01-28-07 - Way - Truth - Life - John 14.6 - NSB
John Phillips NT Outlines – Wiersbe BE – Wiersbe’s Outlines on the NT – McGee – Liberty Bible Commentary (Not much) – Phillips Commentary, Exploring The Gospel of John – TBKC (Nothing) – Robertson’s Word Pictures – Vincent’s Word Studies – JFB – Wordsearch (Not much) – Answering the call to evangelism (Libronix) – Answers to Tough Questions (Libronix) – KJV Bible Commentary – The Outline Bible (Nothing) – The Bible Readers Companion - Macarthur Study Bible – Nelson Study Bible – New American Commentary – New bible Commentary –(Nothing) – The teacher’s Commentary – Tyndale’s Concise Bible Commentary – Wiersbe’s Expositry Outlines – Wilmington’s Bible Handbook (nothing) – With the Word Bible Commentary – Life of Christ -
Begin with Theology Books -
Stand and read - - -
I told you last week that things were beginning to unfold rapidly as the Lord’s time drew near.
After we talked about Lazarus, the Jews began to plot to kill Jesus. And as a matter of fact, they contemplated killing Lazarus because he was drawing people to the Lord.
Jesus since then has entered Jerusalem as the people shouted Hosanna and called Him the king of Israel.
So…
We are at the point where we are no longer measuring Jesus’ remaining time in months or weeks but rather in hours
And the mood is different than it has been
The setting is a private dinner with the disciples
No Pharisees or other religious adversaries engaging Jesus in controversial debates.
No heated discussions
This was just a small dinner where the disciples were about to have their world turned upside down.
Jesus drops three bombshells on His Apostles.
The first one – I am leaving
Oh, He had told them before but it becomes clear tonight that He is speaking of His departure literally.
And, then the Lord reveals that where He is going His disciples cannot go right now
That alone would have been enough to upset the disciples
But to add to their anxiety the Lord has told them that one of them was going to betray Him.
And even worse, their leader, Peter has been pointed out as someone who was going to deny the Lord on this night.
So, as he begins to give them words of comfort, for the times that lay ahead
Exegesis:
John 14:1 (KJV) 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
But their hearts WERE troubled (13:33, 36)
And really what lay ahead was far worse than any of them could have imagined.
So, Jesus tells theme here, “Let not your heart be troubled” or
“Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated by the situation.”
And He tells hem what?
Trust God
Why would Jesus want to ensure in this verse that His followers were placing their trust in God?
Well, in the next few days it is going to seem like God is not in control
I mean…
Not only is Jesus leaving but He is going to die a criminal’s death.
Jesus is their leader
Jesus is their hope for eternal life
So, it was going to be very bad for the Apostles
But it was going to get far worse.
Because tradition tells us that all of them with the possible exception of John would die for what they believed in.
Bu they were all faithful to the end and do you know why?
They were trusting in God.
What can we learn from this?
LISTEN…
The journey ain’t so bad if you keep the destination in mind.
So, let’s look at how Jesus comforted these men.
John 14:2 (KJV) 2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
He did not tell them that the way would be easy –
He did not even speak of their journey
To help them through their difficult days, He focused on their destination.
If Jesus Christ is your Savior then you should find comfort in what lies beyond this life.
If Jesus is not your Savior then I understand your concern – it is legitimate.
He says…
I am going to prepare a place for you –
That does not mean that Jesus went to heaven and put on a nail apron to start work on your eternal dwelling place.
By the time Jesus got to heaven there was no work left to be done.
“I go to prepare a place for you…”
That preparation was done at Calvary, and at a garden tomb and at the altar before God in heaven.
Now let’s get this straight –
There is a place that was prepared for you – it was a wooden cross
But that is no longer your destination
There is a place that was your end – sheol, the abode of the dead
But that is no longer your destination
Then there is a place where God lives
And because Jesus went to where you shoulda gone
And because He set captives free from where you coulda gone
His words of comfort to you in your difficult times are all about where you are gonna go.
And the church said, “AMEN!”
“What’s heaven like?”
“What are we gonna do there?”
Can I tell you something without being irreverent?
Don’t worry about heaven -
The place is not the point –
The program is no the point
The person at the place is the point.
Our destination is God –
And - The Journey ain’t so bad – if you know your destination
And then in verse three – Jesus is coming back.
John 14:3 (KJV) 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
I believe if people were honest we would discover that people who do not believe He is coming back really don’t believe He ever went.
I mean, we have eyewitness accounts of His death, burial resurrection and ascension but where is He now?
Well, you may not have known that we have eyewitness testimony that He did indeed arrive.
Turn to the book of Acts 7:55 and listen to the testimony of Stephen as he was being stoned -
Acts 7:55 - 56 (KJV) 55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
His death could not be caused
His body could not be contained
And His eternal presence cannot be concealed
So, here we have a promise for every believer -
And that is - to be with their Lord forever.
Then in verse four, Jesus gets their attention:
John 14:4 (KJV) 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
If we had been there we would have agreed with Thomas who in verse 5 says, “wait a minute!”
I do NOT know the way…
John 14:5 (KJV) 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
And this is a great question that we all should ask.
Lets give Thomas a break – He asked a GREAT question.
The reason that I cannot know the way is because the way is not thing
The way to God is through a person.
And that person is Jesus…
John 14:6 (KJV) 6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Kids, here is where the rubber meets the road.
This is the part of the Gospel that is offensive to the world.
Because this is where we must put our backs to the wall and say ONE WAY
I don’t understand talk show hosts who have people like Jerry Falwell, and Johnny Hunt, and John MAcArthur on their programs and ask them three different ways if they believe only Christians are going to heaven?
What part of, “no man cometh to the Father but by me” don’t you understand.
Jesus is offensive to the world we live in.
Brother Johnny’s prayer at the GA Governor’s swearing in
It draws their attention when we pray in the name of Jesus.
The former Governor of Arkansas was on Meet the Press this morning.
Every question I heard was about his faith.
Unless he waffles, he will never be elected in this country that is scared to death of Jesus Christ.
People want something that includes everybody.
Well, God does make His offer to everybody but there is a straight way and a narrow gait called Jesus that most people will reject.
But what the world needs to know is this:
Here it is – Circle it in red – highlight it in yellow – place a ribbon in the margin -
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36, KJV)[1]
So…
Jesus says, “I am the Way…”
The thing about going somewhere is that it involves a destination.
Jesus is the Way - God is the destination.
And all this time you thought heaven was the goal.
No the goal is to be with God.
See, you could have a mansion down here
I suppose you could pave your driveway with gold
You could build wall of Jasper
The goal is not the things that are in heaven but to be with the ONE who occupies heaven.
– heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool.
I want to be sure you understand…
The reason other belief systems cannot bring you to God is that they do not recognize the truth that Jesus is the ONLY way to God.
Not, “I will show you the way…”
Not, “Here is the way…”
But, “I AM the way.”
Well, if Jesus is the way then I will just be like Jesus
Jesus was baptized – I will get baptized
You can be baptized and be lost
Well, He loved people – I will just love everybody.
You can love people and be lost
Well, he was a man of prayer – I will just pray and pray and pray
But you can pray and be lost
The only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ
John 3:16 – Acts 16:31 – Eph 2:8
Next we see that He is not only the Way but He is the Truth.
Not merely that His words are truth but HE IS TRUTH
Other religions want to point you to their message.
I want to introduce you to my Messiah
Then…
The third thing He tells us is that He is the life.
Jesus is the source of life
In Him was life…
The bread of life
The resurrection and the life
What the world needs to know is that there is no life apart from Jesus.
He is the Life.
See…
When we arrive at the place that Christ has prepared for us, we will be alive.
Because when we accept Him here, He gives us life that is eternal.
No dead folks in heaven.
Paul and the writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus has destroyed death.
The journey ain’t so bad when you know the destination.
Jesus is the Way – God is the destination
He is the only name under heaven whereby men must be saved
CER – Parallel “must”
Verse 7 tells us that the supreme feature of eternal life is knowing God.
Conclusion:
Many of you could write a book about the difficulties of day-to-day living in your world but I would like to give you a quote from James M. Gray”
James M. Gray wrote, “Who could mind the journey when the road leads home?” Blessed assurance![2]
We have all had friends move away. Friends who we have never seen again and may never see again as long as we live on this earth – but they still exist.
By the same token we have friends who have “moved away” to heaven and it may be a long time before we see them again but listen, they still exist.
Christ has prepared the way for them and for us to have eternal life.
I invite you tonight to come and let us introduce you to the One who is the Way – And the Truth – And the life.
Invitation – Altar Prayer
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[1]McDowell, J., & Stewart, D. D. 1993. Answers to tough questions. Originally published: San Bernardino, Calif. : Here's Life Publishers, c1980. T. Nelson Publishers: Nashville
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, With the Word Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1991), Jn 14:1.