, see how he loved them. But some of them

said, could not he who opened the eyes of the

blind man have kept this man from dying? Oh,

we're right there. We're right in the mix. There's

a tension. It's uncomfortable. They see his love

for people. They see his love for Lazarus. They

see this teacher, this miracle worker, as they've

already declared. They see the love. Yet one

thing they still demand, if they're being honest,

physical evidence of conquering death. You're

going to say you're the way? You're going to

say you're the truth? Fine. We still want him

to prove it. And if we're being honest this morning,

there are some of us that we camp there a lot.

Lord, I still don't have the job I want or a

job at all. I still have conflict in my marriage

and in my family. I still can't get so and so

to notice me. I still am not, I am still am not,

I still don't have, insert whatever here. Friend,

what we're doing then is looking at God as the

genie from Aladdin. Or looking at God as some

apostolic ATM. That if we give the right code,

say the right things, he will give us everything

we desire. It even says, ask and it will be given

to you. But let me ask all the parents in the

room. When your kid asks, and I know your kids

always ask for really good things, right? And

they're never dumb. Do you give them everything

they want? Do you give your kids everything that

they want? No, because if you did, guess what?

They'd never be in school. They'd be behind the

wheel of a car at five. And guess what? At times,

you won't exist. Because if we're being honest,

our kids don't always want parents. They want

somebody else. I beat Johnny's dad nine times

in the last two weeks. I don't even know who

Johnny's dad is. But I wouldn't be me. The father

gives to his kids what is best for the kids.

Not always what the kids want. As your kids get

older, let's just take holiday season where we

give a lot of gifts. If you gave your kids everything

they've ever wanted, you'd be poor. You'd be

out of a house. You'd probably be out of a job

because you'd have nothing left. Because when

we are kids, we just want and want and want and

want and want. But isn't it funny that even as

adults, maybe that's what... God gets from us.

I want, I want, I want, I want. I'm praying to

you, God, I want these things, I want these things.

Okay, I'll also pray for good weather so I'm

not super selfish. But really, I want all these

things. The way, the truth, and the life is exactly

what all of us should ever want. Because it's

all that we ever need. That we need to understand

this understanding of truth. Is Jesus being the

revelation of God? In the Greco -Roman thought,

truth was seen as abstract and philosophical.

Jesus now is doubling down on that and saying

truth is not just an idea. It's not just a theory.

It's not just a religious system. It's a person.

That Jesus is truth himself. Maybe you've said

it or you've heard other people say it. Did you

do that? No, I didn't do that. I swear to...

I know, but you don't want to say it because

that's breaking an actual commandment. And I

don't want you to do that, but understand that

that's what it is. That's using the Lord's name

in vain. We talked about it in junior high catechism

a couple weeks ago. When we flippantly say, I

swear to God, that is misusing the name of the

Lord. That is using the Lord's name in vain.

That understanding, if we're going to claim Jesus

is all these things, then we better believe it.

as well. That Jesus himself is truth. That Jesus

is the clearest picture of God that we will ever

have. And now let me turn that on its head. When

we get up there, Jesus will be the clearest picture

of you that the Father will see. Have you ever

thought about that? Because if you get up there

and you throw at those gates, the years you've

put in gems, how many cars you made of cadets,

how many hobo pies you made out of a fire that's

given you so many gut issues over the years,

if that's what you're going to bring to the gates

of glory, what is the Father going to say? I

never knew you. It's Jesus. That when we get

up there, Jesus is going to be the clearest picture

of us that the Father sees, as Jesus is the clearest

picture of the Father that we have on this earth.

So what does that mean for people around you?

What does that mean for your neighbors? Even

the one that doesn't pick up after his dog. I

may be the clearest picture of God they may ever

see. Friend, I don't know about you, but that's

terrifying. And the way I live my life and the

way I talk to people, the way I drive my car,

the way I work my work, the way I eat food in

public, all these things. If you claim to be

a believer, then people may put that on you.

In whichever way they're going to do it. Jesus

talks to us about that in Matthew 5. People are

going to revile you because of me. They're going

to try to pick apart your life because of me.

But take heart, they did it to me first. The

Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Question and Answer

19 reminds us that God himself first revealed

his gospel in paradise. And he fulfills, and

he himself fulfills it through only his son.

Ever thought that's why Adam and Eve couldn't

go back into the garden? That God put that flaming

cherubim so they could not go back. Their eyes

were already opened with the knowledge of good

and evil. What we forget is that tree of life

was still there. And God knew that if we would

have eaten of that apple, of the tree of life,

we would have been forever in sin with no hope

of salvation. That's why we see in Revelation

the tree of life is now a way present and made

a way to it through the person of Jesus Christ.

If that's not the way, if that's not the truth,

then I don't know what is. So here we go. We're

going to round out the story. The way, the truth,

and the life. How many lives am I at so far?

A lot. Thank you. So the gems, they do a thing

where we pick a word of things I'm going to say,

and they have to mark down every time I say it.

Thank God it's not the word um. That would be

terrifying. The life, starting with John 14,

John 14:12

verse 12. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes

in me will do the works I have been doing, and

they will do even greater things than these,

because I am going to the Father. and I will

do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father

may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for

anything in my name, and I will do it. Before

we jump, that is not a license for us to ask

God out of our selfishness. That that is a freedom

and a liberty to seek first the kingdom of God

as he instructs us to. And now back to Lazarus.

chapter 11, verse 38. Jesus, once more deeply

moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a

stone laid across the entrance. Take away the

stone, he said. Four days dead, okay? But Lord,

said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this

time there is a bad odor, for he has been there

four days. Okay. They want this to happen. They

were assuming it could have happened. They bet

that if Jesus was there, this would never have

happened. Yet they're worried about the smell.

Then Jesus said, did I not tell you that if you

believe, you will see the glory of God? So they

took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and

said, Father, I thank you that you have heard

me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said

this for the benefit of the people standing here,

that they may believe that you sent me. When

he had said this, Jesus called out in a loud

voice, Lazarus, come out. The dead man came out,

his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen

and his cloth around his face. Jesus said to

them, take off the grave clothes and let him

go. So we see the drama unfold. Jesus declares

that whoever believes in him will do greater

works. This does not mean greater miracles, but

the expansion of the gospel through the church.

In John 11, Jesus commands Lazarus to come out

of the tomb. He has power over life and death,

proving he is the source of all things. So what

in the world do we take from this? The Canons

of Dort, head to Article 8, reminds us of this.

The death of the Son of God is a single and most

perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins.

Of infinite value and worth, abundantly sufficient

to expiate the sins of the whole world. Everything

you've ever done to everything you will do. Every

thought you ever have, every sin you've done

with your hand, anything. This is a perfect sacrifice

for you and for me. There's fullness in this.

Jesus is showing that he is the way, the truth,

and the life. And here's the rub. Some of us,

even right now, are struggling with a very active

sin. Maybe it's the sin of lust. Maybe it's the

sin of this, that, or the other thing. Go list

through all the commandments. List through all

600 laws. Maybe you are struggling actively in

one of these. Maybe, just maybe, you feel yourself

dead in that sin that's been longer than four

days. Friend, Jesus is saying, come out. He wants

to raise you to new life. He wants to teach you

to conquer that sin in this world. Though it

may always be a sin. It may always be a temptation.

It may always be something you have to run back

to dad for. Guess what? That's okay. Just as

your kid knows there's nothing in the closet

at 3 .30 in the morning that should scare him,

they may still come to seek peace from the father

and the mother or the Holland in our house, the

mother. We know that we know these things are

not out to get us, yet we believe they are and

we run back to the father who is always there.

Abundantly sufficient. Abundantly sufficient.

He gives you and I more than we could ever dream.

But maybe you're spiritually stagnant this morning.

Maybe the walk in Christ is just dry. It's just

not exciting. Maybe you're just really bored.

What Jesus is calling you out of is your selfishness

and your ego to say, stop making this about you.

Get your butt out there and serve. Find the soup

kitchen. Find intermission. Find the TMC. Find

whatever ministry, if you're not from Archer,

said we are involved in. Get involved. You want

to make something not about you? Come every other

Wednesday to Cadets or Gems. Help build into

the life of somebody else. Because you're going

to be called to a responsibility. You're going

to be called to a boldness. And if you're going

to teach it, you better live it as well. And

that's hard, and that can be a hard, long road.

But guess what? Look around. It's why you're

not here by yourself, because that would be an

awkward sermon. We do this together as the body

of Christ. Do we live in the fullness of life

that Christ offers, or are we spiritually stagnant?

Remember, Jesus calls us to abundant and eternal

life in him. So where do we go from here? How

do we take this into our week? First, for our

head. Know the way. Study how Jesus is the only

mediator. Read John 14, Acts 4, Hebrews 10 and

reflect. Do I fully trust in Jesus as the only

way to salvation? For the heart, trust the truth

that Jesus is the full revelation of God. Rest

in him rather than searching for identity and

truth elsewhere. Reflect what competing truths

tempt you to doubt Jesus' sufficiency. And finally,

for our hands and feet, walk the life. Share

the hope of Christ with someone who is lost.

Live with boldness knowing that eternal life

is found in him. Challenge for that? Who in my

life needs to hear that Jesus is the way, the

truth?