Anxiety in our culture is pervasive. Anxiety is now the most common mental health disorder in the U.S. About one in five people you’ll see on any given day deal with anxiety.1
Find John 14 if you will.
In a time where there are rising crime rates, rising costs of living, international crises, political corruption, and escalating violence, Jesus speaks to us about how to experience peace.
Did you know that the night before Jesus died, Jesus gave a long, intensive teaching session? John 13–17 is the longest piece of teaching we have in the Bible from Jesus. Jesus has this training session as He is about to send them out into the world. Jesus speaks to the disciples’ fears.
Today’s Scripture
“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” (John 14:1-11).
Sermon Preview
1. Trust, the Antidote to Anxiety
2. Home, the Antidote to Despair
3. Jesus, the Antidote to Separation
4. Jesus, the Antidote to Doubt
1. Trust, the Antidote to Anxiety
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (John 14:1,11).
1.1 The Setting
Jesus dropped the bombshell that one of the group was going to betray Him. And He had told them He was going somewhere that they couldn’t follow him. They all knew the Jewish leaders were looking to arrest Jesus and His disciples. The eleven disciples were stressed out —anxious, confused, and afraid.
1.2 Who Needs Emotional Support?
Remember, it’s Jesus who is only hours away from His own death. It’s Jesus whose both heart and soul are troubled (John 12:27, 13:31). It’s Jesus who is looking down the barrel of agony unimaginable. Wouldn’t you think the Disciples would be giving emotional support to Jesus at a moment like this?2 Yet, Jesus is thinking of others. It’s Jesus who says, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a). In fact, when Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” He used a picturesque word.
1.3 The Disciples’ Emotional State
The Disciples are on the brink of a catastrophic failure at this very moment. Judas just walked out the door, intent on betraying Jesus. Jesus told Peter that his faith would fail in a matter of hours. If Peter is the leader and his faith collapses, what does that mean for the rest of the Disciples? If their anxiety could be converted into caffeine, you’d have enough to keep every coffee shop in Seattle running for a month. These men needed the calm assurance of the One could command waves.
1.4 Jesus Commands Fear
Jesus commands the eleven, “Don’t be afraid,” before then saying, “Trust in God and trust in me.” He then commands them to replace their fear with faith in God and faith in Jesus in its place. Jesus commands an emotion. This is remarkable. We don’t think of emotions like fear and anxiety as something that could be commanded. Jesus did. He offers us something powerful to remove our anxiety – trust, belief, faith in God and Jesus. Jesus says, “Trust in God and trust in me.” “Believe in God; believe in me, too.” Jesus said in effect, “Take your eyes off yourselves for a minute, off even your shortcomings. My Father is here, alive and well; He is trustworthy; I am here, too, and you can trust me.”3
It’s essential to understand what Jesus didn’t say here.
1.4.1 Look Inside You
So many voices tell you to look inside your heart for the courage you need. Obi-Wan and Yoda both push Luke to trust the Force within in Star Wars: A New Hope. Kung Fu Panda learns that “There is no secret ingredient… It’s just you.” And Elsa in Disney’s Frozen learns “The answer you’re seeking is inside you.”
Jesus never once told us to find peace or the meaning of life by looking inside ourselves. Remember, the disciples had just got a fresh lesson in how weak they were. Judas will betray in a few minutes, and Peter will falter before the rooster makes a sound. Taking a good look inside yourself will reveal how fragile and weak you are, and how likely your faith is to fail. Jesus tells us to look up to God the Father and Jesus His Son rather than inside of ourselves. In fact, if you look inside yourself too hard, you might just find a head full of confusion and some bellybutton lint! Again, it’s important to see what Jesus doesn’t say here.
1.4.2 You’ll be Trouble Free
Later on, that evening, Jesus tells the Disciples this: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Notice what He says—and what He doesn’t say. He never promises us that we will have no reasons for anxiety. Instead, He promises us how to live anxiety-free in the midst of trouble. He is peace is not in the absence of trouble, but His presence is a power greater than trouble. Jesus doesn’t promise a trouble-free life. He promises a trouble-proof peace—a peace that endures despite the storms. Jesus never promises you that you’ll be trouble-free, but He does promise that you will be trouble-proof. Jesus is the calm center in your chaos.
1.5 Trust in God, Trust Also in Me
According to Jesus, the cure for a troubled heart is belief.4 Jesus bookends His teaching with the same message: “Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1b). And then He concludes with the same message: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (John 14:11).
1.5.1 Belief is Personal
If belief is hard for you, make belief in Jesus personal. In your life, you will have people you can trust and those you can’t trust. Jesus says, “Believe in the One who has all power, all wisdom, and who is altogether good.” “Believe in the One who can make all things work for your good. Believe in the One who knows what is best for you.” Jesus is the name you can trust. You become intimately acquainted—through studying God’s Word and prayer—with Jesus’ ability (infinite), His wisdom (unending), and His goodness (without end). You learn by experience and faith that you can trust Him. You learn you can trust His character when everyone and everything else fails. Again, Jesus is the name you can trust.
A pastor tells a story about being on a flight during a storm a few years ago. The flight attendants told the passengers to remain seated with their seatbelts firmly fastened. He said the aircraft would suddenly rise and then fall. Lighting could be seen and thunder heard. It was really scary, so he was praying. But when he glanced around, he saw a young girl seated across from him who didn’t seem to be worried. She was about eight years old. She was singing and reading a book. She seemed to be clueless about the bad weather. After they landed, the pastor said, “Young lady, you sure were brave during that bad weather we went through.” She smiled and said, “Oh, I wasn’t worried. My dad is the pilot, and he is bringing me home.”5
Again, Jesus is the name you can trust.
1.5.2 Belief is Ongoing
The way to have an untroubled heart is to believe in God and believe in Jesus. The tenses in the original language of verse 1 tell us, “Keep on believing in God. Keep on believing in me.” Belief in God isn’t just a one-time thing that I made years ago. Even if you trusted in Jesus years ago, reawaken your faith. Become reacquainted with His power, His wisdom, and His goodness.
1. Trust, the Antidote to Anxiety
2. Home, the Antidote to Despair
“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?” (John 14:2).
2.1 The Setting
Jesus is telling them, “I’m leaving you.”
He’s but hours from hanging on a cross. Jesus said to His followers, “Don’t be troubled, for I have a place for you. I’m coming back in order to take you to my home. Once you’re there, you’ll be with me forever.”
To comfort them, Jesus tells them about their inheritance.
2.2 Heaven
Jesus is talking about heaven here. Jesus teaches us three key things about heaven.
2.2.1 Many Rooms
First, Jesus tells us there is a lot of room: “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2a).
He’s not going to run out of rooms. Pause there and let the first reason for faith sink in. God’s house is large. Jesus deliberately chose common, physical terms so we could understand Him. He didn’t speak of an abstract spiritual ‘state of being,’ but of a real place you could walk into, sit down in, and belong in forever.6 Put a smile on your face because He won’t run out of space.7
2.2.2 God’s Children Live with God
Second, Jesus says, “In my Father’s house” (John 14:2a). Jesus tells us, “The Father has a house with many rooms.” The picture here is a Father having a large house, and we each have a place in His house. This was common in Jesus’ day, where a son would add on to his father’s house when he was married. God’s children live with God, the Father, in His house. Think of the safety of living with some of the people you love the most in life. In Jesus’ day, families didn’t scatter after marriage; they built onto the family home. Every new generation meant a new room, a new doorway, and more laughter filling the courtyard.
That’s the image Jesus chooses—God isn’t placing you down the street, He’s building you into His house. This isn’t an apartment, a tent, or a hotel, but a home – a permanent home. This is a place where you belong. God’s children live in God’s house.
2.2.3 Every One of You Has a Place
“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?” (John 14:2).
Third, Jesus says there is a room designed for each of the eleven. “Even you, Peter, I have a place for even you.” And if there’s a place for Peter—impulsive, overconfident, soon-to-deny Peter—then there’s a place for you. Yes, if there’s a place for Peter, then there is a place for you! Trust Jesus. Trust God. You will have a place in His house as His child. “To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the children of God” (John 1:12).
2.3 Earliest Believers
And the earliest believers took His words to heart. If you visit the ancient catacombs underneath the city of Rome, you’ll see the richly painted tombs of some of the earliest Christian martyrs. They are decorated with heavenly scenes where children are playing and there is feasting. And among the inscriptions there, you’ll read these words, “One who lives with God.”8 Heaven has been the focus for believers since Christianity’s beginning.
2.5 Recap
Heaven is the home of everything we have longed for.
It’s the place where God has banished all the abuse you’ve suffered, all your emotional pain from marital strife, and yes, even the greed that separates “the haves and the have-nots.”
Jesus says, “Yes. I’m leaving. No. You can’t come with me now. Yes, you will be scattered this night when they strike the shepherd, and I will do this work alone. But don’t let your sorrow … Don’t let your fear … overtake you. Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust me. Trust God. Why? There will be a place for you in my Father’s house, as my Father’s children, forever.9
1. Trust, the Antidote to Anxiety
2. Home, the Antidote to Despair
3. Jesus, the Antidote to Separation
“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” (John 14:3).
There are 3 phrases here that you need to understand.
3.1 I Will Take You to Myself
I think this is one of the most important phrases in this passage: I will take you to myself. Jesus says, “[I] will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3b). This shifts the focus from a place to a person. Where Jesus is, there is heaven. What is the essence of heaven? The immediate presence of Jesus.10
3.2 I Prepare the Way
Twice, Jesus tells us that He is preparing a place for us. He says it once at the end of verse 2 and again in verse 3. What’s Jesus talking about here? Does it mean that Jesus goes to heaven to build your mansion? No, I don’t think so. Jesus said, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 24:34).
Jesus tells us here that heaven has been prepared since the foundation of the world. So, I don’t think we are to picture Jesus constructing us a mansion here. Instead, Jesus is preparing the way. What’s not ready yet is the way to get your place in God’s presence. Every obstacle between us and our room in the Father’s house is about to be removed in the next three days.
• Sin—unpaid, now about to be covered by His blood.
• Wrath—unsatisfied, now about to be poured out on Him instead of you.
• Death—undefeated, now about to be crushed as He lays down His life and takes it up again.
When Jesus says, ‘I go to prepare a place for you,’ He means, ‘I go to open the way.’ And not just open it—I am the way.” Every obstacle between us and our room in the Father’s house is about to be removed in the next three days.11 That’s the first thing I think Jesus means when he says: I am going to prepare a place for you. He’s not building you an addition to your mansion. He’s preparing the way for you to arrive in heaven in the next three days.
I think Jesus confirms that he is thinking this way in verses 4–6: “‘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’” (John 14:4-6).
He doesn’t just point to the way—He is the way! He doesn’t just tell the truth—He is the truth! He doesn’t just offer life—He is the life! Everything you need to get home is in Him.12
3.3 Many Paths?
You may be thinking there are many ways to God. Here’s a super popular way for many Americans to view this: “We have different paths that lead us to spiritual fulfillment, that lead us to God.” “We respect your path, you respect our path, and we all go different ways, and together we are one, and we’ll end up in the same place.” Jesus is one with the Father, which means He is omniscient – He knows everything. He came at incredible sacrifice to Himself to be tortured and die on a cross to offer us grace to cover our sins. If Jesus knew everything, why would He sacrifice Himself, putting Himself through so much when there were other ways?
PAUSE
Jesus insists that “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6b).”
1. Trust, the Antidote to Anxiety
2. Home, the Antidote to Despair
3. Jesus, the Antidote to Separation
4. Jesus, the Antidote to Doubt
“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’’”? (John 14:8-9).
4.1 The Father and the Son Are One
Jesus leaves no room for misunderstanding. The emphasis of verses 7–11 is crystal clear. Six times, Jesus says virtually the same thing: that He and the Father are so profoundly one, that His presence is the presence of God the Father.
“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also” (John 14:7a).
“From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7b).
“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?” (John 14:9a).
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9b).
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:10a).
“I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:11a).
To see Jesus is to see the Father. To hear from Jesus is to hear from the lips of God Himself.
4.2 Remember
When you feel fear or anxiety creeping in, remember: trust Jesus, the one who embodies God’s presence. Jesus is not distant or detached. When you feel alone or separated from God, remember: Jesus has prepared the way, and where He is, the Father is also. When your heart longs for home, remember: your eternal home isn’t just a building. Your home is in the presence of the One who loves you infinitely. You don’t need a sign – you only need to see Jesus.
4.3 Closing Prayer
Father,
We trust in you. We believe in you. Our hearts are often troubled. We find our rest in you. We believe that real peace isn’t found inside ourselves or in the circumstances around us—it is found only in You. We find our peace in you. We trust in the actions of your Son on the cross completely. We don’t trust in our good works. We believe He died for us, was buried for us, and rose again for us. Thank you for showing us the way and providing us the way. Your Son is the only way.
We are so fragile. Some may not be in this room even next week. Some of us may have only hours left in life. Thank you for your grace.
If you’re here this morning and you have never trusted Christ, the way to heaven, join me in this prayer. I am broken, Father. My life is broken because of my actions, my sin. My life is messed up, and I am full of doubts and anxiety. I need you, and I turn to you. I trust in your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe He died for me. I believe He took the punishment for my sins. I believe He rose again on the third day. I place my faith in Jesus. I commit my life to Christ. I want Jesus to be the Lord of my life. I bank everything on Him.
We find our rest in You. We find our peace in You. We find our home in You.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
EndNotes
1 https://www.globenewswire.com/us/news-release/2024/05/01/2873438/0/en/American-Adults-Express-Increasing-Anxiousness-in-Annual-Poll-Stress-and-Sleep-are-Key-Factors-Impacting-Mental-Health.html?; accessed August 17, 2025.
2 D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary. (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 487.
3 Frederick Dale Bruner, The Gospel of John: A Commentary. (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2012), 810.
4 Richard D. Phillips, John, vol 2, eds. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary, 1st ed (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014), 195.
5 I am indebted to David Dykes for this story: https://gabc-archive.org/wp-content/uploads/s041920.pdf; accessed August 12, 2025.
6 Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2011).
7 John Piper, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
8 Spiros Zodhiates, Life after Death (Chattanooga: AMG, 1977), 100–101; as quoted in Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), Kindle Locations 265-269.
9 John Piper, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
10 John Piper, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
11 John Piper, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
12 John Piper, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014) (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
