Sermon Tone Analysis

Postmodernism.

Recent Study by Ligonier ministries.

We have seen a shift where people once believed and claimed to believe in absolutely truth and specifically they believed that God’s word was absolutely true, but now people who call themselves evangelical are adopting this wayward understanding.

I’m not sure why this is the case.

Maybe its because we are afraid of being targeted by the culture.

Maybe we don’t like being called “Bigot” narrow minded Bible Thumper.

Maybe we

But my initial thought is that the reason for this is a result of the vast majority of people claiming to be evangelicals aren’t actually genuine followers of Christ.

If they were they would submit to His word.

It is true that most people believe this, but the question is: is what most people believe true?

Let’s look at how Jesus responds to this particular question this morning.

But first look here in verse 36.

Jesus has just given them a new commandment.

He had expressed His desire for them to love each other and show by their love that they were genuinely His.

But the disciples seem to gloss right over that, or at least, peter did.

In what seems like a complete disregard for the New commandment just given, it seems like the disciples are only concerned with the fact that Jesus has just spoke of His glorification.

Remember last week, we discussed that this was a farewell discourse and even though his language is vague, the tone and the message is conveyed very clearly.

Jesus is going to the cross and he will experience glorification through his humiliation, and his disciples will soon have to be living in the world without the benefit of His physical presence.

So they want to know.

Peter again is the one who speaks up.

He must know and so he asks:

Where

Lord, where are you going?

Peter loves His Lord.

He may have a big mouth, but He loves Jesus.

Other times in the Gospel, we have seen Peter be rebuked for His questions and comments, but, in this instance, Jesus doesn’t.

Jesus instead graciously answered,

“Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.”

This is a typical response from Jesus.

Peter wants to know where physically he is going, but Jesus responds with the spiritual reality.

Peter sees this as vague, but what Jesus is saying is a loaded statement.

Jesus is the only one who can complete the task that has been set up for him, but what Jesus is saying is a loaded statement.

Jesus has just told Peter a few things.

Jesus is going to do this work by himself.

In fact he is the only one who can complete this task.

He will go alone, because He alone can accomplish the task before him.

But He does reassures Peter as well with this statement.

Jesus has assured Peter that he will go later, and thats important because in just a few verses he will tell Peter that he will deny him three time before the rooster crows.

But this isn’t enough for Peter.

He loves Jesus.

He has left everything for Jesus.

He has followed him everywhere for the past three years.

In fact, this seems to stand in contrast with what Jesus has previously told Peter and the disciples.

Follow Me.

This is what Jesus told them before, but now Jesus must go alone, although the reason he goes alone now is so that they can follow him later.

Peter even appeals to his own dedication and his heart.

But Peter will show that he is not as dedicated as he thought

I will lay down my life for you.

This is ironic in a few ways.

Jesus immediately calls him out and points out the irony.

It is ironic that the one claiming such dedication, will deny Jesus three times before the next morning.

It is also ironic that Peter says that he will lay down his life for Jesus.

Nope, I hear you Peter, but Jesus will be the one doing that.

Peter’s denial shows that Christ is the only one who will lay down his life.

It also shows us that even Peter, a self proclaimed hero.

will need a Savior.

T

The final piece of irony here is that Peter will indeed lay down his life.

But instead of it being for Jesus, it will be because Jesus laid down his life for him.

Peter will be crucified upside down because he does not consider himself worthy to die in the same fashion as his Savior.

This has obviously upset the disciples.

Their leader.

The one who called them to drop everything and follow him has just told them that they cant follow him any longer, but Jesus loves these disciples.

The end of chapter 13 moves seamlessly in to chapter 14.

This really is an unfortunate chapter break.

Same conversation.

Same time.

Just hours before Jesus will be arrested.

and these are his parting words.

He will not leave them in the dark. in fact for any believer and genuine follower of Christ, we have the same God who makes known to us his plans and purposes so that we can have hope for the future.

Jesus is about to go to the cross, face the agony of death and crucifixion, and have the wrath of God poured out on him, and he is still the one comforting His disciples.

We see his compassion.

We see his confidence.

And desires that they be confident in Him as well.

God does what He says.

He urges them to let their heart not be troubled.

Believe God.

Believe Christ.

He’s got this.

We been studying in Exodus....

God does what he says.

What a confidence we can have.

And here is what our confidence is in.

Look in verse 2

hear me out: This is probably the best translation here for this verse.

In my Father’s House, there are many dwelling places.

I know that many of your bibles will translate that word MANSIONS here, but just look at the sentence and see what makes more sense.

In the house there are big houses?

In the house, there are many dwelling places?

The point here though in this verse is less about the structure of our dwelling place and more about the location and the relationship of our dwelling place.

The promise Jesus is giving here is that we will be restored back into pure and true fellowship with God.

This is the whole purpose of Creation.

God created man for a relationship with him.

He created the Garden for intimate fellowship with Him.

When that was broken, He vowed to bring them back through the destruction of the Serpent.

He then set up the tabernacle system so that everywhere the Israelites would travel, they would take God’s tent and place in in the center of the camp.

He then set a more permanent system up when they got into Jerusalem with the building of the temple.

All of which pointed forward to Jesus, who would come and literally dwell with us in the earth, and who according to this passage will secure our dwelling place with him forever.

The whole point of salvation is that we have been saved from our sin so that we can now be back in fellowship with a Holy God.

This is about us being with Him.