Jesus, the Way
John 14:1-14
Key Verse 14:6
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
First, I’d like to thank God for giving me the privilege to share this message with you today. For those of you who don’t know today is actually my birthday. While most people anticipate their birthday, I initially was not because I knew it would be a struggle. But while preparing this message, I realized God gave me the best birthday present… the Word of God. I see how beautiful this gift truly is, and I am thankful for the opportunity to struggle with the Word of God. Through the message I found hope in the kingdom of God. I feel like I am the last person who should be standing up here giving the message, but by God’s grace through Jesus, I can stand before you and give this message to you.
Today, I hope we together can see Jesus as the only Way, the truth and the life. He is our key, our Shepherd, and the gate into the heavenly kingdom. I pray that we can put our hope in the kingdom of God which is to come. Let’s also trust in God and trust also in Jesus so we can guard our hearts from being troubled. He has reserved a place for us in his heavenly palace. We must trust in God and trust also in Jesus.
Part I. In my Father’s house (1-4)
Let’s look at Chapter 13 so we can understand the current state of the disciples’ hearts. This chapter and chapter 14 are part of the Upper Room Discourse. It was a private conversation with Jesus and his disciples. These would be Jesus’ final words to them. In chapter 13, Jesus predicted his betrayal by one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot. This news shocked them all. Their hearts were deeply troubled at the notion of someone betraying their leader Jesus. In addition, Jesus had given them a new command, “To love one another,” which may not have been so bad. But even more disturbing to them was verse 33. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: where I am going, you cannot come.” The disciples had dropped everything to follow Jesus. Peter left his fishing job, Matthew left his tax collectors booth, and James and John left their mother behind so they could follow Jesus. They gave up all their securities in life: A stable job, a loving family, and a roof over their heads. They could not enjoy these simple things of life. This led to insecurities. All these things they gave up to follow Jesus. They were willing to go wherever Jesus led them. Now, all of a sudden, Jesus told them he would be leaving them and where he was going, they could not come. This led to much anxiety on the disciples’ part.
Let’s read verse 1. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” The disciples became troubled about their future. Do any of you here ever experience any type of anxiety? As I look around the room, I see many troubled hearts. What are some of the things you might be anxious about? Some of us may be anxious about this fall semester. Augustine has to prepare for the MCATs while maintaining a good GPA for medical school, Jenifer is concerned about her applications to medical school. M. Sarah Chang might be worried about John Chang’s graduation. Are you anxious about being unemployed? Mahmia confessed she is anxious about finding a job. M. Mary has her hands full with five children. She has to take them to swim practice, violin practice, cello practice, and support S. David and Apostle’s fellowship. And for all of the single people, are you worried about your future marriage? What is it that troubles your heart? If we let these things weigh heavily on our hearts, they will bring more anxiety into our hearts. The disciples were paralyzed by the idea of losing their shepherd Jesus. They were living in suspense. Their hearts were like the troubled sea when it cannot find rest. This is because they were overcome with anxiety. They did not know what the future held for them. They had invested so much time in the ministry of Jesus and now he would be leaving them. Their political aspirations were to establish an earthly kingdom where Jesus would reign and they would become his Cabinet members. Their hopes and dreams were crushed. Their hearts were troubled and were in a state of restlessness. They would be unemployed and homeless.
Jesus, being the Good Shepherd, saw their troubled hearts and gave them verse 1. Let’s read it together. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” Jesus teaches us the way to overcome anxiety. How could they overcome anxiety? By trusting in God and trusting also in Jesus. Initially, it seems the disciples’ problem is their immediate future. How would they find a place to sleep? How could they find a job? How would they make money? Previously, Jesus took care of all these things. Jesus could easily have made these problems go away by immediately providing all these things. But Jesus saw their true problem, the deeper problem… they did not Trust in God! Jesus did not want to help them with simple things like finding a job or finding a place to sleep. He wanted to plant the Word of God in their hearts. The disciples were concerned about their immediate future. Jesus was worried about their eternal future. To solve their problems, Jesus gave them the Word of God: Trust in God, Trust in Me. He gave them the glorious promise of God, hope in the kingdom of God. The disciples did not trust God. This led to their anxiety. Their hope was put in the world. Are you like the disciples? Where do you put your hope? Do you hope to find the perfect job or perfect family? These are lost hopes. From the life testimonies at the Conference last week, we saw how Jay used to put her hope in a future husband, the same way the Samaritan Woman did. This just led to frustration and disappointment. But when she fixed her eyes on the Promises of God, she could give up her hope in her perfect husband and put her hope in the kingdom of God. Jesus knew her problem and he knows our problems too. He gives us the Word of God, the same words he gave to his disciples. We all worry about our future. My parents expected their three sons to be making money by now so they could help support the family. We shot that hope down a long time ago. I am incurring even more debt in medical school and Abe is a lawyer missionary with no possible income. We cannot put our hope in our children or other things of the world. We must put our hope in the kingdom of God, trusting in God and trusting in Jesus.
To further understand the Hope of God, Jesus gives us verse 2-4. “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” We can overcome our troubles and fears when we trust in the coming Kingdom of God. In his heavenly kingdom, Jesus has reserved a room specifically for us. In other texts, they are called mansions. The kingdom of God may be somewhat abstract for some people, like the disciples, so Jesus describes the kingdom as his Father’s house which has many rooms or many mansions. What will this coming kingdom be like and how will we get there? According to verse 2 and 3, Jesus is going to prepare a place for us. He will also come back to get us so that we can be with him. Jesus is referring to his death and resurrection into heaven. He paves the way for us to enter into his heavenly home. Revelations 21 describes this eternal palace so vividly. There will be streets of pure gold as pure as glass, pearly gates, with city walls decorated with every type of precious stone. Most importantly, this is the dwelling place of God himself. We will be dwelling in the house of the Lord, dining at the table with our King. In heaven, there will be no need for light because the glory of God gives it light with the Son as its lamp. Nothing impure will ever enter it. There will be no tears, because there will be no death and no sorrow. There will be no exams, no job problems, and no anxiety. To me, this image is too good to be true. It is too beautiful and too perfect. I have a hard time believing that God would ever let us dirty sinners any where near his precious, beautiful kingdom. I can’t believe God has chosen us to live in the rooms of his house eternally. But it is true indeed. Jesus went ahead of us to prepare a place for the true believers. The disciples were searching for physical rest for the tired bodies, but Jesus tried to give them rest for their souls. He gave them the hope of God in the kingdom to come. His house is the house built on an unshakeable foundation. Look at our earthly houses. Those who hope for a nice family and a nice house, the American dream, will be severely disappointed. Houses give you all kinds of problems. There is nothing great about them. You have to mow the lawn, trim the bushes, and clean the gutters, just to name a few. Plus they eventually break down. They are temporary objects. They have water leaks, basements flood and there are occasional power outages. But God’s kingdom is eternal and unchanging. There are no problems in the house of God, only peace. Shepherdess Karina from Guatemala shared in her testimony about her struggles with her family growing up. There was never any peace in her household. She lived in fear of her neighbors and even her own family. Karina longed for a peaceful home and found it in the Father’s house. She fixed her eyes on Jesus and put her faith in the coming kingdom of God. She realized she was chosen to receive God’s promise of eternal life. Karina will be comforted in her heavenly home by her heavenly Father.
Look at Jesus’ disciple Peter. He wanted to secure his position on earth as Jesus’ right hand man. He wanted to have glory before men. His hope was in this world. But when he met the Risen Jesus, he realized the temporary nature of this world. He had a new hope in the kingdom of God which will never spoil, perish or fade (1Pe 1:3,4) We close each Sunday Worship Service with the Lord’s Prayer. In it are the words “thy kingdom come.” This is our sincere hope and prayer. This is what we look forward to.
We can also follow Jesus’ example when teaching the Bible to our sheep. Sheep have many problems. If you try and take care of all their little problems, you will only exhaust yourself. Rather than trying to fix each individual problem, be like Jesus. Solve their deeper problem by giving them the Hope of God. Plant the word of God into their hearts. Give them the ultimate hope in the kingdom of God so they too can have a room in heaven and find rest for their souls. Teach them to trust in God and Jesus.
One of our father’s of faith, Abraham, also looked forward to his heavenly home. Hebrews 11:10 reads, “For he was looking forward to the city with foundation, whose architect and builder is God.” His hope in the coming kingdom helped him to leave his country and father’s household so he could become a blessing to all nations. When we read the whole Bible, we see how blessed Abraham was. Abraham put his hope in God. He trusted God and God blessed his life. We can follow his example by trusting God and trusting also in Jesus.
His grandson Jacob, like my father M. Jacob, reached the pinnacle of worldly success. Jacob struggled with man to secure fame after stealing the birthright from Esau and taking the blessing as the first son. He secured a beautiful wife by marrying Rachel. He even secured wealth by working for his uncle. Here we see ultimate worldly success. Though he achieved all these things, his heart was still troubled. It was not until he put his hope in God that his troubles went away. He found peace in God. He said to Pharoah that life was like a pilgrimage. Jacob was traveling from his life on earth to the kingdom of God. Our pilgrimage is the same. Instead of going from the cradle to the grave, we go from the cradle to heaven. We can overcome the trouble in our hearts by fixing our eyes on the kingdom in Heaven.
II. The Way, the Truth, and the Life (5-11)
The disciples were confused by Jesus’ sayings. They did not understand where this place would be and why they could not go. Thomas, who has the label of being the doubter, spoke up and asked Jesus a question. Verse 5. “ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’” Even though the disciples were following Jesus, they still did not understand Jesus’ words. Jesus was to return to God the Father in heaven to make way for their entrance into heaven. The disciples couldn’t understand because they were still limited to the physical realm. They were like the Samaritan woman who could not understand the concept of the Living Water and Nicodemus who could not understand spiritual re-birth. Their thinking was restricted to this world. But Thomas needed clarification, so he asked a question to Jesus. Let’s read Jesus’ response to Thomas. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection, there was a big, huge gap between God and Man. God was this omnipotent and powerful ruler of the world. We feared him more than we honored him. But then Jesus came along and bridged the gap between man and God. This was a result of God’s love for man. He shows us the way to heaven. His death and resurrection opens the door for us into the heavenly kingdom. He is One and Only way because he is the only one who has been there. John 3:13, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heave – the Son of Man.” Jesus is the only one from heaven and the only one who knows the way. Other religions claim to know the way to God, but they do not. Buddhism teaches us that we must forget the past, then we can overcome our problems. He puts an emphasis on human effort. We cannot forget our past sins, but we must repent of them. And by human efforts, there is no way we can find the way to heaven. Plus Buddha is a statue, how does he know the way? And Socrates tells us to “know yourself.” If you know yourself, then you know you are a sinner. There is no way to go the Father through Socrates reasoning. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Let’s say you want to drive to Lehigh to visit their chapter. Are you going to ask someone who has never been there for directions? No, you ask someone who has been there, they will surely know the correct way. In the same way, when you follow these other beliefs or religions, you will see that these only lead you to the wide gate which leads to destruction. Jesus leads us to he Narrow Gate which leads to eternal life. He is the only way.
Let’s read verse 6 again. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.’” The way, the truth and the life are not separate things but they are different characteristics of the one Jesus. These three things go hand in hand. The way is to know the truth: where Jesus came from and where he is going. What are some characteristics of truth? Unchanging, constant, not false, universal, and absolute. So where in this world can we find truth? Everything is changing, everything is relative. People change their minds every other second. Jesus is constant. We abandon Jesus, but he never abandons us. John 8:31,32 says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” In Grenada, we had one faithful sheep who attended almost every Sunday Worship Service. His name is Vick, a medical student from Oklahoma. His parents are from India. While having lunch after Sunday Worship Service, he made a confession to John K. Lee and myself. He said, “I believe in the Bible and Jesus because I know without a doubt that this is the truth. I have searched other religions and found them to be false and unfufilling. The Bible is absolute and I know without a doubt in my heart that my future is in heaven.” I was so encouraged by his words because his parents are not Christian yet he holds on to the words of Jesus and he knows Jesus is the truth. Jesus gives us freedom which we did not have when we were bound by this world. The truth can set us free indeed.
From the life testimonies at the conference, we learned from Masi, who was a Muslim from Iran, that Muslims do not know the truth. But Jesus gave Masi the truth and the truth set her free from her sins. She found rest in Jesus and put her hope in the kingdom of God. If we don’t know the truth, Satan has his grasp on us. The chains of sin will weigh us down. Only Jesus can break the chains to set us free.
In addition to being the way and the truth, Jesus is also the life. He is the life because he gives us a new life after death. Jesus says in John 5:24, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” According to this verse, when we hear Jesus’ words and believe in God, we can have eternal life. Through Jesus, he gives us a way to escape condemnation. These days, everyone is so caught up in trying to prolong their life so they can continue in this world. We see Americans hitting the gym, lifting weights, trying to diet correctly, taking all kinds of medicine. We are focused on extending our lives. But what good is it, if you do not have eternal life? Jesus is the author of life. He is the only one who can give us life. As a future doctor, I can only prolong a patient’s physical life. If I really want to help a patient, I’ll give them Jesus who can give them eternal life. He conquered the power of death to give us eternal life. To the world, the Christian life does not add up. The life of a missionary is not a glamorous one and seems like a waste. Their reward is in heaven. They do not live their life for this lifetime. Our hope is not in this world but the life which is to come. Jesus shows us the way and leads us to the Father.
But Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough.” Philip was a mathematician, very calculating. He had seen the crowd of 5,000 and quickly calculated eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. He was a brilliant person. I imagine he was like a young Steve. Philip needed hard evidence of the Father. Philip could not picture the Father’s house because it was not tangible but required faith to see. He did not see the spiritual Father and therefore could not see the spiritual kingdom.
Rather than rebuking Philip for his unbelief, Jesus encouraged him and the other disciples that they could do more than Jesus had done while on earth. Look at verse 12-14. Let’s read it together. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Those who have faith in Jesus, will continue to do his work. If we pray in Jesus’ name, we can be made powerful. Prayer is the key. How can we possibly do more than Jesus did? Only through prayer in Jesus’ name. In his earthly ministry, Jesus was limited, he could not be in Galilee and Jerusalem at the same time. Nowadays, look at technology. When we prayed to God through Jesus, the door was opened for us to reach many more people. You can broadcast SWS on TV or via the internet. You can access UBF websites from anywhere on the planet. So of course we can physically produce more numbers than Jesus, but the key is still Jesus. And the way we ask for his help, is through prayer. We are not poweerful. Through Jesus we can do great things. A couple of weeks before the conference, YDJ started Wednesday morning prayer meeting. I laughed to myself, thinking there was no way any YDJ are going to get up at 6am for prayer meeting, especially not the 2nd generation missionary kids. But, through prayer God established a vessel of prayer every Wednesday morning. Almost half of the attendants are second generation. It was through their prayers, that the YDJ could be used to serve the summer Bible conference. S. Joe Shaefer was surprised at the way they served the conference, through Life Testimonies, drama, singing, praise team, and many other ways. God can answer our prayers when we pray in Jesus’ name. Through Alison’s prayers, or maybe it was her thunderous voice, Mary Kim acted in the drama with confidence and shared her LT. In practice, we always reminded her to be louder, but she was filled with the Holy Spirit during the drama and acted wonderfully. It was the prayers of M. James and Jenifer which helped the actors in the drama to be full of the Spirit when acting. I remember we were searching for someone to play the role of the Sandra, a woman paralyzed by her sin. And God answered our prayers and provided Elaine, who served the drama like a modern day Audrey Hepburn. Mary Jagun confessed she was overwhelmed by the 160 conference attendants. How could she serve them all? Through prayer. And how will she survive her first year of medical school? Through prayer in Jesus’ name.
This semester, just like last semester, I am giving a message before my departure. I will be leaving for Grenada on August 11th. Prior to this message, I had lots of anxiety in my heart. I lost my co-worker, John K. Lee. How could I possibly continue the ministry at St. George’s University? The only way is through prayer. I need to hold the word of God in my heart and put my hope in the kingdom of God. Before I tried to be strong and courageous, according to Joshua 1:6-8. And now I trust in Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. .
May God help us through the Holy Spirit so we can know Jesus as the way and the truth and the life. May we live our lives for the glory of God. Jesus has prepared a place for us in the heavenly house. Let’s put our hope in the kingdom of God so we can block trouble from our hearts. Our hearts can be easily troubled by the world. In prayer, may we come to the Father through Jesus.
Let’s pray.