Don't Leave Us Now! John 14:1-7

Introduction

This is an excerpt from a speech that was delivered on June 4, 1940:

“I have, myself, full confidence that … we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone … Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

Does anyone know who delivered this speech?

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill addressed the British house of Commons on June 4, 1940, after the Battle of Dunkirk, during the Second World War. The nation was in a euphoric mood. A week before, the Allied Forces had been perilously trapped at the Dunkirk port in France and all seemed lost, but every possible seafaring vessel (including small civilian fishing boats!) had come to their aid and carried over 338,000 troops to safety on British soil.

Despite the immense relief following the successful evacuation, the Allied Forces were in a disastrous situation. They’d had to abandon not only enormous amounts of military equipment but also literally the continent of Europe; the German army had beaten them back to the shores of the British isle, costing the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Nobody wanted to admit it, but the grim prospect of a German invasion was looking more and more likely.

Winston Churchill addressed that terrifying possibility directly in his speech that day. He not only acknowledged that the nation’s worst fear could happen, but he told the British people that they would meet that fear, if it came, with their characteristic indomitable courage.

You see, if we just read the words of Churchill’s speech without understanding the context, it sounds like a good pep talk to troops preparing for a battle. When we look at the activities surrounding his words, we see that the situation was quite serious, and he was addressing a nation that was afraid, a nation that needed to be reassured, and the whole world was listening.

As we try to understand the impact of Winston Churchill’s words, it is imperative that we understand the CONTEXT, that we understand what was happening when he said those words, and what prompted those words.

As we’ve been working our way through the gospel according to John, we’ve seen some time markers along the way. When we looked at the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, we were about 1 year away from Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we heard the story of Jesus healing the blind man, we were about 6 or 7 months later. And now we’re in the last week of Jesus’ life. Last week, Pastor Dan talked to us about Jesus’ command to his disciples to “love one another.” This conversation between Jesus and his disciples takes place on Thursday, the day before Jesus’ death. In fact, if we look closely, chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and the first 2/3 of chapter 18 all take place on that Thursday. There is a lot happening here on this day that we need to take in and understand.

One of the things that can get in the way of our understanding the Bible as we read it today is the divisions of the sections. Chapter and verse and section headings were not there in the original manuscripts, these were all added later. In fact, for the vast majority of its existence, the Bible was read without chapter and verse divisions. In the 5th century AD, biblical translator Jerome divided scripture into short passages called pericopes. In the 1227, a man named Stephen Langton divided the bible into chapters. The first bible to have both chapter and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible in 1560.

So why am I giving you a history lesson on why the bible is divided up into chapters and verses? Because it is important to note, especially in a passage like the one that we’re studying today, that scripture is best read WITHOUT the divisions of chapter and verse that we are so accustomed to. Many times, these divisions give us the false sense that one section is somehow separate from the section preceding, or the one that follows. One of the first steps to understanding a passage of scripture is to ignore the chapter and verse divisions and read the information around the passage that you are studying to understand the CONTEXT in which the author is writing. If possible, read the whole book or letter. When we do this, we begin to see how our passage fits into the larger story.

Let’s take a look at our scripture passage for today. I will be reading John 14:1-7.

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus the Way to the Father

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. 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, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place 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 know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

If we simply read these seven verses by themselves, it sounds like something that could have been excerpted from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount or one of his other messages that he delivered to his disciples. But to truly understand what John is trying to convey through these words of Jesus, we need to understand the CONTEXT in which they were delivered.

In chapter 12, Jesus was talking with his disciples about his death. He tells them that he will be lifted up from the earth and will draw all people to himself. Then he says,

35 Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” Jn 12:35–36.

Then in chapter 13, Jesus tells his disciples that one of them will betray him. This sends them into an uproar! Can you imagine being in that room? These 12 men have spent the last three years with Jesus, traveling with him, learning from him, seeing him heal people and feed people and cast out demons. They have left everything behind to dedicate their lives to Jesus and his ministry, and one of them will betray him?

Then there is Peter. Impulsive, zealous, sold-out Peter. He tells Jesus that he will follow him anywhere - even to die with him! And Jesus’ response? Really, Peter? Will you really die for me? I’ll tell you what, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

I think it would be an understatement to say that the disciples were shaken up. Here they were, celebrating the Passover together, which was supposed to be a joyous celebration, and Jesus is turning their world upside down and shaking it up like a two-year old with a snow globe.

THIS is the context for our scripture today. THIS is the scenario in which Jesus is speaking to his disciples. THIS is why chapter 14 begins with “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus’ disciples more than anything else need reassurance. They need to be reminded that Jesus knows what he is doing and why. That he has a plan, and they aren’t being left out of the plan.

Let’s look at the three ways Jesus provides reassurance to his disciples.

In my Father’s house are many rooms...

Jesus reassures his disciples by telling them that he is going to prepare a place for them. There has been some debate over the years about what Jesus means when he says this. The King James Version of the bible says, “in my Father’s house are many mansions.” which gives the impression that Jesus is preparing a large and lavish dwelling for his disciples. The original language here doesn’t support that, however. The greek word that John uses here when he quotes Jesus is ‘μονη’ which is usually translated as room, or dwelling place. And we have to remember, the disciples have been living a nomadic lifestyle for the past three years. They weren’t interested in mansions, they wanted to know that there was a place for them where Jesus was going.

The other part to recognize here is that Jesus tells his disciples that he is going ahead of them to prepare a place for them. Think of a time that you had guests arriving, maybe special guests coming over for Sunday dinner after church. You probably spent time on Saturday cleaning the house, picking up, dusting, and vacuuming so that the house looked nice. After the Sunday morning service was done, you rushed out of the church to go home and make sure that everything was just right; the table was set, there was ice in the glasses, the food would be done at just the right time. All this to make your guest feel welcomed. If we do this for a Sunday dinner guest, how much more will Jesus do to prepare a place for us to feel welcomed home.

If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come and bring you to myself...

The second reassurance that Jesus gives to his disciples is that if he goes to prepare a place, then surely he will return to bring them so they can be where he is. The disciples have given many indications that they aren’t ready for Jesus to leave. They don’t know what they will do when he is gone. They have given up everything to follow him, and they planned on him being here for quite some time! So when Jesus starts talking about leaving, the anxiety of the disciples starts to rise.

Jesus, knowing that the disciples are feeling anxious about his departure, reassures them that they will not be permanently separated. He doesn’t say exactly how or when he will return, but he does make it clear that he WILL return and that his followers will be where he is.

I am the way, the truth and the life...

The third reassurance that Jesus offers to his disciples comes after a question from Thomas. Thomas asks, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus responds by telling them, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

Jesus doesn’t say that he’ll leave a map, or send directions, or that he’ll make the GPS coordinates available on his social media profile. He tells his disciples, and he tells us, I am the way. In my research this week, I spent some time in D.A. Carson’s commentary on the Gospel according to John. Carson has this to say about Jesus’ answer to Thomas:

The Gospel according to John John 14:6

Still, if Thomas’ question and v. 6a demonstrate that way is the principal theme, it follows that truth and life enjoy a supporting role: Jesus is the way to God, precisely because he is the truth of God (cf. notes on 1:14) and the life of God (cf. notes on 1:4; 3:15; 11:25). Jesus is the truth, because he embodies the supreme revelation of God—he himself ‘narrates’ God (1:18), says and does exclusively what the Father gives him to say and do (5:19ff; 8:29), indeed he is properly called ‘God’ (1:1, 18; 20:28). He is God’s gracious self-disclosure, his ‘Word’, made flesh (1:14). Jesus is the life (1:4), the one who has ‘life in himself’ (5:26), ‘the resurrection and the life’ (11:25), ‘the true God and eternal life’ (1 Jn. 5:20). Only because he is the truth and the life can Jesus be the way for others to come to God, the way for his disciples to attain the many dwelling-places in the Father’s house (vv. 2–3), and therefore the answer to Thomas’ question (v. 5). In this context Jesus does not simply blaze a trail, commanding others to take the way that he himself takes; rather, he is the way

We are living in troubled times

Where do you find yourself in this story? We know, from reading the gospel accounts, that many of Jesus’ followers, and other Jews, expected that the Messiah would be a political figure. They were expecting the Messiah to come and establish an earthly kingdom, to defeat the Romans who were occupying Israel and to take his rightful place as the King of the Jews. When Jesus started to talk about his death and going away, the disciples’ world was turned upside down. They had given up everything to follow Jesus, and now he was going to leave?!

Maybe you’re like one of the disciples that was looking for a political solution. There are many people today that are looking for a political solution to the troubles of the world in which we live. If you think that Donald Trump, or Joe Biden, or Congress, or the Senate, or the United Nations, or any other politician or political body is going to solve any of our problems, you’re setting yourself up for some serious disappointment. Just as Jesus wasn’t offering a political solution 2,000 years ago, the same stands true today.

Maybe you are one of the disciples looking around the room trying to figure out who will betray Jesus. You wonder if one of your friends could be capable of that; or one of your family members; or if you yourself could be that one.

Maybe you are like Peter; you want to stand with Jesus to the end, but you hear Jesus’ words to Peter and you wonder if you would deny him if you were challenged in the workplace, at school, or on the street. Would you really stand up for Jesus if your safety was at stake? If your life was in danger?

There are many studies showing that Christianity is on the decline in America. One Gallup study finds that in the 20 years from 1998 to 2018, church membership declined in the U.S. by 20%. In that same time period, the number of Americans claiming no religious affiliation increased from 8% to 19%. As our country becomes more and more divided, I don’t see those numbers reversing their course any time soon. While there will continue to be healthy growing churches throughout the United States, the overall numbers will continue to decline, and as that continues and the number of Christians goes lower and lower, it is possible that we will face more and more persecution. When that persecution finds its way to your door, will you stand up for Jesus, will you claim him, or will you deny him to save your social status, your job, or your life?

The beauty of the gospel is this: however you answer that question, it doesn’t matter. Your salvation is not based on your actions. It is based on what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. Peter did, in fact, deny Jesus three times that night. Still, after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, Peter became the central figure in the establishment of the church.

Maybe as you’re listening right now, the voice of guilt inside your head is saying, “That’s nice and all, but that preacher doesn’t know all of the things that I’ve done, all of the mistakes that I’ve made. I mean, my life has been just one wrong decision after another.” It doesn’t matter. Jesus is preparing a place for you.

Maybe as you’re hearing me right now, the voice of shame inside your head is saying, “Well maybe for other people that works, but that guy has no idea who I am. I wasn’t any good in school, I don’t have any talents, I can’t speak in public, I’ve never been good enough. God certainly doesn’t want someone like me.” Jesus is coming back for you - to bring you to be where he is.

As you’re sitting here right now, you may be asking the question, “Me? Really? Can God save me?” And the answer is; Yes, yes he can. He promised that there was room for us in his Father’s house. He promised us that he would go and prepare a place for us, and that he would return to bring us to be there with him. And he promised us that He is the way, we don’t need a map, or a ticket, or to be perfect, or clean, or anyone’s approval. We just need Jesus. He is the way, and the truth, and the life.