Before I Go: John 13:36-14:7

Thank you to our worship team. What a great new

song. There were two lines in that song that

really resonated with me. The first is the line

that was, teach me to abide. And the implication

of that is that it's not natural. It's not something

that you know how to do apart from being taught.

And I think that speaks to the humanity of us

all. Amen. Like, you just need... The things,

you know, it's like where Paul says, like, the

things I want to do, I don't do. The things I

don't want to do, I do. Like, oh, wretched man

that I am. And like, hey, we want to abide, but

it's not something that comes natural for us.

And I think, man, yeah. And the other line in

that is this declaration that I depend on you,

God. And I've said it before. I think one of

the most valuable things that you experience

when you travel internationally, especially in...

very impoverished areas is they don't have all

of the luxuries, if you will, that we depend

on to just get us through life. And so there's

this deep dependence upon the Spirit of God in

ways that are just... It almost feels artificial

because you're like, how is it that you're so

dependent on the Spirit of God? And it's like,

oh, because you don't have money to bail you

out, and you don't have a car to bail you out,

and you don't have whatever it is to bail you

out and to get you through things. And I'm just,

yeah, I think of that every time, you know, that

I hear that song. It's just this declaration

of dependence upon God. It's harder for us as

Americans. You need to know that. because we

just have the stuff, don't we? And we just depend

on ourselves in so many capacities. Well, that

has nothing to do with the sermon, so we're off

to a good start, of course, digressing already.

Really quick, though, before the message, one

more reminder, maybe another one after this.

Baptism Sunday is coming two weeks from today.

If you can believe it, it'll be March 1st, two

weeks from today. We celebrated the man -made

holiday called Valentine's and overspent our

money on that, and here we are moving towards

March. Baptism Sunday, we have a number of baptisms

already lined up and I've met with almost all

these people a few more meetings ago and my goodness,

the stories that you're gonna get to hear and

be a part of are really, really special. So if

that's of interest to you, I know there's some

of you, it happens this way every time, like

you're just, you're scared, you're wrestling

with it, it's been something that you've been

thinking about and I just wanna tell you, like

it's a moment of celebration that if God is calling

you or poking your heart, you need to respond.

Even if it's just to explore it, just to have

a conversation with me or someone else on our

team and just say, hey, I'm thinking about this

or my child is thinking about this and I would

love to express or talk more about that. We're

here for that. March 1st, two weeks from today,

it's going to be, I think it's two weeks from

today. Is that right? Yeah. It's going to be

tremendous. So I want to just put that out there.

There's a form on our website that you can go

and just complete. It comes directly to me or

you can just come talk with us after service

too. We'd love to connect with you in that way.

Okay. Into our series, last Sunday we kicked

off a new series entitled Before I Go. It's going

to end up being a seven -week series with Baptism

Sunday kind of sandwiched in between there, looking

specifically at this very intimate moment that

Jesus shared in the upper room, upper room above

this house, random house, where he was in this

upper room with his disciples the night before

he was crucified, a moment that is often known

as his farewell discourse. That's the name around

these chapters of John that we're studying over

these few weeks. So these are some of, in essence,

what this means is these are some of his final

human moments on earth before his death, and

certainly some of his final words on earth before

his death. Obviously, of course, before his resurrection.

We know that after his resurrection, he appeared

for about 40 days to many people. There's additional

words and things that Jesus did. But before his

death, before his crucifixion, these are his

final moments. And certainly these are his final

words with his people, with his disciples. And

last week we started in chapter 13 with Jesus

saying to them, hey, I'm summarizing it. Hey,

I'm not going to be with you much longer. And

before I go, there's a foundational thing that

I want to make sure that I give you. And it's

new. And it's this. Love one another as I have

loved you. That was where he started this whole

farewell discourse, if you will. And you may

remember I said last week that the placement

of something tells us something about its importance,

right? I don't know how many of you are like

me. If you get an email, you immediately open

the email and skim the first two lines or maybe

the bottom lines if it's a long email because

you're probably going to get some sense of like...

What's in this email? Why are they writing me?

Is it important? Et cetera. Not that all of your

emails aren't important, of course, but, you

know, you're just skimming, like, what is this?

And Jesus, right out of the gate, so to speak,

at this very, on the front end of these moments

with his disciple, these very intimate moments,

I should say, he's like, hey, I'm not going to

be with you much longer. There's some things

I really want to tell you, and the most important

one. It's foundational to everything else that

I'm going to tell you is this. It's new. Love

one another as I have loved you. And so that's

where it started. By the way, side note, but

we are very encouraged to see a number of you,

quite a few of you, I don't know, 50 or more

of you, I think, subscribe to what we've called

The Carryover. It's a digital, if you will, daily

devotional that's really tied to the series that

we're in. How many of you spent some time in

it this week? I'll close my eyes and reopen them.

All right, a couple of you. If you love it, give

all the credit in the world to Preston because

it's phenomenal. He spent so much time on doing

that. A lot of you took paper copies too, by

the way. None of you downloaded the EPUB, and

Preston was very discouraged about that. But

I don't even know where to tell you to go to

do that, so I'm of no help there. But it's been

encouraging to see your engagement with that

is the point. It's been encouraging for me as

well. It's been challenging for me. I'm trying

to engage with it the same way that you are.

And so if you haven't subscribed or downloaded,

you really ought to. We're always going to have

copies for the next week near the door. Not as

many as we did last week, but if you prefer the

analog way of life, then that's there for you.

So it's ready to go. Anyhow, we're moving ahead

is the point in this conversation between Jesus

and his disciples. We're moving ahead. Fresh

off this new command that Jesus gives them, one

of the most relatable disciples, in my opinion,

among the 11 that are still there, because remember,

Judas has left. He's betrayed Jesus, so it's

11 of them. And one of the most relatable, if

you will, disciples, a guy named Peter, keeps

the conversation going with Jesus. And this is

what he asked Jesus in verse 36. Lord, Simon

Peter said to him, where are you going? Jesus

answered him, where I'm going, you cannot follow

me now. but you will follow later. Lord, Peter

asks, why can't I follow you now? I will lay

down my life for you. Jesus replied, will you

lay down your life for me? Truly, I tell you,

a rooster will not crow until you have denied

me three times. Don't let your hearts be troubled.

This is end of chapter 14. 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'm going to prepare a place for you? And if

I go away and prepare a place for you, I will

come again and I will take you to myself so that

where I am, you may also be. You know the way

where I'm going. Lord, Thomas said, we don't

know where you're going. How can we know the

way? Jesus told him, you sang this earlier in

the song, I am the way and the truth and the

life. No one comes to the father except through

me. If you know me, you will also know my father.

From now on, you do not know him and have, you

do know him, I should say, and have seen him.

Remember, Jesus had dropped these two, what I'll

call kind of big truth bombs on them. And they

were what? I'm going to be glorified. Remember,

we talked about a child finding a rock and holding

it up and saying, look, look at the incredible

worth and value of this. And so Jesus said, I'm

going to be lifted up. I'm going to be glorified.

So he told him that. And he had told him, love

one another in a new way. And good old Peter,

presumably kind of speaking on behalf of the

rest of the disciples. I don't know if you, when

you were in school, if you had that friend who

would just say anything, right? And you're like,

I'm not going to say it. You say it. And there's

always the one, right? Well, the one was Peter.

Hey, Peter, why don't you ask Jesus where he's

going? And so Jesus said, I'm going to be glorified,

love one another in a new way. And Peter, presumably

speaking on behalf of all the rest of the disciples

and never want to miss an opportunity to say

something dumb. is like, yeah, that all sounds

cool, but let's go back to the whole you're going

away part, Jesus. Where are you going? Where

are you going? Peter, it seems, just completely

ignores what Jesus had just said. Instead, he

jumps back to the thing that what? Worried him

the most. And that's important for you to understand.

I mean, he heard it. He heard the things that

Jesus said, but the worry of his heart, the...

preoccupation of his mind, if you will, said

like, okay, that's all good. We'll figure out

the love thing. But I want to go back to something

that you said, which is that you're going away.

And where is it that you are going, Jesus? That

was the question that Peter had for Jesus. What

was Jesus's response? He doesn't tell him where.

Instead, he tells him, you can't come, but you

will later. That's not probably the answer that

Peter wanted. When you get to Tuesday this week

in the addition of the carryover, if you're engaging

with it, you're going to find this question of

where that is very common in the Gospel of John.

And we kind of put it under the magnifying glass

for you to go and to do a little bit further

kind of exploration of this question. But what

you'll find is that this question of where is

a frequent theme. asked in the book of John.

I'm going to give you a few examples of what

I mean. This is in John chapter 1, very first

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter. This is right after John the Baptist's

testimony about who Jesus was. He's about to

come onto the scene. His ministry is about to

kind of take off, if you will. And this is the

dialogue. The next day, John was standing with

two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing

by, he said, look, the Lamb of God. The two disciples

heard him say this and follow Jesus. When Jesus

turned and noticed them following him, he asked

them, what are you looking for? And they said

to him, rabbi, which means teacher. Here's the

question. Where are you staying? Where are you

staying? John chapter four. This is the conversation

between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the

well. She asked Jesus this. Sir, said the woman,

you don't even have a bucket and the well is

deep. So here it is. Where do you get this living

water that you speak of? You aren't greater than

our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well

and drank from it himself, as did his sons and

livestock. One more example, John chapter 7.

John 7 · chapter mention

So Jesus is facing opposition in this moment

as he's teaching in the temple. Then Jesus said,

I am only with you for a short time. Then I'm

going to the one who sent me. You will look for

me, but you will not find me. And where I am,

you cannot come. Then the Jews said to one another,

here's the question, where does he intend to

go that we won't find him? He doesn't intend

to go to the Jewish people dispersed among the

Greeks and teach the Greeks, does he? Those pagans.

So you see it by now, right? All throughout John's

gospel, and I just gave you three examples, but

all throughout the gospel, and if you, again,

if you're engaging with us in the carryover Tuesday,

when you get there, you'll see it. We kind of

teased it out a little bit more. We want you

to go and see that for yourself. All through

the gospel, John, there's this recurring question

directed at Jesus. Where? Where, where, where?

And I would just say there are a few questions

that expose our humanity more than the question

of where. If you have a child under like five

years old, their favorite question is what? Why?

Why? Why, mommy? Why, daddy? Like, because I

said so. For the ninth millionth time. But there

are a few questions, even as adults, that expose

our humanity more than the question of where,

if you think about it. Where will I... meet somebody?

Where will I feel safe, maybe emotionally or

physically or mentally? Where will I find community?

Where is it that my family will be happiest?

Where is a very normal question that we ask probably

more subconsciously than we realize in a variety

of different capacities every single day? The

question of where is wildly human, if you think

about it. And so what was Jesus' reply when Peter,

very human, very like us, was like, hey, where

are you going? What was Jesus' reply? Not to

tell him where, but rather when. And the answer

was not now, but later. And it's a very similar,

I'm going to show you this, a very similar tone

to an earlier question at the beginning of the

scene. In the upper room, Jesus is preparing

to wash their feet. He came to Simon Peter. This

is what it says. This is verses 6 and 7. He came

to Simon Peter who asked him, Lord, are you going

to wash my feet? Peter again. Jesus answered

him, what I am doing you don't realize now, but

afterwards you will understand. So you see the

similarity, I hope. In this case, it was like,

what is it that you're doing? But later, it's

where is it that you're going? And Jesus' reply

is very similar. Not now, but later. You don't

understand it now, but you will later. You can't

go with me now, but you will go with me later.

You see the similarities, I trust. But Peter's

just not going to let it go. He's just not going

to let it go. And in typical Peter fashion, he's

going to write a check that he can't cash with

Jesus. Why can't I go with you was his response.

And then what does he say? I will what? Lay down

my life for you. These are big. Bold words from

Peter. And I said earlier that if you read through

the Gospel of John, you pay careful attention,

you'll find this theme of where throughout the

book. I'm going to give you a little bit additional

homework if you're interested and you want to

learn to study your Bible. Go through the Book

of John and try and identify all the moments

that are marked by irony in the Book of John.

Because the John who wrote the, recorded for

us the Gospel of John, he had a particular knack

for kind of drawing out the irony of moments.

And this hollow promise here from Peter to Jesus,

I think is just like dripping with irony. And

we should ask, well, what's ironic about it?

Two things are ironic about it. The first is

that Peter, I'm sorry, Jesus just flat out knows

that Peter is not going to do that. Peter's like,

hey, I'll lay down my life for you. And Jesus

is like, actually, it's gonna be the opposite.

You're gonna actually deny me three times and

then a rooster's gonna grow. And so Jesus has

this just, In fact, he uses the word truly. What

does he mean by that? He means I am certain that

this is what's going to happen. So this isn't

just my hunch. This is not just like my suspicion,

Peter. This is actually a fact. And the fact

is, you're not going to lay down your life for

me. In fact, you're going to deny me three times

before a rooster crows. So there's a lot of irony

in that. The second thing that I find ironic

in this scene, and more significantly probably,

is the irony that it would actually be Jesus

who would lay down his life for Peter, not Peter

for Jesus. John chapter 10, verse 11. This is

John 10:11

how Jesus described himself before this scene

in the upper room. I am the good shepherd. The

good shepherd does what? Lays down his life for

the sheep. The boldness of Peter's, I'll say,

hollow promise is just like infused with irony.

Like, how ironic. And then you get to verse 1

of chapter 14. And Jesus shifts his words from

addressing just Peter. So it's like Peter and

Jesus were having this kind of individual moment,

surrounded, of course, by the others. But he

shifts his focus from just addressing Peter to

really all the disciples. And these incredibly

beautiful words of comfort from Jesus, he's reading

the room. I mean, what I would give, there's

no amount of money I would give to be able to

go back in time and just be in the room with

Jesus. Everything he did, he did perfectly. That's

one thing to say. But he also just had a way,

if you just pick any story you want to in the

Gospels, and you see like Jesus always just had

a way of just knowing the need for the moment.

He could just read the room. He could read people.

He could sense their true need. He was a master

question asker. He just knew how to do it. And

he's, don't you know, he's just reading the room.

He's even working through Peter's just bold kind

of arrogance. And he's reading the room, and

he shifts back, or he draws back from just Peter,

and he's going to give him all this beautiful

comfort, words of comfort. He's reading the room.

He's sensing their, what, anxiety? He's sensing

their fear surrounding his imminent departure.

And what does he tell them to do in verse 1?

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in

God. Believe also in me. You could make an argument

that that's one of the most, like, I don't know,

duh. verses in the scripture, right? Like, oh,

thanks. Don't let your heart be troubled. Got

it. Thanks, Jesus. Never thought of that. But

it also seems to be different coming from Jesus,

doesn't it? Like, if you came up to me and said,

hey, I'm scared because I'm going through whatever,

I would say, hey, don't be scared. You tell your

little ones when they're scared at night, like,

hey, don't be scared. We're here. We got you.

And we're doing our best as humans to offer words

of comfort in that moment. But there's something

different when Jesus says, hey, don't let your

heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also

in me. And if you were here with us last week,

I mentioned that this genre of farewell discourse

is not unique here to Jesus. In fact, you can

go back in the scripture and you can find several

different examples. I mentioned Moses. And if

you go back in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter

Deuteronomy 31 · chapter mention

31, I'm going to show you this. Moses is giving

his own farewell discourse essentially to the

nation of Israel. Listen for similar language

to what Jesus has just said in John 14, Deuteronomy

31 .6. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified

or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the

one who will go with you. So he will not leave

you or abandon you. So just draw a parallel with

me here between the two scenes. So the Israelites,

their leader Moses is preparing to leave. The

disciples, their leader Jesus is preparing to

leave. preparing to leave. The Israelites, there's

a fear of what's in front of them. We don't know

life without Moses leading us. This is scary.

The disciples, there's fear of the unknown in

front of them. Like, Jesus, you are our guy,

man. We don't know how to do this without you.

Moses gives them a command to not be afraid.

Jesus gives them a command to not be afraid.

And what Jesus is trying to do is he's trying

to push fear and worry out of their hearts by

this reassurance that his presence is not permanent,

but rather to prepare eternity for all who come

to him by faith. And much has been made like,

was Jesus giving us a physical description of

heaven? Because what did he say? In my father's

house are many rooms. The answer is, I mean,

this is the honest pastoral answer. I have no

idea. I have no idea if he's given us a physical

description of Jesus or of heaven, rather. It

seems unlikely, but rather what he is doing is

he's trying to make a point that it is big enough

for all who come to him by faith, which presumably

at the end of history will be millions, if not

billions of people inhabiting one space, heaven.

And by the way, a little fun side theological

nugget here for you if you want it. People will

ask sometimes, like we've had this question come

up in Alpha, for example. People ask, like, did

Jesus really believe that he was God and he was

one with the Father? Like, he really believed

that. And there's a lot of evidence that you

could pour into. The simple answer is yes. And

there are many places that illustrate that. One

of them is right here in this verse that we just

read where he says, believe in God, believe also

in me. What was he saying? We are the same. So

to believe in one is to believe in both. He was

equating himself with the Father. So it's just

a side little theological gift for you. He's

equating himself with the Father, co -equal.

And you could digress so much into that to say,

of course he believed it. Otherwise, he could

have bypassed the cross because they were essentially

trying to get him to deny his divinity. Were

they not? All you got to do is deny this. And

he's like, no, I am essentially God. Anyhow,

side note. Jesus is doing his best here to help

these disciples understand. And when you get

to verse four, it's just clear that they still

don't understand. They're looking for a literal

answer from Jesus. Again, it's like your five

-year -old is just, but why, but why, but why,

but why? And you're like, you're not getting

it. And so first it was Peter like, hey, where

are you going? And Jesus tries to like walk them

into this. And then you get to verse four or

verse five rather, where Thomas now comes into

the conversation, says this to Jesus, Lord, Thomas

said, we don't know where you're going. How can

we know the way? Thomas represents all of us

in that moment, right? Like, how is it that if

we don't know the destination, we can know the

way to get there? If I'm like, hey, meet me this

afternoon. And you're like, where? And I'm like.

What street are you going to get on? You don't

even know. It's impossible to meet me if you

don't know where you're going. But if I tell

you, meet me at Broadway and Houghton, you know

how to get there. You know the path to take to

get you there. So he's very logical reasoning

here by Thomas. It's just clear that they just

weren't getting it. And so Jesus is going to

double down. And make it even clearer for them,

what was Jesus' reply? Maybe one of the most

well -known verses in the entire Bible. This

is how he responds to Thomas. Jesus told him,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one

comes to the Father except through me. So in

Jesus' response, what was he communicating to

them? Several things. First, the way. Remember,

where was their primary concern? The way is not

a literal way, nor is it a set of directions,

but rather a way of life, which is a commitment

to following Jesus. This is where, when Jesus

starts to talk about the newness of just all

things, this is what he means. You want to understand

this as a literal checklist, and Jesus is instead

saying, I'm inviting you into a surrendered life

in relationship with me. It's a commitment to

follow Jesus. Jesus said this earlier in John

John 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. If anyone serves me, he must also

follow me. So this is what he's essentially inviting

them to do. Come follow me. Where I am, there

my servant will also be. If anyone serves me,

the Father will honor him. And so here's what

I will say to you, friends. If Jesus is, if he's

anything more than a good teacher or a guide

to a better place, which I think he is, he's

actually rather the way to the Father. And I,

yeah, there's, I have so many, anyhow, I'll let

it go. But I just have a lot of thoughts on the

prevailing narrative around the usefulness of

Jesus. Jesus is not useful to us in the sense

of like a free ride to heaven. But rather like

this is what he's inviting us into. Like you

have to come follow me. You have to surrender

your life to me. You have to walk the narrow

path that Matthew chapter 5 talks about. Few

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

are those who find it difficult is the way. And

if I asked you, hey, how do you get to Phoenix?

Like literally, how do you get to Phoenix? You

would tell me, all right, head down Houghton

and then take a left. And then when you get to

the freeway, take a ride on an on -ramp and then

just stay on that for a hundred some miles and

you're at Phoenix. Like there's a literal...

way to Phoenix. If I asked you, like, how do

you make the honor roll at your school? You probably

have some, what do you call it, criteria that

you're aware of. Like, well, you have to have

at least this many AP classes and you have to

have at least the minimum GPA, like, et cetera.

If I asked you, how do you get to heaven? The

list of directions that you would give me would

be what? I mean, it would be just a really fun

experiment to go stand on the street corner downtown

and say, hey, how do you get to heaven? I would

imagine that you would maybe get some answers

like, well, you got to go to church. You got

to get baptized. You got to volunteer. You got

to do good things. You got to maybe throw God

a little bit of your money. Like, how do you

get to Phoenix? One, two, three, and four. How

do you get to heaven? One, two, three, and four.

No. There is no list. It is a person, and that's

what Jesus was trying to get them to see. Like,

there's no checklist to heaven. There's a person

that gets you to heaven. He's the way, the truth,

and the life. And that's what he was trying to

communicate to them in that moment. That's the

way to the Father. That's the way to eternal

life. There is no other way. And so there's just

a couple, maybe one. I don't even remember how

many points I have. Just maybe one point that

I really wanted us to get from this moment between

Jesus and his disciples. And it's this. Salvation

is exclusively found in Jesus. And here's what

I will say. Despite the popular narrative. All

roads don't lead to heaven. All roads don't lead

to heaven. There is an exclusivity to salvation.

And yet, and this is the tension of our church

that I love so much. And yet, it is available

to any and all who by faith trust in Jesus. So

the exclusivity of it is wide. It will at the

end of history include millions if not billions

of people. And when you hear the number billion,

it doesn't seem very exclusive. It is in the

sense that there's only one way to get there.

It's by Jesus, by faith in Jesus. But here's

the good news. He can receive as many as will

come to him. There's no capacity. He can check

you in faster than you can show up. There's an

exclusivity to it that is widely available to

any and all who come to him by faith. And what's

so wild is that later in the book of Acts, so

this is after Jesus has gone, this is after the

church has been established and it's growing,

this same Peter who was so confused by Jesus'

words earlier in John chapter 14, he now seems

John 14 · chapter mention

to have total clarity. Look at what he says in

Acts chapter 4. There is salvation. This is the

Acts 4 · chapter mention

same Peter. There is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given

to people by which we must be saved. That's the

same Peter. Just think of the irony of that,

right? Like he was before, he was like, we don't

know the way. And Jesus is like, I am the way,

I am the truth, I am the life. And then later

in Acts chapter four, when now they're kind of

being put under, when the heat's been turned

up on them and they're having to give a testimony

and to defend this very faith now that Jesus

has entrusted to them, they're like, hey, we're

pretty clear on this. There is salvation in no

one else. There is no other name under heaven

by which people must be saved. Here's what I

will say. The aim of Christianity is not to get

more people to go to churches. The aim of Christianity

is to shepherd people towards surrendering their

lives to Jesus so that they willingly follow

him. And obviously as a pastor, I keep up with

the... trends in the pastoral world and church

growth strategies. Educators, you spend time

in that. We all have our niche that we are interested

in. There's a growing fascination, if you will,

with how do we get more people to come to church?

I suppose that's a necessary question for us

to be asking, but it's easy to get caught up

in the trap to think that that's the aim of Christianity.

The aim of Christianity is not to get more people

to come to churches, but to shepherd people towards

surrendering their lives to Jesus so that they

willingly follow him. And you know what that

often translates to? People coming to church.

You guys are sharp. And Jesus also claimed here

in John 14 to be the truth. So similar to what

we just established, there aren't many truths

that help us arrive at salvation. There's only

one, it's found in Jesus. And if you know any

of the Sermon on the Mount, so that's this sermon,

if you will, that Jesus gave to this gathered

group of people. It's in Matthew chapters five

to seven. There are multiple places where Jesus

said, you have heard it said, and then what would

he say? But I tell you. What was he doing? And

there's like, I don't know. Six or seven of those

statements at least. You have heard it said,

love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus

would say, but I tell you. And then he would

give them this new, updated, radicalized Jesus

form of the old law, if you will. What was he

saying? You know the law. That's what he would

say. You have heard it said. That's another way

of saying, you know the law, but I am superior

to the law. You have heard it said, you know

the law, but I tell you, I am superior to the

law. That's essentially what that translates

to mean. He also came to fulfill the law and

the prophets. What does that mean? It means that

he becomes the single source of truth, the only

truth, the only true measure of righteousness.

And when we hear that, we're inclined to think,

how arrogant. And not lost on me is the perceived

arrogance of the exclusivity of Christianity.

Long, run -on sentence. I'm aware of that. But

what gets lost in that is just how wildly generous

Jesus is with that invitation and becomes the

single, the true measure of righteousness. And

so when we hear that, we're inclined to think

how arrogant, like how restrictive, how whatever,

whatever, whatever. But what did Jesus tell us

about truth? John chapter 8, 32, you will know

John 8 · chapter mention

the truth and the truth will set you what? Free.

It's not actually like you're not signing your

freedom away by surrendering your life to Jesus.

You're actually taking on freedom in a sense

that you've never experienced it before. There's

freedom in truth. And then finally he describes

himself as the life, which is somewhat ironic

at that moment if you think about it, because

he's just been telling that he's basically going

to what? Die. This is his farewell discourse.

And now all of a sudden he's like, I'm the life.

I'm like, run that by us again one more time.

The deliverance and freedom he was about to provide

was not a political or social deliverance, which

most of the Jews were seeking. And don't you

know, by osmosis, if you will, by proximity,

the disciples as well, like, hey, you understand

everybody's upset, Jesus, because you have not

delivered us from Rome, and they all thought

you would. And so they're all seeking this political

and social deliverance, but a true deliverance

from a life of bondage to sin and death to a

life of freedom and eternity is what Jesus was

ultimately offering them. And there's just one

last thing. I went really long last week, so

I'm not going to go long this week. I owe you

a few minutes. And I just struggled with this

message because I... It's my job to kind of draw

out things for us to see. And I just, I felt

like the text is the text today, if that makes

sense. And there wasn't a lot of like hidden

things there that aren't plainly obvious to us.

But there is one thing that I just kept coming

back to. And I don't even think it's the main

point of the text. But if you remember from our

text last week, Jesus has given them this new

commandment to love one another as he had loved

them. And then you fast forward to this text,

and we just looked at today, and guess what?

I just wanted us to see it. It's easy to miss

because it's not the main point of the text,

but he again practices and models the very love

that he's called him to. How so? Because now

it's Peter's turn to deny him. And it's going

to happen just shortly after this whole scene.

So think about it. Judas betrayed him, and Jesus

is like, Love one another as I have loved you.

By the way, I'd wash the betrayer's feet, if

you will. And Peter's going to deny him. And

yet here in this moment, Jesus is just extending

and modeling the same love, this newness of love,

not for the people that are lovable per se, but

the people who will deny you and the people who

will reject you and betray you and all the things.

And there's two of them in the room and one's

gone. Peter, well -meaning Peter, well -meaning

Peter. Just a short time later, he's like, hey,

you were with the guy. I don't know him. You

were with the guy. I don't know him. We saw you

with Jesus. I don't know him. And then the rooster

crows, and Peter's like, oh, turns out Jesus

was right. And yet, and yet, he's in the room,

and Jesus is saying, this is the newness of this

love. And then if you were to go to the end of

the book, John chapter 21, you see this incredible

John 21 · chapter mention

moment where Jesus restores Peter three times.

Ironic? No. Intentional. Like, do you love me,

Peter? Yes. Feed my sheep. Do you love me, Peter?

Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my sheep.

And then it's this dialogue between him and Jesus.

And you just see this, like, restoration happen

in that moment. And so I pointed out to us because

I wanted you to see that once again, Jesus is

practicing and modeling the very thing that he

was calling them and us to. This wasn't just

like, I'm Jesus, do as I say. It was, I'm Jesus,

live as I have lived. And they were getting a

front row seat to this. They were getting a front

row seat to this between Judas' betrayal and

Peter's denial and all the other things that

would transpire. And so I'll close by just maybe

giving you a couple of rhetorical questions to

chew on. What is it that you're seeking after

today? So take that where question that Peter

had and Thomas as well, and just apply it to

your own lives. What is it that you're seeking

today? And I understand I'm asking what, and

they were asking where, but a lot of times, The

where is to try and satisfy the what that we're

looking for, if that makes sense. What is it

that you're seeking today? Perhaps the question

of where resonates with you. Like, where can

I find true happiness? Where can I find true

peace? Where can I find true contentment? Where

can I find acceptance? Where can I find true

life? Those are very normal human questions.

As a society, we're asking them in some very

sophisticated, subtle ways. Social media is an

example of like, where can I find acceptance?

Where can I find validation for who I am? And

Jesus gives us that answer with an invitation

to come follow him. And when we discover and

surrender to him, we find truth and we find life.

And I will just tell you that one of my greatest

fears as a pastor is that you would see the means

of Christianity as the end, so to speak. In other

words, if you're checking those boxes, those

directional boxes of how to get to heaven, that

you would unintentionally pacify your conscience

to believe that you are in fact following Jesus.

And I know maybe it's a bold thing to say that

to you, but... More importantly than you coming

to our church is you surrendering your life to

Jesus. More importantly than you giving your

time or your money. That's the fruit that grows

in your life when you first make that decision

to surrender to Jesus. And one of my deepest

desires, maybe a more positive way to say it

than one of my greatest fears. Let's try this

route. deepest desires is that you understand

that you wouldn't see the means of Christianity.

So the attending, the serving, the giving as

the end all be all. Does that make sense to you?

But rather that the end is Jesus. That's the

end. That's what we're after. And in the similar

capacity that the disciples were confused, we

get confused ourselves. Where? How do I get there?

And don't you know that they were just like so

hopeful in that moment that Jesus would be like,

all right, well, here's the deal. The Romans

are going to come and they're going to take me

and they're probably going to take me to the

courtyard around the building. And then they're

probably going to hold me there for 12 hours.

And then they're going to take me to this hill

where they're going to crucify me. Like, got

it. We're with you every step of the way, Jesus.

We know where you're going now. And we, to some

capacity, we want that too, don't we? Tell us,

Jesus, how to get there. And Jesus is like, if

you find me, you found the way. And so if you

surrender your life to me, like, guess what?

You've got it. You've got all you need. And these

other things that we're inclined to think like,

that's how I get there, so to speak. Jesus is

like, no, that's the fruit that grows out of

your life because you can't help but do those

things once you surrender to the way, if you

will. And you've found truth and you've found

life. Don't get me wrong, like all these things

that we're inclined to kind of adorn ourselves

with and do are good, healthy, right, biblical

things. But if they become the end in themselves

rather than a means to an end, if you will, then

we've missed a whole invitation from Jesus. Does

that make sense? We've missed a whole invitation

from Jesus if the means become the end. I think

so much of what is driving this new vision for

us, this discovering Jesus, deepening faith,

which by the way, we ran out of those shirts.

A lot of you ordered them. We have them today

on the plaza, but only if you special ordered

them. Don't try and pull one over on us, okay?

We have your names. I'm serious. We only have

them if you ordered them. They're on the plaza.

But so much of what is driving this new vision

for us, discovering Jesus, deepening faith, is...

this very thing. Like, we don't want our people

to see the means as the end. Like, the goal is

Jesus. The aim is Jesus. The destination is Jesus.

Like, where are you going? We are going to Jesus.

We might get heaven. We will get heaven in eternity.

That's a beautiful reality. But that's where

we're going today is we're going into surrendered

posture into life with Jesus because he is the

way, the truth, and the life. Amen? Let's pray

together. Father, thank you for this moment.

Thank you for the truth of Jesus. Thank you for

his boldness to say, I am the way, the truth,

and the life. It's exclusive, but it is vast.

And I know, I know for certain. that there are

multiple types of people in this room today.

There are some who are just clear. Like, this

is a decision that is so clear for me. It's one

that I've made. It's one that I'm, by the Spirit

of God, doing my best to live into every day.

There's a second group of people in the room

who, in good faith, innocently, we'll even say,

have made... Kind of the directions, the destination.

Rather than fixing our eyes on Jesus, we've tried

to, by our works, by our good deeds, by our whatever

it is, we have tried to work our way to the way

instead of surrendering. And then I think there's

yet another group of people in the room who...

They're just like, I'm not sure I have one clue

what this means. I'm so grateful that our church

is a landing place for all people, no matter

which category you fall into. And so I especially

pray for my friends in the room who are like,

I really have no idea what this means. God, I

pray that today would be a day where they just

take the next step. We're not trying to get to

the finish line today. We're trying to just take

the next step. And so would you give them spirit

of boldness and courageousness to courage to

just ask a question, to have a conversation,

to do the hard work of just exploring what does

it mean that Jesus is the way, the truth, and

the life. And I pray for myself and I pray for

everybody else in this room. If they're human

like me, God, then this is the prayer we all

need to pray, which is, would you forgive us

for pursuing the wrong things? There's a way

that seems right to man, but its end is destruction.

And so often, God, so often we get on that path

with No intention of staying on it. And yet,

all of a sudden we turn around and we look and

we just wandered really far. And the things that

we thought were going to satisfy us have just

proven to leave us empty handed. And so would

we, by faith, draw near to you today, trusting

that in you is... Is the answer to all of our

where questions in life. Where will I find happiness?

Where will I find peace? Where will I be content?

Where will I be accepted? Where will I be made

whole? Where will I be set free from this addiction?

All of those where's are resolved in Christ.

So we just give our hearts to you today by faith.

Our song is for you, God. And we sing it to you

now in Jesus' name.