Jesus: Our Comforting Saviour

Opening

You may open your bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 14

Please stand for the reading of the words of the one, true, and living God

John 14:1–6 LSB

1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How do 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 but through Me.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

In these words, you have offered your people comfort and guidance

I pray that those who hear these words would be comforted by them

That they might know what a powerful saviour they have in you

That you alone are enough to save them from their sins

And that there is no other way to be delivered from the judgment of God

Comfort your people through your word

Amen,

You may be seated

Introduction

I want to start by asking you a question

What kind of life would we have if we simply trusted in Jesus?

How would it change your life

Would it be for the better, or for the worse?

What would your friends think of you?

If you simply trusted Jesus?

If you are not a follower of Jesus, have you asked yourself this question?

What your life would look like if you trusted him?

And for those who are believers, how would your life change if you trusted him more or completely, holding nothing back?

This is the question we will examine this morning

The answer is 2 parts

The bad news first,

which is that you will have troubles

Your life will certainly be harder than your unbelieving neighbours

The Christian call to, for example, holiness isn’t easy in our society

What would be easy would be to let loose, and follow the desires of your heart

If anyone told you following Jesus would be easy, they don’t know the true Jesus

But that’s not all your life would look like if you simply trusted Jesus

It’s not all trials and tribulations

It would also be one of joy and deep comfort

You would find a deep comfort that only Jesus can provide

A deep contentment and hope in someone other than yourself

While speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus says in John 4:13-14

John 4:13–14 LSB

13 “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst—ever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

A well of eternal life

That is the Christian life, the part that makes all the difficulties and troubles worth it

The words of Jesus here in John 14 are meant as words of comfort and hope

In the previous 2 chapters, Jesus is with his disciples during the last supper, where he tells them many troubling things

After being with them for 3 years, he tells them he is going away, not to another land, but to die

He told them that one who had been there with them from the beginning was a traitor

He tells Peter that though he claims he was ready to die for Jesus, he would deny Him in just a few hours

And lastly, he tells his disciples that when the time came for his arrest, they would all fall away running in fear

Naturally, they were deeply troubled by these things

Not only them, but you too who are listening to me also have reason to be troubled

Though your troubles are slightly different than those of the disciples

For the unbeliever, your troubles are worse; however,

You have the persisting problem of sin, for which, if you stood before God today, you would be condemned

Romans 6:23 LSB

23 For the wages of sin is death

Eternal death,

And for the believer, you have troubles as well

Jesus promises this in John 15

John 15:18–19 LSB

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

The world will hate us for our message

They will hate you for the freedom you have

They will hate you for your holiness, which is an odour of death to those perishing

And most of all, they will hate you for the exclusivity of His message

The fact that Jesus alone is able to save you from your sins

Him and no other

Meaning that all other religions are wrong, all other paths to God are false

Because Jesus claims exclusivity

We are all in need of comfort,

And our saviour knows this

He takes care of his people.

The words of John 14 bring joy to our suffering

They bring comfort for those struggling with their Christian walk

Comfort for those struggling with sin and shame

And comfort for those struggling to stay faithful to the words of Jesus

Summary

He comforts his people in many ways in our text, but the central idea is this:

He is enough

He is enough to save you from your sin

He is enough to deliver you to the Father’s House

The comfort you need can come from no other

The joy you seek, you can find it in no other than Jesus Christ

If you remember anything from this sermon, remember this

Jesus is enough for us, because He is all we have

Find your comfort in him alone,

Find your contentment in him alone,

Find your hope in him alone,

Outline

In our text this morning, his comforts are 3 fold, forming the outline for this morning

The Comfort of Eternity (v.1-3)

Christ comforts his people by reminding us of the life to come in the Father’s house, where there is a place prepared specifically for us, free from the troubles of this world

The Comfort of Contentment (v.4-6a)

Christ comforts his people by fulfilling all our needs, saving us from the grave, so that we would be content, and rely on his finished work

The Comfort of Hope (v.6b)

Lastly, Christ comforts his people with the hope that not only are their sins covered, but that Christ alone was able to accomplish such salvation. He was our only hope for salvation, and He provided

Transition

The hope and comforts he offers are not for everyone

They are only for his people

Though the world may benefit in some peripheral way from his message,

A distinction must be made between believers, and unbelievers

Believers alone can rest easy in the comfort of their saviour,

But unbelievers, all I can do is set Christ in front of you,

along with all his blessings and comforts

Seek after Him while he may be found

Seek after the hope that resides in him alone before it is too late

The Comfort of Eternity (v.1-3)

Jesus begins his words of comfort in verses 2 & 3 by starting at the end

The end of time, drawing the disciples’ attention to what awaits them after all their sufferings and troubles

The joy and comfort of being united to Christ in eternal life

This is the culmination of the Christian desire to be with our Saviour

As John 17:3 so succinctly says

John 17:3 LSB

3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Eternal life is defined by knowing our Saviour

The two are intimately connected

But not only will we be in full union with him, he has prepared a place for us

No Christian will arrive in heaven unexpected or by surprise

Christ has chosen his bride, and none will be missed, or added

Prepared for the family of God

Starting off in verse 2,

Jesus uses the illustration of heaven as the Father’s house

It’s a suitable image, as it reflects the doctrine of adoption

We, Christians, are the Fathers adopted children, co-heirs with Christ

Homes are warm and welcoming,

And everyone who lives there belongs there

This idea of a home is found all over scripture

Particularly the idea of the feasting table of the Lord

The apostle John, speaking of the final wedding feast writes,

Revelation 19:7–9 LSB

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

Feasting at the table of the Lord, a great feast at the end of time

With a place, as Jesus says, here is our text, prepared specifically for us

A place reserved by Him for us, and no other

Application

This seat is secure; you cannot lose it

This is a promise that He gives his people,

As verse 3 says

John 14:3 LSB

3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself,

He is not only preparing for us a seat, but He will also receive us,

not maybe or might, but he will receive us if he goes away, which he did

This should give us a profound sense of comfort through the assurance of our salvation that Christ is giving to his people

There is none that can take our place away

By the very power of Christ, if you were saved by his blood, there is a place waiting for you at the feasting table of the Lord

Neither death, nor any force can separate you from Christ and your seat at his table

Rest in this fact

Eternal Union with Christ (V.3)

Not only should you be assured of your place at the table, but you are desired to be there

Jesus, in his high-priestly prayer, said

John 17:24 LSB

24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Christ prayed that his people would join him

He goes to prepare a place for us, because he wants us with him

The church is the bride of Christ, which, out of his great love for us, purchased with his own life

This union between Christ and the Church, Jesus and Us, will not last only a short time

It will last for eternity

It will last till the end of time, then a little more

Dwelling in the house of the Lord

David, in the famous Psalm 23, after declaring how the lord is his shepherd, who takes care of him, says this

Psalm 23:6 LSB

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.

This is the end of the Christian life

To dwell in the house of the Lord forever

In total peace and comfort

After having passed through the valley of the shadow of death, which the Lord himself guides his flock through

We shall dwell with Him

Application

Dwell on these things my brothers and sisters

Look past the difficulties of our day

In a day of political division, anxiety, stress, and illness

Look to the world to come,

Look to the rest found only in the house of the lord

Every Sunday we gather, as a precursor to this rest

We hear of the mighty works of God, singing the glory of his name, and relaxing in him on this day

The sabbath is a taste of what eternity will be like

Think on it, dwell on it, desire it,

Know that if you are of his people, you have a place with your name on it

This is the first comfort that Jesus gives his people

Transition (v.4-5)

Following Jesus’s initial words, Thomas interjects in verse 5

He doesn’t quite understand yet what Jesus is talking about

He asks,

John 14:5 LSB

5 “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How do we know the way?”

He hears the words of Jesus, maybe he grasps the essence of what Jesus is saying, but he’s missing some critical information

Here, I need to clarify how verses 4 & 5 fit together,

because, depending on your translation, it may seem to contradict itself

In verse 4, Jesus says, literally, in the original Greek

“Where I am going, you know the way”

He affirms that Thomas knows the path, but not the destination

Because Jesus is presently trying to explain the destination

Some translations, due to linguistic reasons, make it unclear

But the point of Thomas’ question is he is trying to make sense of how this is comforting to him

His words about the father’s house are in a sense, only theoretical

For Thomas, its too far off, so He wants to know how to get there,

how he can be delivered of his troubles, like Jesus says in verse 1

Jesus, acknowledging his weakness, comforts Thomas by fully detailing both the way and the destination to the father’s house

His answer in verse 6 seeks to calm Thomas of his troubles

Jesus wants to make Thomas content in Him

The Comfort of Contentment (v.6a)

Which bring us Jesus’ second comfort

What does it mean to be content or satisfied, and how is it comforting?

For the Christian, contentment simply means relying upon the Lord your God

It means resting on his finished work

And not our own

In light of your sin, with Christ, there is no need to worry

It is taken care of

The debt is paid

You only need to rest on his finished work

Christ is our true contentment and satisfaction

He has reconciled us to the father

He has shown us the truth of God

And He has made us alive with Him

He is our comfort, and our strength

And that is exactly what He tells doubting Thomas

When he asks what is the way?

Jesus tells him that he already knows the way,

The Way to reconciliation

Jesus says that “I am the way”

You know me, and I know you

Jesus is both the path and the destination

He is the way of reconciliation and salvation

We are troubled with our sin, and rightly condemned to death because of it,

But Christ is the way out of our situation

He is the way to the Father

It is by his blood, as Hebrews 9:12 says

Hebrews 9:12 LSB

12 not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy places once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

His blood is the way of redemption

It is a complete, eternal salvation, lacking nothing

Sufficient in itself

He is the narrow path,

There are few who find it,

But it is the path that leads to eternal life

Application: Follow Christ

The comfort and joy in the Christian life comes from following this path

We are to follow the way

We are to pick up our cross, and follow Christ, wherever he may lead us

He is our guide, clearing the way for us

His path will not lead us astray,

All we need to do is follow it

We follow it by obeying his commandments

Weather easy or hard, we are to follow him and his word

His grace is there to help us along, to pick us up when we are weak, and build us up

Following Jesus means saying no when the world says yes

It means denying yourself and your own sinful desires, and following his way

First and foremost His commandments for holiness

His commandments for our bodies,

As well as his commandments to honour his name with how we walk before others

The revelation of Truth

Not only is Jesus the way to the father, but he adds that “He is the truth”

He lightens the path with the light of his truth

He is the embodiment of the truth of God

The visible image of the invisible God

The full and final revelation of God

No longer is God speaking to us through prophets, since He has given us his final and complete revelation

Christ is the truth of God incarnate, through whom God speaks to his people

As John 1:4 says

John 1:4 LSB

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

He is life, and light

We need this light to walk the path set out before us

It’s like walking through a park at night

You know there is a path there, but without the street lights,

you’d be stumbling all the way along not knowing which direction to go

Jesus is that light of truth

He shines his light on the darkness of our sin, exposing it

Through our sin, we are alienated from God

The truth of God’s Word shows us where we are weak, it shows us the lies we believe

It shows us our ignorance of the things of God

Ultimately, it was through a lie that sin entered into the world

It was the serpent in the garden who deceived Eve

He lied to her, and she believed him

And since then, we have been burned with sin and lies

But Christ, comes to our rescue, to comfort us with the light of his truth

Application: Know Christ

Our duty is to know his truth, to fight the lies of the enemy

These days, lies about who we are, surrounding sexuality and gender are everywhere

They will tell you men and women don’t exist, that it’s all a construct

Even that a man can become a woman

But the truth of God says in Genesis 1:27

Genesis 1:27 LSB

27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

He created us male and female as distinct beings, and we cannot trade places

These are the lies of the enemy, meant to deceive those who don’t know the truth,

who are not anchored in Christ

Know the truths of Christ to weed through the lies of this world

Know his truth, and you will know him more because He is Truth

The Life of regeneration

And lastly, He says that “He is the Life”

The final piece of the picture

The final step to secure salvation for us

He has paved the path to reconciliation; he has illuminated it with his truth,

Then he gives us a new life, to walk it

The new life of regeneration

He overcame our sin and death as Paul declares in

Ephesians 2:4–5 LSB

4 But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved

Alive, together with Christ

Our sin killed us, but through Christ, we have eternal life

a life that never ends, and life with Him, in the Father’s house

A life rooted in faith and truth in our saviour

Hear the words of Jesus

John 5:24 LSB

24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

This life comes through faith in the resurrected one

We pass from death to life in Christ by faith

What an amazing blessing

The crowning jewel of our comfort in this life

Once we were dead, but now we live for Christ

Application: Live for Christ

We are to live for the one who raised us

The path to be walked is a public path

It is a path the world sees

We are called to live a life of holiness that will be a witness to the truth for those around us.

The Christian call is to walk the path set before us by our master, to walk it in truth and faith, in a way that is worthy of our Saviour

Let the world know who you are

Let the world know who has purchased you

Let the world know the name of Jesus, not only by your words, but by the life you live.

Summary Application

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and these truths teach us that:

Jesus fulfils our needs

He fulfills our desires and comforts us in our time of need

This path he has set us on, the path of holiness, and truth is a tough path to walk

But by his grace, and his power, we can walk it to the glory of his name

Not only is it a comfort to us who are believers, but it's a statement to the world, showing them what they are missing

Man has been alienated from God, and we all instinctively know it

Those who have been reconciled to God stand out, and the world recognizes what we have

Those who know are not all twisted up in lies and deceit

Those who are not a slave to their bodies

The world, though it thinks itself wise in its ways, it is vain

Paul explains the same thing to the Corinthiens:

1 Corinthians 1:22–25 LSB

22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

These words point to the needs of the world

And the point to the solution

Live the reality of that solution to the world

Let them see you in your joy, despite your troubles

Let them see the comfort you have in the Christ who takes care of you

Transition

Though the world needs what Christ gives his people, they will have hate us nevertheless

The first Christians who shook the Roman Empire were not persecuted for the Joy they had,

nor were they persecuted because they acted as free men

Nor were the persecuted because they walked holy paths

They were persecuted for something different

They were burned at the stake for 4 simple letters attached at the end of their message

the word Alone

The Romans believed in many Gods, they were tolerant of other beliefs, like today.

In a pluralistic society, much is permitted, with one, very clear, uncrossable line

The line of singularity and exclusivity

Tell people that Jesus is a god, not a problem

They may not necessarily agree with you, but so long as a place is left for their opinion on God, no problem

But the claims of Jesus are not like that

He does not claim to be a god among other,

He claims to be God alone

He says there are no others

His path is the only path

Jesus Alone is the way to the father

Jesus Alone is the path to forgiveness from sin

Jesus Alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Those 4 letters make all the difference in the world

The Comfort of Hope (v.6b)

This is the cutting edge of our faith

the exclusivity of Christ, which he states clearly and unambiguously at the end of verse 6

John 14:6 LSB

6 No one comes to the Father but through Me.

I am it, there is no other.

All other ways are false

Although he says it in different words at other points in his ministry, here it is crystal clear for all the world to see

He knows that the world will hate his message of exclusivity

Despite his message, he comforts his followers

He does not simply deliver a cutting message to us, then leaves us on our own

There is comfort in the hope of this message

We find comfort in the fact that Jesus though there is only one type of payment acceptable,

And He paid it,

We also have hope in the fact that He alone is able to make that payment

Many other paths claim to fix the problem of sin, but they are all lies

Christ is both sufficient and exclusive for salvation

Hope in him, rest in Him alone

All men will face the Father

Because, on the last day, all men will face the father

Hebrews 9 says,

Hebrews 9:27 LSB

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

After death, we will find ourselves face to face with the Lord God Almighty

Everyone must stand before Him

This is the impending judgment we must all face

Some as Judge

Many will face him as judge

Those remaining in rebellion to his law will find themselves in the balance

Their sin bearing upon them, with no means of paying the debt

They will cry out for mercy on that day, and receive none

They will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternity for their sin

And this will be their just punishment

Others through the mediation of Christ

Yet others will stand before him face to face, but with help, with the great advocate

Through the mediation of Jesus Christ

Jesus is, as we say, the way of reconciliation, the way of mediation for our sin

So that we can not only escape judgment, but walk confidently before the Lord

Not boasting in our works, but relying completely upon the works of Jesus Christ for our salvation

This is our hope

Because for now it is a hope

A hope for the consumption of eternal life

A hope for complete deliverance from the presence of sin

The hope of standing before God justified in his sight

This is our comfort

Hoping in the finished work of Christ

All other paths, truths, lives are false

Because all other paths presented to us, lead to death

Many are out there, trying to make us lose hope in Christ

Trying to deviate us from the path of God

All other paths, but Christ, are false

Islam, Mormonism, Buddhism, the New Age, are false paths to God

They are false prophets preaching death

They are full of lies and deception

All other truths but Christ are false

The world will try to fill you with all sorts of lies

All other ways to life, but Christ, are lies

No special therapy, no counselling session, no drug will liberate you from the guilt of your sin

No amount of good works

No amount of sacrifices or rituals will give you new life

Application

But the way of the cross is clear

It is simple, maybe even too simple

Jesus is the only way to obtain the forgiveness of sins

Jesus is the only revelation of the truth of God

Jesus is the only way to eternal life

He is all we have, cling to him

John 3:36 LSB

36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

He is all we have

Stay close to him, dear Christian,

he will comfort and protect you

When the world pursues you for the message of the cross,

When they insults you, persecute you or even seeks to end you

When your earthly walk seems hopeless

Look to Christ He is there to guide you and protect your soul,

Rest in Christ,

Hope in Christ,

Conclusion

Coming back to where we started, I want to once again ask you,

What kind of life would you have if you trusted in Jesus?

I can find no better answer than the one given by Richard Philips in the Reformed Expository Commentary on these verses, He says:

John, Volumes 1 & 2 Only Jesus

The answer is that as he is the way, he will lead us to the Father and we will gain a life of love as dear children.

As Jesus is the truth, he will teach us the wisdom of salvation so that our lives are freed from the darkness of ignorance and folly.

As he is the life, he will grant us entry into the courts of heaven and we will know an increasing measure of life as we draw nearer to him.

Apart from Jesus, the world offers many things, but they are all godless, darkened, and deadly. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” Jesus said (

Jesus is enough for you

Hope in Him alone

Pray

Lord Jesus,

Where we are weak, you are strong

When we stumble, you pick us up

Help us to walk the path set before us

Help us to know your truth,

And help us to live a life worthy of your name

Because you are a powerful saviour,

capable of saving any and all,

Help us but our hope in you alone,

That we might find comfort in your arms

Amen