John 14, starting at verse 1.
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.
But Thomas said to him,
Lord, we don't know where you are 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.
If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.
From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
Philip said,
Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.
Jesus answered,
Don't you know me, Philip,
even after I have been among you for such a long time?
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
Show us the Father?
Don't you believe that I am in the Father,
and that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you,
I do not speak on my own authority.
Rather, it is the Father living in me
who is doing his work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father,
and the Father is in me.
Or at least believe in the evidence of the words themselves.
Very truly I tell you,
whoever believes in me
will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in my name,
and I will do it.
Thanks, Martin.
Welcome.
Thank you for coming
and being with us today.
Thank you.
Well, it's lovely to be with you this morning.
I know it's a day of immense sadness for you
as a church,
and really,
it's like Jesus,
it's hard to know where to turn.
That last song we sang,
talked about all kinds of things we might feel,
and just that encouragement to come to Jesus.
And so this morning,
that's simply where I want to bring us,
is to bring us to Jesus.
And hopefully there,
we will receive the comfort
that we need in the face of death,
and also the courage that we need
to face life in the days that lie ahead.
I don't know if any of you
did your leaving certificate this summer,
or even in recent summers.
Even if it was in far-off summers,
you may still remember
having to read a play
for your English paper.
For some of you,
that might have been a delight,
and for others,
I'm sure,
a complete drag.
But there's a sense,
really,
isn't there,
in which a play
is to be shown
in order
for it to be
known.
There's something different
about seeing.
It acted out
the way the writer
meant it to be displayed.
There's something different,
a different kind of knowing
the play
by the actor
showing
the play.
Likewise,
if you're anything like me,
before you go on holiday,
you might like to read up
in advance
about the place
that you're going to.
You know all about
the tourist attractions
you want to see
or the historical buildings
that you want to visit.
But there's a different
kind of knowing
when the guide
is showing you
those sights
themselves.
Well,
in order that we might
know the Father,
we're told here
that Jesus came
to show
the Father.
The Son of God
comes in human form
so that the invisible
God might be made
known
by being
shown.
Some of the followers
of Jesus will talk
about not only
seeing with their eyes,
but what their ears
have heard
and what their hands
have touched.
The invisible God,
the Father,
is made known
as he is shown
by the Son of God
come
in human form.
In this passage,
Jesus says to Thomas
in verse 7,
if you really
knew me,
you would know
my Father as well.
From now on,
you do know him
and have seen
him.
You see,
the incredible truth
is that we know
the Father
by knowing
Jesus.
Now,
there's a complexity
to this relationship
between the Father
and the Son
which is so hard
for us to understand.
We struggle
to grasp it.
In human relationships,
you might say
things like these,
you are just
like your Father.
I think that's usually
said in a negative tone.
You're just like
your Father.
Or you might say
she is the spit
of her mother.
Now,
we mean one of two things.
We might be talking
about a physical likeness.
The daughter looks
so much like her mother
that there's no mistaking
what family
she belongs to.
Or we may be talking
about characteristics.
We see this
son's sense of humour
and we know exactly
where it comes from.
It's as though
the Father is speaking.
But in no sense
would you ever say
if you know the son,
you know the father.
Or if you know the daughter,
you know the mother as well.
We understand
that they are
unique individuals
with different desires
and aspirations,
likes and dislikes,
interests,
hobbies,
and pleasures.
Well, the relationship
between the father
and the son
is far more complex
than that.
It's not a physical likeness
because God is spirit
and Jesus has come
as a human being.
And in character,
we're not simply saying
that the father and son
are like one another
in certain ways.
what we're saying
instead is that
they share
the very same
characteristics
because they are
one
in their very being.
There is one
God.
this is not like
anything in human
relationships
between two people
who have differing
wills and desires.
Rather,
what the father
wills,
the son wills,
what the father
loves,
the son loves.
Though they're
different persons,
they're one God.
So Jesus can say
in verse 11,
I am in the father
and the father
is in me.
Now,
as complicated
as that is,
and if it is
too complicated
for you to grasp,
I'm going to put it
in simple terms
because it's also
wonderfully simple.
We know the father
by knowing the son.
We know the father
by knowing Jesus.
It's as simple as that.
Jesus' disciples
want to know
God the father
and Jesus' message
is wonderfully simple.
So simple
they're struggling
to grasp it
in verse 7.
If you really knew me,
you would know
my father as well.
From now on,
you do know him
and have seen him.
Well,
how can that be?
It's because we know
the father
by knowing Jesus.
And according to Jesus,
there is room
in the father's house
for all
who trust
the son.
Verse 2,
in my father's house
are many rooms.
if it were not so,
I would have told you.
Maybe you've had
the experience
in your house
that your teenage son
or daughter
tells you
that they've been
invited to stay
over at their
friend's house
and your first question
is,
do their parents know?
Is this an invitation
from the friend
or is this an invitation
that comes from
the parent?
After all,
it is their house.
But remember
that the son,
Jesus,
and the father
are one.
What the father loves,
the son loves.
What the father wills,
the son wills.
So there is room
in the father's house
in heaven
for all
who trust
in the son.
And these rooms
in the father's house
are made ready
by Jesus.
He says in verse 2,
I am going
to prepare
a place
for you.
I remember
something in my youth
that I heard
numerous times
and I think I remember
hearing it most clearly
from a singer
who was popular at the time,
Keith Green.
If that brings a smile
to your face,
that puts you
in a certain
era of time.
And one of the things
that he'd often say
was this,
if it took God
six days
to create the world
and more than
2,000 years
to prepare
our eternal home,
a wonderful
wonderful place
it must be.
Now I understand
the sentiment
but it is
something that
is mistaken.
God didn't need
six days
to create a world.
He didn't need
2,000 years
to create
an eternal home.
He could have created
each in an instant.
God doesn't need
all of that time.
So what was Jesus
referring to
when he speaks
of going
to prepare
a place
for us?
Well he's talking
about his death,
burial,
resurrection,
and ascension.
That's what's needed
to prepare
our eternal home.
In our sinful
rejection
of the Father,
we'd forsaken
all rights
to our eternal home.
And Jesus
is the only one
who can make it
possible for us
to return.
It's not it
that needs to be
made ready for us.
It is us
that need to be
made ready
for it.
That's the very
reason Jesus came.
It's the very
reason that Jesus
is speaking
about leaving
his disciples.
He must die
for their sins.
He must take
the judgment
that their sins
deserve.
He must rise
from the dead
and return
to the Father's
house,
having made
ready room
for them,
just as he
does for
us.
These rooms
in the Father's
house are
made ready
by Jesus
and he
will bring
us there.
Verse 3
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.
If the
reason for
Jesus leaving
is to prepare
a place
for us
in the
Father's
house,
there's still
something more
to be done.
He must
return
so that
we might
join him
in the
Father's
house.
Now perhaps
when someone
is coming
to visit
you in
your house,
you provide
them with
directions.
Usually you
start with
a well-known
landmark.
For us,
that's
DID
electrical.
As you
come into
Vanden,
do you know
where DID
electrical is?
If you
can find
that,
then you
can get
to our
house
from there.
Now if
you live
in the
middle of
nowhere,
directions
can be a
little bit
more
complicated.
After the
crossroads,
drive for
exactly one
mile and
then take
the right
turn.
Now those
kind of
directions
make me
very nervous.
What
helps is
this when
a friend
says,
I'm
going,
I know
the way,
I'll pick
you up at
7.30 and
you can
come with
me.
I don't
have to
think about
it anymore.
my friend
knows the
way,
my friend
is the
way,
they're
going to
collect me,
I don't
need to
worry about
it.
Well that's
exactly what
Jesus is
saying about
getting to
the Father's
house.
He will
bring us,
he will
collect us.
If you're
trusting in
Jesus to
bring you to
the Father's
house,
not because of
something you
have done,
but because
Jesus has
prepared it
for you by
his death
and resurrection,
you can
have absolute
confidence in
the face of
death.
You will
gain access
to the
Father's
house,
because Jesus
himself will
take you to
be where he
is in
the Father's
house.
And there
you will
live with
him.
It's
described in
the most
intimate terms,
isn't it?
The most
personal of
terms,
verse 3,
I will
come back
and take
you to
be with
me that
you also
may be
where I
am.
You see,
heaven is
not so
much about
the place
as it
is about
the person.
It's
about being
with
Jesus,
the one
who loved
us so
much that
he would
give his
very life
in our
place,
the one
who has
made ready
for us
room in
the Father's
house,
the one
who will
come and
bring us
to be
with him
where he
is.
What a
comfort that
brings.
to a
church and
to a
family at
a time
like this.
When
experiencing
the loss
of someone
who is
loved by
so many,
to know
that there
is for
joy room
in the
Father's
house made
ready by
Jesus who
has brought
her there
to be
with him.
for
Jesus'
first
disciples
struggling
with the
fact that
Jesus is
about to
leave them,
this is
what would
bring them
comfort.
Though
Jesus is
leaving,
he is
going to
make
ready room
for them
in the
Father's
house.
Why?
so that
they might
be with
him
forever.
Now,
all of
that sounds
wonderful,
and other
people,
even over
these next
days,
will commend
you for
such faith.
It's
wonderful
that you
have such
faith.
But now
we get to
the offensive
part.
Because
Jesus says
in verse
6,
I am the
way and
the truth
and the
life.
No one
comes to
the Father
except
through me.
We can
know the
Father by
knowing
Jesus and
only Jesus.
You see,
it might be
acceptable for
other people
if we say,
I know
God by
knowing
Jesus.
That would
be acceptable
to people
as long
as we're
not telling
them that
for them
to know
God,
they also
must know
Jesus.
They have
their own
way of
relating to
God.
It's great
to have
your way,
but I'll
find my
own way.
That's why
the words
of Jesus
bring not
only comfort
but
offence.
Jesus is
not leaving
room for
any other
way.
We know
the Father
by knowing
Jesus and
only Jesus.
No one
comes to
the Father
except
through me.
Perhaps
there are
some here
today who
have heard
much about
Jesus,
even like
much of
the things
that Jesus
has to
say,
but don't
yet trust
him to
rely on
him and
only him
to bring
you to
the Father's
house.
But there
is no
other way
and so
long as
you don't
trust
Jesus,
there is
no room
for you
in the
Father's
house.
You must
turn to
him,
ask for
forgiveness
and trust
him that
he does
it all
by his
death and
resurrection.
That he
and he
alone can
bring you
to the
Father's
house.
Now
Jesus
speaks in
this
passage not
only of
knowing
the
Father,
but of
showing
the
Father.
It's
Philip who
makes the
request in
verse 8,
Lord show
us the
Father and
that will
be enough
for us.
Now
Philip's
question comes
in response
to what
Jesus has
just said.
Remember
verse 7,
if you
really knew
me,
you would
know my
Father as
well.
From now
on you
do know
him and
have seen
him.
Now
Philip has
to ask
show us
the
Father,
he has
yet to
grasp in
whose
company he
has spent
the last
few years.
Because the
very reason
that Jesus
came was
that he
might show
the
Father.
He shows
the Father
by speaking
the Father's
words,
verse 10.
The words
I say
to you
are not
just my
own.
Jesus
isn't
just a
religious
teacher
who's
outlining
his own
particular
philosophy
about life
and about
God.
No,
Jesus
speaks
the
Father's
words.
Remember
that Jesus
not only
calls himself
the way
but the
truth.
Once again,
we live in a
society that
doesn't want
to accept
the idea
of absolute
truth.
We live
in a world
that wants
everyone to
be able to
define their
own truth,
whatever works
for them,
but Jesus
doesn't
allow any
wiggle room
here either.
He is
the truth.
He speaks
the truth
because he
speaks the
Father's
words.
Jesus
shows the
Father by
doing the
Father's
work.
Look again
at verse 10.
The words
I say to you
are not just
my own,
rather is the
Father living
in me who
is doing
his work.
Now notice
here that
there is
hardly any
distinction
at all
between
words
and works.
I am not
only talking
about the
English spelling
of the
words.
In fact,
I think
they are so
close that
if I was
listening
carefully
enough,
I think
at one
point
Johnny
said
words
where the
word was
works
when he
was reading
the passage.
Jesus
barely
distinguishes
between
the two.
In other
words,
doing the
Father's
works
is to
speak
the
Father's
words.
We tend
to think,
don't we,
that the
miracles of
Jesus are
the works
of Jesus,
the works
that the
Father sent
him to
do,
but the
purpose of
miracles was
always to
authenticate
the words.
Back in
John chapter
10,
Jesus
challenges
unbelievers
to at least
accept the
reality of
his miracles
if they
will not
accept
his
words.
Now here
in verse
11,
he has
to say
the very
same
thing
to his
followers,
at least
believe on
the evidence
of the
miracles
themselves.
Jesus
does the
Father's
work by
speaking
the
Father's
words.
And
Jesus
shows the
Father by
seeking
the
Father's
glory,
verse
11.
Jesus
promises to
answer the
prayers of
his
followers so
that the
Son may
bring glory
to the
Father.
You see,
Jesus shows
the Father
speaking the
Father's
words,
doing the
Father's
work,
seeking the
Father's
glory,
as do
we.
That's the
incredible
truth contained
in the very
last verses
that we read
this morning.
Look at
verse 12,
I tell you
the truth,
anyone who
has faith
in me
will do
what I
have been
doing.
But what
has Jesus
been doing?
He has
been speaking
the
Father's
words.
He has
been doing
the
Father's
work.
He has
been seeking
the
Father's
glory.
And when
we trust
in Jesus,
we do
those very
same things.
things.
But Jesus
says even
more than
that,
things that
I think
we get
confused
about at
times in
verse 12,
I tell you
the truth,
anyone who
has faith in
me will
do what I
have been
doing.
He will
do even
greater
things than
these,
because I
am going
to my
Father.
Sam
Albury
helpfully
writes,
Jesus
can't be
saying that
we will
somehow
outperform
him,
or have
a more
powerful
or miraculous
ministry
than him.
Not even
the miracles
of the
apostles
recorded
in the
book of
Acts
top
what
Jesus
did.
But if
it is
through
Jesus'
words
that the
Father is
working,
then our
greater
works is
not about
us doing
flashier
miracles,
but about
multiplying
his message.
The more
his words
are shared,
the greater
is the
work done
by the
Father.
In his
earthly
ministry,
Jesus could
only be
in one
place at
a time.
Now,
through his
disciples,
millions of
mouths can
be speaking
his words
all over
the world
at one
time.
How are
we to do
that?
How are
we to speak
the Father's
words as we
do the
Father's work
and seek
the Father's
glory?
Well,
quite simply
by the
Spirit
and prayer.
Now,
the Holy
Spirit isn't
mentioned here
explicitly in
this passage.
He will be
in the
verses that
follow,
but in
verse 12
when Jesus
speaks about
his followers
doing greater
works,
the reason
he gives
is this,
because I
am going
to the
Father.
If you read
on a little
bit later,
you'll see
the reason
he's going
to the
Father is
that he
might send
his
Holy
Spirit.
These even
greater things
will be
done because
the Holy
Spirit will
come,
who will
multiply the
message of
Jesus as
it goes
forth from
his people
by the
Spirit
and prayer.
Because Jesus
says he will
do whatever
we ask in
his name.
Now,
again,
that can be a
confusing
thing,
can't it?
It's not
some kind
of magic
formula that
guarantees
success when
we pray in
Jesus' name.
It's not
some kind
of special
power that
we can
invoke by
simply saying
in Jesus'
name.
If it
was,
isn't it
something we
would do
in order to
prevent what
you face at
this time?
rather,
Jesus has
come in
the Father's
name,
representing
the Father,
doing and
saying only
what the
Father wants,
and we
too are to
pray in
Jesus'
name,
asking for
those things
that Jesus
wants.
When we
desire what
Jesus desires,
what the
Father desires,
Jesus will
do it so
that all of
the glory
will go to
the Father
because his
will is
being done.
Do you
know the
Father?
If not,
you can only
come to know
him by
knowing
Jesus.
And if you
do not
trust in
the Son,
there is no
room for you
in the
Father's
house.
God
because Jesus
is the
only one
who can
bring us
to the
place he
has made
ready for
us.
And if
you are
trusting in
Jesus,
can I
encourage you
to seek
the Father's
glory by
speaking the
Father's
words and
doing the
Father's
work because
he has given
you his
spirit and
he will
answer your
prayers so
that we
might show
the Father
to those
around us
doing the
even greater
things that
Jesus has
promised.
Let's pray
together.
Father, we
thank you for
the comfort
that is
found in
the gospel
of the
Lord Jesus
even and
especially
at a time
like this.
We thank
you for the
absolute
confidence and
assurance that
we have
that those
who trust in
Jesus have a
place in the
Father's
house.
confidence
and that
Jesus himself
comes to
take us
there.
And I
pray for
Chris and
his family
at this
time that
you might
bring the
assurance of
those truths
to their
hearts and
to their
minds and
in the midst
of much
sorrow to
also bring
that assurance
and confidence.
we pray not
only that you
would give
comfort in
the face of
death but
that you
would give
courage to
live life as
you want us
to live it.
That we
would seek to
bring glory to
the Father by
doing your
works and
speaking your
words, trusting
you to do
with them what
you will
please.
And we pray
even for
tomorrow as
testimony is
given to
joy, faith and
trust in the
Lord Jesus.
that you
might be
pleased by
your spirit
to use all
that is said
and the life
that has been
lived to
speak into
the lives of
others.
And we ask
this in the
name of the
Lord Jesus.
Amen.