I WILL COME AGAIN!
John 14:1-11
INTRODUCTION
You know in our family, we have sort of a rule, and that is, that we never make promises. Because, you can have the very best intentions, but unforseen circumstances can cause you to unintentionally break that promise. If I say something like, ‘look I promise I will be there’, Daniel or Sharayah are bound to give me that sort of look that says, ‘wow, my Dad is in control of the universe, nothing , no matter what is going to prevent him from being there’.
And sometimes people are just plain unreliable – they promise and never seem to deliver. I promise this & I promise that, and it just doesn’t happen. I have had people in the building trade promise, over & over again, that they are going to turn up on a certain day, or at a certain time, and they don’t. It is almost as if their understanding of the word ‘promise’ is different to mine. My understanding of that word is the same as that of the dictionary – ‘Assurance that one will do or not do something’.
Well, the apostle Peter in 2nd Peter 1:4, speaks of promises Christ has made for those of us who trust in Him. Peter says:
‘…He (that is Christ) has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.’ (2 Pet 1:4) (NIV)
This morning I would like to consider one of Christ’s ’great and precious promises’. Please turn with me to John chapter 14 verses 1-11 (keep your Bibles open at that passage please). I am reading from the NIV.
14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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 knew me, you would 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 are not just my own. 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 miracles themselves."
In this passage we have the promise of Christ’s return. There are other promises made here, but the one we are going to briefly consider this morning is the promise of His return as proclaimed in verse 3, ‘… I will come back …’.
In the verses that encompass this promise we are told something about:
1. The Person of Christ
2. The Promise of Christ
3. The Purpose of Christ’s Coming
Lets consider point one:-
1. THE PERSON OF CHRIST
Because the value of any promise depends upon the one who makes it, we need to consider who it is that makes this promise. Read in its context, we see that it was made by Jesus. But is Jesus able to keep such a promise?
In the early verses of John 14 we find 4 statements concerning the Person of the Lord Jesus:-
Firstly, - He is the Son of God
Look at verse 1, - ""Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me”."
What an incredible statement! Jesus is claiming equality with God – For He says in effect, ‘in the same way you trust God, trust Me, all that God can do for you, I also can do, because I am God’.
Then look at verse 2, "In my Father’s house …" He is the Son of God & God is His Father.
Throughout Scripture there are countless references to the Sonship & deity of Christ.
The one who made this promise is none other than the Son of the Living God. He is God the Son!
Secondly, - He is the only way to the Father
Does anyone remember the song – ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, that’s what Jesus said’? Well, that song is based on verse 6, " …"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.” And listen to what Luke tells us in Acts 4:12 (NIV), " Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Jesus is central to our salvation – there is no other way but through Him!
Thirdly, - He is the One who perfectly reveals the Father
Lets read verses 7-9, " 7 If you really knew me, you would 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’?"
What is God the Father like? We only have to look at Jesus to get the answer! Jesus perfectly reveals the Father.
Fourthly, - He is the One who claims our faith and trust
Lets look back at verse 1, " ... Trust in God ; trust also in me." and verses 10&11, " 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. 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 miracles themselves."
There is only one person in the whole of the universe who is qualified & worthy to stand before men & say, ‘believe in Me … trust in Me’ – and that is Jesus Christ – God the Son!
It appears as though He is the sort of person we should listen to when He says He is going to do something. We could comfortably say when listening to His promises, ‘wow, He is in control of the universe, nothing , no matter what is going to prevent Him from doing what He says!’.
Lets now turn our attention to:-
2. THE PROMISE OF CHRIST
I would like to consider 3 things about the promise that Christ makes in verse 3 of John 14:-
Firstly, The Certainty of the Promise
The promise is stated in 4 simple words – can it be any clearer? "… I will come back ..." Look again at verse 10 & be reminded of who is speaking, " 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." It is the Son of the Living God, the second person of the triune God-head, & He speaks on His Father’s behalf.
Jesus says He will come again, and He says it with the authority of none other than God Himself! This promise is as certain as God.
Secondly, The Connection this Promise has with the Ascension
Look at verse 3, it says, ‘…if I go … I will come back …” He was referring to His going back to heaven as recorded in Acts 1:9-11. I will read that passage for you, " 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Our Lord who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, was buried & rose again also ascended to be with His Father in glory - & what a glorious hope, that one day we will see Him just as the apostles saw Him so many years ago!
Thirdly, The Meaning of this Promise
What did our Lord mean when He said, ‘I will come back’?
You know, I was at a church service some years ago where the minister proclaimed that we really have no idea how Christ will come back. He said it could be that He has already come back in some mystical sense, or maybe He has come back in our thoughts – as we think about Him we have brought Him back into existence here, or as we do the works that Christ would have done we have brought Him back into daily life, or He might be born as baby again, we just really have no idea on this matter.
Well, we don’t have to look far in Scripture to see that His return will be a personal, bodily, literal return. Jesus said, ‘I will come back’ and the angel in Acts 1 said, ‘this same Jesus will come again’ and the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, ‘the Lord Himself will return’.
When Jesus said ‘I will come back’, He meant just that. When the time is right, I will return.
Lets move on to the last point:
3. THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST’S RETURN
What will be the purpose of His Coming?
In Scripture the return of Christ has special implications for His Church, for the Jews, for the whole world & for Satan.
But here He is speaking to His own followers, including those of us who love & belong to Him today.
So what is the purpose of the Lord’s return for His own people?
Here are 3 points which sum up the purpose of His coming:-
Firstly, Reception
Verse 3 of John 14 tells us, ‘… I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’ What a wondrous thing! That the King of kings & Lord of lords desires us to be where He is – and He is coming one day to receive us to Himself.
Secondly, Restoration
Verse 2 tells us, ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you’.
I have noticed that around this area much restoring is taking place. Many people are restoring their houses etc. Even the manse & the church buildings are being restored. And my car’s paint job is going to be restored before long, too I hope!
But Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us where there will be no more decay. In that place we will be restored to the way we were intended to be. We shall be as sinless as the unfallen angels and as pure as perfect Adam before the fall. I don’t think we will be the same in all respects as Adam & Eve, for we will have the added dimension of knowing God’s grace, mercy & forgiveness – but we will be restored in purity & intimacy with God. And we shall be like our Lord & Saviour!
Thirdly, Unity
Lets look again at those words in verse 3, ‘… that you also may be where I am.’
The disciples were troubled because of the impending separation – But here Jesus tells of a coming reunion, a time when they will be together again. One day we will be united with Him & all those who belong to the Lord.
CONCLUSION
One thing is certain, we will meet the Lord one day. Perhaps we will meet Him when He comes back, or maybe we will meet Him through physical death.
· Are we ready to meet Him when He comes?
· Do we know this Jesus who is the Son of God, the only way to God, the perfect revelation of God and the One worthy of our complete trust?
· Have we thought about the certainty of Christ’s promise and that one day we shall see Him face to face?
· And are we looking forward with joyful anticipation to that day when He will receive us to Himself, that day when the last effects of sin will be destroyed, that day when we will be united with Christ and all those who belong to Him?
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’
