Sermon 14th May 2017
Text: John 14:1-10 – Jesus is the Way
There’s a knock at the door.
You open the door and there is a
nicely groomed couple perhaps with a young child with them.
They greet you with a smile and you
suspect what it’s about.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are there to
share with you about their faith.
I admire their commitment and courage
to knock on a door to speak about their faith.
One of the major differences that
separates us from Jehovah’s Witness is their translation of John chapter one
verse one which reads:
In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God.
Their translation is slightly
different.
In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was a God.
You mightn’t think there is much
difference but one little word that can make a world of difference and can take
away so much meaning.
Their understanding is that Jesus was
a god but not equal with God the Father.
One little word that makes a world of
difference.
Earlier in our service we witnessed
Mackenzey being baptised.
God made a promise – whoever believes
and is baptised WILL be saved.
So much power in that one word – WILL
be saved.
Not might be saved or has a good
chance at being saved.
Will be saved.
In our bible reading today we also
saw some quite definite promises made by Jesus.
He says that in his Father’s house
there are many rooms and that he is preparing a room for us and that he WILL
return and take us to be where he is.
I find that so comforting knowing
that Jesus speaks in absolutes and he can do so because he is God.
There are never any doubts and never
any confusion when Jesus speaks.
So when Jesus says, I am the way, the
truth and the life – no one comes to the Father except through me – it can
sound rather exclusive and limiting.
It is a passage often used to reject
other religions.
But that was not the reason Jesus
said those words.
Jesus is providing us with absolute
assurance that if we want to be sure about going to heaven then he is the only
way to have that assurance.
And that’s because he IS God – not a
god.
We live with so much uncertainty in
our lives and in most cases we can handle that.
But the one area that we do not want
uncertainty is regarding what happens when we die.
I have seen the grief and despair
that death causes so many times and the only comfort that can be given is
knowing that the person who has died was a Christian and that they are now in
heaven.
And the only way that I can bring
comfort is by speaking in absolute confidence.
And the only way that I can have
absolute confidence is because Jesus is God and has made that promise to us.
Eternal life is not something that we
want to second guess with terms like – he should be in heaven because he was a
good person.
Or I really hope that he is in
heaven.
Those sorts of words don’t bring
comfort.
It’s like doing an exam at school and
feeling you went well but not knowing how you went or if indeed you actually
passes until it’s been marked by an examiner.
Or sitting your VCE and waiting for
the ENTER score to see if you get into your preferred University course.
We don’t want that same uncertainty
when it comes to our appearance before God on Judgement Day.
We want to know NOW that it’s
guaranteed.
And so Jesus speaks in absolutes when
it comes to our salvation.
Whoever believes and is Baptised WILL
be saved.
Whoever believes in Jesus Christ will
not perish.
This IS my body – this IS my blood.
When Jesus spoke these words he was
just about to be arrested.
His disciples would see some very
worrying things and wonder whether they had made the right decision to follow
Jesus.
So he says – don’t let your hearts be
troubled.
Trust in God and trust in me.
Don’t trust what your eyes see –
trust what I have said to you.
Trust what I have promised.
Jesus won’t magically take away the
terrible things happening in our lives and in the world
But he will bring comfort by assuring
us that our home in heaven is absolutely guaranteed and in heaven there will be
no more suffering, crying or death.
That’s what Jesus has prepared for us
and he will personally return and bring us home.
In this day and age home ownership is
such a discouraging topic especially for our younger people who firmly believe
they will never be in a position to own their own home;
How amazing that Jesus himself has
built our heavenly eternal home and will personally escort us there when our
time comes.
The disciples didn’t understand what
Jesus was talking about.
They were expecting from Jesus a
military style battle against the enemy.
But what Jesus was doing was giving
them a farewell speech.
Jesus knew that there was not going
to be a battle.
He was going to succumb to the
violent arrest – an unfair trial – and a death he didn’t deserve.
So his disciples were going to see
some horrific things.
So as his farewell speech he says to
the – don’t let your hearts be troubled.
In life we will see some horrific
things at times.
Sickness, death, financial crisis,
wars, natural disasters, relationship breakdowns.
These can really trouble our hearts
wondering how we are going to get through them.
So Jesus says to us also – don’t let
your hearts be troubled.
Trust God – trust Jesus.
And we can trust Jesus because he is
God – not a god.
Jesus is God.
Because no matter how bad things get
– and even if the worse thing happens – Jesus has prepared a new home in heaven
for us.
That new home will be nothing like we
have ever experienced or can ever experience in this life.
It will be a home where God himself
will be with us and be our God. He will wipe every tear from our eyes. There
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
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