Well, we'll begin our time in God's Word this morning by reading our passage, and it comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 14.
If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up. We'll be reading the first six verses.
The Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 1 to 6. This is Jesus talking.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me.
My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that 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.
Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way?
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Many of these words of Jesus are quite familiar to us.
Some of them are often quoted or found in devotionals, such as verse 1.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God. Believe also in me.
Some of them are found in songs, such as verse 2.
My Father's house has many rooms, or as the old King James says, mansions.
If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And some of these words are known to be among Jesus' greatest claims.
Verse 6.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
So if you've been following Jesus for a while now, you probably know these words quite well.
These words are all somewhat direct and straightforward.
And so often when we read them, we imagine Jesus speaking them right to us.
But I wonder sometimes if we have taken the time to reflect on how these words hit the men
that were seated around the table that night with Jesus.
It's the night of Jesus' betrayal.
The Passover meal has just been served.
The bread and the cup passed around.
Judas has already left the building.
And Jesus is giving his last words to his disciples before his arrest and execution.
There's been kind of an ominous tone to this night so far.
Jesus has been quite troubled, we heard earlier.
He's been speaking about his betrayal.
He's been hinting at his death through this symbolic gesture with bread and with cup.
And just now he has told them right before this, which we heard last week or a week before,
he will be with them only a little while longer.
He's about to go somewhere that they cannot follow him.
So I want you to imagine this morning that you are one of the disciples seated around the table with Jesus this night,
seeing and hearing these things.
What are you thinking?
Perhaps you're thinking,
what's going on here?
What are you talking about, Jesus?
Why are you so troubled?
A traitor among us?
Who?
You're leaving us?
When?
Like tonight?
Tomorrow?
Surely not while we're here in Jerusalem.
With all that's going on,
the disciples were deeply troubled that night.
Probably they were quite anxious,
having no clear picture about how things were going to unfold,
what was coming next.
And usually when trouble arose,
Jesus was their emotional rock.
I think about that time when there was a storm out on the Sea of Galilee
and Jesus was sleeping in the boat.
That was kind of a picture of how Jesus often was in the midst of trouble with his disciples.
He was calm.
He was cool.
He was collected.
Seemingly unbothered by the threats and the plots of the religious leaders.
As fearless as a man can be.
And he was always encouraging them.
But now even Jesus seems deeply troubled.
So if I'm sitting at the table with Jesus
and he's troubled,
I'm starting to feel a little unsettled.
And now you're telling us, Jesus, that you're going away?
You're leaving us all on our own?
Well, Jesus sees the anxiety and the unsettledness in their hearts.
He can read the confusion and the distress in their faces.
So he looks around the table
and he says these words,
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Now, if that was all Jesus said,
these words might feel kind of cliche,
maybe a little empty.
I mean, how many of you have been in a situation
where somebody saw that you were worried
and they just kind of said to you,
Don't worry about it.
Just stop worrying.
Don't worry.
I mean, those words by themselves,
they don't really help a whole lot.
Whenever we hear that,
we're kind of waiting to hear
what the person's going to say next.
Like, why shouldn't I worry?
Do you have some good news for me?
Is there something you see in this situation
or understand about it that I don't?
Maybe you've got some timely wisdom
or encouragement for me.
I mean, I'm feeling anxious about things.
And oftentimes when we feel anxious,
it seems, to us at least,
that we're anxious for good reason.
So there's got to be more here than just,
Well, don't let your hearts be troubled.
Jesus isn't just saying,
Stop feeling that way.
It's not good.
It's bad for you.
There's got to be more.
What truth will Jesus speak
to put our hearts at rest?
To give us deep, inward peace
instead of anxiety
in the midst of this storm that's brewing?
Well, one of the things we often hear
from other people is,
Don't worry.
Everything's going to be all right.
Everything's going to be okay.
Nothing bad's going to happen.
Does Jesus say that?
No.
I mean, if Jesus did say that to the disciples,
we might take that as a comfort
because Jesus is right about
what's coming down the line
a hundred percent of the time.
That would be quite comforting.
But most of the time
when other people say this to us,
you know,
everything's going to be all right.
We know that they're just trying
to make us feel better
or to ease our fears.
And maybe inside,
as they say that to us,
we're wondering,
Well, how do you know
that it's going to go well?
That everything's going to be all right?
What if my fears,
what if my concerns are reasonable?
What if there is some real
potential of danger here?
Something I should be worrying about?
No.
Jesus doesn't say
everything's going to be just fine.
Because the truth is,
God allows us
to go through things
that aren't always just fine.
Jesus is about to suffer
something terrible.
Something bad is about to happen.
And even though it will,
in the end,
it will all be fine,
in the meantime,
it's going to be awful.
It's going to be horrible.
It'll be almost unbearable
for the disciples.
So Jesus doesn't give them
some false hope.
Instead,
he points their attention
to the only thing
that can be their anchor
in the midst of the storm
that's coming.
Jesus says,
believe in God.
Believe also in me.
Now there's some variety
in the translations here.
You may notice this
in your Bibles.
Some have it as a statement.
You believe in God?
Believe also in me.
Others have it as a question.
Do you believe in God?
Believe also in me.
And some have it
as a kind of parallel commands.
Believe in God.
Believe also in me.
And unfortunately,
today it's not possible
to know which one Jesus meant
because in the original language
it could be either a statement,
a question,
or a command.
All of it is spelled
the exact same way.
Probably the Greeks
in John's day
would have understood
simply by the context
which it was.
And we're kind of left today
to guess.
My guess is that
Jesus is just simply
encouraging them
to believe in God.
That this is a command.
That this is a word
of instruction.
Just as he often did
when he chided them
for their lack of faith.
Believe in God.
What will set the hearts
of the disciples at rest
with the uncertainty
and sorrow
and grief
of the days ahead?
God will.
No thing
can give peace.
True peace,
a settled heart
will only come
through relationship
with God.
And so Jesus instructs
the disciples
to look to him.
And not just
to look to him
but to believe in him,
to trust him.
have you ever had
this experience before
where you're worried
about something
or maybe even
you're just worried
and overwhelmed
about everything
and you open
your Bible
and you start
to pray
and you begin
to read
and take to heart
the things
that you're reading.
Things about God,
things about you,
things about our world
and suddenly,
almost unexplainably,
it's like the worry
just lifts.
The anxiety
evaporates
and this deep
settled peace
sets in
to your heart.
all of a sudden
you come to see
that you don't need
to worry
about anything
because God
is powerful,
he's good,
he's in control
of everything,
he's directing
everything
for our good,
he loves us,
he knows
what we need,
he's watching
over us
and even
if he allows us
to go through
something
that's hard,
he promises us
in these pages
to be with us,
to carry us
through it
and we find
in these pages
assurance
that he never
breaks his promises.
We read
in these pages
that no matter
how it goes
in the short term,
in the long term,
we win,
we have victory
through Jesus,
everlasting life
with him.
I hope you've
had that experience
before,
I know I have
and it's such
a blessing.
The great
antidote
to anxiety
and worry
is simply
this,
believe
in God,
put your trust
in God
and Jesus
follows this
up with a
second word
of instruction,
he says,
believe also
in me.
We're going
to see this
more and more
in the verses
ahead here,
Jesus will
emphasize his
oneness
with God
the Father,
he will speak
to the disciples
in terms
which put him
on the same
level
as God.
Trust in
God,
he says,
trust also
in me.
Now,
what does this
mean for the
disciples?
Think about
their story,
think about
what they've
been through.
Jesus is
calling them
to count
as true
everything
that he has
been saying
to them
up until
now,
everything
they've come
to believe
about him
up until
now.
It's like
Jesus is
saying,
hold on
to that
faith that
you have
in me.
Believe
in me.
And why
is this
so important?
Because
from a
human
perspective,
everything
is about
to go
wrong
for Jesus
in the
next
hours.
By
tomorrow,
they will
see his
dead body
hanging on
a Roman
cross.
And the
temptation
to doubt
all that
Jesus has
said to
them over
the past
weeks and
months and
years will
be very
strong.
The majority
of the Jews
will be decrying
Jesus as a
blasphemer and
a fraud,
a man worthy
of death.
Some will be
saying,
look, if he
really was the
Messiah, this
would never
have happened
to him.
if he
really was
the son
of God,
he'd be
able to
save
himself.
So this
is the
moment of
testing.
This is the
big question.
Will the
disciples hold
on to their
faith in
Jesus through
all this?
Or will
their faith
in him
wither and
die as
they watch
this unfold?
Believe in
me also,
says Jesus.
You're going
to have to
simply trust
me through
all this.
Those of
you who
have had
children or
have spent
time with
young children,
perhaps you
found yourself
saying words
like these
to your
kids.
Just trust
me.
the worry
in a
child's
heart can
sometimes
gush and
flow with
such strength.
What about
this,
mom?
Dad,
what about
that?
What if
this happens
to our
family?
And on
and on
it can
go and
come.
And you
find yourself
saying those
words,
trust me.
As
parents,
we've lived
a few years
longer than
our children
have.
We know
how things
go.
We have
experience.
We know
when the
fears and
the anxiety
of our
children are
so far
beyond the
realm of
possibility
that it's
just simply
not going
to happen
that way.
But no
matter how
hard we
try to
reason with
them,
sometimes we
simply come
to that
moment in
the conversation
where we
just ask
them to
trust us.
To just
lay aside
all those
worries and
fears about
a situation
and to
accept what
we tell
them about
what's going
on.
What are
we doing?
We're calling
our kids to
take their
eyes,
off of
the endless
uncertainties
and instead
to just put
their eyes
on us.
Someone they
know who
has been
there,
who has
been through
that,
who understands
how this
works.
Just trust
me,
says Jesus.
Believe in
me.
Even though
you can't see
what's coming,
even though
your feelings
and your
thoughts will
betray you,
believe in
me.
Remember the
things I
said.
Remember the
things I
did.
As surely
as you can
trust God
to look after
you,
you can
trust me.
Believe in
me,
says Jesus.
All the
things I said
to you,
they will all
hold true,
even through
the storm
that's
coming.
Well,
how about
you this
morning,
today,
here?
Do you
have some
anxieties,
some fears,
some worries
that have been
gnawing away
at you?
Certain trains
of anxious
thoughts that
keep coming
back,
that have
been troubling
you over the
past days,
maybe weeks.
We may not
be in the
exact same
situation as
the disciples
were that
night.
I mean,
they were
about to
live through
arguably some
of the
most soul
wrenching,
sorrowful
trouble
imaginable.
But did
God fail
them?
Did
Jesus
fail
them?
If God
could bring
them through
their time
of trouble,
can he not
bring you
through yours
and me
through mine?
If Jesus
promises to
them held
true,
even though
they watched
him die,
before their
very eyes,
will his
promises to
you and
me not
hold true
as well?
I believe
Jesus would
say these
very same
words to
us today
about whatever
troubles,
whatever anxieties,
whatever worries
are rising in
our own
hearts.
Do not
let your
hearts be
troubled.
Believe
in God.
Believe
also in
me.
now we
come to
verse
two.
Very
familiar,
precious
words.
He says
to them,
my father's
house has
many rooms.
If that
were not
so,
would I
have told
you that
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.
Finally,
here comes
the specific
truth that
the disciples
have been
waiting for,
the truth
that will
undo their
anxieties
and settle
their troubled
hearts.
What are the
disciples worried
about here?
Well,
as we've
seen,
there's lots
of things
going on
that they
could be
worried
about,
but one
of the
specific
things
that they're
worried
about
is Jesus
leaving
them.
Glance
back up
to verse
33 of
the previous
chapter.
Jesus
says,
My children,
I will
be with
you only
a little
longer.
Where I
am going,
you cannot
come.
And it
was Peter
who asked
the Lord,
Lord,
where are
you going?
Verse
36,
and Lord,
why can't
I follow
you now?
verse 37,
and now
it's Thomas
expressing his
concern.
Lord,
we don't
know where
you're going,
so how can
we know
the way?
This is a
big deal
for the
disciples.
They've been
with Jesus
for the
past three
years now,
following
him everywhere
he goes,
traveling with
him,
living with
him,
eating their
meals with
him.
By now,
some of
their lives
and what
they were
doing before
this,
their jobs,
all of it's
kind of starting
to fade into
the background.
They've been
part of this
incredible
experience.
They've found
the Messiah,
God's chosen
king for
Israel,
and they've
been following
with great
anticipation,
waiting to
see how all
of this
will unfold,
how God
will restore
the kingdom
to Israel.
And what's
more,
they've been
there through
all of the
tensions that
have been
rising between
Jesus and
the religious
leaders,
tensions that
are now at
a breaking
point.
And you're
telling us
now that
you're leaving
us?
That you're
going away?
Well, no
wonder they're
feeling troubled
in heart,
worried,
anxious,
unsettled.
But now
Jesus gives
them the
truth that
they need
to set
their hearts
at rest.
My
Father's
house has
many rooms.
If that
were not so,
would I have
told you that
I'm 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.
What is
the overall
truth here
that will
set their
hearts at
rest?
The truth
is that
even though
Jesus is
going away,
even though
Jesus is
leaving,
there's a
purpose.
And there's
a promise
that he will
return and
that they
will be
together again.
First, the
purpose.
Why is
Jesus leaving?
for what
reason is
he going
away?
Jesus
says, I'm
going to
prepare a
place for
you.
And if
I'm there
at the
table, I'm
imagining all
kinds of
questions rising
in my own
mind, things
the disciples
might be
thinking of,
questions like,
well, what
kind of
preparations?
What needs
to be prepared
there in
that place?
What kind
of place are
you talking
about?
where is
it?
And
unfortunately,
Jesus doesn't
elaborate in
detail on
every one of
these questions.
He doesn't
say what kind
of preparations
need to be
made.
He doesn't
say what
needs to be
done there
to prepare
this place
in the
Father's
house.
And so
we're back
to just
trust me,
believe me,
there's work
that I need
to do to
make things
ready so
that there's
a place for
you in my
Father's house,
says Jesus.
But then
with that
purpose comes
a promise,
a wonderful
promise.
Jesus says,
if I am
going to
prepare for
you a place
in my
Father's house,
then most
certainly I
will come
back and
take you
to be with
me so
that you
also may
be where I
am.
So the
disciples are
worried that
Jesus is
leaving and
the truth
that will set
their hearts
at rest is
that he's not
leaving forever.
I will
come back
and I
will take
you to
be with
me.
This won't
be the end
of our time
together,
says Jesus.
Oh, it's
been a sweet
past three
years for
these men
to be on
the journey
with Jesus,
to do life
together with
Jesus so
closely.
But know
this, says
Jesus,
this is not
the end of
our time
together.
I must
go, I
must make
preparation,
but I
will come
back and
you will
be with
me again.
Like this,
close,
personal
relationship,
fellowship,
just like
we've had.
It will
go on
when I
return.
So there's
so much
here that
the disciples
don't
understand,
that they
can't see
of the
future.
But Jesus
gives them
a purpose
for his
leaving and
a promise
to trust
that will
carry them
through the
storm ahead
and that
will hold
them for
the rest
of their
lives.
God
will
do it.
What about
us today?
Even though
we live
2,000 years
later,
even though
we haven't
been with
Jesus like
the disciples
have,
I hope you
know that
this purpose,
this promise
is for us
as well.
you know,
some days
when we
look out
at our
world,
or when
we read
what's going
on in
the news,
it's all
too easy
to become
anxious,
to become
troubled in
heart,
to get
unsettled.
But we
have not
been left
alone.
And we
have hope.
Jesus
has gone
away,
yes,
that he
has promised.
I will
come back
and I
will take
you to
be with
me.
And so
no matter
what goes
on in
our world,
we can
take hold
of these
words for
ourselves.
Do not
let your
hearts be
troubled.
Believe
in God.
Believe
also in
me.
I'm
coming
back for
you,
says
Jesus.
Amen.
Come,
Lord
Jesus.
Come.
Let's
pray.
Amen.
Lord,
this was a
long time
ago that
you said
these things.
And it's
hard for us
to be
patient.
But I
pray that
our faith
would not
waver or
fail.
I pray
that today
each one
of us
in our
moments of
testing and
trial,
in the
troubles that
come our
way,
I pray that
each one
of us
would find
peace
in you,
in your
promise
to be with
us and
to return
for us.
thank you
that we
do not
have to
go this
life alone
and that
we have
such
wonderful
hope to
look forward
to for
all eternity
with you.
May your
name be
glorified.
Amen.