April 24, 2005Reverend
Rich KnightCategory
- New Testament OverviewJohn 14:1-11We’ve looked at each of the 4 gospels this year.Matthew
- the most Jewish of the gospels, “This happened to fulfill what the prophet
Isaiah foretold . . .”Mark
- shortest, written 1st, man of action, “Immediately”Luke
- contains the most parables & concern for women, children, poorJohn
- “I Am” statements, central issue = the identity of ChristMatthew
- Jesus the King of the JewsMark
- Jesus the ServantLuke
- Jesus the Savior of AllJohn
- Jesus the Word of God made fleshJohn 14 is typical of the gospel of John.Includes one of the “I am” statements.Please read the text.You know they always say there’s no such thing as a
dumb question. Teachers & professors make this statement at the start of a
new semester - “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There’s no such thing as a
dumb question.”I tested this assertion once. It was during a statistics class that was required for my doctorate.
The class was taught by a great man who was trained as pastoral counselor. He
was by his own admission an amateur mathematician. And so he said quite often,
“There’s no such thing as a dumb question.”The very last day of class, I raised my hand and
said, “You know, I just have one question. Why is there always a margin of
error?”(=or-)“Why can’t we just pin it down precisely?”
The professor turned red in the face, and he spoke quite strongly to me,
rebuking me for the question. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my
question revealed the fact that I had not understood the entire course!So perhaps there is such a thing as a dumb
question.(On the way out the door following this sermon, Mike
McGrath said to me, “Rich, there is no such thing as a dumb question, but there
is such a thing as a dumb student!”How
true!)In our text this morning, Thomas asks a question. And Jesus does not turn red in the face. Instead he says some of the
most memorable and significant words he ever spoke.The scene is the Last Supper, the night before the
Cross. Jesus’ words that night reveal such care and concern for his
friends.Wouldn’t you think Jesus would
make a great friend?He does, doesn’t
he?He says to them:“Don’t be
troubled. Don’t be afraid. You trust in God. Trust me, too.For in the Father’s House there are many
dwelling places. God’s house is huge. There’s a place for you. I will come
again & I will take you there, so that where I am you may be always.”Such care, such love. Such assurance. Of course we
read them on this side of Easter. We know the rest of the story. They did not.
All they knew was that big trouble was brewing, and Jesus was saying that he
was about to leave.When times are confusing & unclear, there is
virtually no such thing as a dumb question. And sometimes it takes someone bold
to ask it - someone perhaps with a reputation for wanting to know the truth,
wanting to be sure, and willing to ask the hard questions - such as Thomas,
Doubting Thomas. You know, “I will not believe unless I see the nail prints in
his hands,” he said that first Easter.So at the Last Supper Thomas is wrestling with
Jesus’ words. “Lord, you’re going away?You’re leaving us? “Where are you going? We do not know where you are
going? So how can we know the way?”Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”“Thomas,
don’t worry about the way - I am the way“Don’t worry about not knowing
everything - I’m the truth“Don’t worry about death - I’m Life!Let’s spend a little bit of time with each of
those attributes this morning. (many of you
know I never met a 3 point sermon I didn’t like - this one’s pretty much taylor made. Not even
I can mess it up . . . hopefully!)I. Jesus is the Way.That’s a good word - The Way It’s not static. It’s
going somewhere. It’s alive! It tells us that being a Christian is not a once
and done thing - “Well, I became a Christian in 1971, and I haven’t done a dang
thing since!” That’s not New Testament Christianity.The book of Acts tells us that before the early
Christians were called “Christians” they were called, “The Way.” Acts 9 says,
Saul was persecuting all those who belonged to “the Way.”Christianity is a Way, a Way of Living. “Teach me
thy ways, O God, that I may walk in them.” Moses used the phrase to the
Israelites - “Do not turn aside from the way I have instructed you. This is the
way. Walk in it.”Illustration. Once there was a King who had 3
sons. The king owned a beautiful, priceless ring that
each of his sons wanted. When the king died he left a box with 3 rings in it
& a note. The note read, “My dear Sons, one of these rings is the real one.
2 are fake. The way you will know who has the real ring, is that the son who
has the real ring will be the kindest man who ever lived.” And each son spent
the rest of their lives trying to prove that they each had the real ring.The way we demonstrate that we have the real thing
when it comes to faith is how we live. Jesus is the Way for us to live in, the
Way for us to walk in, the Way for us to follow - in love, in service, in joy,
in sacrifice, in kindness, in forgiveness - the ways of Jesus.But Jesus is not only the way to live, he’s also
the way to God.Hebrews 10 says,
“Christ has opened a new and living way to God.” Here Jesus says, “I am the
Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is the way to the Father, the way to intimacy with God, so much so that
you may claim God as your personal Father/Mother and you as a child of the living
God. We come to the Father through Christ. Jesus is the Way to God.Well, what about the obvious question? - is he the only way? “No one comes to the Father but by me.” What do we
do with that sentence?First of all, I don’t think we should dismiss it. We
don’t approach the Bible like we do a regular book club - “I disagree with that
statement. I can’t agree with him there. Let’s keep reading.” No, we stop and
wrestle with the things we don’t understand - just like Thomas, we hang in
there and ask the hard questions!“I am the Way . . . no one comes to the Father
except through me.”There are two insights which have helped me with
this text.A. One is that there are a number of paths to God
but the doorway to God has been opened by Jesus, whether people know it or not.
The New Testament makes the claim that Jesus died
for the whole world - “For God so loved the World that he sent in only begotten
Son.” “Christ died once and for all in order to bring us to God.” (I Peter
3:18) He didn’t just die for bible-believing churchgoing Christians. I believe
it’s his sacrifice on the Cross and his resurrection victory that have opened
the gates of heaven - here and now and forever. So if a Buddhist, a Hindu, a
Muslim, a Jew, commune with God and are living with intimacy with God - it’s
because of the grace of God that we see in Jesus.The Veil in the Temple. The Gospels
say that when Christ died on the Cross the veil in the temple was torn in two -
the veil into the Holy of Holies - the most sacred place in the great temple.
Jesus’ sacrifice created access to God once and for all. He opened up the gates
of heaven. I heard a pastor once say,
“Some people will get to heaven and be surprised to find out that it was Jesus
who got them in.”Illustration. Boston Red Sox
tickets.Several
years ago one of our members mentioned to a business associate that their
pastor (me) loves baseball. And so this business associate sent this
parishioner two tickets to Fenway for me. (I mention this partly to promote the
practice!). Now, I have never met this guy. I don’t even know him, but he gets
me in!(Billy Graham was on “Larry King Live” once. Larry
asked Billy about what he believed regarding people from other religions going
to heaven, Billy Graham replied: “A person is judged on the merits of their own
religion, what’s been taught to them. But I believe ultimately it’s Christ who
paid the price for our sins and gets us into heaven.”)Jesus paid the price to get us in. That helps me
understand - “No one comes to the Father except through me.”B. There’s one other thing I’ve found helpful in
understanding this is realizing that the verse was written within the context
of Christian theology and terminology.Jesus is speaking on his own terms.He is the way to his Father.God the Son is the Way to God the Father.This is the way Christians look at it.Jesus is not the way to Nirvana.He’s not the way to Enlightenment.- that is Buddha’s jobHe’s not the way to obedience to OT Levitical Laws,
to kosher living.- That’s Moses’ jobHe’s not the way to being faithful to the Koran -
that’s Mohammed's job.He’s the way to God the Father - that’s Christian
terminology. That’s how we put it.
That’s how we look at it. It’s a Christian verse.Jesus is saying, through me you can know the God I
speak about, the God I incarnate -this
loving, accepting, forgiving, embracing, empowering God.Come to me and you will know this God.Another way of saying it is this: Through Jesus you can know God as Father; you can know you’re a child
of God. There’s probably other ways that work - but through Jesus you can be
sure of it, you can know.Jesus is the Way to Live and the Way to God. “I am
the Way, the Truth.”II. Jesus is the Truth.He’s the Truth about God.Hebrews 1 - “Christ is
the image of the invisible God.”Col. 1 - “All the fullness of God dwelt in him.”Illustration. A little girl was saying her
bedtime prayers. “Dear Lord, I thank you
for my best friend, Teddy.” Her father, who had been trying to encourage her
faith later asked her, “Isn’t God your best friend? Why did you call Teddy your
best friend?” The little girl replied,“Teddy has a face.”Jesus puts a face on God. Jesus reveals the truth
about God - character, essence, the heart, the love of God.I’ve been having a dialogue with someone in town
about faith issues.This person said - “I just don’t think we can know
what God is like. God is not knowable. We can only speculate.” My response was,
“I think we can know what God is like. The NT documents teach that God is just
like Jesus.Jesus is just like God -
“When you’ve seen the Father, you’ve seen me.” And if Jesus is just like God,
then we’re in pretty good shape.In John Chapter 1, John calls Jesus the Word of God
make flesh. He’s the definitive word on the subject of God. When it comes to
God, there is a true north, and it’s Christ.“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”III. “Jesus is Life”This is so important, and it’s such good news. Jesus is not just doctrine - he’s spiritual life.Jesus is not just a member of the Trinity - he’s
eternal life.Jesus is not just an ethical figure - he’s alive. Jesus is not just a philosophy, a way of looking at
life,a way of trying to understand this
world - Jesus is a life to be lived in.Jesus is divine life offered to us.Jesus is divine strength, peace. grace, comfort,
Spirit, energy, power, purpose, joy, Life.Illustration.A tourist hired a guide to go into the jungle for a taste of the wild. But after only a short while the tourist noticed that they were not on
a trail, instead the guide was hacking away at the brush. This concerned the
tourist very much because he his greatest fear was getting lost in the jungle.“Where’s the path?” the tourist said.“I am the path,” said the guide.Jesus is the path - a living path, a constant guide
and friend.“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”In closing, we need all three of these aspects of
Christ.The Way, the Truth, and the Life.Without the way - there
is no direction, no ethics, no values, no purpose, no sense of mission, justice,
holiness. Jesus is the way for us to follow, the footsteps to walk in.But Christ is also the Truth about God. Without the Truth there is only speculation and wishful thinking, and
few people get passionately committed over wishful thinking - and God has gone
to great lengths to show us what he is like - he is just like Jesus! Christ is
the Truth about the Invisible God.And Christ is the very Life of God poured into
our hearts. Our faith is not just ethical and truthful,
full of correct doctrine & faithful living - our faith is inherently
spiritual and mystical.Which of these 3 speaks to you the most?Which of these 3 needs to be strengthen the most?The Way, the Truth, the Life?Those of a Liberal mindset often neglect the aspect of true north, of believing in the unique
claims of Christ while still affirming truth elsewhere.Those of a Fundamentalist mindset often neglect the sense of Jesus as the Life, and they can sometimes
have a lifeless faith, the doctrines of the head without the life of the Spirit
in one’s heart.We need all 3.I’ll close with a meditation by Thomas a Kempis. He was a Christian writer of the 15th Century. His most famous work
was“Imitation of Christ,” the most
influential book of the Middle Ages.Thomas wrote this meditation on John 14. (please
read it slowly)“Follow me. I am the way and the truth and the life.
Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing;
without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou must follow; the
truth which thou must believe; the life for which thou must hope. I am the sure
way; the infallible truth; the never-ending life. I am the straightest way; the
sovereign truth, life true, life blessed, life uncreated. It thou remain in my
way thou shalt know the truth and the truth shall make thee free, and thou
shalt lay hold on eternal life.”Let’s pray:Lord Jesus, be
our way, be our truth, be our life.Amen.
