14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 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? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-14)
I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you, from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Our text happens to be part of the last things Jesus taught before he was arrested to be crucified.
In our text for today, the Lord reveals Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
In the opening sentence, Christ assures His hearers not to be troubled.
Why? Our hearts need not be troubled, because Jesus is the Way.
He tells them not to give up on Him or be in doubt of who He is. He is the one of whom it is written: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to Him”. Deut.18:15. He tells us to put our absolute trust in him. For He alone is the way to the Father. He assures us from the word go not to put our trust in princes and in men in whom there is no help Psalm 146:3. He tells us to believe in the Father of creation and also in Him.
He then talks about rooms in his Father’s house. But how can we go to the Father? It is only through Him. His way comes through His pierced hands, side and the wound prints on His back. When we are given the faith to believe in his bitter suffering and torture for our sins then we really know the way.
In Luke, we see a tax collector called Zacchaeus who had lost the way to the father and was immersed in cheating and the society saw him as a cheat and a thief, and the society had no regard for this Zacchaeus. When Jesus met him the Spirit of God granted him faith that led him to repentance and to life. He found the way in Christ Jesus.
In John 4 we also see the Samaritan woman at the well who had been married to so many men and had also lost her way. She was rejected and dejected: a lonely woman that had no story to tell anyone. When Jesus met her and gave her the living water that would never run dry. Suddenly she had a story to tell everyone and the entire village listened to her and followed her: to see this Jesus-the Way.
May I just add; the woman who was about to be stoned by the mob because she was caught in the sin of adultery. She was seen as a downcast and a nobody, and she was in fact doomed to die -she should have been stoned to death – but Jesus revealed Himself to her; the Way to life in faith and have found the love and mercy in Christ, she served Him all the days of her life in repentance. And time will not allow us to talk about Joshua, Daniel and what have you. Jesus revealed himself as the Way again and again……
Concerning the Truth;
Pilate asked Jesus what is Truth? This has been an age-old question. Everyone seeks to know the truth. Indeed all the other religions talk about a truth which depends on man’s “findings”, “philosophies”, “dos” and “don’ts” but we are talking about the “Truth” in Jesus. The TRUTH is that Jesus is the one who is our sin-bearer. He came into this world that your sins and my sins would be placed on Him that He will carry them to the cross and take the punishment that was supposed to be for us on Himself because He loves us and wants us to be with Him where He is. He is God Himself, the maker of Heaven and Earth. Jesus is the one who said I will go to the world to take up the sins of my own creation and crush the head of the serpent on their behalf. That is why John said “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”!
Every religion realizes that there is sin in the world and the only way to overcome it is through some observance of a law, sacrifices to be done to pacify their god, or making restitution for the sins of their loved ones. But they have not found a way around sin yet. The fact is keeping rules and laws do not bring the truth to pass. The truth is that God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him (Jesus Christ) will not perish, but have everlasting life free of charge. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” We know that Jesus came and died for the common sinner who cannot meet the standards of the Lord Most High but in Christ, all these standards are met on our behalf. This promise is for all who believes in Jesus as their Lord-free of charge. We don’t have to keep laws, rules and make sacrifices and restitution because Jesus already did it for us. Beloved in Christ knowing Jesus is the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.
“The Truth” beloved; is Jesus.
The Life!
Jesus says He is the life John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;”
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha, his sisters had no hope and everyone cried. But when Jesus came to them He assured them like in our opening text “I am the resurrection and the life so do not be afraid. If you believe in me you will live; brothers and sisters you will have life.”
It is true that the only son of a widow was dead and was being carried out to be buried, but when Jesus came to them he touched the brier and commanded the boy to get up – and up he stood as he received life.
Again another little girl had died and her parents were crying hopelessly until they met Jesus. He said to the little dead child “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl”, I say to you arise. Beloved, there is life in Christ Jesus and He gives life and restores our dead souls. Jesus calls us from our death beds of sin, the grave, Satan, the world and He gives you and me life.
Life is found in no one else but in Christ Jesus, for in Him all mankind has life. This means that all that are in Christ have life. He calls us to Himself and has a place for us in His promised Home in heaven to be with Him. Beloved this is for you and for your children as well. In Christ, we have an assured home in heaven and so we do not grieve about those who have passed on in Christ for they have only gone home to be with Jesus.
Beloved: Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to the Father’s house safely and this is because He is the way to the House. Because he rose from the dead we also know we will rise from the dead and that is the plain truth. He died to give us life and that is life abundant in him.
The Covid-19 pandemic is life-threatening- but it is not the first of its kind – all other pandemics pass and go; this one too will pass and go. Most importantly I have seen the covenant keeper, the life-giver in Numbers 21:6-9 deliver the righteous from such plagues. In Numbers 21:9 the Israelites got their healing so long as they looked up to the Bronze serpent that Moses raised in the wilderness.
Today Jesus the Life is here. We were carved from His side and He will surely deliver and cure us from this plague. He will continue to give us faith in Him to look up to Him just as the Israelites did in the time of Moses.
In conclusion beloved in Christ, what are you yearning for? What is your heart troubled over? Are you searching for the Way – It is Jesus-the Alpha and Omega; do you seek the truth -It is Jesus; are you in need of life – it’s Jesus.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.