5th Sunday of Easter

Intro

John 14:1–14 NRSVue

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. 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, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 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, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Prayer

Jesus

Context

These words from Jesus and this conversation between him and his disciples takes place in a larger part of the Gospel of John, as he is preparing them for his departure. Just in Chapter 13, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to go from this world and return to the father. Jesus then took the place of a servant to wash their feet and commanded them to do the same to each other. While he was telling them again that he was only going to be with them for a little while longer, he commanded them to love each other just as he had loved them. Finally, he told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would deny him three times.

Troubled Hearts

So when we get to this section in John 14, we can understand a bit more why the disciples needed to be comforted- why their hearts were troubled in the first place. Their hearts were troubled because the man who they had laid their lives down to literally follow step by step in a physical way was now telling them that he was leaving. Their physical guide, the one who they followed and obeyed would not be with them anymore. Now they didn’t understand yet what this meant for their future. They didn’t understand yet that Jesus would be crucified and resurrected or what this meant for the world. All that they knew was that the person who had guided them, directed them, and shown them the way throughout all of these years was leaving.

Jesus goes on to tell them to believe or trust in God and also to believe or trust in him. That the answer for the disciples in this time of their troubled hearts was trust, and that answer sticks with us today. That in our times of trouble and insecurity, that we find our hope and security in the trust that Jesus is preparing a place for us, this place with many dwelling places, and more than enough room for all of us just as he talks about in this passage. He is going before us with the promise that we will be home with him one day.

Thomas’ Question

I want to spend some time focusing on these question that Thomas and Philip ask Jesus. After Jesus gives the disciples a description of why they shouldn’t let their hearts be troubled and what he will be doing for them in the meantime as he isn’t with them anymore, Thomas seems to almost interrupt him after Jesus says “You know the place I am going” and says “Lord, we don’t get it. We don’t know where this place you are talking about going is, so how can we know the way to get there?” Thomas, like the rest of the disciples wanted a specific roadmap of how they were going to get to where Jesus was going. They had been following him for so long that they with everything they had that they wanted to know the physical way to get to where he was. After they had been in the presence of Jesus for so long, I can imagine they were pretty discouraged at this news of having to go at it alone.

I think this question that Thomas asks reflects a fear that is really common for all of us. Like the disciples, we are afraid to lose the things that are guiding us through every day and every decision. The things that are so familiar, so tried and so true in our lives, like our jobs, our assets, even our people. Because when this happens and these things are lost, we’re lost. Or at least that’s what we feel like. We feel like we are drifting and that we can’t get our feet back on the path that we should be going.

But Jesus tells Thomas and all of us “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This statement is one of Jesus’ most well known statements of his ministry, and has provided so many Christians with a lot of comfort over the centuries. I think that what Jesus was showing them for in this statement was that we can find our way through him when it seems like we lose all familiarity and direction. That when the things that we follow and rely on for guidance and security are gone, that he is still the way and he will always be the way. Jesus is telling Thomas even though you can’t know me in the same way anymore, as I am going to my Father’s house and am leaving you, you can still know me in a better, more mature, and more fulfilling way. Through trust and through the spirit. When we talk about this verse “I am the way the truth and the life” and how Jesus is the only to the father as he says next, we have to be cautious and we have to realize that just knowing or saying a verse like this is not the same as acting on it. When Jesus says he is the only way to the Father, that is a statement, but it’s also invitation for us to continue in his ministry and what he was doing here on Earth. One commentator writes

John: The Shepherd King Teaching

Jesus is the only way to the Father, but that means truly being ‘part’ of Jesus by allowing him to cleanse us by his death (13:10) and by obeying his ‘new commandment’ to love others as he has loved (13:34). That means a love that is moral in character, costly to us and given even though it may be spurned, as Jesus’ love was. Knowing about verse 6 is not the same as acting on it.

Jesus answer to Thomas teaches us that when our hearts our troubled, we have trust and belief that he is the way, the truth and the life. That he is our path and our destination. And that we have a future filled with limitless hope because of what he has done and what he is continuing to do on our behalf.

When we think about Thomas, what is the word that comes to our mind because of his reaction to the resurrection? Doubt. I don’t think that we see this doubt in this question. I think from Thomas that we see a longing that is present in a lot of us today. A longing of wanting to be guided through all of our decisions and know exactly where to go. And the good news is that Jesus is this guide in our lives, even though we don’t get to follow him in the same, physical sense that these disciples did.

Jesus is assuring us that there is a way- a clear and fulfilling way- to follow him even when we lose access to the tangible things we depend on. That when our hearts are troubled as they are so often, we put our trust in him and follow him with faith. There was an opportunity for the disciples to learn to follow him in a different way that has continued to us today.

Illustration

The good news that comes from this passage and this statement by Jesus is that “the way” to a true authentic and joyful life doesn’t come from within us our our desires. The way to a good future doesn’t come from anything that we can do on our own. But “the way” to life, love, and eternity comes when we put our trust in Jesus who is the truth and the life, and are redeemed by His grace.

This idea and truth of God being in our path and directing our steps reminds me of a really familiar and common verse that is often printed in the front of Bibles everywhere.

Psalm 119:105 NRSV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God’s word is a way for us to feel Him and know him. The Psalmist here says that his word is a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. God isn’t a lamppost that we have to find our way to to, but he is like a lantern that we carry with us wherever we go. He is both the destination and the journey, the lamp that never runs out. The way, the truth, and the life. No matter what we face on this journey, we can look down at our feet and see his light guiding us, at the way that we are walking and see that he has been guiding us all along and he always will be.

Our circumstances do not determine the direction of our lives. When we follow Jesus with our heart, soul, mind and spirit, we are never lost.