The Way
John 14: 1 - 14
Intro: (Show picture of Barbar, the elephant). Could you use this picture to explain what a real elephant looks like to a person who had never seen one? What you would say?
I This passage and what follows is known as the “Farewell Discourse.” It contains much of the theology of the writer of the gospel of John. Many sermons could be preached on these short 14 verses. Rather than cramming everything into one sermon. I want to concentrate on the manner in which John describes Jesus.
A The 1st 4 verses are often used for funerals.
B Jesus is leaving. Here he is speaking to their collective sadness. This a rallying cry to the disciples and us.
C The GK word for “Believe” is (p?ste?e PISTEUETE) this addresses the faith of the disciples in relationship to God and Jesus which will empower them to endure future events. This is saying that Jesus has the power of God to see support the disciples if they just believe in Him and God.
II In VSS. 2 & 3 Jesus moves to promises he makes to them; promises that reveal to them and us even more of the character and nature of Jesus.
A VS. 2 speaks of “God’s house” which most individuals believe refers to “heaven”. You may be shocked to learn that it has nothing to do with heaven.
B The GK word used for “house” is (µ??? / mone) can also be translated as “dwelling place” or “Room”. It is derived from the verb (µ??? men?) which is used by John to describe the mutuality and reciprocity of the relationship of God and Jesus.
C It is this relationship which John says is available to everyone because there is always “room in God’s house for one more.” Another aspect of Jesus is that he has a special relationship with God which is available to those who believe in him. God’s house is about relationship and not exclusively about location. Martin Luther was known to say that “God is what you hand your heart upon.” God’s promise in Jesus Is to love us, to make room for us, to know and to be known by us in a way that never ends.
III VSS. 4 & 6 refer to Jesus as being “The way”. Again, this is not a geographical term, as Thomas has mistakenly perceive it. Instead, it is a description of the revelatory work of Jesus.
A When Jesus speaks of “the way” he is drawing on His Jewish heritage.. The Jewish wisdom tradition spoke of “the Way” (Hebrew word Derek) to denote the life-style of the “wise”.
B The “WAY” is described as a life lived either in accordance with the law or the will and desire of God. For the faithful Jew it is an expression of the faithful person’s unity with God.
C In using this “THE WAY” to describe Jesus is to say that he is the tangible presence of God in the world. This means that in Jesus one meets the truth of God. In Jesus, we can see and know God in a manner never before possible. Jesus uses the words “I AM” which is the name of Yahweh. The life of Jesus embodies the way to God and therefore the way of discipleship.
Conclusion: Jesus reveals to us the way in which God wants us to live. Jesus removed barriers, drew alongside the stranger, and prepared “many dwelling places” within His Father’s house. My dear friends, Jesus wants you to know that you can trust that God has a place for you, no matter how unreliable, proud, or unfinished you may be. This passage is about inclusion because God’s house has many “rooms”. My question is this, whom is God inviting us to see? For whom do we create home? For whom do we show the way. In Jesus, we know truth and life as it is meant to be lived.
