“Jesus is …”
February 8, 2015
John 14:1-11
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that 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 know me, you will 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 I do not speak on my own authority. 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 works themselves.
“Is there a God? Is there really a heaven? And if there IS a heaven – will I get to go there?” These are troubling questions. We all have had them at one time or another. We live in enemy territory with a fallen nature. Like a child who is worried about a childish concern and is comforted by his mother or father – Jesus gently and kindly is saying, “Don’t worry! Don’t be troubled! BELIEVE in me”
That is where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it? Do we believe? Do we trust? It is a choice. It is always a choice. Joshua said, “As for ME and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) We each must come to that decision. We choose to serve the Lord. But WHO is the Lord? Jesus makes it pretty clear in this Scripture. He says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”.
This morning I want to take a look at this very important Scripture. Jesus makes some pretty starling claims. He makes some pretty bold claims. He didn’t make it easy to be a wishy washy follower. You do or you don’t! You will or you won’t! Jesus is a liar or He’s telling the truth. Which do you believe?
Let’s take a look at some of Jesus’ claims this morning. Imagine you were one of His disciples and you hear Him say this. First of all, I want you to notice that He says He is God. He just comes out and says it. He says, “I and the Father are one.” (vs. 9&10) John says Jesus and God are one. He says,
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:18
The Jews knew that when Jesus claims to be ‘one’ with God – He is claiming to be God. He says, “I AM Truth.” There is only one truth. Everybody knows that. That is God. Jesus is claiming to be God. And this isn’t the first time He made that claim. Listen to this incident.
“I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:18-19
“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” John 8:56-59
Why did the Jews pick up rocks to stone Jesus? Because He was claiming to be God. He used God’s name – “I Am”. Only God can claim that title. It is present tense. Only God is present tense. There is no ‘was’ or ‘will be’ with God. There is just “I Am.” The Bible says,
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Colossians 2:9
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Hebrews 1:3
I like how C. S. Lewis logically concludes the deity of Jesus. He says Jesus claimed to be God. He was either NOT telling the truth or He was telling the truth. If he was not telling the truth – He was either doing it KNOWING He was not telling the truth or He was not telling the truth and didn’t know it. One would make Him a liar – the other would make Him insane. If he was not telling the truth but believed he was - He would be no different that the thousands of people in asylums who believe they are Jesus or Napoleon or some other figure. He would be insane and a deluded person to be pitied.
If He was not telling the truth and knew he was not telling the truth – that would make Him a liar. Not only would He be a liar but He would also be a fool. Only a fool would die for a lie. That is why Jesus was crucified. He claimed to be God. If He was lying and admitted it – He wouldn’t have had to die.
So there you have it. Jesus was either telling the truth or not. He made it impossible to say ‘he was a good teacher’ or ‘a good example’. If He was telling the truth and He was truly God – they you can accept Him as God or reject Him as your God. But if He IS God then all He said is true. There IS a heaven and a hell. There IS only one way to get to heaven. That is through the person – Jesus Christ. As for me and my house – we will serve the Lord.
Jesus claimed to be Truth – which mean He was claiming to be God. He also said He was 2) ‘Life’. What does that mean? It means, for one, that He was the Creator of the world. Life comes from the Creator. Jesus creates life physically, spiritually, and eternally. The Bible says,
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colosians 1:15-17
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” John 1:1-4
The other day I was on my morning walk and happened upon a stick that was twisted and bent into a perfect ‘S’. I thought, “I’ll find another stick – a straight stick – and put the two together to spell “si”. If someone comes along wondering if they should do something or not – there’s there answer. ‘SI! Yes! Go for it!’ I didn’t really do that, but it got me to thinking. I have seen a stick bent into a ‘G’ shape. I wondered if I could find all the letters in my name. I think I probably could.
But what if I was walking in the woods and came across my name spelled out with sticks – G-R-O-S-S-M-A-N. Do you think that is possible? If you saw something like that you would conclude that an intelligent design like that would have to be purposefully done by an intelligent person. Although, theoretically, it is possible for my name, or your name, to be randomly made – it is beyond likely. It would be as likely as my name being spelled out in alphabet soup. How many bowls of soup would you have to pour before that happened?
Our cells are made up of DNA that are way more complexed that my example. Bacteria have flagellum motors that are irreducibly complexed. Everywhere we look we see intelligent design. The intelligent Designer was Jesus. He is the author of life. He is the Creator of life.
Jesus gave life to the dead on three occasions: to a widow’s son, to Jairus’ daughter, and to his friend Lazarus. In the case of Lazarus, the body had been in the grave for four days. Martha said that there was a bad odor. This shows that the process of decomposition whereby a dead body eventually becomes dust had already begun. Jesus called Lazarus back to life, and the molecules of matter that were in the process of becoming dust became, again, a living human being. Jesus is LIFE!
In my life, I praise God for not only giving me life when I was conceived, but literally saving my life when He gave me life spiritually. My life was a mess. I doubt if I would have lasted another year or two without Christ. But He gave me life. And old song we used to sing goes, “Heartaches, broken pieces, ruined lives is why You died on Calvary.” Jesus is life.
I have experienced life another way, too. After two heart attacks, a triple by-pass operation, 9 stents and an internal defibulator - I know I am alive because of Jesus. He gives me life and I will continue to live for Him and serve Him as long as He wills it. I may live to be a hundred. In fact, I KNOW I will – if it is the Giver of life’s will.
Jesus is God. Jesus is Creator. But more important or equally important is the fact that 3) Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is the Way.
In the first century after Christ died for us - His followers were called ‘followers of the way’. Later they became known as ‘Christians’ or ‘Christ-like’ ones. I remember in the seventies Christians often raised their index or forefinger and said, “One Way!” It was a greeting and a testament at the same time. But what does it mean? Jesus said He was the Way. The way to what?
Jesus explained it pretty clearly. He said,
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” John 10:9
“What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged. They have crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12
“You can’t be saved by believing in anyone else. God has given people no other name under heaven that will save them.” Acts 4:12
Jesus is the Way to eternal life. Jesus is the Way to heaven. There is no other way. Some will tell you that many ways lead to God. I have heard people say that all religions lead to heaven. I don’t think so. Jesus is the way to salvation. Only Jesus can save us from our sins. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The reason our church is here is to teach that Jesus is the Way, the truth and the Life. Another way to put it is that Jesus is Savior, God, and Creator. Our job as His followers is to share Christ with others. We are to make disciples and teach them to obey Jesus. We are to take Christ to the community.
Let’s do that this week. Be His hands. Be His voice. Be His feet. Allow Jesus to accomplish His purpose through you.
