Following or getting directions – for both men and women it can be humorous and frustrating. On more than one occasion I have heard men say, "My wife is so lousy at directions. Every time she steps outside the house and turns around, she’s lost.” Just as often I have heard a wife say about her husband, “When we go on vacation, it always takes two hours longer to get there than it should because my husband always knows this ‘shortcut’. But because he gets lost, it takes two hours longer to get there than it actually should.” If there is one item that is both humorous and frustrating among men and women, it is following or getting directions.
But in all fairness, sometimes the problem is not a lack of understanding on the part of the person receiving them, but a lack of clarity on the part of the person giving them. For example, if someone gives you directions and says, “You will have no difficulty finding it. There is no way you can miss it,” you can be certain that it’s not an easy place to find. Sometimes the biggest problem is not because of lack of understanding on the part of the person receiving but lack of clarity on the part of the person giving directions.
Well, if there is confusion about how to get from one place to another here on earth, there is even more confusion about how to get from earth to heaven. I often ask people, “If someone only had five minutes to live and wanted to know how to get to heaven, what would you tell them?” If you could stay all night I could probably keep you that long giving the answers I’ve received.
There are those who are convinced you couldn’t possibly do it in five minutes. That in light of all you must do, if you have not started before the last five minutes it’s entirely too late. As one person said, "If he only had five minutes he couldn’t make it because there isn’t enough time to do what he needs to do."
There are others who aren’t sure what to say because they don’t know whose word to take for it. One time a Christian speaker was speaking in a city out west. He wanted to mail a letter so he left his hotel to go to the post office. He asked a teenager standing on the corner how to get to the post office. The boy gave him explicit directions. The speaker thanked him and then said, "Do you know who I am?" The boy said, "No, I don’t." The speaker who was nationally known said, "Well, I’m here to speak at a particular church" and proceeded to give him the time and place he would be speaking. Then he said to the boy, "If you come, I will tell you how to get to heaven." The boy said, "No thank you. I’m afraid I couldn’t take your word for it. After all, how can you tell me how to get to heaven when you don’t even know how to get to the post office?"
There are those who don’t know what to say because they don’t know whose word to take for it. Well, if you want to know how to get somewhere the best person to ask is the person who lives there. There is no one who knows how to get to my home like I do and there is no one who knows how to get to your home like you do. And if you want to know how to get to heaven, the best one to ask is Christ because He lives there.
In John 14:1-6 Christ gave His disciples directions to His home in heaven. In so doing, He tells each of us in unmistakable terms how to get there and no one has put it any clearer than He has.
Reader’s Digest told of a factory worker who refused to sign up for group insurance. The problem was no policy could be issued until all employees signed up. Yet he held out stubbornly. The foreman begged him to sign; the shop foreman pleaded with him; the plant superintendent and general manager begged him to sign. Still, he said no. Finally, the owner of the factory took him aside and said, "Listen, if you don’t sign up, I’ll fire you." The worker grabbed the paper and signed immediately. "Now," asked the owner, "why didn’t you sign this thing before?" The man replied, "Because no one explained it as clearly as you did."
Well frankly, no one explained it any clearer than Christ did right here how to get to heaven. But before we answer the question, What did He tell them?” I would like to first answer the question, “Why did He bring up the subject? Why did He discuss how to get to heaven?”
Well, there are two things he had just told them. The first was "Don’t be disturbed." In verse one he says, "Let not your heart be troubled; You believe in God, believe also in me."
"Troubled" means to be "shook up" or "unsettled." Like the woman in Dayton, Ohio, who called the police department to report an accident which wasn’t serious (no injury or damage to the car). When she called to report it she was so upset and they were just trying to tell her to calm down and tell them how to get there. But she was so shook up and unsettled that when they asked, "How do we get there?" she said, "I don’t have time to tell you right now. I’ll tell you when I get here." And she hung up.
That’s the kind of person Christ is describing here in this paragraph. He says "Don’t be disturbed." Now that ought to be a great encouragement today because there are things that may be disturbing you. Maybe things aren’t going too well in your marriage and there has even been talk of divorce. Maybe a close friend has just found out she has cancer and has only been given a few months to live. Maybe you learned there is going to be a lay off at work and there is a chance of having more bills in your mailbox than bills in your bank to pay them. It could be that someone close to you is on drugs and nothing seems to scare them, let alone stop them. Whatever it is, Christ is saying "Don’t be disturbed."
Secondly, we notice when we look at verse one it says, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God. Believe also in Me." What He is saying is, "Don’t be disturbed, just trust Me."
That’s a lot easier to talk about than it is to do because we find it hard sometimes to trust people we have seen let alone people we can’t see. I love the story of the man who was working on his roof which had a sharp peak. He decided to play it safe and to secure himself to something on the ground. So he tied a rope around his waist, pulled it tight, and went over the peak. Then he threw the rope over the side and said to his son, "Tie that to the tree." Well, the boy who was quite young thought the tree was too small so he tied it to the bumper of his dad’s car. His mother was busy in the house with chores of her own. She discovered, however, that she needed to make a quick trip to the store so she ran out, and put the car in reverse. Did her husband ever come off that roof in a hurry! Sometimes it’s hard to trust people we can see to do what we tell them, let alone trust God.
For that reason, when it comes to trusting the Lord we are like the man who fell over a cliff and caught himself on a branch half way down. He looked up, he looked down, but he could see no one. He looked up again and could see no one. So at the top of his voice he yelled, "Is anyone there?" He got no answer. So again he yelled, "Is anyone there?" Still no answer. So he yelled out a third time, "Is anyone there?" All of a sudden he heard a voice say, "I’m here," and he looked up and said, "Who are you?" The voice said, "I’m the Lord." The man said, "Oh, Lord, help me." The Lord said, "Do you trust me?" The man said, "Yes, Lord, I trust you." Then the Lord said, "Okay, let go of the branch." The man looked down and saw a drop of several hundred feet, looked up and said, "Is anyone else there?" We are a lot like that person but what Christ is pleading is, "Don’t be disturbed, just trust me."
But that brings up an interesting question. What was disturbing the disciples? Well, one thing that was disturbing them was that they had just found out that Christ is going to leave them. Back up to verse 33 of chapter 13. "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you."
There are two kinds of people you meet in life - those you wish you’d met sooner and those you wish you’d never met. Frankly, those you wish you’d never met cannot leave soon enough. A man once went into a coffee shop and saw an attractive woman reading the newspaper. So he thought he’d give it his best try. He walked over and tried his best line. Holding out his hand he said, "Bond. James Bond." She looked up, smiled and replied, "Lost. Get lost." The people you wish you’d never met cannot leave soon enough. The people you wish you’d met earlier cannot stay long enough. If you’ve ever lost a dear relative or friend, you know what I mean.
Back in 1979 my wife and I were in New Hartford, Connecticut for an engagement. We were only two days into the conference. After that Monday night service, we went to the home where we staying, chatted with our host and hostess and then went to bed. About midnight a loud knock on our bedroom door awakened us and we were told, "There’s an emergency phone call for you." I went down to the kitchen and received the tragic news that my wife’s father had just been killed in a car accident. He had been hit by an 18-wheeler. That night I lost more than a father-in-law. I lost a friend. We went places together, we hunted together, we did things together. Coming back on the plane I put my face in my hands and cried like a baby. If you know what it means to lose a dear friend, you know how the disciples must have felt knowing Christ was going to leave them. He was to them what He wants to be to all of us, the dearest friend they ever had.
But there are three other things I’d like you to notice before we move on.
The first is that heaven is a definite place. In verses 2-3it says, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. . ." Now let me ask, How long did it take God to create the earth? The Bible tells us it took six days. And look at the beautiful job He has done. Can you imagine what heaven, a place much greater than anything we have ever seen, is going to look like? One time a teenage daughter stood outside with her father admiring the evening skies. She said, "Dad, if it’s that beautiful on this side, just think what the other side is going to look like."
Secondly, there is going to be room enough in heaven for everyone going there. Notice He says in verse two, "In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you." "Mansion" there actually means "abiding places." Some feel it refers to rest stops along the highway a traveler used, and some feel it refers to large homes that patriarchs lived in along with their families. They were so large that there was room enough for everyone. Frankly, it doesn’t matter because that is not the emphasis of the verse. Instead, the emphasis of the verse is that there is going to be room enough in heaven for all the folks who are going there.
Years ago, I was in a speaking engagement in Minnesota just seven miles from Canada. It was November and at that time I drove to all my engagements. After a Friday night engagement, I left to go to the next place. They were forecasting the possibility of a blizzard but saying that it would be going in the opposite direction from where we were heading. In fact, friends said, "You’re not going to have any trouble. The storm is going the opposite direction." But it so happened that the storm turned and seven miles outside of Watertown, South Dakota, we were right smack in the center of it. It got to the point we couldn’t even see where we were going and had no choice but to stop on the highway. At that time you begin thinking of people who have frozen to death in that kind of situation, particularly when you are used to Dallas, Texas. A four-wheel-drive vehicle went past us and when they didn’t see us following came back to check on us. I said to him, "Can I get to Watertown, South Dakota?" He said, "One inch at a time. Following them and their path it took us 45 minutes to go seven miles, but when we got to Watertown, South Dakota all the motels were full. There was not one available room in the whole city. We had no choice but to sit in the lobby looking like zombies until someone checked out of their room. But that won’t be the case in heaven. There will be room enough for all who are going there.
The third thing I’d like you to note is the thing that is going to make heaven special is that Christ Himself is going to be there. Notice He says in verse three, "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."
One time a dentist who knew the Lord went to his office on a Saturday morning to take care of a few patients. He took his dog along with him and had trained the dog to stay out in the waiting room and not come into the surgical area. That morning the dentist had a chance to speak to one of his patients about spiritual things. All of a sudden, the patient exclaimed, "Sometimes I wish you could show me what heaven is going to be like." The dentist said, "I think I can. I think I can do it this morning." So he called his dog into the room and had him sit down at his feet. Then he placed his hands under the dog’s head and the dog took his head and placed it in the man’s hand and looked up into the face of his master, at which time the dentist said, "That’s what heaven is going to be like. We are going to be looking in the face of Jesus Christ Himself because the thing that makes it heaven is that it is a place where Christ dwells."
Now obviously if He is preparing a place for them they have to know how to get there. So the question is - what did He tell them? How do you get to heaven?
The first thing you have to understand is that the disciples were full of mixed reactions. On one hand, they were excited. He’s getting a place ready for them. On the other hand, they are sorrowful He’s leaving. So full of mixed emotions they are not sure what to say. One time a man saw a friend he had not seen for a long time and said, "How is your wife?" The friend said, "Oh, you didn’t hear?" The man said, "Hear what?" The friend said, "Well, my wife died and went to heaven." The man said, "Oh, I’m sorry" and thought "Oh my word! What did I say? The man told me his wife went to heaven and I told him ’I’m sorry.’" So he quickly corrected himself and said, "What I mean is, I’m glad." Then he thought, "Oh my word! Now look at what I’ve said. The man told me his wife died and I told him I’m glad." So finally, not knowing what to say, he said, "What I mean is, I’m surprised."
Well the disciples are so full of mixed emotions they aren’t sure what to say. But the thing that you must understand is that what surprised them the most is not what Christ said in verses 1, 2 or 3, but what He said in verses 4, 5 and 6. If you’ll notice, He says, "And where I go you know and the way you know." And Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Now at this point you have to understand Thomas, in my opinion, was the most honest of all disciples because he was not afraid to express his ignorance by asking questions.
I love people who are not afraid to ask questions. A father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles. "I don’t know," said his father. "I never knew much about electricity." A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder. "That too has puzzled me," came the reply. Then the son asked, "Dad, why is it when children are born there are sometimes two of them -- twins, instead of just one?" The father had no idea how to explain that to someone of that tender age and said, "I’m not sure how to explain that to you." The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain. Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, "Pop, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions." "Not at all," replied his father. "How else are you going to learn!"
That’s the kind of honest questions Thomas had when he said, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Now the question is, why did He say to them "And where I go you know"? For three years He had explained to them that God is a holy God and because He is such a holy God He cannot allow sin in His presence. He has to punish it and the punishment for sin is eternal separation from God. But He as the perfect Son of God was going to take their place on a cross so that through trust in Him alone they could enjoy the gift of eternal life.
Years ago there was a woman crossing the hills of South Wales on foot in the midst of a blizzard but she was not as fortunate as my wife and I were in South Dakota. She never made it to her destination. When they found her frozen body they did not understand why in that climate she was not wearing a heavy winter coat until they lifted up her body and found her coat wrapped around the body of her infant son, who remained alive and well. Her son, David Lloyd George became the Prime Minister of Great Britain, one of the greatest statesman Britain has ever known. In other words, she died in his place. She saved him by dying for him. The Bible says when Jesus Christ came into the world He took your sin and my sin, placed it upon Himself, He died in our place and rose again the third day so through trust in Him we could enjoy the gift of eternal life.
After all, just three chapters earlier Christ said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." But nevertheless having told them again and again and again and again, He tells them again in what must have been the clearest language He ever used. Notice what He says in verse six, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Now please notice. Verse six is probably one of the most arrogant statements you will ever find in the Bible. He doesn’t say, "I know the way." He says, "I am the way." This statement has irritated some people. They feel Christ is one of the most arrogant and self-centered people you would ever want to meet.
All I ask is that you bear in mind one thing. If you have the truth and it’s a matter of life or death, you had better be assertive. For example, I do a tremendous amount of flying. It has been my observation that pilots are some of the most arrogant people you would ever want to meet. First of all, in all my years of air travel they have never once let me fly the plane. They think they can fly it better than anybody else. Secondly, they are so hung up on the instrument panel, they think you can only use one lever to do one thing. You can’t use one lever to do five things; you can only use one lever to do one thing. Thirdly, if there is a landing strip 50’ wide in a field five miles wide, they insist on landing on that one little landing strip. They are some of the most arrogant, self-centered people you would ever want to meet. And am I ever glad they are! The last thing I want when I step on a plane is a pilot who says, "I flew the plane yesterday. Who’d like to fly it today?" The last thing I want when I step on a plane is a pilot who looks at the instrument panel and says, "One, two, three. Which will it be?" The last thing I want when I step on a plane is a pilot who approaches a landing strip and says, "Yesterday I landed over there and went that way. Today I’ll land over here and go that way." If you have the truth and it’s a matter of life or death, you had better be unyielding. The reason Christ says, "I am the way, the truth and the life" is because He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
But please bear in mind, He does not say "I am the way, truth and life." He says I am the way, the truth, and the life because He means something different and distinct about all of those.
First of all, when He says, "I am the way" He means if you want to get to heaven you have to go through the Son. Salvation is in a Person. It is not in a schedule of going to church, it is not in a system of good deeds, nor is it in a set of sacraments. Salvation is in a person. A man once asked a guide to take him across desert country to which the guide agreed. When the two men arrived at the edge of the desert the man looked ahead of him didn’t see any road, no path of any kind. So he said to the guide, "Where is the road?" and the man said, "I am the road." Christ is saying, "Salvation is in a Person." You dare not trust something to get you to heaven. You must trust Someone.
Then when He says, "I am the truth", He means "I have all the truth necessary for life and living. When you know me, you know what truth really is."
In the last part of this sentence when Christ says, "I am the life" He means life as opposed to death. In other words, when you have Christ, you have life that never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never ends. When heavyweight boxer champion Joe Louis died, a man made an interesting comment. He said, "On his tombstone there are two dates over which he had no control." He was absolutely correct. You cannot control the date you were born and you cannot control the date you die. But although you cannot control when you die you can control where you go when you die. What Christ is saying is, "When you know me you have the life that never, never ends.
All I’m saying is there is no one who knows how to tell you to get to heaven like the One who lives there. When He explained it to His disciples He reduced it to 18 words, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father accept through Me." That means you can’t get to heaven by going to church. You don’t get to heaven by living a good life. You don’t get to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments. You don’t get to heaven by taking the sacraments. You don’t get to heaven by being baptized. You don’t get to heaven by loving your neighbor. You don’t get to heaven by keeping out of jail. Instead, you have to come to God as a sinner, recognize Christ died for you and arose, and put your trust in Christ alone as your only way to heaven. That’s why at one point in the Bible when somebody asked, "What must I do to be saved?" the answer given was not, "Try, work, serve, beg, keep, practice, labor." It was "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."
Some time ago I spoke at Horn Creek Lodge in Horn Creek, Colorado not too far from Colorado Springs. If you have never been there you need to go. It is a great place to spend a week. The mountains are at your front door and the deer walk up to your back door. The food is delicious and the accommodations are delightful. But you know what is interesting about this place? In order to get there everyone has to take the same road because there is only one road into Horn Creek, Colorado.
The point Christ is making is there is enough room in heaven for all the ones who are going there but to get there everyone has to take the same road. You have to come to God as a sinner, recognizing that Christ died and arose and put your trust in Christ alone as your only way to heaven because He is the way, the truth, and the life.
In closing, I would like to ask you two questions. Do you know you are going to heaven? And secondly, if you don’t, will you trust Christ because He is the way, the truth, and the life?
