The Great I Am – The Way, Truth, and Life
June 27, 2004
John 14:1-6
Sunday AM
Intro: For 7 years, Mt. Bethel Methodist in Atlanta had hosted the community’s baccalaureate service. One year, organizers wanted to include speakers from the Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, and Wicca religions. Many students expressed a desire to have the name of Jesus censored from the service b/c it would be offensive. The pastor said it would be a dishonor not to mention Jesus’ name in His own church, thus the service should be moved to a neutral location if they wanted to include other religions. Of course, the newspapers and media outlets picked up the story and focused on the narrow-mindedness of the pastor. Here is the pastor’s response: “My single purpose as an ordained minister is to preach Christ. Political correctness is not a deity here. In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked to pray in this church and not use the name of Jesus. I’ve been asked to cover the crosses in the church b/c they might be offensive to non-believers. I’ve said ‘no’ to each one of these requests. It’s absolutely amazing to me how people who push tolerance will push anything except tolerance of Christian faith even when it is expressed w/in its own church.”
Trans: Some of you might not think the question we are addressing this morning is all that difficult to answer. Since we live in America, many people value cultural diversity and religious pluralism. Pluralism is the view that all religions offer equally valid paths to God. Another words, as long as you believe in something you’ll be okay.
Note: While Christianity still dominates, the U.S. has a greater diversity of religious groups than any country in history. The Encyclopedia of American Religions lists 1,600 different groups, w/ 44% of them non-Christian. Half of these have blossomed since 1960. In fact, there are more Muslims in the U.S. than Methodists.
Trans: In spite of all this doctrinal diversity, the Bible makes some rather startling claims that run counter-cultural to the mantra of religious tolerance.
• Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
• 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one mediator b/w God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.”
• 1 John 5:12: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Note: These verses are extremely exclusive and clear: Jesus is the only way to heaven. Yet the strongest verse in the Bible is a sentence uttered by Jesus, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Trans: Before we focus on John 14:6, we must first take the time to focus on context of this great question. For while Jesus makes an incredibly audacious and exclusive claim His purpose was not of apologetics but rather a theology.
Text: Read John 13:31-14:6 (This is all part of the Upper Room Discourse)
Note: Jesus had just finished serving the Last Supper He washed the disciple’s feet and made a bold declaration of His coming death that would provide a complete atonement for the sin of men. Then after exposing Judas and Peter, He and disciples left the upper room and made their way towards the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus would be betrayed and handed over to the chief priest.
Trans: It’s on this journey that Jesus offers four final but vital lessons: A renewed commandment, a brand new way, a final encouragement and a definitive claim. It is my intention this AM to touch on the first three and campout on the fourth.
I A Renewed Commandment
Verse: 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. 33 “Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’ so now I tell you. 34 “I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:31-35
Note: “New” command – that’s fairly accurate. Technically though, it’s an old command revisited. Lev. 19:18 says, “Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself.”
Note: In the Mosaic Law this was an issue of moral and communal responsibility. It was something we should do b/c it was best for everyone. Seeking revenge and taking another person’s life is not healthy for any society. Thus rather than acting in a hurtful way, treat other people the way you want other people to treat you.
Jesus takes this command to a new level. He doesn’t say “Love you neighbor” b/c it’s the right thing to do, but b/c it is the Godly thing to do. He commands us to love by being willing to lay do our lives when necessary to help all men to understand just how much God loves them. We now love one another b/c it is the greatest testimony and means to uniting all men w/ God.
II A Brand New Way
Verse: 36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to Him, “Where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” 37 “Lord,” Peter asked, “Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” 38 Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for Me? I assure you: A rooster will not crow until you have denied Me three times. John 13:36-38
Note: W/out going into details, Jesus confronts the Peter’s arrogance knocking him off his pious perch to reveal to all of us that the way of God is not the way of man.
Note: Peter thought he could impress Jesus w/ his human strength and commitment – the problem is, Jesus sees right through our human boasting and frailties.
Point: We can do nothing to please God or earn His approval. The Bible says, God does not delight in sacrifice but in a broken and contrite heart. It is a spiritual paradox. We are made strong through weakness. We are elevated through genuine humility.
III A Final Encouragement
Verse: “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way where I am going.” John 14:1-4
Note: The disciples were growing increasingly upset over the reality that Jesus was preparing to leave them. While they still had not come to grips w/ His words they were completely despondent over the knowledge of His departure.
Note: Only Jesus wasn’t going away – He was going ahead. So He instructs them to not be in distress but rather to have faith.
• There is room for them in the Father’s House.
• Jesus is going there to prepare the way for His followers.
• When things are ready, Jesus will be returning.
Point: I have to go away to make a way for you. Unless I go, we can’t be united.
So don’t be troubled. In time you’ll understand my departing, but have faith that I know what I’m doing and that I will fulfill my promises.
Insert: Whenever I have the privilege of performing the funeral of a believer I like to speak from this text b/c of the promises Jesus provides for those who know Him
• Heaven is a PEACEFUL Place
• Heaven is a PREPARED Place
• Heaven is a PROMISED Place
• Heaven is a PREFFERRED Place
• Heaven is a PRIVATE Place
IV A Definitive Claim
Verse: 5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:5-6
A Jesus is the way
Note: Jesus does not merely show the way; He is the way. He is the only way to God.
Note: Many people today, believe that there are multiple paths to God. Studies in comparative religion have concluded that there is an “essence” to all religions.
Insert: The Mountain Analogy – God is pictured at the peak of the mountain w/ mankind at the bottom. Yet according to this illustration, all religion is an account of man’s effort to move from the base of the mountain to the peak of union w/ God. There are many roads w/ some going directly to God while other roads wind all over the mountain, eventually reaching the top. The bottom line, is that all religious roads ultimately arrive at the same place.
Point: Here’s the rub. Jesus very clearly states that there’s only one way to the summit and that all the other roads are dead-ends.
B Jesus is the truth
Note: Truth is a scarce commodity in our world. People say, “That might be true for you, but it’s not for me.” Problem is, truth is not relative – it’s based in reality.
Jesus is boldly stating – I am the truth and everything about me is true. I am God. I am your Savior. I will arise from the grave. If you don’t believe, then check it out!
C Jesus is the life
Note: All through the gospel of John life describes the principle of spiritual vitality. Just as death spells separation from God, so life implies communion w/ Him. W/out Christ we are dead, but when we surrender to Him we are made alive. Since Jesus is life we will only find meaning when we commit to His lordship. John 1:4: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Three Questions
1 The Question of Sincerity
Note: There are millions of sincere worshippers in all different religions. Who can question the sincerity of a Muslim bowing to pray or a J.W. knocking on doors?
Yet the assumption that b/c people are sincere they can’t be wrong is fatally flawed. Sincerity, or the lack of it, has nothing to do w/ determining truth. In other words, we can be sincere and right or be sincere and wrong.
Insert: I can sincerely believe that 2 + 2 = 5, but that does not make me right. I can sincerely believe Mormonism is correct, but that does not make it right either.
Something can only be right if it’s true and it can only be true if it can be validated.
2 The Question of Tolerance
Note: At the heart of our national sense of unity stands the principle of religious toleration. The question goes something like this: “Even if you believe Christianity is true for you, does that mean it has to be true for everyone else?
B/c Christianity does have a narrow nature to it, it has been attacked as being intolerant of what others believe. But it’s important to make a distinction at this point. The underlying assumption is that anything this narrow has to be wrong. Yet a position can be narrow and wrong, or it can be narrow and right.
Insert: For instance, truth is always intolerant of error. The fact that 2 +2 = 4 is very narrow, but it’s also right. If we flew in an airplane we would want the pilot to land on the runway, not the highway. We’d want him to be narrow-minded.
If Jesus is the only way, then it’s true for me and it’s true for you – whether we believe it or not. We can argue all day about whether this claim has an intolerant spirit about it. But the real issue is whether or not it is true. Is it backed up by evidence? Are there reasons to believe what Jesus said? If so, then we must allow for a certain amount of intolerance b/c truth is always intolerant of error.
3 The Question of Truth
Note: If Christianity is true, then the issues of sincerity and tolerance take a back seat to truth. It doesn’t matter how sincere a person is if they don’t acknowledge the truth of what Christ claims. Tolerance is a non-issue if Christianity is the only true religion.
Not everyone accepts the exclusivity of Christianity or any other religion for that matter. The Bahai faith tries to seeks a total synthesis of all of world religions by taking elements of the different doctrines and blend them into one.
Sadly, some of you hold to this view as well. No, you might not consider yourself to be a practicing Bahai, but you like to think you can take a smorgasbord approach to faith by picking out what you like from the matrix of religious views.
The problem w/ this approach is that there are many clear contradictions b/w the various religious beliefs.
Here’s another way to say it. How can all religions be true if they contradict each other? The Law of Non-contradiction states that if two statements about one particular issue contradict each other, then there are only two possible answers: (1) only one of them is true, or (2) they’re both false. They cannot both be true in the same sense and at the same time.
If Jesus Christ claims to be the only way to God and Mohammed says there’s another way to God, then either Christ is right and Mohammed is wrong, or Christ is wrong and Mohammed is right, or they’re both wrong. They cannot both be right. Since Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians all view Jesus differently, they simply cannot, logically speaking, all be correct. If Christianity is true, then those religions that contradict it cannot also be true.
Trans: Once Paul became a believer he argued this point on many occasions. In fact, in Acts 17:16-34 Paul is in Athens speaking to the Greeks about Jesus.
Note: Paul’s Message
1 Paul establishing the Greatness of God: He is the Creator
2 Paul expounds on the Goodness of God: He is the Provider.
3 Paul focuses on the Government of God: He is the Ruler.
4 Paul points people toward the Grace of God: Jesus is the Savior.
Note: How do you think people responded? How do you think this went over? Actually, people reacted much like they do today.
Three Responses
1 The Indignant
Verse: Acts 17:32: “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some sneered.”
Note: This group mocked Paul laughing at him. They wanted nothing to do w/ his claims of Christ. To them, this whole business of only one way to God, and the resurrection was ludicrous. Why, that would mean all their other religions were invalid!
2 The Curious
Verse: Acts 17:32 – “ We want to hear you again on this subject.”
Note: They were open to investigating what Paul had to say. They were curious. What if what they had always believed wasn’t true? What if Jesus did really rise from the dead? What if He is the only way?
2 The Believing
Note: Vs. 34 tells us that one of the members of the city council became a believer and a woman named Damaris became a Christian. I should mention that this passage says only a few believed. My guess is that most of the people blew Paul off. A smaller number wanted to examine the evidence, and only a few were actually saved.
Insert: Friend, where are you today? What camp are you in? Do you reject the Way? Are you curious about the Way? Or have you put all your faith in the one and only Way?
