“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”

May 22, 2011　
The Fifth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL LESSON: John 14:1-14 [I am the way and the truth and the life.]
　　“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 again and 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. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 　　
　　Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 　　
　　“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” We could make three sermons out of this. First, “Jesus is the Way.” Then next week, “Jesus is the Truth.” And then on the following Sunday, “Jesus is the Life.” Or we could make one summary sermon entitled, “Jesus is the True Way to Life.” Or, “Jesus is the Way to True Life.” “Jesus is the True way of Living.” Or how about, “Living the True Way”? Or, “The Honest Way of Life.” Or: “Jesus Shows us the True Way to True Life.”

Jesus spoke these words to the disciples at the Last Supper. He was preparing the disciples for what would be happening in the next few weeks. Jesus would be captured, tried, and crucified, then he would rise from the grave, ascend into heaven, and send the Holy Spirit. At that time of the Last Supper, the disciples really did not fully understand what Jesus was talking about. We can understand because we know what happened. But just as the disciples struggled to understand what Jesus was talking about, sometimes we also struggle to fully understand what it means for us. And so we read the account of the Last Supper and our faith becomes stronger.

Jesus told the disciples that he was going to go and prepare a place for the disciples in his Father’s house. “In my Father's house are many rooms.” [I like the King James Version, “In my Father's house are many mansions.” The rooms seem nicer in the KJV.] Then Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Well, the disciple Thomas did not understand where Jesus was going, and he did not know how to get to the heavenly mansion. Jesus tried to explain, but still the disciple Philip did not understand either.

I think the best way to understand this is that Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection and also about his ascension and second coming. Without dying and resurrecting, there would be no salvation and so no heavenly mansions for anyone. So, the first step in preparing a place for the disciples is that Jesus must die on the cross. That is the first step on the way to heaven. Only Jesus could die on the cross to forgive the sin of the world. And so only Jesus is the true way to life. He is the Way. And further, Jesus is the way because he is intimately connected with God the Father. Jesus says, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Then he explains, “the Father who dwells in me does his works.” It is not just a temporary thing, the Father dwells in Jesus, lives in Jesus, makes his home there. That makes Jesus a temple of God, a heavenly mansion! That means that when Jesus speaks he is speaking the words of the Father. That means whatever Jesus does is the work of God the Father. Therefore the word and promise of the Gospel is true, the truth. Therefore there is salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” When we believe in God we are walking on the true road to life. An unbelieving heart will not walk the road of God because it does not accept that Jesus is the road to eternal life. Or some people just do not know about Jesus and do not know the Gospel. And so we have to point them to Christ. These road-signs are called evangelism and witnessing.

Once on the road, I think Christians have a problem of staying on the road. Sometimes we get lost or wander off the path. Or we take a quick detour into sin and then come back. I think that coming back is the power of faith. We are not always on the straight and narrow path. But because we believe in Jesus, we want to return to the correct way of life. In Lutheran theology this is called “simul justus et pecator, at the same time saint and sinner.” Sometimes we are like the disciples Thomas and Philip. We just do not understand Jesus. We don’t understand God’s laws and God’s ways and God’s methods. We do not know the details of God’s plans. But if we make our own life plans without God, we will not be on the road to heaven.

And so Jesus told the disciples “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” That belief becomes our compass and our map. Our life becomes like Jesus. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” How can we humans do works that are greater than those of Jesus? There is no greater work than that of Jesus dying on the cross to forgive the sin of the world. But the great work of the church is to spread that Good New all over the world. We are not limited to the small area of Israel like Jesus was. And we can do that work because Jesus promises to hear our prayers. And we can do that because the Holy Spirit has been sent by Jesus to continue his work of proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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