This is an excerpt from the sermon I preached this past Sunday at Fairview Baptist Church. You can watch the whole thing here.
In John 14 Jesus tells the disciples to stop letting their hearts be troubled. As Jesus was headed closer and closer to the cross, the disciples were becoming more and more confused and uncertain. And rightly so.
In Ancient Israel, a disciple would begin following a Rabbi or Teacher between the ages of 12-20. At an early age the disciples had left family, friends, homes, occupations – everything – in order to follow Jesus. Their whole world had been wrapped up in Jesus. And now after a few years, Jesus is telling them that he is leaving them, and that they cannot follow him where He goes. Not just yet. Jesus is going to prepare a place for them in His fathers house. They are called to turn their trouble into trust.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Textually, “the way” is placed over “truth” and “life”. In Greek, word order often indicates emphasis. So, we can trust Jesus is the way, because He is the truth. We can also trust that Jesus is the way, because He is the life. Jesus is the only way to God precisely because He is the truth of God and the life of God. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
When Jesus tells the disciples that He is going to prepare a place for them in the Father’s house, it gives us a good depiction of eternity. The word “place” is connected with the verb that means, to abide or dwell. Jesus goes to the cross in order to prepare a place to abide and dwell with God. This is good news. Whatever else heaven may hold, the most wonderful part of it will be the fact that we dwell with God forever. This truth was driven home for me several years ago as I read John Piper’s book God is the Gospel. Piper writes:
“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”
Is dwelling with God central to your vision of eternity? I pray so. The way to God was opened through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself in your place on the cross. Believe the truth that Jesus is the only way to an eternal life of dwelling with God.
DR. MATT CAPPS 