If You Know The Lord

If You Know Me

John 14:1-14

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Today we are starting an exciting series called “IF/THEN.” You might recognize the term “if-then” from computer programming or logical reasoning in which a “conclusion is drawn from two premises, one of which is a condition.” For example, “all humans are mortal, Socrates is a human, therefore Socrates is mortal.” We find conditional statements connected to promises God made to us all throughout the Bible. Today we are going to review conditional statements in the Bible based on John 14:1-14 that talks about our relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

It is one thing to know about another person but quite another thing to develop a close, personal relationship with a person! Forging a mutually beneficial and all-encompassing friendship can be quite challenging when it requires setting aside disparities in age, race, gender, financial status, and individual preferences. As we contemplate our divine Lord, the Alpha and Omega, our Creator and Redeemer, who is without imperfection, we cannot help but realize, though in a limited manner, the vast chasm that separates us from God. After all, who among us is worthy to even approach the flawless image of the One in which we were originally formed? And yet while the sin that so easily entangles often means Christians can only receive a glimpse of the glory of God through the crevices of their hardened hearts, are not those who are enabled to do more than they can ask or imagine and sealed by His Spirit as His treasured possession and children, not also able to have deep relationship with Him that is far greater than just knowing of Him? While it might appear that having a relationship with God is impossible for a sinful person to attain, in today’s IF/THEN sermon we are going to delve into four relational gifts promised to those who follow Jesus: understanding His path, knowing the way, recognizing the Father, and realizing the empowerment to perform miracles in His name. Let’s begin by looking at where Jesus went and what He has been doing since His ascension.

If You Know Me, You Know Where I Went

It was the night before Jesus’ crucifixion and the disciples were in “emotional turmoil.” Their hearts were stirred up like “ingredients in a mixing bowel of doubt, confusion, uncertainty, and fear.” Jesus had just told them that one of their own would betray Him (John 13:18-30), another deny Him and that He would only be with them a little longer (13:31-38). Though it must have seemed like the “world had gone mad” and worse yet the Master was about to abandon them, Jesus gently “lifts them out of the murky waters of despair” by reassuring them that their faith in Him would not result in their abandonment. While the disciples were about to go through trials and tribulations, be persecuted by many, and even John would be present to see the crucifixion, the curtain of the Holy of Holies being torn in two (Matthew 27:51) would signify that Christ’s “departure would be purposeful.” Jesus laid down His life to atone for the sins of the many (Matthew 20:28) as this anonymous poetic so eloquently states.

Once my heart was black as sin,

Until the Savior came in.

His precious blood I know

Has washed it whiter than snow;

And in this world I’m told

I’ll walk the streets of gold.

Oh, wonderful, wonderful day;

He washed my sins away.

To calm their troubled hearts in the fiercest of storms Jesus told the disciples to have faith that He was not abandoning them but instead preparing an eternal home for them at His Father’s house “where God would forever dwell with His people (Ezekiel 43:7, 9; 48:35; cf. Jn 8:35).” Considering Solomon’s statement that God has placed eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11), it is not surprising that Christ calms their tumultuous souls by pointing them to heaven where God dwells. Are not our troubles “light and momentary” in comparison to the eternal glory we are about to receive (2 Corinthians 4:17)? And while the treasures and crowns of righteousness stored in heaven are to be a source of great rejoicing, does not reflecting on being in the presence of the Lamb who was slain bring upon us unspeakable joy?

If You Know Me, You Know the Way

While the promise of reaching heaven through having a relationship with Jesus was undoubtedly Good News indeed, the problem was that this glorious place was not only unknown to Thomas but also the way of getting there! Jesus responded by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” These words would have been profoundly offensive, not just to the Mediterranean society during Jesus’ time, but also to our contemporary postmodern culture, which values the acceptance of multiple deities and various avenues to connect with divine presence. Stating that the sole path to God is through faith in the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus, rather than relying on “good works, charitable acts, penance, last rites, karma, reincarnation, or martyrdom,” is a truth that numerous “religious” individuals, even among God’s own people, were unwilling to embrace. Did not God’s own reject Him and cried out for His crucifixion because they heard Jesus proclaiming salvation through belief in Him, rather than salvation tied to temple rites, strict adherence to the Torah, or Jewish genealogy? And yet despite society’s objections, Christ who is the “embodiment of the truth, God’s covenant faithfulness (John 1:17),” remains the one and only way to spend eternity with the Father in heaven! What prevents humanity from being adopted into God’s family is not the absence of good deeds or the performance of “correct” religious rituals, but rather the “veil of sin” that ensnares every individual. This means to bridge the chasm between a sinful person and a holy God is through the mediator Jesus, who is both divine and human. His atonement paves the way for reconciliation between God and those who have faith in His Son, Jesus. This Good News may be unsettling to some, yet it is within God’s prerogative to define a singular path to approach Him. Although it may appear religiously exclusive to have just one way to but one God, it is a universal offer that transcends ethnicity and culture (as indicated in 3:16; 4:42; 8:12; 10:16; 17:20–21). The offer of salvation is all-inclusive, for Christ’s sacrifice was made on behalf of all, leaving no one excluded.