Stop
Letting Your Hearts Be Troubled!
John
14:1-14
Imagine a man paying a
visit to his psychiatrist. After
lying down on the office couch and being asked to share his problems, the
patient begins rehearsing a long list of all of the present day crises that are
causing him a spirit of gloom, uncertainty, and depression.
“Doctor, I’m worried about high gas prices, the housing crisis, the
recession, the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs, the rising costs of a college
education for my kids, whether or not I will be able to continue to afford
healthcare, my 401K, terrorism, break outs of new and terrible diseases, the
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the diplomatic relations with Iran and
Pakistan…..” Before the patient can
finish his list, the psychiatrist interrupts the man and says, “Be quiet and
move over,” and then proceeds to get on the couch alongside the patient.
Similar to this patient and
his psychiatrist, our Lord’s disciples have troubled hearts and are struggling
under a spirit of gloom and uncertainty.
Jesus has recently spoken of a traitor in their midst who will betray
Him. He’s just announced that He is
about to depart to a place where they can’t follow Him for a while. On top of it
all, He has shared a disturbing prophecy with Peter that he will deny the Lord.
Unlike the psychiatrist
mentioned in our fictitious story, who had no help or comfort to offer to his
patient, our Lord is able to share words that give comfort and hope to His
troubled disciples. In order for
our Lord’s words of comfort to have their intended result of consoling the
disciples, they need to respond positively to the exhortation given in John
14:1- “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God; trust also in me.”
Jesus quiets troubled hearts by exhorting His
disciples to trust in Him and the Father (John 14:1)
Jesus exhorts the disciples
not to let their hearts be troubled.
Literally, He commands them, “Stop letting your hearts be troubled.”
How is it possible in the midst of their present circumstances for the
disciples to stop themselves from being disturbed?
Jesus directs them to the only antidote to their troubled state—they need
to trust in God and trust also in Him.
The underlying cause of the disciples’ unrest and spiritual agitation is
their lack of trust. If they are to
cease from allowing their hearts to be troubled, the disciples need to replace
their fears with faith in Him and in the Father.
The disciples have every
reason to trust in both the Father and the Son.
The Father proved Himself faithful in His dealings with His people
throughout all of history up to this point in time.
Likewise, Christ proved Himself faithful in dealing with the needs of the
disciples during His time with them.
He never failed them. Since
both the Father and Son proved faithful in days past, they could be trusted in
the coming days even though Jesus would be absent from them.
By Jesus’ exhortation of the disciples to respond to He and the Father
the same— with trust—He is asserting His equality with the Father.
Both He and the Father are One and the same God and are to be trusted.
Jesus quiets troubled hearts by responding to
His disciples’ questions and requests
The first question Jesus
answers is Peter’s which is recorded in chapter 13, verse 36.
In
response to Peter’s question, “Lord, where are you going?”—
Jesus
informs us of His destination (14:2a)
Jesus indicates to His
disciples that the place to which He is going is the Father’s house or heaven.
He describes the dwelling place of God as having many dwelling places or
rooms. The KJV translates the Greek
word for “rooms” in the NIV as “mansions.”
However, in this case, I believe the NIV accurately communicates what
Jesus meant. The Greek word used
here doesn’t express the idea of lavish residences, or mansions, but simple
lodging places or rooms. The fact
that there are many rooms in God’s house indicates that there will be more than
enough accommodations for all those for whom it is prepared.
Jesus promises to prepare a place
of us (John 14:2b)
After telling the disciples
where He is going, Jesus explains why He is going away.
In His explanation of His departure, Jesus uses the imagery of the
marriage customs of that day.
The Jewish wedding
tradition was as follows:
Engagement—The tradition of
the Jews was to arrange marriages, so fathers would arrange for the marriage of
their children.
Betrothal—There would be an
official marriage ceremony where both persons would exchange vows.
It is at this point that the couple would be considered legally married.
The two would not
immediately consummate the marriage and live together.
Rather, the groom would return back to his father’s house to prepare a
separate room/addition where he and his bride would live.
When that room or addition
was completed, the husband would return to his bride’s parents’ home
unannounced, usually in the evening hours, and take her back to live with him in
the place he had prepared.
Using this imagery from the
Jewish wedding customs, Jesus assures the disciples that while He is absent from
them, He won’t forget them. Rather,
He will occupy Himself with preparing a place for them where He and they can one
day dwell together.
Jesus’ preparing a place
for us involves His providing access for us in heaven.
In order to make it possible for sinners like you and I to dwell with
Jesus in God’s House, our sins had to be dealt with.
All of us were born into this world in a state of sin and rebellion
against God. Sin is a serious
matter to a holy God. Paul
says about sin that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
All of us are doomed to death or eternal separation from God apart from
His intervening on our behalf. If
we are to be delivered from the death penalty we deserve, then the payment has
to be made for us as there is nothing we can do to remove that penalty
ourselves.
Praise God that He did
intervene. Jesus, demonstrating the
Father’s love for us, came to this earth, lived a perfect life, and then died on
a cruel Roman cross in our place, to offer payment of the penalty we deserve.
In doing so, He secured the opportunity for access to heaven for sinners
like you and me. He fulfilled His
words of promise to the disciples—“I go and prepare a place for you.”
Jesus’ provision of access
to heaven for sinners does not mean that everyone automatically gets in.
Access is secured only for those who respond to Jesus by trusting in
Him—relying on His death for us as the means of entrance.
The words “I go to prepare a place for
you” are words of great comfort for those of us who, by trusting in Christ, have
been clothed in His righteousness and thus prepared to spend eternity with a
holy God.
Jesus promises to come back for
us (John 14:3)
Jesus is physically gone
for now, having left this earth to prepare a place for believers, but He will
come back for us. Just as the groom
would return for his bride when all preparations had been made, so too Jesus
will return for His followers, having completed His work of preparing a place
for us in His Father’s house.
We can take comfort in
knowing that the separation from Jesus that resulted from His departure will not
be permanent, but temporary. Today,
we look forward to that glorious event we refer to as the Rapture of the church,
when Jesus will come and catch believers up together with Him to be with Him
forever—we look forward to when our time of temporary separation from Jesus
physically will be replaced by His permanent presence with us.
Jesus concludes his answer
to Peter’s question with an affirmation that he and the other disciples knew the
way to the place where He was going (14:4).
The disciples knew the way, for they knew Jesus, but as Thomas indicates
by his question—“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the
way?”—the disciples don’t yet fully understand—they haven’t yet put it all
together. As far as Thomas is
concerned, if the destination is unknown, then how can the disciples determine
the path to get there?
In
response to Thomas’ question, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how
can we know the way?—
Jesus
identifies Himself as the exclusive way for gaining access to the Father (14:6)
Jesus says about Himself,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Without Jesus—the way—there is no going to the Father.
Without Jesus—the truth—there is no knowing of the Father.
Without Jesus—the life— there is no living with the Father.
Jesus is
the way—if we are to go to the Father, it must be through Him
Jesus does not here say
that He came only to show the way to the Father, but that He Himself is THE
WAY—He is the actual means for bringing people to God.
Notice the definite article—Jesus is “THE” way—He is the only way to the
Father—there is no other way.
Jesus is
the truth—if we are to know the Father, we must pay attention to Jesus’
revelation of Him
Jesus is not only a
truth-teller, but He Himself is THE TRUTH—He is the very voice and revelation of
God. He is the disclosure of God’s
nature and essence to us. John 1:18
affirms the same about Jesus- “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and
Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”
If we desire to know the truth of who God is and what is required to have
access to the Father, we must look to Jesus—He is “THE” truth in the absolute
sense.
Jesus is
the life—if we are to live eternally with the Father, we must trust in Jesus as
He is the source eternal life
Jesus is not only a life
giver, but He Himself is the life sent from the Father.
As the life, Jesus is the exclusive source of eternal life for all those
who trust in Him. Consider the
following promises that Jesus, THE LIFE, has made to us:
“For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“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” (John 5:24).
“For my Father’s will is
that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day…I tell you the truth, he who believes
has everlasting life” (John 6:40, 47).
“Whoever believes in me, as
the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John
7:38).
“My sheep listen to my
voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch
them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
John 11:25-26, “Jesus said
to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives
and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?’”
This morning, I would like
to pose the same question Jesus posed to Martha, “Do you believe this?”
Do you believe that the only way for you to have the hope of resurrection
to eternal life after you die is to trust in Jesus Christ?
Have you trusted in Him as your Savior from the penalty of your sin?
If not, I would strongly encourage you to do so right away, right where
you are seated.
Our world is in desperate
need of our faithful proclamation of Jesus’ statement about Himself—“I am the
way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me.”
There is a lot of confusion and deception out there.
A survey was conducted by the Pew Forum of Religion and Public life of
35,000 Americans on May through August of 2007.
In that survey, 70% responded affirmatively to the statement “Many
religions can lead us to eternal life.”
The
Imagine that there is a
medical doctor who has found the one and only cure to a life-threatening
disease. Imagine that this doctor
decides not to tell anyone else about his findings.
Imagine also that when other doctors put forth claims of having cures
that are really not cures at all that this doctor continues to remain silent and
doesn’t speak up. What would we
think of this person? When someone
knows the cure to a life-threatening disease, he had better speak up!
It would be unloving, uncaring, unfaithful not to.
After all, he is dealing with an issue that is a matter life or death.
Is the urgent need to speak
up any different for us? In fact,
isn’t the urgency for us to speak up even greater?
We know the one and only cure, if you will, to the penalty sin—We know
the one and only way to God—JESUS.
We are dealing with a life or death matter.
We need to speak up. It
would be unloving, uncaring, and unfaithful not to.
Jesus concludes His answer
to Thomas’ question with an affirmation that having known Him, the disciples
know the Father as well (John 14:7).
In verse seven, the first class condition is used.
When a first class condition is used, the “if” statement is assumed to be
true. Jesus says, “If you really knew
me” (and they had) then “you would know my Father as well.”
From that point on, Jesus affirms that the disciples did know and had
seen the Father.
In response to Jesus
affirmation, Philip makes the following request, “Lord, show us the
Father and that will be
enough for us.” Like Thomas did
with his question, Philip, by his request of Jesus, demonstrates that he doesn’t
fully understand—he is still ignorant—he doesn’t yet get it that the by seeing
Jesus, he has seen the Father. In
Philip’s mind, if only Jesus could perform a spectacular sign by revealing the
Father to them in His splendor, that would be enough to set their hearts at
rest.
There is behind Philip’s
request a principle we would do well to keep in mind.
When we come to those times when we request a spectacular confirmation of
the presence of God, it is often prompted by a lack of faith in what God has
already clearly revealed to us in His Word.
Philip’s issue was not a problem of a lack of information.
Jesus alluded to His work of revealing the Father several times before
this. Philip’s issue was a lack of
faith.
In
response to Philip’s request, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough
for us.”—
Jesus
questions why Philip doesn’t yet know Him (John 14:9a)
Jesus answered, “Don’t you
know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time.”
To the extent that Philip and the other disciples haven’t yet grasped
that in Jesus, the Father has made Himself known, they don’t yet know Jesus as
they should.
Jesus demonstrates how Philip’s request has already been fulfilled
Jesus
asserts that to have seen Him is to have seen the Father (John 14:9b)
“Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father. How can you say,
‘Show us the Father?’”
Jesus
questions why Philip hasn’t yet believed He is one with the Father (John 14:10a)
“Don’t you believe that I
am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?”
Jesus
offers two proofs of the truth of His claim
The
words Jesus speaks demonstrate the work of the Father—the Father gave Him these
words to speak (John 14:10b)
“The words I say to you are
not just my own. Rather, it is the
Father, living in me, who is doing His work.”
The
miraculous works of Jesus demonstrate the work of the Father—the Father gave Him
these works to do (John 14:11)
“Believe me when I say that
I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at lease believe on the evidence
of the miracles themselves.” After
having responded to Philip’s request—
Jesus quiets troubled hearts by informing His
disciples of the greater works they will do in His name (John 14:12-13)
Those who trust in Jesus will carry on Jesus’ work
Jesus, by His words and
works, revealed the Father. If the
disciples would trust in Jesus to enable them, they would be instruments through
which the Father would reveal Himself through them as the Father had through
Him. The promise of the opportunity
to carry on Christ’s work isn’t only for the disciples—it’s for anyone who
trusts in Him.
Those who trust in Jesus will be able to do greater works that Jesus has
done
Notice the cause of these
greater works. It is because Jesus
is going to the Father. When He
goes to the Father, He will send the Spirit.
When the Spirit comes to dwell within believers, He will enable them to
do these greater works. The Spirit
will make their witness effective.
In what sense will our
works be greater than those of Jesus?
It seems most likely that Jesus is referring to the quantity of our works
as opposed to the quality of our works.
Our work will be greater in that it will be spread out among many more
people, over a greater period of time, and therefore reach more people.
As Jesus physically
ministered with the disciples, His work took place where He was at physically.
When He goes to the Father, His work will take place wherever each of the
disciples is at by the power of the Spirit.
In other words, His presence and power will be multiplied in His physical
absence through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
His work will take place wherever a Spirit indwelt, Spirit filled
follower of Christ is ministering.
These greater works are still Jesus own works, accomplished no longer by His
visible, physical presence, but by His Spirit within us.
Jesus’ promise of course
has come to partial fulfillment. In
the first few months after His death, resurrection, and ascension, many more
people trusted Christ and became followers of Him than did so during His entire
earthly ministry in Galilee and
Why did I mention earlier
that Jesus’ promise has come to partial fulfillment?
The fulfillment is partial in that there is more that He will do in and
through us as we trust in Him?
These
works will be done in answer to requests made in Jesus’ name
These greater works aren’t
to be expected automatically, but in answer to prayer.
There is no limit to what Jesus will do in answer to prayer—He will do
anything we ask— providing that our prayers are made in His name.
What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?
It is not a magical formula of words that will automatically insure a
favorable response. It is more than
just a phrase we tack on the end of our prayers.
A prayer could be made in Jesus’ name without saying the words “in Jesus’
name” at the close of the prayer.
To pray in Jesus name is to
pray consistent with His character, His purposes, His desires, His will.
The task of making the Father and the Son known is much bigger than us,
but thank God that we can pray in the name of Jesus for needed enablement and He
will do whatever we ask.
These works will bring glory to the Father
Christ sought to bring
glory to the Father throughout His ministry.
Now, by answering prayers that are requested in His name, He would
continue to do so in heaven. As
Jesus does greater works in and through the disciples by the power of the Holy
Spirit in answer to prayers in His name, the Father is glorified.
Implications for our lives today:
There are a lot of people
out there with troubled hearts.
People are troubled by the economy, troubled by rising costs of living, troubled
by world conflict, troubled by corruption, troubled by disease.
In the midst of these troubling days:
Trust in Jesus Christ, if you haven’t already
done so, for He is the only way to God.
The only people for whom
Jesus’ words of comfort apply are those who have trusted in Him and have thereby
received the gift of eternal life and the privilege of access to the Father.
Let’s replace our fear with faith—trusting
in Jesus and the Father to help us
Let’s remember why Jesus left—He
left to prepare a place for us where He will one day take us to be with Him
Our present troubles are
temporary, but our future dwelling with Him will be forever.
Our present suffering, which is for a little while, will one day be
replaced by a glorious future with Jesus for all eternity.
Let’s be about the work of Jesus—trusting
in Him to help us do the greater works He promised we would do
Let’s be in prayer—Greater
works don’t come automatically, but in answer to prayer.
Jesus does His work in answer to prayers made in His name