Peace in Troubled Times

John 14:1-14.

Trusting the Promise:

In the conversation continued from the previous chapter, Jesus offers comfort to His Disciples

He encourages the Disciples to lean on the peace that comes from Faith in Jesus.

The continued theme is that Jesus is the only true source of Peace and Security in a world of chaos and turmoil

He now, shifts the narrative, slightly:

Jesus has been doggedly consistent in His telling of His impending death- And the need for it to happen to complete the final step in God’s plan of redemption.

But now He adds a new thought- That the “Glorification” that He has mentioned is not just in the completed work of His Sacrificial Death, the Atonement of our Sins and His Resurrection from the Dead.

His Glorification now has an added purpose- His return to Heaven to prepare for all believers a place to be in the eternal presence of God.

Jesus has now combined the human perspective of our temporal world with the Eternal Life God has prepared for those that would believe in Him.

Jesus’ assertion that He is the Way, Truth and Life now comes into full view-

We now have the complete Biblical theme- Through Christ and Christ alone, we have access to God and can find true and everlasting Peace.

So lets begin:

1. Promise of Prepared Place

John 14:1–4 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. 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 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, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Since the original text did not have chapter and verse notations, it is important to note that Chapter 14 is a continuation of Jesus’ conversation with the Disciples from the end of Chapter 13.

Jesus’ insists that the Disciples, Love one another- They would be known in the community for their care and love for each other- This was a major disruption to the Roman would they lived in- With its sharp social divides.

And as one commentary puts it:

NIVAC John (Contemporary Significance)

“Nothing so astonishes a fractured world as a community in which radical, faithful, genuine love is shared among its members. There are many places you can go to find communities of shared interest.

There are many places you can go to find people just like yourself, who live for sports or music or gardening or politics.

But it is the mandate of the church to become a community of love, a circle of Christ’s followers who invest in one another because Christ has invested in them, who exhibit love not based on the mutuality and attractiveness of its members, but on the model of Christ, who washed the feet of everyone (including Judas).”

Jesus immediately moves to calm the Disciples fears and anxiety, “Let not your hearts be troubled”

There is the old joke of Telling your wife to calm is the quickest way for her to NOT calm down.

But when the Creator of the Universe tells you to not let your hearts be troubled, you can take it to heart and hold onto that.

There is a calming reassurance in knowing that God has it under control and we need not trouble our hearts with the stuff of this world.

There are several promises made in these few verses that we can hold onto:

To believe in God, we can believe in Jesus also

Jesus is preparing a place for all believers

Jesus also promises to return for all believers, to take us to the place He has prepared

He then promises that where He is, we will be also.

Finally- As believers, we will know where He is going.

What better way to understand all that Jesus has promised for us- Than to allow that promise to bring everlasting peace to our souls.

2. Pathway of Promise

John 14:5–7

“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 had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Thomas expresses the confusion that all the Disciples are feeling. They have mis-read and mis-interpreted what Jesus has taught so many times.

And now, once again, despite several explanations by their Messiah, they still seem lost, as to What Jesus really is saying.

What they fail to see is:

Jesus’ journey to the Cross, IS the way home for Him. It is understandable to see the Disciples confusion, for they could not see beyond the Cross at that point.

With understanding, after the Resurrection,Clarity came soon after and they began to understand.

This establishes that there is truly only one WAY to Heaven and it is by the Sacrificial Death on the Cross by our Lord and Saviour.

That fact is based on Jesus’ own teaching that only He speaks the direct words of God to lead believers to the Ultimate Truth.

As one Scholar puts it, “All truth is God’s truth, as all life is God’s life; but God’s truth and God’s life are incarnate in Jesus.”

Doubling down on His claim to Divinity- Jesus declares that- Not only is He the only way to Heaven, but God is the only one who can lead us to Himself- Showing that God the Father is truly present in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

This shadows John’s opening to his Gospel, ch 1 verses 1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God and the Word was God.”

Until we can fully embrace this fact- Maybe not totally understand it, but embrace it nonetheless, We will not find the peace of Christ in our lives.

Nor will we be able to tap into this magnificent source of truth and peace in our lives in a world filled with turmoil and unrest.

The life of the Apostle Paul exemplifies finding peace in troubling times. Despite being beaten, imprisoned, and shipwrecked, Paul wrote letters filled with hope and encouragement.

In Philippians 4:6-7, he urges us not to be anxious but to pray, promising that God’s peace will guard our hearts.

Paul’s unwavering faith shows us that peace is possible even in the darkest seasons of life.

What does Jesus mean when He declares, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' in the context of our relationship with God?

lets explore that thought a bit more:

3. Person of Peace

John 14:8–11 “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? 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 authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Phillips request, although a noble thought, is seriously flawed.

John 1:18, is clear, “NO one has seen God...”

Even the great Patriarch of the OT, Moses, had his request to see God denied. Moses was allowed only to see the Back of Gods Glory as He passed by. Moses had his eyes covered by the hand of God, for no one can look on God’s face and live.

What Phillip and the other Disciples continued to miss was that- In Jesus, they were eye witnesses to the total embodiment of God as seen by humanity.

To clarify even further, Jesus adds that, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father...”

This opportunity to know God through trust in Jesus is the assurance we need to quench any fears or anxiety we may experience in life.

Our personal relationship with Jesus provides us with the “Peace that passes all understanding”, Knowing and experiencing God and His presence in the daily routines of our our lives.

It is imperative that we clearly understand that Jesus was not just some learned Scholar or gifted teacher-

He was not a wise guru that was also a captivating orator.

Jesus was and is not just a way to get to a destination- He is the destination- He is the end goal.

As Jesus has told the crowds of people several times, “I and the Father are One...”

If it is the One and Only true God of the universe you seek, You must accept and go through Jesus Christ the Son of God to get there.

In a culture often marked by division and discord on social media and in public discussions, consider how you engage yourself.

Begin a commitment to practice kindness online; when you see divisive posts, choose to respond with love and understanding instead of negativity.

Jesus has, up to this point, offered encouragement and comfort to the Disciples. in our next section, He begins to change the subject

4. Power of Prayer

John 14:12–14 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

The premise is true that the Power of God was manifest in Jesus, and that believers in Jesus gain knowledge and eternal life from from Him,

It stands to reason that those same believers, in some way will share in God’s power.

Now before anyone goes running off on a power ego trip, let me explain:

The amazing promises in verse 12 all point to the future- A future where God the Son has returned to Heaven and has taken His rightful place at the Right hand of God the Father.

Jesus had to go before any of these works could be accomplished.

It also must be understood, that the works refer to Jesus’ miracles he did during His ministry.

And that “Whoever believes in Me, will also do the works that I do...”

However-

And this is huge-

Whatever a believer is to do, must be done in the NAME of JESUS so that GOD gets the Glory.

The works of Jesus included acts of Humble Service to others and expressions of loving concern for those rejected by society and culture.

As well as the Spectacular miracles.

However, there is nothing “Greater” than raising a human being from death to Life. And Jesus did this several times- Not just for Lazarus.

Recall that in John Ch 10, that John the Baptist- Noted by the community of the time to be one of the greatest men of that time- prior to the Glorification of Jesus- John the Baptist could do no Signs

What the Disciples did in fulfilling the prophetic words of Jesus, was not more sign and wonders- Greater miracles but they took what they believed and spread the gospel like a wave that had never been seen before across the known world.

The greater works then comes after the arrival of the Holy Spirit to the believers gathered in the Upper Room in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

That indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables, not just the Disciples- Now Apostles- to spread the good news of the Gospel, but all believers can now take part in sharing the Blessed Hope of the Church.

That greater word has continued, unabated right up to the present day. The Word of God- The eternal hope of all mankind continues to be shared around the world like never before.

This very podcast is living proof of that impact, as it reaches around the globe through the internet and social media.