“Why Jesus?”
(John 14:1-18)
Series: Life’s Biggest Questions (6/6)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(5-4-08) (AM)
- Take your Bibles and open to John, chapter 14.
Today we conclude our 40-day campaign called, “Why?” a six-week study of some of life’s biggest questions. We’ve been studying these questions in both Sunday school and worship, questions such as, “Why is the world so messed up?” and “Why the conflict between science and the Bible; creation and evolution?” All six of the sermons are available for free on our website in both audio and print format. Last week’s sermon manuscript on creation and evolution also contains a number of recommended links to follow for further study.
Today’s final question is, “Why Jesus?” For this answer we turn to John 14 where Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples. He has just shared with them about His coming betrayal and prepares them for His death. It is a time of darkness, but in the darkness, Jesus shines some encouraging words of light. Our text is the first 18 verses of John 14, but I’m going to read just the first few verses of the chapter and then pray.
- Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Pray.
Introduction:
One of the scariest things that can happen to a person is to begin to have heart trouble. It’s pretty alarming to discover that we’ve got a heart condition, that there’s something wrong with our hearts and it may require surgery. Some of you have dealt with that or are now dealing with that.
Jesus opens this chapter by talking about another kind of heart trouble that nearly every one of us has faced at one time or another. Do you see that in the very first verse? He says, “Let not your heart be troubled.” If you are here this morning with a troubled heart, know that Jesus gives some encouraging words to cure our heart condition. I want to share with you four blessings that God wants to give you and me, four blessings that are ours only through Christ. Number one, through Christ:
I. We may enter a Wonderful Place (1-6)
In these opening verses Jesus tells us about a wonderful place known as heaven. Look at these verses again. Verse one:
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
Note here that Jesus equates Himself with God the Father. He says, “You believe in God, believe also in Me.” Jesus places Himself on equal footing with the Father. We’ll see that idea developed more fully in a moment, but look now at the blessing we may receive if we will believe in Jesus. We may enter a wonderful place. Verse 2:
2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
That place is known as heaven. The phrase “many mansions,” is better translated, “many rooms,” that’s really what the Greek word means. There are plenty of rooms in the Father’s house. Heaven is like a grand hotel with many, many rooms! Those of you FAITH-trained folks know the next verse, verse 3:
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
When we do the FAITH outline we say, “H is for heaven. Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever.” Then we quote John 14:3, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Jesus promises His followers that He will come again to them to take them to this wonderful place called heaven. That time will come either when the Christian dies or when Christ returns in His second coming, whichever happens first. Christ is coming again. He will return in glory and all Christians will rise to meet Him in the air and welcome our returning King. But Christ will also come for us at death, as Jesus came for Stephen back in Acts 7. Remember when they were stoning Stephen? He was dying and he looked up and saw Jesus standing, coming back for Stephen to take him home to this wonderful place called heaven. So Jesus says in verses 4-5:
4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Thomas is a little confused. He’s like, “Jesus, we’re not really sure what You’re getting at, here. It’s a little fuzzy to us. Exactly where in space and time are you going and how in the world are we going to know the specific way there?” Here comes a great answer:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If you have not memorized this verse, you will want to memorize it now. This is Jesus’ reply to Thomas’ question about the way. What does Jesus say in John 14:6? Let’s read it together. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me—John 14:6.” Now without looking! Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me—John 14:6.”
The only way to heaven is through whom? Through Jesus. This verse speaks to the exclusivity of salvation in Christ. We cannot be saved any other way. Here are a few other verses:
Acts 4:12. Peter says, “There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5. Paul says, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. According to the Bible, no other religion will get us there. No other person will get us there.
So here’s the first blessing Christ gives us: we may enter a wonderful place, a place called heaven. Christ encourages us by reminding us that if we follow Him He will take us to a place where the book of Revelation tells us there is no more sorrow, sickness, or suffering. Here’s the second blessing:
II. We may know a Wonderful Person (7-11)
Here is where Jesus develops the idea of His person; who He is.
7 ” If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Philip is like, “Jesus, can You show us the Father? We’d like to experience a kind of theophany, sort of like when Moses saw the Father. Do that!”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Jesus is saying, “You want to see the Father? You want to know what God is like? Well, look at Me. And look at all of the works I have done. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. You want to know what God looks like? You’re looking at Him!”
Now listen: not just anyone can say that! You know that, right? I mean, if I said to you, “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” you’d be like, “Hey buddy, you’re not God!” And you’d be right. But just as back in verse 1 where Jesus says, “You believe in God, believe also in Me,” placing Himself on equal footing with God the Father, Jesus does so here. This is a bold claim to deity.
In Colossians 2:9, Paul says, “In Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Hebrews 1:3 says that Christ is the “brightness of His (God’s) glory and the express image of His person.”
To look at Christ is to look at God.
This is why we often speak of the only reasonable options regarding Christ. He is either a lunatic, a liar, or legend, or He is Lord. No one in his right mind goes around saying things like “He who has seen the Father has seen Me” unless it is true. No one promises to return to take people to heaven unless he really can. This is why we can’t think of Christ as merely a good moral teacher. If Christ is not Lord we cannot refer to Him as a good, moral teacher. A good teacher does not claim to be on equal footing with the Father and doesn’t promise to come back to take us to heaven if he’s lying. So he’s either lying, he’s either a lunatic, or he’s a legend—or He really is Lord.
So here’s another blessing. We may enter a wonderful place and we may know a wonderful person. Number three, only through Christ:
III. We may receive a Wonderful Promise (12-14)
Look at this wonderful promise in verses 12-14:
12 ” Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
When Christ goes to the Father, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us to help us do “greater works” than the works Christ did while on earth. We won’t do greater works in the sense of physical miracles. We can’t greater works than Christ in that sense. Who of you can go to a cemetery and call for the dead to rise? Forget about it! But we can do greater works in the sense of reaching more people with the Good News. The Holy Spirit aids us in reaching the world for Christ. Jesus’ earthly ministry did not exceed the surrounding area of Palestine. By way of the Holy Spirit, we extend Christ’s ministry to all over the world. Now look at this promise:
13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Of course the context here is sharing the good news of Christ, the “greater works” of Christ mentioned in verse 12, reaching the world for Jesus. When we pray we are to pray in Christ’s name. That doesn’t mean merely appending the phrase, “In Jesus’ name” to the end of our prayers. While it’s good for us to do that, praying in Christ’s name encompasses much more. It is praying with Christ’s glory in mind. It is praying in such a way that everything is about Jesus. We want the Father to be glorified in the Son. That’s the idea. Whatever we pray in that sense is promised to be granted by the Lord Jesus.
So this isn’t about, “God, please give me a new X-Box Game system, in Jesus’ name” or, “God, give me a new home, in Jesus’ name.” We are being told how to pray in the context of doing ministry and our prayers are to have the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in mind. It is more like, “God, I pray that you will use me in a mighty way to reach my community for Christ, that He may be glorified!” If we pray that way, God promises to do it!
We’ve looked at three blessings so far. Only through Christ we may enter a wonderful place, know a wonderful person, and receive a wonderful promise. Number four:
IV. We may enjoy His Wonderful Presence (15-18)
Here Jesus goes into more detail about how He will still be with us even when He goes to the Father’s house.
15 ” If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —
17 “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Look again at verse 16. Jesus says, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth,”
That word “another” there connotes the idea of “another of the same kind.” When Jesus goes to be with the Father in heaven, the Father sends, “another of the same kind.” He sends someone of the same essence of Christ and of the Father. He sends the Holy Spirit, identified here in verse 16 with the word “Helper,” a word that means someone “called alongside;” someone to help, to encourage. If you’ll allow the expression, it is as though Jesus is saying that God will send “another Jesus.” This Helper is the presence of Jesus when Jesus is absent.
So this is why Jesus says what He says in verse 18, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” In other words, “Yes, I’m going to heaven to be with My Father, but I won’t leave you entirely. I will come to you in the presence of the Spirit of God. I will be with you spiritually by way of the Holy Spirit.
That is such a wonderful blessing! We may enjoy God’s wonderful presence. He is with us always. There’s nothing we need fear. He is the one who said in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is with you in your suffering, with you in your anxiety, with you in your fear. He will never leave you. He will not leave you as orphans; He comes to us and is with us always.
Conclusion:
Through Christ we may receive these four blessings: we may enter a wonderful place, we may know a wonderful person, we may receive a wonderful promise, and we may enjoy His wonderful presence.
The key verse here is John 14:6: “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is the way. Let me show you a picture of this. I want to share with you about four slides from a little booklet, a tract, that I like to hand to people after I’ve shared briefly with them about Christ. These pictures come from this little booklet I carry entitled, “Peace with God.” Look up here at the wall and see this. These are just a few pictures from the booklet.
First slide: This picture illustrates the dual separation between God and man. It shows God on one side—separated from us because of His holiness—and man on the other side—separated from God because of man’s sin. We are both sinners by nature and sinners by choice. So it says there, “Our choice results in separation from God.” All have sinned. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So you see how we naturally fall short of the glory of God. Now, man will naturally try to “bridge the gulf” there by trying to build a way to God. Next slide…
Second slide: This picture illustrates how man tries to “get right with God” by building a bridge to where God is. These partial bridges represent man’s attempt to have peace with God. He tries to live a life of good works, or he commits to being a religious person, or he studies philosophy, or embraces a moral lifestyle. But what is the problem with these bridges? They all “fall short of the glory of God.” They don’t make it. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any of you should boast.” So we cannot be saved by our works, by building bridges to God. As the caption above reads, “No bridge reaches God except one.”
Third slide: Isn’t this a beautiful picture? This is a picture of John 14:6. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He is the bridge to life. He is the only way. So, as the caption above the picture reads, “each person must make a choice.” We must choose to follow Christ.
Fourth slide: So here in this last picture the question is, “Where are you?” Are you still over on the left-side of the cross, still in sin, rebellion, and separation? Or have you “crossed over,” by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Are you on the right-side of the cross, enjoying peace, forgiveness, abundant and eternal life?
So how about you? It’s a simple question really. Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Christ is the only way to life. Without Christ we remain separated from God and will spend eternity in a place of separation called hell. How do we avoid an eternal hell? By coming to Jesus. We must come to Jesus! And His arms are always open to receive us. Come to Him this morning.
- Stand for prayer.
Someone said, “You don’t go to heaven to find Christ. You go to Christ to find heaven.” Come to Him this morning…
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