John 14:1-6 "Comfort for Troubled Hearts"

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (v 1).

Jesus used these words a few hours before his death to instruct his disciples in how not to be troubled by death. He did not ask us to forgo sorrow. He did not ask the impossible. Jesus was truly human, so he knows our human emotions. He, of course, was aware of the power of the resurrection, and he still shed tears at the death of his friend Lazarus. Nevertheless, he did urge his disciples not to be troubled. How can that be?

WHY SHOULD WE NOT BE ANXIOUS OR WORRIED, WHEN FACED WITH DEATH!

What were the reasons Jesus gave the disciples, gave us, for comfort at a moment like this? He gave three.

I. Because God is really here for us to believe in.

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God”—God, who created us and all that exists, who is the Almighty, who numbers the hairs of our heads, who clothes the lilies of the field, who knows when a sparrow falls to earth. He loves us more than all the things he created; this includes all of you. Our heavenly Father gave his only begotten Son to die for us; to die for our sin. We can believe in God, who made and loved each one of us, to be with us. He made and loved LINDA too.

God is really here for us to believe in, the first reason Jesus gave to comfort us in a moment like this. The second:

II. Because Christ is the Savior for us to believe in.

“Believe also in me,” Jesus said.

Remember when Jesus visited the sisters of Lazarus. His calm assurance was “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (11:25–26). As we think about this passage three words come to mind: “Watch”, “Believe”, “Hear”.

Watch as Jesus is crucified, and hear him say, “ ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (19:30).

Believe that the death of Jesus paid for all sins of all time. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).

Hear the Easter message of the angel: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay” (Mt 28:5–6).

Linda believed Christ gave her life, life to the full, in his resurrection. Though she had some health struggles the last 8 years of her life, Linda was confident that Christ Jesus is the God of second, and that she has eternal life because of Him.

God is really here for us to believe in, and Christ is the Savior for us to believe in. This, dear family, are the first two items of comfort Jesus gives us in our grief. But there is another item Jesus wants us to cling to:

III. Because there really is a place prepared for us.

Then Jesus said, “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?” (v 2).

It’s foolish to think we fully understand this picture, but we know this word of promise comes from the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We give thanks for Linda’s earthly life and her confession of faith. And despite all the challenges she faced the last few years, we rejoice in her victory, the gift of eternal life, and the crown of righteousness she will wear for all eternity.

St. Paul wrote Timothy, “Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day — and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:8)

That’s for us. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:19–20).

Jesus promises that he will be with us to instruct us in our living. He will be with us to do the following for us:

To strengthen our faith—so that we are not troubled by things we cannot understand, but will trust in almighty God, who made us his children through faith in Christ. St. John records in his gospel, “But to all who have received Him — those who believe in His name—He has given the right to become God’s children” (John 1:12).

To strengthen our hope. We, too, know the way, as we continue to listen to his words of truth and life. Jesus is the one who has us in his plan, in his arms, in his love. St. Paul encourages us with the following: “For I am sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6). Though your dear wife, mother and sister had her struggles, her falling asleep in Christ is the gateway for those things to be no more.

To strengthen our love—to care for one another as Christ cares for us, to help us. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. . . . We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:14, 19).

The last couple of years has been a joy of getting to know Linda; I only wish I had the opportunity to know here before her tumor and surgery. Sitting and listening to your stories had me in awe over her worldly accomplishments. For example,

(Fill in her from notes)

I know she loved you all very much. Because of God’s love for her, and her confession of faith in Christ, Linda is safely home in the place prepared for her by Jesus Himself. Linda is now wearing her crown of victory because Jesus has made all things new for her. Pain is now gone. Suffering is over. And God has wiped every tear from her eyes.

This is how Jesus comforts us and all his children. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14).

May we now, and at our last hour, trust in the comfort Christ has promised! Amen.