The Way Truth Life John 14:1-14

Sermon on John 14:6 prepared by Jonathan Shradar

John 14:1-14

Jesus is the sanctifier and satisfaction of the church.

A couple of weeks ago my friend Geoff, who leads Flourish San Diego, was recounting his recent trip to Italy and the meaningful parts of the journey. We have been talking a lot about pastoral flourishing and the thriving of the church, what makes a church resilient in our day.

Geoff, he tells the story better, shared how his tour group when in Rome went under a newer church, several hundreds of years old, to a smaller much more ancient church said to have been the place of ministry for the pope who baptized Constantine.

Deeper still below that church and the group came to a space that was used by a first or early second century house church. Just 50 years from Paul’s letter to the Romans… a room where saints gathered for prayer, the apostle’s teaching, and community, in a city hostile to them.

As Geoff tells it, he was struck, not by the architecture, or even how the city continued over centuries to be built upon the foundation of what had come before, but by the longevity of the church.

For all of its iterations, all of its attempts at aligning with the state, or innovation, with its grand architecture, and its faithful gathered in houses, the church persevered, prevailed, through the ages. Anchored by the promises of God, given a way of life, and a community to live it with. This bride of Christ has persisted, and now we carry on.

With our reformations, our niches, our preferences, still anchored, centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ for us.

Riding the waves of life, with their peaks and valleys, uncertainties, and joys, we at times may wonder if we have what it takes to persist, to arrive at the shores of home, in the hoped for eternity.

As we come to our next “I am” statement, we find what keeps the believers, what steadies the church, through the ages, through turbulent waters and calm seas.

Jesus is the sanctifier and satisfaction of the church.

We have arrived at the penultimate statement.

Bread of life.

Light of the world.

Door of the sheep.

Good Shepherd.

Resurrection and the life.

And next, the True Vine.

Today, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

There is some separation from the last statement, so a lot has happened. Context is vital.

His claim to be the resurrection and the life preceded the raising of his friend Lazarus from the dead. Pretty big deal. Of all the ministry, all the preaching of the Kingdom, all of the miraculous healing, this was too far.

The chief priests order to have him arrested and they plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.

Passover was at hand, the feast, marking the exodus, blood of the lamb shed to protect against death. Jews from far off would all come to Jerusalem and Jesus would be among them.

He would enter the city greeted as a King, and Jesus would make clear, the work he had talked of, it's time had come. The hour of decision had come.

John 12:23–26 “And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [25] Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (ESV)

Jesus and his disciples would share the Passover meal together. Maybe you have heard of some of the things that occurred there. He washed the disciples' feet. He told them one would betray him. He said it was his time to be glorified, that he was going away.

And then we arrive at our text. Words of comfort to weary hearts. Expectations unmet, something different is happening. And in the questions of two disciples we can see ourselves, how we face life, waiting for all the sad things to come untrue.

Jesus is the sanctifier of the church

Sanctifier, the one who does the setting apart for God, the transforming, making new. Jesus not only saves you, but he also keeps you, and renews you.

“Let not your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also in me.”

Then using the language of a bridegroom with his betrothed, Jesus promises his followers he will come again and “take you to myself that where I am you may be also.”

We see this as an eschatological promise - end - second coming; trumpet sounding, Jesus’ returning moment where we are caught up with him. All who believe.

But then he says this line that invites a question, v.4 “and you know the way to where I am going.”

If Jesus had asked for some communication advice, and he asked me, I would have left it at verse 3. Or added a reminder, that he is the door, the way is through him… But this instigates a question from Thomas.

John 14:5 “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (ESV)

Then we get our “I am” in response.

We have always used this as proof of the exclusivity of Christ for salvation. No way to God, to be saved, other than Jesus. Absolutely true. But I can get to that fact without this statement in response to Thomas’ question.

Jesus essentially tells the crowds the same thing using different words but making it clear he is the way of salvation. But there is no crowd here.

This is just his disciples. Those following him. In reference to trusting him (believing), living in between his ministry and his return.

Imagine the emotion of hearing your rabbi, Jesus, saying he was leaving, you would eventually be with him but not now. Of course you would want to go with him. ‘Give me the map!’

Thomas is probably thinking “how do we keep this all going? Where is the redemption of Israel we had hoped for? How can we maintain it?”

So in Thomas’ question, I wonder if there is more of an inclination toward “self-salvation” or “self-sanctification” that is so baked into our experience we don’t even realize we are constantly asking it.

Reframed: Jesus, “Trust me, your arrival is guaranteed and secure in me, I am going to take you to where I am.”

Thomas, “Give me an address so I can get there myself.”

We’ve consumed the bread of life, seen the light of the world, walked through the door of the sheep, we believe the Good Shepherd laid down his life for us, and we have hope in eternal resurrection and life. But life now, day to day…

How to work, how to get ahead, who to date, what to read and watch, listen to , how to make God happy with me, How to get my prayers answered, How to get better as a person, how to sin less and love more…

Well, I can come up with a strategy for that!

Jesus says you know the way, that's been the point of his ministry. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV)

He is inviting Thomas, and us, to move our trust from ourselves, our ability to arrive, achieve, and instead trust him… believe in God and also believe in him. The good news about him is what saves, forms, renews, and will bring us all the way home with him.

Footprints in the Sand… Cheesy picture. “Footprints in The Sand describes our true relationship with Jesus. During the most difficult times of our lives we will only see one set of footprints…his footprints carrying us.”

Nah, He only ever carries us. He is the way of getting through, for knowing how to live, for figuring out what to prioritize, what to value, for keeping your heart steady.

We can have a tendency to see Jesus, or the gospel, as the ticket to the ride, but he is the whole ride, he is the whole experience. From start to finish. Way, truth, and life. From the first moment of belief, to the moment he takes us to himself.

Jesus says, “I did not come to show you how to strive; I did the striving. I did not come to show you a mountain of righteousness to climb; I climbed it. I didn’t come to show you how to live the perfect life and die the death. I lived the life you should have lived. I died the death you should have died. I am the way. Come ask for me. Come grab me. Come rest in me. Just reach out and say, ‘Father, love me and accept me because of what Jesus did,’ and you’re there. I’m the way. I don’t point to it. I am it.” Christianity is Christ. The gospel is not instruction. It’s an announcement. The gospel doesn’t say do. It says it’s been done.” Timothy J. Keller

Thomas wouldn’t know it for a few days, but it was coming.

Parents fostering a dog for a few days reminded me of Ella joining our family. How hard she slept at first… stressed, adopted, safe. Regularly checking to make sure I was still there, that she was still safe. And now she sleeps all the time. Resting as on the pillow of God’s sovereignty!

Way (hodos) = path, no other road, strategy…

Truth (aletheia) = reality, fulfillment of OT, reveals true God, also what he says is true is true, of you.

Life (zoe) = more than a pulse, happiness, exuberance, energy, vitality, strength

The peace of salvation in Jesus, the ongoing renewal it brings, the change he works in us. This is what being His looks like. Being set apart. Sanctified.

Freedom from the past. “In Christ there is no more need to measure up. In Christ, you are no longer merely as good as what you have or have not done. In Christ, there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).”

Power for the present. “John 1:16 tells us that from the fullness of Jesus comes “grace upon grace.” That means there is grace ready and waiting for you every single moment. Right this very second, grace. And in the next second? More grace. Grace upon grace, cascading down from heaven, bubbling up from the indwelling Spirit of Christ in you, fresh and ready mercies waiting for you in the morning when you get up (Lam. 3:22–23).

How can this not transform the dullest, dumbest, darkest moments of our everyday lives? Eternal glory is granted to us by Christ’s righteousness and the Spirit’s power every millisecond of every hour of every day.

This means we have the power to experience joy amid suffering, hope in the depths of pain, obedience in the face of temptation, and forgiveness in the aftermath of sin.” JCW. The gospel - Jesus calibrates us for each moment.

Hope for the future. “The Lord of the universe who holds the future in his hands holds us too, and he has promised us a great deliverance.

The kind of hope and security God’s grace gives a man puts an end to worry. No more worrying about success, no more stressing about the future, no more fragile belief that the future is what we make of it. God’s kingdom has come and is coming, and we have been ushered into it by the success of Christ’s atoning work. We can’t fall out of it, either by sin or by our own mediocrity. Our future is utterly secure.”

This is what Jesus prays for his people.

John 17:16–19 “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. [18] As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19] And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (ESV)

Hebrews 10:14 “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (ESV)

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (ESV)

Hebrews 2:11 “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,” (ESV)

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (ESV)

He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our everything. Our hearts are secure as we make him Lord, surrender all of life to him and his way, his truth, his life.

This is where we are quick to embrace the Sunday School answer for every question of life!

Trusting Jesus as our sanctifier doesn’t preclude effort.

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (ESV) and he gives the Spirit to empower you!

We don’t strive by our own schemes. We hear the proclamation of the finished work of Jesus and his promise to bring us home. The promise to work in us for our good and his glory.

We work out the living, in community, anchored in Jesus for identity, perspective, and joy in between the “it is finished” of the cross and the “it is done” of his return and taking us to himself.

D.A. Carson, in a triplet of sonnets:

I am the way to God: I did not come

To light a path, to blaze a trail, that you

May simply follow in my tracks, pursue

My shadow like a prize that’s cheaply won.

My life reveals the life of God, the sum

Of all he is and does. So how can you,

The sons of night, look on me and construe

My way as just the road for you to run?

My path takes in Gethsemane, the Cross,

And stark rejection draped in agony.

My way to God embraces utmost loss:

Your way to God is not my way, but me.

Each other path is dismal swamp, or fraud.

I stand alone: I am the way to God.

I am the truth of God: I do not claim

I merely speak the truth, as though I were

A prophet (but no more), a channel, stirred

By Spirit power, of purely human frame.

Nor do I say that when I take his name

Upon my lips, my teaching cannot err

(Though that is true). A mere interpreter

I’m not, some prophet-voice of special fame.

In timeless reaches of eternity

The Triune God decided that the Word,

The self-expression of the Deity,

Would put on flesh and blood—and thus be heard.

The claim to speak the truth good men applaud.

I claim much more: I am the truth of God.

I am the resurrection life. It’s not

As though I merely bear life-giving drink,

A magic elixir which (men might think)

Is cheap because though lavish it’s not bought.

The price of life was fully paid: I fought

With death and black despair; for I’m the drink

Of life. The resurrection morn’s the link

Between my death and endless life long sought.

I am the firstborn from the dead; and by

My triumph, I deal death to lusts and hates.

My life I now extend to men, and ply

Them with the draught that ever satiates.

Religion’s page with empty boasts is rife:

But I’m the resurrection and the life.”

He is our sanctifier. Surrender to him.

He is enough.

Jesus is the satisfaction of the church

John 14:7 “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (ESV)

Again we get the unity of the Father and the Son. Jesus, the God-man, making clear, “if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen Him.” What a profound reality.

But our second disciple asks for more.

John 14:8 “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (ESV)

Lately I am more like Philip than Thomas… not asking in praying, but in trusting him, his plan, for the in between, through the ages.

“Jesus, do this one more thing and that will be enough!”

Good Plans song of 2024

Weary hearts look for more. It’s natural. Here Jesus has a strong response - ‘Haven’t I been with you so long?!’

We go through seasons where we wonder… gloom pervades, we become unsure, unmet expectations, timing doesn’t match, belief and trust wane.

We have history with Jesus but it is hard.

To Philip Jesus says, ‘look at my words and works…”

John 14:10–11 “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. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (ESV)

His words, all of his teaching, for us, all of Scripture. Word of his grace toward us. Even his statements of who he is. As Creator of the universe he speaks and His words are as treasure to those that trust Him. His words build us up, increase confidence.

John 6:68–69 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, [69] and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (ESV)

His works, Miraculous… confirming prophetic promise.

Matthew 11:4–5 “And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: [5] the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (ESV)

His work for us on the cross, and the resurrection. Forgiveness of sin, gift of his righteousness, new life in him. Even by His Spirit the maintenance of the church through the ages. His works in your life.

Believe on account of these, trust on account of these. They are enough. To be satisfied.

They are always there for us. Finished. Secure. Unwavering. Even when we are faithless he is faithful. And we rally to his words and works.

To keep us in the waiting, in the in between. Through the ages, in persecution, in highs and lows.

This is what the church does to last through the ages, we stir each other up by way of reminder, of the words and works of Christ!

“Christ is not therapeutic. Christ is not an incantation. Christ is not the poster child of optimism. You can apply principles to your life which may or may not make your life better, but Christ is not a principle. He is not a crucifix or holy water. He is not a 14 karat gold charm. Christ is not a carte blanche bible promise. Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse you quote when you are on your way to being exiled, to being dominated by your enemies. Quote it and claim it if you like but allow for being subjugated for 70 years. Some people's suffering is not earned.

Some people have already suffered too much. But the Universe does not care if a person has already met their suffering quota or not. "God will never give you more than you can handle" is a cliché we use to comfort ourselves while from a distance observing someone else's affliction.

Suffering has no answer. There is no philosopher or theologian who has ever solved this dire riddle. But we can live less afraid. We can have the truth and bring it into our bodies. We have died to this life and are hidden in Christ. We can confess with accuracy that life is absurd and it's absurdity may not soon be relieved. We are not counting on immediate rescue. We are not counting on the unreasonableness of life being fully relieved. Christian hope is not the hope of earthly prosperity and health. These things may or may not be achieved but they are in no way a sign of God's blessing or favor. Christ is our hope and therefore we are unabashedly allowed to acknowledge the things that do not make sense. Christ is not secret knowledge that will empower us to avoid troubles. Christ is enthroned on all that we do not know, all that we cannot make sense of, and his feet rest on the footstool of all our former false hopes. Christ is not a witch doctor and he has not hired any spin doctors to sell great power by which the world can be overcome. No, Christ himself has overcome the world and by nothing more than his complete diminishment, and that is an absurdity which we will never be able to fully explain but will forever be full of awe.” Andy Squyres

The church exists to reveal its satisfaction in Christ to the world. That no other pleasure, relationship, success, accolade, victory, or idol will even fulfill, match the longing we have. Only Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.

All of this in the exhortation to let not your hearts be troubled. And it comes with a promise. That whoever believes in him will do greater works, proclaiming the cross and resurrection, in the power of the Spirit, and glorifying the Father asking in the name of Christ and he will do it.

Jesus is the sanctifier and satisfaction of the church.

Tradition holds that Thomas would go to the uttermost parts of the earth, taking the gospel as far as India.

Philip, he would preach Jesus from Isaiah to the Ethiopian Eunuch and baptize him, before being teleported by the Spirit. He would raise daughters who would proclaim the glories of Christ.

How will we respond to Jesus?

Trust Him - In the in between. Know that his plan prevails and if you believe that he gave his life for you, and you call him Lord, he is preparing a place for you.

Know the way - Let him form you, as you give him more of your life, cherishing his words and works for you.

I don’t know if centuries from now tourists will descend a stairway to what was once the Columbus Club where a faithful group of saints proved with their lives that Jesus was enough for them. But I do know that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

That He has preserved the church that has trusted in Him for ages. That He has glorified the Father through the prayers of saints who have asked in His name.

May it be so in us.