The Way to Life is Truth

John 14:1-12 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ² In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And 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. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going." ⁵ Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." ⁸ Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." ⁹ Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? ¹⁰ Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹² I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

I have always been amazed at what ridiculous things people will believe. Whether it is standing in the checkout lane at the grocery store and seeing the tabloids or googling things on the internet, these are some of the sensational headlines I’ve found over the years:

“Pack of Wild Cocker Spaniels Terrorize Wyoming.”

“Santa’s Elves Really Slaves from Mars.”

“WWII Bomber found on the Moon.”

“Woman Gives Birth to a Two-Year-Old Baby.”

“Werewolves Sunk the Titanic.”

“May 21 is the End of the World.” If that was the case, I didn’t have to write this sermon.

“True Lies Told by Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Oh, that one was true.

Because these stories were in print, a lot of people seemed to think they were true. On the plus side, those stories probably don’t do much damage. The same cannot be said about the other lies people believe. Lies like Albert Einstein saying, “All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” “Actress Uma Thurman professing, “What I have learned is that I like all religions, but only parts of them.” Pop star Jewel saying, “I have a sneaking suspicion that all religions lead to the same place, a very unified place.” Comedian Bob Hope joking, “I do benefits for all religions. I’d hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality.” Basically they are all believing the very popular lie that all religions are the same, just different paths to the same destination.

But what did Jesus say? He didn’t tell His disciples that we all worship the same God. He didn’t say, “You can all know God in your own individual way.” And He certainly did not say, “All religions are equal, just different paths up the same mountain to heaven.” 

No, Jesus made a statement that is sure to rile, rattle and rankle the progressive, modern man and woman. Jesus laid claim, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” These words are threatening, upsetting and insulting to the free-thinking, open-minded and all-inclusive. They label Christ and His Christians as being narrow-minded, judgmental, intolerant and opinionated because Christianity is exclusive. Christianity presents no opinions, no options, no loopholes, no wiggle room. You can either receive it or reject it. You can either go Christ’s way or your own way. Our God is a jealous God who will not share His Bride (us) with another. You either accept His sacrifice of His Son on Mt. Calvary or be slain like the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. You either become a living stone in God’s spiritual house or stumble over the stone of Christ and fall to your doom.

None of us wants to be labeled as intolerant, narrow-minded or one-sided. We want to be liked, and we want the Church to be liked and to grow, and we want people to join us and be saved. The problem is that we sometimes think that we can achieve those goals by softening this threatening message and make it more appealing to the masses. By not being so committed to doctrines. By watering down our beliefs. By not insisting on Jesus, His way, His truth or His way of living. By slowly and silently changing our ways and our thinking and our teaching. And so today, it has become fashionable among many Christians, churches and church bodies to profess that all religions, faiths and denominations have a kernel of truth that is beneficial. Perhaps Pontius Pilate was right when he questioned Jesus, “What is truth?” Perhaps there is no absolute truth, so perhaps there are other ways, other truths, other methods of living and being saved.

Have you ever been tempted to question God’s Word about infant baptism, doubt the doctrine of close communion, consider it too difficult to practice prayer fellowship or entertain ideas that strict adherence to biblical doctrines doesn’t really matter?

Sure you have. We all have. That’s why Jesus’ message is so vital to mark, meditate upon and memorize.

The setting of our sermon text is that Jesus had just celebrated and converted the Passover Meal to the Lord’s Supper. He washed His disciples’ feet, even the feet of Judas who would soon use those feet to walk away to betray Jesus. In the upper room that night, Jesus foretold Judas’ betrayal and predicted Peter’s denial. He told them He was leaving. So, to these confused and questioning 1^st century disciples and to you confused and questioning 21^st disciples, Jesus promises hope. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And 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.” But where does hope, trust and heavenly mansions come from – only through Jesus. The way to life with Jesus is through Jesus’ truth.

Jesus leaves us with only two options. Accept Him as God or reject Him as a megalomaniac. Call Him crazy or crown Him as King. Dismiss Him as a fraud or declare Him to be God. Walk away from Him or bow before Him, but don’t play games with Him. Don’t call Him a great man. Don’t consider Him only a moral teacher. Don’t patronize Him by calling Him only a prophet. He is either God or godless. Either liar, lunatic or Lord. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing in between.

Jesus didn’t imply that He was one of many ways. He didn’t say He was a way, a truth or a life. He used definite articles. He is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life. Jesus doesn’t merely show the way, He is the Way. He doesn’t merely reveal the truth, He is the Truth. He doesn’t merely lead us to life, He is the Life.

What this really means is that we are saved not by following some prescribed laws or a set of rules, nor are we saved by each of us making up our own set of rules and religions, but we are saved by following a Person. Jesus says very clearly that He is that Person. His way to life with Him is His truth.

The only way to the Father is through Jesus. Take away Jesus and there is no way to come to the Father. Take away Jesus and there is no truth we can rely on as being absolute. Take away Jesus and there is no hope for eternal life. Jesus is the reason to stop letting your hearts be troubled.

Jesus is the way at arriving at the impossible. It is more that just giving directions. Jesus will personally lead you through this dark valley of death and the deserted plain of despair and call you out of the grave to relax in the green pastures and quiet waters of paradise, to eat from the transplanted Tree of Life, to be surrounded by your fellow saints and sing with the angels, to live in God’s mansion in heaven in your own room that Jesus has already prepared for you through His perfection, suffering, death and resurrection.

Jesus is the truth for believing in the impossible. It is more than just believing in a teacher, moralist, preacher or prophet. Jesus is the truth who did the impossible, who calmed storms, healed the sick, loved the lepers, befriended sinners, drove out demons and raised the dead. He is the Shepherd laying down His life for His sheep. The Creator of Life dying for His creation. The Son of Man reversing what happened in Eden at the tree by dying upon the tree of the cross on Calvary. The Son of God living in humility for 9 months in the womb of His mother and now sitting in glory at His Father’s right hand. God washing away your sin with the sprinkling of water and spoken Word. God present to feed and forgive you as both Host and Meal at His Holy Supper. The Father forgiving the sins of you, His prodigal sons and daughters and welcoming you into His home.

Jesus gives us a Life of doing the impossible. And when Jesus says, “I am the Life,” He means just that – the Life! He alone faced death and conquered it. He alone did battle with the Prince of Darkness to bring light and salvation to those living in the land of darkness. He alone went through hell on the cross to promise us heaven. Many people claim that all religions are the same. And in one way, all major religions are the same because they all have a grave. Their leaders and prophets are all dead and in the grave. Ours is the only religion where the grave is open and empty. Christ is alive!

Now the Giver of Life promises life in Him. God saved you for endless joy in heaven, but God also saved you for right now. Your earthly life is not just a meaningless stretch where you kill time waiting for Judgment Day. It is a life of living, loving, serving and sacrificing. It is a life that is anything but easy. It is a life of carrying your cross, of losing your life to gain it and sacrificing for the good of God’s Kingdom. Through life in Christ you now have the confidence to enter a valley to face a giant; the courage to be outnumbered 450 to 1 on the mountain; the serenity to pray for those who are stoning you; the excitement of discovering your miracle child; the vision to see God’s hand is always working everything for your good; the faith to believe promises generations in the making; the unity and fellowship of being chosen people, royal priests and a people belonging to God.

Though some believed the lie that the world would end Saturday afternoon, you found Jesus’ true followers not hiding in a cave or standing on a mountain waiting His return. You found them shining the Gospel’s light in people’s dark lives, praying for the hurting, sharing the faith with the unbelieving, turning the other cheek, loving the unlovable, praying for their persecutors, teaching their children, visiting their parents in the nursing home or caring for their sick spouse. Basically, living the life Jesus has given us to life. It is living life to the fullest.

On Tuesday and Thursday our WLS children went canvassing in the neighborhoods around our Lower and Middle Schools. They hung 2000 flyers on people’s doors inviting them to learn more about the way to life through the truth of Christ. Most of the flyers went on the door handles of homes. But a few brave children handed the flyers to anyone they saw – joggers, construction workers, mailmen, babysitters and dog walkers. Two of our 6^th graders even raced each other to give a flyer to a gentleman cutting his grass. The lawnmower man took the flyer from one 6^th grader who then gave him a high-five and said, “You’re awesome! And remember, believe in Jesus!”

And that’s it! That’s what we believe, teach, preach, proclaim, live and breathe. The way to life is Christ’s truth. Amen.

5^th Sunday of Easter at Epiphany