Grace and mercy be unto you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In Old Testament times, Moses, the Patriarchs and the rest of the Jews looked toward a specific part of a tent as the living place for God. Blood was shed in this Tent of Meeting in the form sacrifices dedicated to the God of their forefathers. Smoke and incense, and the first fruits of both the flocks and the farms were given both in honor of God and as atonement for sins. It even housed the Arc of the Covenant and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This was where God dwelled with the people.
When David became king, he decided to take this mobile temple and make a permanent home dedicated to God. He was not allowed that honor, but his son Solomon built an impressive structure of imported woods, stone and precious metals. Part of this temple still stands today, often called the wailing wall in Jerusalem. In Solomon’s temple, an inner room of that structure was called The Holy of Holies. It was seen as the dwelling place for God. It was here that the High Priest would offer sacrifices in the presence of God, but only during specific times of the year. God lived here, but was not accessible to the common man.
It wasn’t until the coming of the Christ Himself that the location of God began to be looked at differently. Upon the death of the messiah, the temple curtain separating men from God was torn in two from floor to ceiling. This was a visual clue to what had happened. Through the death of Jesus on the cross, we were brought closer to God.
This morning, we are here in a church. Often called the House of God, this building is an extension of His presence. He doesn’t live in the altar, or the narthex or the sanctuary. But, we feel more connected with Him here than in other buildings. Just as with the great Temple in Jerusalem, we look to this structure as an abiding place for God. But, God and His church are not confined to a simple building.
In John 14:23, Jesus is asked a question by one of the disciples. Judas asked why Jesus chose to reveal Himself to the disciplines, but not to the rest of the world. This question is not one of any earthly nature alone, but filled with awe at the Lord in their presence. This is asking why God has revealed himself to but a few chosen men. He spoke to them time and time again and explained things that others only hoped to know. But, others were not chosen for this task. The twelve were chosen. At first glance, Jesus seems to avoid the question and talk about where God lives instead. However, You have to understand what has transcribed here to really appreciate what’s going on.
This moment is looking towards the last days of Jesus’ ministry. The disciples have been by His side for quite some time now. They’ve been right by His side as He gave sight to the blind, fed a multitude of 5,000 with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and even raised the dead, among other miracles. The disciples have been witnesses to the miracles, the trials and the triumphs of Jesus’ ministry. The disciples have had parables explained to them by the master Himself. Yet, they also noticed that others would not be blessed with the same knowledge or being this close to the messiah
They still did not truly understand what Jesus was there for. They still were looking forward to an earthly kingdom and likely expected to have some place of honor in a kingdom that would never come. They had even discussed who was greater among themselves, quarreling about what we now see as a trivial, earthly conversation. Here, these amazing men who saw the Jesus’ ministry unfold before them, who were actively involved in the spreading of Jesus message, they just didn’t get it.
So Jesus tries to explain things to these men and prepare them for the coming events and the trials they would face.
Jesus said “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
Love, obedience, love. Jesus sets up the following verses, but all follow the same theme. Love, obedience, and love.
Jesus was preparing his followers for His death. He knew that it would come soon, but the disciples were not yet ready. He had to explain to them what was going to happen, but in a way that they would be able to understand after His death. He had a question to answer, but as in so many other cases, the answer was not always what was expected.
“If anyone loves me”. Jesus is talking to more than the disciples here. He’s speaking to each and everyone of us. He is addressing the Christian church and not just the followers surrounding Him at the time. There were many in the world who hated Him and would rather see Him dead more than anything else. But, there were some, including the disciples, who truly loved our Lord. But, this is not the love we find in modern movies, or the puppy love of kids in school, it is the love of a child for their parents. The kind of love that says “I want to make you happy. I want to please you. I want you to be proud of me.” The verses that follow are addressed to each of us as Christians who love our Lord.
“If anyone loves me, He will keep my word” Obedience. This sounds like a reflection back to the ten commandments. Jesus had been explaining what all of us were supposed to do, throughout his ministry. Jesus gave many of his messages in the form of parables. He only explained the parables in private to the disciples. Just as a father might teach his son in private, so Jesus taught His disciples. He taught them that we were to love one another through our thoughts and our deeds. We were to help the poor, assist those in need, love our neighbor as ourselves, and even love our enemies. That last one is probably tougher than the rest, but it is just as valid today as it was then. The direction he gave them included keeping themselves pure in thought, word as well as deed. It was to this level that He expected obedience. Show your love, by following my wishes. Remain clean and sinless.
Jesus continued…“and My Father will love him,” Jesus is not trying to say that God only loves the sinless, for none of us could never hope to meet that goal. We are all sinners, including the disciples. We are servants. However, we should make every attempt to avoid the temptations of our lives and follow the direction given to us by our Lord. This means a change in our lives as we focus away from the sinful desires of this world, and toward the goals of meeting the spiritual needs. God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.
Now we all know that sin surrounds us at every step. We see temptations and fall. Times are not that different today than they were during the days of Jesus. Even the apostle Paul stated that he did the things he did not want to do. This is the type of obedience Jesus expected. Avoid temptation at every turn. Do everything in our power to avoid sin. Repent and sin no longer when temptation grips us. Above all, avoid conscious sin.
“and We will come to him and make Our home with him” God will make a home with us. But, is this a physical place? Is this home heaven? I think this is more simple than that. God can not be contained within a building. He can not be constrained to a city, a state or a country. God is in each and everyone of us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Every time we feel moved to praise God, or discuss a blessing in our lives that we attribute to God, every time we say Amen publicly, it is the Holy Spirit moving in our lives. God has made a home with us by living with us in our daily lives.
Not only would God live with the disciples. Through the Holy Spirit, they would be blessed beyond their dreams. Through the abandonment of their earthly and sinful desires, they would find a new peace. Is this the peace of two armies who have laid down their arms? Not exactly. This is the peace one can feel when nothing else matters. When all is taken care of and we’re just there for the ride. When all worry is gone. Think of the Apostle Paul in his prison in Rome. He is soon to become a martyr. But, his concern is not for his health and well-being. Instead, he writes a letter to Timothy advising him to protect the Gospel. Paul is at peace and knows what is about to become him. He was living with Christ. He was not concerned with the work of worldly men, but of the spiritual substance of scripture and its’ teaching.
Jesus Loves each and everyone of us.
We are to love him as He loved us.
To show that love, we are to obey His commands.
And God will dwell with us.
And we will find peace.
This is what Jesus was explaining. He would be leaving the disciples shortly, but the helper, the Holy Spirit would be there to lend a hand.
So, why did Jesus choose to reveal himself to the disciples and not all of the world? Although Jesus had many followers, there were many other who hated him. Many loved the world and sin more than God and piety. Jesus came for those who were willing to accept his message, not for those who chose to reject it. He loved them all, but many chose to reject him.
Living with Christ
So, how do we apply this today? Have you ever heard the expression “Living with Christ?” This expression is not something that means you have a physical house-guest. It doesn’t mean that Christ is occupying your spare bedroom. It’s a defining moment where one follows the will of the Lord. It is the putting away of our own desires, our own selfish ways and adopting what God wants us to do. It’s the acceptance of His will over and above anything our sinful desires would tempt us to do. It is the idea that one can follow the will of Jesus.
This is what Jesus was saying to the disciples. That by abandoning the desires of the flesh and following the desires of our Lord, God would live in us through the Holy Spirit and be there for us when needed. This happened dramatically to the disciples at Pentecost with the arrival of the Holy Spirit as a burning flame.
Although we may not experience the Holy Spirit in the same dramatic fashion, we too can experience the peace that passes all understanding. But, we must follow the direction our Lord gave us to truly experience and appreciate the gift of the Holy Spirit. By turning our problems over to Him, and following the direction He has set for us, we too can live with Christ. Only by letting Jesus have the driver seat can we hope to lead a new life and experience paradise at the end of the trip.
We all have problems which we cope with daily. We struggle with adversity and do what we can to meet the challenges we face today. This church faces the challenge of finding a pastor in the coming months. We can meet this challenge all the better by following Christ and letting him lead us to where we need to go. By following Him, and turning our problems over to Him, we can be comforted in knowing that He will take care of our needs.
We all face problems that seem insurmountable. We can even look at our kids, and the kids of our friends to see how children cope with their problems. What seems insurmountable to them today might seem trivial to us. Why? We have grown to understand what is important and what is not. Spiritually, God must look at us the same way. We look at problems that are trivial to him because they are not important in the big spiritual picture. And just as kids do, we often disobey and do our own thing.
But, by Loving Jesus, Obeying his teachings, He will Love us also and bless us beyond our wildest dreams. In Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth, he wrote what we should do:
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Cor 13:5)
The challenges of tomorrow will still be there. But, God will be right there to assist us if we only ask. We are not alone in this world. We just don’t always realize who is sitting next to us. By focusing on the will of our Lord, we can be assured that it is He who is ready to lead and assist when the time comes. May the Lord show us His will as we choose to follow Him. Amen.
