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message. So for this week, we.
Will look at I am the way the truth and life John chapter 14
let us read together. Let not your hearts be troubled.
believe in God, believe also in me in my father's house are many
rooms. If it were not so, would I have
told you that I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come back and I will take you to
myself, that where I am, you may be also, and you know the way to
where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do
not know where you are going, how can we know the way?
Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Lord, we are so grateful to once more sit under the Holy
Scriptures for we recognize, oh God, it is holy moments that
when we worship, when we preach, these are holy moments.
Lord, we don't take these moments lightly.
And therefore we ask that would you come and instruct us?
Would you come and speak to us this morning?
Guide my thoughts, oh God, this morning and guide my words this
morning in Jesus name, Amen. In fact, this portion of
scripture from chapter 13 to chapter 17 is normally called or
understood as the Upper Room discourse.
So in Jesus is of course with his disciples and he knows that
the hour has come. Jesus does not at this point in
time have a lot of time. And if you read from chapter 13,
we find that first Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.
And interestingly, if you go to chapter 13, verse 21, we also
read that Jesus himself is troubled.
Not only are the discipled troubled in chapter 14, verse
one, but in chapter 13, verse 21, Jesus himself is troubled
after having washed the feet of his disciples.
I think it is quite interesting when you read this biblical
text, most specifically chapter 13 as Jesus washes the feet of
his disciples, interestingly that he does not skip Judas.
Jesus knows very well that Judas is going to betray him, and yet
when he washes the feet of the 12, he does not say, you will
betray me. So step aside.
Let me wash the feet of the 11. But Jesus washes the feet of the
one whom he knows very well that we'll betray him.
But that's a sermon for another day.
But Jesus himself, of course, is troubled.
And Jesus had told Judas that. Judas, I know that you are going
to betray me. He also had reminded Peter in
chapter 13 that you, Peter, as well.
You're going to deny me not only once, Peter, but you're going to
deny me 3 times. And they know as the chapter 14
begins, it begins knowing that their hearts are now troubled as
Jesus heart is also troubled because Jesus knows that he's
going to drink the cup of wrath. God's wrath is going to fall
upon him. He knows this very well and his
heart is troubled and the disciples are disciples are also
troubled. They are in distress.
And in fact the word distress and and distraught in this
context actually means to be conflicted.
The disciples now are conflicted, but the biggest
reason perhaps they are troubled, they know that Jesus
is going to leave them. That is the one they have been
with for three years, the one they set under his teaching, The
one who instructed them is now going to leave.
And the Bible tells us they are now distressed and their spirit
is troubled. And so we will look at this
under 3 headings. I am the way, I am the truth and
I am life. Keep in mind that the context
here is the context of the disciples.
Disciples being in distress and troubled because Jesus is going
to leave them. Not only that, he has told them
that one of them is going to betray him and he has told the
other one that you are going to deny me.
And then Jesus says, let not your hearts then be troubled,
believe in God and believe in me.
And Jesus then in, in, in, in, in verse 7, verse 6, and verse 7
reminding them that I am the way, I am the truth and I am the
lie. Church, I am going to share some
things that to me this morning are perhaps going to be hard,
but yes, they're going to be necessary for me to say because
the text that we have in front of us, in fact, allows me to say
those things this morning. And Jesus here is making an
exclusive claim that he is the way, telling his disciples who
are troubled, I guess, don't be troubled.
I am the way, I am the way to heaven, but also I am the way to
the very presence of God, that I am the one that will take you
from point A to point BI am the way.
But for us to perhaps to understand why, if Jesus is the
way, we must understand that because of the sinfulness of
man, because of the state of humanity that had degraded God,
the state of humanity that is in sin, and because of sin,
humanity is alienated from God, separated from God and Jesus
saying I am the way. And how then does Jesus meet
that qualification of being the way?
It's an exclusive claim that he claims only for himself.
He is the way because Jesus alone is sinless.
He is the way because Jesus alone is the only one who could
truly and fully obey the commands of God.
Jesus is without sin. He had no sin and yet He That is
why he is the only one qualified to be the sinless lamb that died
in the place of man. So Jesus would be the only one
who will die in our place and for our sin, as the perfect and
sinless Lamb, and the one who will reconcile us before God,
who will bore our sin upon His body, that those who are
alienated from God will now be reconciled by His blood.
It's an exclusive claim. There is no one else who's
sinless. There is no one else who kept
the law of God perfectly apart from Christ.
The Bible is clear on this matter that there is only one
mediator between God and man, the man Christ.
It's an exclusive claim. And so Jesus says I am the way.
I am the way because one, I am sinless, but also I am the way
because I'm the one who fully and truly obeyed the very
commands of God. This begs the question then, if
Jesus makes this exclusive claim as to being the way, isn't this
an arrogant statement? David Helms writes the
following. It is unloving and arrogant to
claim that Jesus is the only way.
It is arrogant and unloving to claim that Jesus is the only way
unless it's true. It's only arrogant if it's not
true. But if if it is true, then this
is not an arrogant statement. Indeed, Jesus is the way in X412
it says. And there is salvation in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men to
which might be saved. But what about others?
What about other religions? What about other systems?
What about other beliefs? The the Eastern beliefs will
say, escape the flesh of the world by human effort.
Ancestral worship will say, sacrifice something to appease
the wrath of the ancestors, prepare the beer, prepare the
wine for the ancestors in order that the wrath of the ancestors
does not fall upon you, rather they open the way for you.
New Age mysticism will say that truth is found by looking
within. Pluralism will say it doesn't
matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.
But what does Christianity say? It says the following You are
not God. You have been made by God.
You are not inherently good. In fact, you are sinful and you
cannot save yourself. You need grace, and grace has a
name, and that is Jesus. The difference here is massive.
We don't look to ourself. We're not saved by human effort
or by moral pursuits. We're not saved by appeasing the
right of the ancestors, but rather we are saved and know the
way because of Jesus Christ. Therefore, others will say that
all religions are are different paths to the same God.
All of those religions. They also claim that what we do
leads to true divinity and the true God and this is how we know
his nature and his character. Church.
Let me be clear, if Christ is true, all other religions are
false. I'm trying to find the the
kindest way to say this. I just I don't have the words
forgive me. I'm a Township boy from
collegiate so my English is a bit limited.
I'm trying only one can be true, one religion can be true because
Jesus makes the this exclusive claim that I am the way.
The question then that we have to ask as a follow up question
to the previous question is why is this the case?
Let me say this, we don't apologise for the exclusivity of
Christ. Why?
Because it's the only hope for this world church.
There is no hope apart from Christ.
There is no salvation apart from Christ.
There is no justification apart from Christ.
There is no reconciliation apart from Christ.
Without Christ, man is in a sinful state.
Only one can be true. I know we are afraid to say this
at times that we must be at least be accommodating.
If we are seeing this other religions that are true, we must
also then say that Christ has equals.
We then have to take it that further.
But if it does not have equals as Isaiah 40 says, then there
can only be one true religion. John, the apostle of love, takes
this further to the disciples. Do not be troubled.
In my Father's house are many
rooms. The the the the the King James
Version uses the word mansion, which I thought is not a better
translation. I think the ESV and the NIV are
the better translation of this text.
That my father are many rooms. There is a a dwelling place of
God where God dwells, where God is the aboard of God.
In my father's house are many rooms and I go to prepare a
place for you, not just what it says in verse three.
I will come back and I will take you to myself that where I am,
you may be also. What a wonderful reminder to
these disciples that guys, I'm going to prepare a place for
you. There is a place for you.
It is my father's house. What, what a way to comfort the
disciples that are troubled because the one they love is
leaving. Say, do not be troubled, I am
going to prepare a place for you.
Guess what? I'm also coming back.
And so that where I am you as well, maybe also going for you
in this world where we need comfort, in this world with many
troubles, let us be reminded that in South Africa and in the
world we are on foreign land, that this world is not our home
church. We are not home yet, not home
yet. And so he comforts them with
these words. Let me perhaps remind you that
this world is not your best life.
Now I know we think this world is our best life.
In theology we call this an over realized eschatology when we say
we want everything here and now and yet Jesus does not promise
that that he will give us everything we want in this
world. But the comfort is look up.
You are not home yet my friend. Good friend of mine from who
leads a church in Khayelitsha wrote the following.
He says when we reach heaven, the overwhelming joy of being in
the presence of God, seating with Him will be indescribable.
Our emotions will overflow as we see our Lord Jesus Christ face
to face, knowing that we are finally home in the hands of the
Saviour. The peace and the fulfilment we
will experience in that moment will be beyond anything we have
ever known on earth. Wow, wow.
These wonderful metaphors that John uses to describe the this
wonderful vision of the blessedness of heaven, the
beautiful vision of what heaven would look like in the dwelling
place of God where we are filled with joy being with Jesus.
So Jesus saying, I am the way to my Father's house, I'm the way
to him. And CS Lewis will respond and
say, if you read history, he says you will find that the
Christians who did most for the present world were just those
who thought most of the next You are not from this earth.
Look up. You are not from here.
In fact, Abraham in the Old Testament, even though the
writer of Hebrews give us a picture of Abraham who would
dwell in a tent and, and as though Abraham is having this
picture, that one day Abraham looked to a beautiful city, a
country that is not made by human hands, whose God is the
builder and whose God is the maker.
That is in Hebrews 10. And therefore this home here, it
is not our home, but the one Jesus is describing here for the
disciples and by extension describing it for us.
It is a home that will never fade.
It will never rust away. It will never rot away.
Church, there is a reality of this world of dying.
There is a reality that we will die because of different things,
sickness, accidents, and all of these things.
But there's something wonderful about the biblical text that in
First Thessalonians chapter 5, it's a reminder that those who
are in Christ, they do not weep like those who do not have hope.
Because though we die and yet we leave because Jesus says, I am
going to prepare a place for you.
And Thomas says, Lord, we don't know where you are going.
How can we know the way? And Jesus says, Thomas, you may
be looking there, but I want to say it to you, Thomas, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No one, Thomas, comes to the
Father except through me. I am the way, Thomas, to the
Father. I am.
There is no one else who has access to the Father.
I am the only one who has access to the Father, and I am the only
way to the Father. Again, Jesus is claiming here
divinity. No one comes except through me.
I am the way and therefore church.
Here's the implication. If this is true, which I believe
it is true, therefore Christianity is the only way to
God. Full stop.
That's an exclusive claim that Jesus makes.
And then he says in chapter 12 and in chapter 13, now the hour
has come, Jesus is now has to go to the Father, preparing the
disciples guise that I am going to go, and the way in which
Jesus is going to go is going to be hard.
And yet the biblical text tells us that when Jesus is in
Gethsemane, his sweat was like blood, because the way to the
cross is intense. That the one who knew no sin and
in that time would bore a sin upon him.
The very weight of sin will be upon him.
He says to the disciples, I go, and the way is through the
crucifixion, that he will be the ultimate sacrifice.
There is no shortcut to this. Jesus must die.
When the writer of Hebrews says, therefore, brothers and sisters,
since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the
blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through
the curtain that is his body, that Jesus makes a way for us
through his death, He prepares a way for us through his death.
He secures the way for us. Through his death, that is the
comfort that Jesus offers the disciples, and it's by extension
he offers us the same comfort. Be reminded, church, that one
day Jesus will wipe away every tear, every trouble will go
away, every sickness will go away, every sin will no longer
be committed one day that time will come.
John Newton puts it this way. When I get to heaven I shall see
3 wonders there. The first wonder will be to see
people there I did not expect. The second wonder will be to
miss many people whom I did expect to see.
And the 3rd and greatest wonder of all will be to find myself
there #2 Jesus is the truth. Notice again to Philip.
Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and that is
enough for us. Notice Jesus.
Jesus said to him, I have been with you so long and you still
don't know me. Philip, whoever has seen the
Father has seen me. And this is quite interesting.
This is sort of a Trinitarian theology that is coming through
here. And Jesus uses two word, 2
sentences here, or two ways in which he describes his
relationship to the Father. Number 1, he says to see me as
Jesus is to see the father #2 he says I, I and the Father are
one. Now to a Jewish person and a
Pharisee who's listening to this, this is blasphemy, this is
heresy. Jesus would deserve to die by
saying these things in front of any Jew or any Pharisee.
To say I and the Father are one, to see me is to see the Father.
Jesus is claiming again that me and the Father are one again.
He is claiming to be the King of Israel.
He is claiming divinity again, that I am divine, not just fully
man, but a truly God as well, because me and the Father are
one. And so here's the point Jesus is
making here, is that to see me as Jesus is to see God, that
Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
When you see Christ, you see God.
When you get to know Christ, you get to know God because Jesus is
the very true revelation of God. There is no other way to the
Father. He is the ultimate truth that
reveals the character of who God is.
To know Christ is to know God, for there is no other way for us
to know God apart from Christ. Remove Christ, all you have is
nothing, because He is the ultimate truth.
He is the ultimate truth that demonstrates the love that God
has for us. For in John three he says for
God so loved the world that he gave his Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
So God demonstrates his love through Christ Jesus.
He represents us before the Father.
There is no truth apart from Christ.
He is the source of all truth. If you, if you've spent some
time in the Township, even if you didn't live there, but
you've been there, or you go and meet with the sangoma and one of
the things you seek from a sangoma is truth.
Say, tell me, you know, put the bones out there.
Tell me something about my life because my life is not going
well. And the someone was of course,
will put their bones out there and, and, and, and actually
blow, blow and then make them trust that a message will come
through for you and your family because people are seeking
truth. And this is what will happen
quite often. They will say the person that is
bewitching you is either a person that stays three houses
from your house or, or they'll ask you which member of your
family doesn't like you that much.
And you say this one. They say, that's the one.
I can actually see that's the one.
And the damage that they have caused is that family members
are not talking to each other because I'm thinking, oh man,
Ryan is busy and they say he's the one bewitching me.
And so when you do counseling in the Township context, we do some
normal type of counseling to actually help people to say get
on, why not getting along? Notice Sangoma told me this.
Oh boy, what am I going to do now?
Sangoma told you this. So if not, you're speaking to
your mum for two years. Yes, Because they go there to
say I want the truth. Sangoma tell me the truth.
And Jesus says, making a claim, that if we need truth, if we
want ultimate truth, he is the only one that can provide it.
He is the very standard of truth.
He is the author of truth. Apart from Christ, there is no
truth. So when we ask questions like
this, where did we come from? What's wrong with the world and
how can the world be fixed and how can the world be redeemed?
And where are we going? Jesus provides the answers to
man's predicament. He provides answers to life's
toughest questions. Why death.
What's going on in our world? Jesus provides the answer to all
of those questions. Why?
Because He is truth. And often the answers that He
gives us are sometimes the answers we don't want to hear.
But regardless, He is truth #3 so He is the way is the truth.
But also Jesus is life. And if you notice there in verse
4, chapter 1, begin chapter one one.
And then verse 4 it says in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Verse 4 then says in Him was life, and the life was the light
of the world. And then John 526 says, For as
He the Father has life in himself, so He has granted us
the Son also to have life in himself.
John 1010 I have come that they may have life and have it
abundantly. So the question then we have to
ask what kind of life is Jesus providing or what kind of life
is Jesus talking about? That to the disciples, they must
know He's not only the why, He's not only the truth, but He's
also life providing a different kind of life.
And in this context, of course, if we read from chapter 8 on
what we have seen, that Jesus is eternal life and provides and
gives eternal life to those who come to him by faith.
And that kind of life is a, a divine kind of life.
It is an abundant kind of life that only God gives.
It is God who is working within our souls, giving us a kind of
life where we are able to commune with God, to be in
fellowship with God, and to be able to walk with God.
Without this life that God provides, we are spiritually
dead. We are empty without this kind
of life. And Jesus says, I want to give
you, but the kind of love I want to give you is eternal life.
Do you know what that is? It's called an assurance of
salvation. It's the life Jesus gave you.
And because of that life, he says I've given you this life.
Guess what, No one's going to take it away from you.
Your room is ready, but your room over there and I'm going to
take calm and take you with me. It is as though Jesus is giving
heaven on earth because the the seal of the Holy Spirit
communicates to us the reality that what we have we can never
lose. It is a guaranteed deposit of
what is yet to come. Therefore, Jesus says, I am
giving you that kind of life that immediately dwells in those
who believes. It abides in those who believes
a kind of quality of life, a kind of life only Jesus can
give. Church, let us be satisfied in
what Jesus offers us, what Jesus gives us, the kind of life Jesus
give us. No one will ever give us this
kind of life. Be satisfied to such an extent
that Jesus becomes enough for you.
Satisfied because often we'll say, Lord, I'm expecting this
kind of life. I want this kind of life.
Oh, I want my my, my neighbor's kind of life and just says no,
no, no, I have given you eternal life and guess what?
That's the best life ever. Eternal life is a person.
Jesus not simply giving that. In fact, he's giving us himself.
So to know Christ is to know the kind of life he offers.
Then the question is how do we get to this kind of life?
In verse 1 he says believe in God and believe in me.
Believe in verse 11 he says believe me that I am in my
father and and the Father is in me.
So how do we get this kind of life?
Here's the solution. Believe in me.
That's it. Don't believe in yourself, don't
believe in your education, don't believe in your achievements,
believe in me. So here's the question I think
you've figured out by now. I ask a lot of question, do you
believe? Do you know him?
Are you in the way? Do you believe with this truth?
Have you received the kind of life Jesus offers?
Have you been born again? Have you come to a place of
total surrender and submission of your life to Christ Jesus?
You are the only one who can answer those questions.
But Jesus says, here is the offer.
The room is ready. I'm preparing a place, but
something must happen before then.
You must believe, and so do you believe this morning, one
application point and then we close Jesus's reminder here to
the disciples not to be troubled because it's going to prepare a
place for them. Equally reminding them that He
is the way, the truth, and life. Therefore, if all of that is
true, to which I believe it is true, anchor your hope in
Christ. Jesus is promising to prepare a
place for us, to give us hope beyond our present struggles so
that we may live with an eternal perspective.
Church, our current challenges are temporary.
Jesus will come one day. The Bible reminds us in
Revelation that there will be a new heaven and there will be a
new earth. Jesus is coming back.
And because of that, may I encourage us and say to us,
because we believe that may we treasure Christ above all
others, May we love Christ, may we adore Christ.
May we honour Christ because He is the way, the truth, and the
life. Therefore embrace Him this
morning. Therefore adore Him this
morning. And if you do not believe this
morning, I would say to you, call upon Him this morning to be
the anchor of your soul. Father, we thank you this
morning to be reminded that indeed you are the way, the
truth and life. You are the one who is divine.
And we recognize Lord this morning that you have no equal.
There is no one like you. You are the only way to the
Father. You are the only standard of
truth. It's only you, oh God, You are
our source. Oh God, apart from you there is
no other. Lord, help us to embrace this
truth. Help us to believe this truth
that there is none like you. You alone are supreme.
You alone are sovereign. You alone are deserving of
praise and glory and honour. You alone remind us of the
picture of in Isaiah 6 that when the Angel says holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty and the whole earth filled with his
glory. And so God, we thank you for
remind. Press this in our hearts this
morning in Jesus name, Amen. Thank you for listening.
To today's message, we hope you are encouraged and challenged in
your faith. If you're in the southern
suburbs, would love to welcome you in person at one of
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Until next time, stay please and keep shining your light.