First Presbyterian Church Rev. Michael J. Imperiale

Salt Lake City, Utah October 30, 2016

“I AM the Way”

John 14:1-7

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

2My 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?

3And 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.

4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going,

so how can we know the way?”

6Jesus answered,“I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

7If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Introduction

It happens all the time. I go into the grocery store and can’t find the item I’m looking for. So I finally ask a worker where I could find it. “Aisle 10,” or “over by the produce.” And in rows and rows, shelf after shelf, I still can’t find it. But isn’t it great when the worker says, “Come, follow me. I’ll show you. I’ll take you there.”

That’s what Jesus does. He shows us, he takes us, brings us to a right relationship with God, something we could never find on our own. He shows us and accompanies us in a faith-filled life. He provides the coping we need for life. Jesus is the Way.

Yet we live in a terribly messed up world. Problems abound in everyone’s life. Twentieth century French writer Andre Maurios (an-DRAY mawr-WAH) depressingly, he wrote this: “The universe is indifferent. Who created it? Why are we here upon this puny mud-heap spinning in infinite space? I haven’t the slightest idea, and I’m quite convinced that no one else has the least idea.” You and I can look over the impersonal history of war throughout this world and documented repression by totalitarian regimes. On a much smaller scale, but very personal and too-close-to-home, we have witnessed slayings at high school and university campuses, and in the cities of our United States. The senseless progression of inhumanity draws many to such hopeless conclusions.

From the worldwide epidemic of refugees to the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease, from the alienation between nations to a family breaking apart, it seems that overwhelming hopelessness causes many of us to give up on life altogether.

How about you? Have you had times when it seemed that your world is falling apart? Or do you fear that it will? The loss of a job, the death of a friend, tangled relationships, rebellious children or hurtful parents, the people and events in our lives can lead us to this kind of emptiness.

Yet the God who created us and seeks to redeem and save us understands this human condition. Violence has marked human history for generations in every time and place. In the midst of human struggle and loss, many have given up hope for any kind of meaningful life. So, when Jesus spoke the astonishing “I AM the Way,” recorded here in John 14, he was inviting Thomas and the disciples to a healing from despair and a hope for the future.

You see, Jesus knew that his time was short. In John 13, it says, “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” So, life for the disciples was about to cave in. They had been privileged to walk with Jesus for about three years. They heard his penetrating words of challenge and grace. They saw the power of his deeds, tearing down what was wrong and restoring God’s goodness. But their world was about to collapse in chaos around them. They had committed their lives to their Teacher and were willing to follow him wherever he led. But soon Jesus would be hauled off by the religious and civil authorities, tried, convicted and executed for being a threat to both.

I. Reality for a Troubled Heart (vs. 1-3)

Yet as this time approached, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father’s house has plenty of room. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And I will come back and take you to be with me.”

Jesus understands the temptation, to give up, to declare that life is meaningless, to throw in the towel (actually Jesus used the basin and the towel to serve his disciples by washing their feet!). Jesus knows first-hand all of the reasons for troubled and broken hearts. So, he reveals three things to his disciples and to us about himself and the reality of hope.

First, Jesus is honest. “If that were not so, I would have told you.” There will be trials and troubles; that we too have crosses to bear. Just think about the long, tumultuous history of Scotland! But with such struggles comes help and hope. The Christian life offers an expansive perspective that brings us maturity and understanding. “The fruit of the Spirit,” as it is known, blesses our lives in Christ with love, joy and peace; patience, kindness, goodness; a faithfulness and gentleness to life. Read about it in the New Testament Galatians 5.

Second, Jesus’ purpose now is to prepare a place for us. Our Savior always goes ahead us so that we can follow in his steps. Wherever Christ bids us to follow, he has already been there. Whatever lies ahead of you (a move, some transition, a change of some kind), Jesus is already there making it ready: like friends you have yet to meet, events yet to develop, provisions unimagined, as well as struggles and losses – Christ the Lord has blazed the way all the way to heaven that we might trust and follow him.

And third, Jesus is our ultimate triumph. He promised, “I am coming again.” Human history and personal experience are not meaningless or hopeless. Although there are technologists today who believe that a coming utopia will take hold of the universe sans humanite, without human beings (kind of ironic, isn’t it? that their utopia will not include them or us). God is working his purposes out in our lives and in the world. What God promises is sure to come. Life will be joyfully complete when Jesus comes again.

So, “do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me,” says the Lord.

II. Reality for the Way (vs. 4-7)

Then Thomas (you know, Thomas, the one who had to see and touch the Risen Lord before he would believe it), Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? I don’t know what you’re talking about. How can I know what I don’t know?” Jesus answered with one of the most significance sayings recorded in the Bible. Clearly using the biblical name for God way back from when Moses asked. The Lord God said “I AM.” Jesus declared, “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.” From Old Testament prophets to New Testament fulfillment, Jesus is the Christ, the Holy One. Jesus is God who became a human being so that we could know all we need to know on a human level about who God is, what God is like, what our relationship with God is meant to be and what our relationships with one another are supposed to be. The Lord wants you and me to know him.

“I AM the bread of life... I AM the light of the world... I AM the good shepherd... I AM the resurrection and the life... I AM the alpha and omega...” As you can see, the Christian faith is all about Jesus. “So how can we know the way?” Good question.

You and I are just like Thomas. Life can be very confusing. The question “why” haunts us in the midst of trouble. “Why did my husband leave me?” “Why is my son or daughter floundering so in their young adult life?” “Why did so many die and others not in terrorist attacks?” “Why did it have to happen this way?” “I wish it could have been different.”

Jesus fully understands this point of crisis. He faced it many times. He knows how your heart and mine can fill up with regret, doubt, or despair. Like Thomas, we cry out, “Lord, we don’t know the way.”

This is when Jesus offers the answer as he declares three things about himself for us to know. “I AM the Way.” In all the ways to choose from, if you want to know the way in and through life, look to Jesus Christ. He is not just “a” way. He is “the” way.

Then, “I AM the Truth.” Psalm 86 says, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.” So, when someone snaps at you and says, “You’re worthless,” remember the truth that you’re worth everything to God. Jesus gave his life for you! When your plans fall apart, when the doors close to a desired opportunity, when you just don’t know what to do next, remember the truth of God’s word that “all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose” (that’s Romans 8:28). Jesus is the Truth.

And, “I AM the life.” Again a psalm, Psalm 16 says, “You show me the path of life.” Proverbs 10:17 says, “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life.” If you want to know life in its fullness, look to Jesus Christ. He said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly, to the full” (John 10:10).

Nineteenth century English novelist (Hugh Stowell Scott) makes one of his characters who has fallen in love say, “I never knew what life was until I saw it in your eyes.” Love brings life. This is what Jesus does. God’s love in and through Jesus brings life and life eternal.

Conclusion

Have you looked into the eyes of Christ? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ to make the hopeful difference as the way, the truth and the life? For Jesus said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

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