I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Intro

This is our last week on the I AM statements of Jesus. We’ve seen how Jesus is the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the door of the sheep, the resurrection and the life, and the true vine. I’ve switched the last two statements around, so last week we looked at the last I am statement, and this week we’ll look at the second to last statement. But, I think this a good way to end this series. All of us in here this morning, whether we’re in middle school or high school, are afraid of one thing: uncertainty. Life is very uncertain. There’s no guarantee that all of the work we’re doing will pay off. Nothing in life is certain. And all of us in some way or another have put a lot of faith in something, and we’re banking on that thing to get us through. And this could be anything. But what I’ve noticed about people is not they we have a lack of faith. We all have faith, but where do we put it? We tend to put our faith, our trust, our hope in things we think will make our lives more concrete, or more certain. If it gives us some sense of stability, we put our faith in it. But, I think all of us, on some level, know that the things we tend to put our faith in aren’t as certain as we’d like them to be. Most of these things have some kind of requirement that needs to be met first. So, if you faith is in getting into college, you have to first apply, then you have to get accepted, then you have to attend, then you have to study, then you have to make good grades, and it keeps going. You have to keep going, keep working, keep doing. So most of us are running around, crippled by anxiety, chasing after stability and certainty. I think this is true for you, it’s definitely true for me. Most days I wake up, and I start panicking because of how uncertain everything in my life is. Most Monday’s, so after I’ve been here on Saturday and Sunday, after I’ve preached, after I’ve had meetings all day, I get home late Sunday night, crash, and then wake up Monday morning and the first thing that hits me is how uncertain everything in my life is. There’s always this long list of things I have to do, , books I need to read, papers I need to write, all these things I have to do, and I spend most of my Monday mornings not in prayer, not in worship, not seeking the Lord, but in panic, because life is so uncertain. But it doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to place our faith in things that don’t give certainty. Jesus invites us to trust him, to follow him, and to be with him. So go to John chapter 14.

Text

John 14:1-

John 14:1–11 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 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? 3 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. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can 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 except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 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’? 10 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.

This is the word of the Lord

Prayer

Context

Chapter 14 is part of a larger conversation Jesus is having with his disciples in chapter 13. And this conversation takes place during the final hours that Jesus is alive and with the disciples. So, this is right before Judas betrays him, he’s arrested, and sent to die on the cross. In chapter 13, Jesus has washed the disciples feet, he’s served them, and at the end of the chapter he tells them that he has to leave. Not only this, but he says that they can’t go with him. And so Peter speaks up and he’s like, wait a second Jesus, where are you going? And Jesus responds to Peter, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” And Peter, Peter’s one of those guys who just doesn’t take no for an answer, He says, “Na Jesus, (my translation), why can’t I follow you? I’ll lay down my life for you.” And so Jesus responds, Oh, will you peter? Will you really lay down your life for me? Because in just a few hours you’re going to deny me three time. Before tomorrow morning, you’ll have denied me three time.” And the disciples are shook. Not only is Jesus leaving, but it sounds like he’s about to leave in such a way that it will cause Peter to turn his back on him. And so they’re panicking. At this point, the disciples have been with Jesus for about three years, and they left everything. They left their careers, their families, their friends, their lives, so they could follow this teacher. All of their faith was in Jesus and now he’s leaving. Everything looks uncertain, and so Jesus says in verse 1 of chapter 14, “Let not your hearts be troubled.”

This is our last week on the I AM statements of Jesus. We’ve seen how Jesus is the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the door of the sheep, the resurrection and the life, and the true vine. I’ve switched the last two statements around, so last week we looked at the last I am statement, and this week we’ll look at the second to last statement. But, I think this a good way to end this series. All of us in here this morning, whether we’re in middle school or high school, are afraid of one thing: uncertainty. Life is very uncertain. There’s no guarantee that all of the work we’re doing will pay off. Nothing in life is certain. And all of us in some way or another have put a lot of faith in something, and we’re banking on that thing to get us through. And this could be anything. But what I’ve noticed about people is not they we have a lack of faith. We all have faith, but where do we put it? We tend to put our faith, our trust, our hope in things we think will make our lives more concrete, or more certain. If it gives us some sense of stability, we put our faith in it. But, I think all of us, on some level, know that the things we tend to put our faith in aren’t as certain as we’d like them to be. Most of these things have some kind of requirement that needs to be met first. So, if you faith is in getting into college, you have to first apply, then you have to get accepted, then you have to attend, then you have to study, then you have to make good grades, and it keeps going. You have to keep going, keep working, keep doing. So most of us are running around, crippled by anxiety, chasing after stability and certainty. I think this is true for you, it’s definitely true for me. Most days I wake up, and I start panicking because of how uncertain everything in my life is. Most Monday’s, so after I’ve been here on Saturday and Sunday, after I’ve preached, after I’ve had meetings all day, I get home late Sunday night, crash, and then wake up Monday morning and the first thing that hits me is how uncertain everything in my life is. There’s always this long list of things I have to do, , books I need to read, papers I need to write, all these things I have to do, and I spend most of my Monday mornings not in prayer, not in worship, not seeking the Lord, but in panic, because life is so uncertain. But it doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to place our faith in things that don’t give certainty. Jesus invited us to trust him, to follow him, and to be with him. So go to John chapter 14.

Exposition

Don’t be troubled, and believe. That’s what Jesus says to his disciples. But why? Why shouldn’t they be troubled? Jesus is leaving. This random guy who they’ve risked it all for is now leaving, and everything going forward is uncertain. They’re probably thinking, I should have listened to my parents. This guy seemed sketchy, but I trusted him. I trusted him and now he’s leaving. I trusted him, and it sounds like he’s about to be arrested. I trusted him and it sounds like he about to die. They’re slowly putting together all of the references Jesus gave about his death, and they’re probably thinking, “this guy has planned this all along!” How were we so foolish? I should have kept fishing, I should have held on to what seemed would promise certainty, because this Jesus I’ve been following is insane. And so they’re freaking out. But Jesus says, don’t freak out, trust me. And here’s why:

Many Rooms

Jesus says that in his father’s house are many rooms, and he’s going to prepare a place for them. God’s house is huge, and there’s room for everyone. He doesn’t run out of space. There isn’t a limit on how many people he can welcome in. And it’s a house. You live there. God’s children live with him in his house. And Jesus is saying to them that there’s a room designed for each of them. It doesn’t matter how imperfectly they follow him. Peter is about to deny Jesus, but Jesus prepares a place for Peter regardless of this. And so this extends to us, if we trust him. We’re not going to follow Jesus perfectly, but he promises us that there’s a place for us. There’s a place of true belonging with him and with the father. A place where its not who you are or what you’ve done that determines where you fit in or where you find your belonging, but it’s a place where you belong because of God’s love for you. Because we’re his, we belong in his house as a part of his family. But we have to trust him. We have to trust what he tells us here.

And there’s a place for us there because Jesus has gone and prepared it. When Jesus talks about his leaving, he’s talking about going to the cross, and by going to the cross, he’s made a way for us to be able to enter into the presence of God the Father. By going to the cross, our sins are now paid for. Jesus took on God’s wrath, and the curse of sin has been broken, death has been defeated, and we can enter into the presence of God because God has rescued us.

And Jesus rescues us, and he doesn’t just prepare a place for us. Look at the second part of verse 3: he says “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” Jesus brings us to himself. We belong to him and with him. And Jesus promises to come back and to get us and bring us to him. And so, we should trust Jesus because this is his promise.

Way Truth Life

But then Jesus says “you know where I am going.” And at this point, Thomas, one of the disciples has had enough. Thomas didn’t have the bible. When Thomas heard all of this, he had no idea how things would turn out. Thomas breaks, and Thomas is like Jesus, we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way? And so, Jesus responds with: I am the way, and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me. This statement is wild. Jesus is claiming that he’s the way, and so he’s claiming again that he is God. Every other religion and every other religious leader back then and today tries to show people how they can get to God. Every religious leader said do these things then you’ll find God, pray like this then you’ll find God, give up this then you’ll find God. But Jesus says, no, I am the way to God. I am God. Not only is he God, but he God who has come to us. No other religion has this. Every other religion says you have to get to God, but our God, the Christian God says nope. You can’t do it, so I’m coming to you, I’m coming to live with you, and I’m coming to rescue you and bring you back to me. I’m coming to restore and redeem all of humanity and all of creation. Jesus doesn’t say, “I will show you the way.” Which is nice. I’m not good at directions. Sometimes I’ll ask people how to get somewhere, and they’ll say, Oh, start out on 95, go north, and at this point I’ve zoned out.” Where’s 95? What’s 95? Is that a road? Is it part of an address? And then they finish, and I’m like, hey can you just give me the address? Or can I just follow you? Don’t give me directions, I’ll screw that up fast. And so thankfully, Jesus didn’t just come to give directions, he came and said follow me, I’m the way. Trust me, I’m the way. I’m the way to the Father, I’m the way to true life.

Then he says I am the truth and the life. Jesus is the way because he is truth and life. Jesus doesn’t claim to be one truth among many truths. This is a hard concept today. It’s tempting to say that Jesus is true for me but not true for my friends. Or, Jesus is true for you, John, but not true for me. How can we know anything for certain? Jesus said some cool stuff, but I don’t buy into him being the truth. It’s kind of crazy to live that way. To live as if nothings really true is depressing in the end. All I can say to that is that Jesus claimed to be truth. And because Jesus is truth he is completely reliable in everything he says and everything he does. And Jesus is truth because he is God. God as the one who gives life, the one who sustains life, the one who creates, he is the only one who can define what is really true. If you know Jesus and if you follow Jesus, then you know what’s true. Then you’re able to understand what’s true and will give life, and what’s false and will lead to death.

And then he says he is the life. Jesus is where true life is found. We can trust Jesus because he’s life. When you trust Jesus, when you truly follow Jesus, he transforms your life. A pastor that I listen to a lot is Andy Stanley. And something that he says he believes is that if people would start following Jesus right now, their lives would be better. Now I’m not saying follow Jesus and he’ll make all of your hopes and dreams come true. No, but following Jesus means a changed life, and a changed life is a fuller life. The kind of life Jesus calls us to live: a life of humility, a life of loving others, a life of patience, a life of service, a life of looking out for each other, among other things, that kind of life is way fuller and richer than the kind of lives most of us try and live. And this sounds like I’m saying following Jesus means we have to do these things. No, I’m saying if you follow Jesus, you’ll do these things because he’s transforming you. I’m the most stressed out and the most anxious when I’m not following Jesus. Because when I’m not following Jesus, I’m seeking to serve myself, and when I’m seeking to serve myself then everything I am depends on what I can do. Just the other day I was playing for a worship service at Gordon-Conwell. When it comes to guitar, I have a pretty limited range of things I can play. If it’s four chord worship songs like we play here, I’m good to go. But if you start throwing in jazz or funky gospel style music, I’m lost. So I show up to rehearsal, and we’re playing these songs and I’m extremely uncomfortable, and I’m not there with the intention of worshiping Jesus. I’m there hoping I can figure the songs out so that I sound good and people will enjoy it and give me a nice pat on the back. We’re practicing this song in the key of E, and I finally figure out my parts, and then this person comes up who has a minor part in the song, I mean, she has to sing literally 9 like words one time. Not even for an entire song. And she’s like, can we change the key. And at this point I’m pissed. I’m like are you serious? You’re gonna make us change the key because you can’t hit 1 note in your 5 second performance? I repent. But I was so mad. So we changed it. And the whole time I was pissed. And I thought I faked it pretty well, but afterwards she came up to me and she was like, hey i’m sorry about changing the key, I could tell it bothered you. So I kind of faked an apology and was like oh naaa, it’s okay! I wasn’t upset. Then two other people came up, and they were like, so.... John, what were you thinking about while you were playing, because you looked really mad? Dang. Okay. I really messed that one up. But because I approached that whole situation, not as someone who follows Jesus, but as someone who wanted to play guitar really well and show up, I was miserable. This is small example, but I think it gets the point across: Life apart from Jesus isn’t really life. It’s miserable. And so, Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, and because that’s who he is we can trust him.

And because that’s who he is, he leads to God the Father, and he claims that he and the father are one. Again, Jesus is claiming to be God. Jesus doesn’t do anything apart from God the father. And because Jesus is God, we should follow him. I said earlier that Jesus would come back and bring us to himself. And that’s great, but it’s off in the distance, what about now? Why should we trust Jesus now? Because if we follow him, he gives us his spirit. Look at

John 14:15–18 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity, also God, is given to those who follow Jesus. Jesus left us physically so that he could be in all of us. Those of us who follow him have him living in us, and when we pray he listens, when we weep, he’s with us, when we fall down, he lifts us up. We’re never alone, we belong to him, and he’s with us always. So, don’t let your hearts be troubled, don’t let the anxiety and uncertainty of this life rule over you. Follow Jesus. Follow the one who says I AM. Follow The God who gives eternal, abundant, full, true, lasting, satisfying life. Follow the God who looked down on humanity and said, I’ll go live with them, teach them, serve them, love then and die for them so that they can have hope, so that they can have me. This is the God you have the option to follow. And, I guarantee that if you follow him, your life will be completely transformed.