John 14:4-6
Sunday Morning Bible Study
July 21, 1996
Introduction
We are on the Thursday evening before Jesus is crucified, at the event known as "the Last Supper".
Jesus is alone with His disciples in the upper room.
Jesus said He'd be going away:
Review John 13:33 - 14:3
:4-6 The Way
:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Jesus ends His answer by simply saying that the disciples know where He's going and the way to get there.
They might not realize it yet, but they do actually know.
He's already told them.
They just haven't put it all together yet.
Where's He going?
He's going to heaven.
He had said things like:
Joh 7:33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and [then] I go unto him that sent me. (AV)
He just told them:
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (AV)
The "Father's house" is clearly heaven, just as David wrote in the 23rd Psalm:
Ps 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (AV)
How's He getting there?
This hasn't always been so clear, though they've still been told.
From the beginning, the issue has been about dealing with man's sin, and so John the Baptist said:
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (AV)
Jesus hinted at how He would deal with man's sin:
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (AV)
Jesus many times had spoken of how eternity was to be gained:
Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (AV)
Though the facts have been before them, the disciples haven't really grasped what was in the works.
:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Thomas' reply could also be translated:
"Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how are we able to know the way?"
It's kind of nice of Thomas to speak up.
Some of us just sit in class, and if the teacher says something that we don't understand, we just kind of shrug our shoulders and say, "Oh well, I'm just dumb ..."
But Thomas is one of those guys who raises his hand and says, "Gosh, I don't understand".
He's also the resident skeptic.
The rest of us usually let out some kind of "Oh boy, what a stupid guy ...", while inside we're on the edge of our seat, because we want to know the same thing.
Lesson:
It's okay to ask questions.
I'm afraid that sometimes we get the idea that it's not a good idea to ask too many questions about the Lord.
Perhaps you might appear to unspiritual.
Perhaps people might think you're a "new Christian".
If we didn't ask the good questions, we wouldn't learn the good answers.
Sometimes the questions we have are kind of hard, like: "Why am I going through this?"
We might not always get the answer we're looking for, but it's still okay to ask.
Sometimes the period of not understanding is one of the greatest times of growing that we can go through.
Jesus said:
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
We often think of this in terms asking for things in prayer.
But asking can also involve questions like "why" and "how".
God says:
Jer 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (AV)
God's not just a heavenly answer machine:
Illustration:
"The answering machine is on vacation. This is the refrigerator speaking. If you leave a message slowly and clearly, I will write it down and stick it on myself with one of these little magnets. Thank you!"
God will give you real answers.
It might take time for you to be ready to hear it, but He'll answer you.
:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am ...
Side note:
Jesus does use the phrase in Greek that translates God's name, Yahweh, the "I AM".
(egw eimi)
Keep in mind, this is Jesus' response is to Thomas' question.
I think it's kind of important to keep Thomas' question in mind when we look at what Jesus says.
John Wesley wrote:
To the question concerning the way, he answers, I am the way. To the question concerning knowledge, he answers, I am the truth. To the question whither, I am the life.
Lesson:
The best answers to your hardest questions are found in Jesus.
I may sound a little simplistic, but feel that the greatest thing we can do when we have questions or difficulties is just get a little more of Jesus in us.
This is now the sixth out of seven times that Jesus uses the phrase "I am" to describe Himself:
Joh 6:48 I am that bread of life.
He's the one that nourishes us and gives us life.
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
He's the one that gives us understanding.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
He's the entrance into God's kingdom.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
He's the one who cares the most about us.
Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
He's the one who gives us eternal life.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
He's the way to the Father.
Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
More on this when we get there!
Whatever you think you're looking for, I believe the best answers you'll ever find will come when you just get a little closer to Jesus.
:6 the way
Thomas asked Jesus "how can we know the way", to which Jesus responds, "I am the way."
Jesus doesn't say, "I know the way", but that He is the way.
A poor illustration:
If you asked me how to get to my house, I could give you the following directions: From the Y, leave the parking lot and turn left, then right at the light and right again at the next light. Then go straight for a couple of miles until you go up a hill, down a hill, under the freeway, and then at the third light after the freeway, turn right, then left at the second street, and our house is the gray house about 6 or seven houses down on the left.
Or, I could say, hop in my car and I'll take you there.
How is Jesus "the way" to heaven?
Because He is the one who has paid the price for your sins by dying on the cross.
Hebrews 10:19-20 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
With all the world's religions and their leaders, the best they can claim is to know the way to ultimate happiness, or to heaven.
They will tell you what you must do or must not do to achieve heaven, or nirvana.
Jesus doesn't just tell us what to do to get there, He's the way itself.
Illustration:
It's like the picture of the river gorge at the end of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", where there are two steep, sharp, cliffs on either side of a deep river gorge.
And the only way across is a single bridge.
Jesus doesn't just stand on the side telling you how to make it across.
He's the bridge itself.
When He died for your sins on the cross, it's as if He laid across the gorge and to get from our human sinful condition to the other side where God is, the only way across is on the back of Jesus.
:6 the truth
Thomas asked a question about knowledge when he said, "how can we know the way?"
The problem with knowledge is this, "Is the thing I know true or false?"
Illustration:
I can grow up learning all about Santa Claus, becoming an expert on things Christmas-sy
I can learn the names of the twelve reindeer.
I can learn the different names for Santa Claus.
I can come up with theories about how he covers the whole world in a single night.
I can come up with theories about how he gets down those chimneys.
Though I have knowledge, my knowledge is not the truth.
It's all a myth (at least 99%) of Santa Claus (yes, their was a saint named Nikolas).
If I grow up living my life based on Santa Claus, there is going to be a day when I'm going to become extremely disappointed when I find out that there is no Santa Claus.
Jesus isn't just some nice fantasy story.
He's the real thing.
He's the truth ...
about what we can know of God ...
about how to get to heaven ...
The Bible says a lot about how "the truth" is important to God.
1. It's one of the requirements for coming to God.
Psalm 15:1-2 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
You aren't going to get into heaven if you are living a lie, or trusting in a lie.
And even on earth, you aren't going to get very far with God until you start being truthful and honest with Him.
2. The truth is the key to maturity:
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: (AV)
If you want to grow and mature, you have to learn to accept the truth.
In our society, we've learned to live with all kinds of lies:
Illustration:
Leonard Sweet, in his Soul Cafe newsletter, included this list of "Top 10 Liars' Lies":
10. We'll stay only five minutes.
9. This will be a short meeting.
8. I'll respect you in the morning.
7. The check is in the mail.
6. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.
5. This hurts me more than it hurts you.
4. Your money will be cheerfully refunded.
3. We service what we sell.
2. Your table will be ready in just a minute.
1. I'll start exercising (dieting, forgiving, ...) tomorrow.
Lesson:
Live in the truth.
God wants us to function in the realm of truth.
We need to be careful about some of the lies we tell ourselves like:
"I can't help the way I am, I grew up in a dysfunctional family".
Yet the truth is that lots of people have grown up in families more dysfunctional than yours, and they're just fine.
The problem is really with you.
You need to accept your own faults and ask God to help!
Quote:
The most common lie is the lie one tells to oneself.-Friedrich Nietzsche
The truth sets us free:
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (AV)
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (AV)
When you come to know Jesus, you enter into a world where truth is truth, and lies are lies.
If you intend to grow and mature in the Lord, you'll find that the closer you get to Jesus, the closer you'll get to living a life of truth, because Jesus is truth.
If you are a selfish person, you need to recognize it.
If you need help, you learn to ask for it.
Application:
There is a segment of Christianity that wants you to lie to yourself.
They tell you that if you confess that you've been healed, and believe it, then you'll be healed.
And even if your nose is still running, it's just a deception of Satan, and you must keep confessing that you've been healed.
When are we going to live in the truth?
If you're sick, you're sick, if you're healed, you will be healed!
:6 the life
Not only is Jesus the way, and the truth, but the life.
John wrote:
1Jo 5:11-13 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. (NAS)
If you want eternal life, there is only one place to find it, in Jesus.
If you have come to Jesus, making Him your Savior, and you've asked Him into your heart, then you have the Son.
And if you have the Son, you have the life.
:6 no man cometh unto the Father, but by me
He's saying that there is no other way to heaven, except through Jesus.
Keep in mind, this is Jesus Himself speaking.
This isn't some kind of narrow-minded, bigoted, Christian fundamentalist radical speaking.
It's Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus is claiming to be the only way to God.
"I believe there's a little truth in all religions", "I believe that all roads lead to God".
How about this one:
Illustration:
BLUE SUEDE ROBES: Lehigh University has sponsored a week-long coming out for a new religion, the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine, where followers "worship" Elvis Presley. They also "should" eat six meals a day (with frequent in-between-meal snacks), pray daily toward Las Vegas, make pilgrimages to the estate Graceland, and boo the "anti-Elvis" -- Michael Jackson. Outrageous? "There is a serious side to this," insists Lehigh religion professor Norman Girardot. "All religions start out as small, wacky and cult- like. Some survive. Others do not." Lehigh is located in Bethlehem, Pa. (AP)
5 May 1996; Copyright 1996 by Randy Cassingham
Is it narrow minded for us to believe this? Yes.
The Bible says:
Mt 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. (NAS)
And again:
Ac 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (AV)
There is no other way that God has provided for your sins to be paid for, other than you going to hell.
Jesus died on the cross for you.