4/27/25 “The Way”
“The Way”
John 14:1-14
As many of you know, I’m sort of a geography buff…
And I love finding places that are off the beaten path, or difficult to reach in some way…
Sometimes, these hard-to-find places will have only one road going to them…just one way to get there.
One such location is a place called Flamingo, Florida.
Flamingo is a tiny little settlement at the bottom of Florida’s mainland…right on the Gulf of Mexico at the bottom of Everglades National Park….
…and its only accessible by a lonely 40-mile long stretch of highway surrounded by nothing but swamp, sawgrass, and alligators.
(Show pic of hwy 9336)
Another out-of-the-way place is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
The north rim is far more remote than the south rim – where the vast majority of tourists go to gaze at the big hole in the ground.
But if you want to get to the North rim….Only a single 42-mile road will take you there – there are no other options.
(Show pic of hwy 67)
Last – but not least – is the 127-mile long Hwy 1 from Homestead, Florida to Key West, Florida.
(Show picture of Hwy 1)
Just 1 road takes you through numerous small islands – called keys – and eventually brings you to Key West,,,,the southern-most city in the lower 48 states ….
The common denominator with all of these locations is that they are accessible by traveling one road – and one road only….there are no alternative routes to those destinations.
Our passage for today also involves a powerful statement about there being only one way to reach a particular destination.
Verse 6 (John 14:6) in today’s passage is one of the most well-known verses in all of scripture…
…And it records Jesus as saying “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In other words, to reach that glorious destination called heaven…the place where God the Father resides…
…the only route that will take your vehicle there is a road by the name of Jesus Christ….aka, God the Son.
Acts 4:12 says it like this: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
If everlasting life is your eternal goal….there is only one road that will take you there…
And, remember how Jesus describes this road to salvation in the sermon on the mount…?
In Matthew 7:13-14, he says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Folks, the road to salvation is not a super-highway…it’s a small country lane, just big enough for one vehicle at a time.
Some of you have been on the road that goes by the farm where I spent much of my childhood…Hoot Owl Valley Road about 4 miles West of Baraboo.
The road is very steep and narrow as it passes through a picturesque valley with a stunning rock formation at the bottom….
But much of the road is only wide enough for one vehicle at a time…
…At certain points, if you meet a vehicle coming toward you – someone has to back up to an area where the road is wide enough to safely pass.
I often think of Hoot Owl Valley road when I hear these words from Jesus in Matthew chapter seven.
Narrow is the road that leads to life…and only a few find it.
In the winter, the township closes off Hoot Owl Valley rd by placing barricades on each side of the valley…
If you think about it, doesn’t our world do something similar when people are seeking a relationship with Jesus…?
People will say: “Trust me, you don’t want to go down that road…Christians are just a bunch of narrow-minded, unenlightened hypocrites!” (Folks, That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Or…. “Why would you ever want to travel a steep, difficult path that takes effort and self-sacrifice….when you can enjoy a comfort cruise of self-indulgence on an easy interstate of pleasure?” (That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Many of our public schools won’t even entertain the idea of discussing intelligent design as an alternative to Darwinian evolution – despite the scientific evidence in support of it (That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Many health professionals will say that the unseen baby growing inside a mother’s womb is not a human being…or that children have the mental & emotional capacity to change their gender if they so desire (That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Many Television evangelists will convey the message that God wants you to have everything your heart desires…including perfect health, an abundance of possessions, and more money than you know what to do with (That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Many pulpits will preach that love has no moral boundaries…and that whatever your emotions tell you is authentic, legitimate truth (That’s a barricade to the way of truth & life)
Satan’s strategy is to place barricades in front of the narrow road leading to Jesus, because he doesn’t want people finding the way…the truth…and the life!
He wants nothing more than to deceive people into thinking that there is no God…
…or they don’t need to deal with sin in their life…or they don’t have to submit to the teachings of Jesus Christ in every area of their lives…
…And, Satan done a very good job of doing just that, hasn’t he.
Like barricades along the road to life, the devil tries to persuade mankind to take a different route to reach their spiritual destination….
After all…There are no barricades on the wide and popular freeway of Buddhism…or the superhighway of secular humanism…or the interstate of agnosticism….or the Turnpike of deconstructionism.
“Wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
Did anyone watch the NFL draft on TV this past week?
It was held in Green Bay this year…and During the first round of the draft on Thursday night, it was estimated that over 200,000 people were there standing in the parking lot of Lambeau Field.
The crowd was just enormous. Twice the population of Green Bay itself!
Oftentimes, there would be drone footage of the enormous crowd…
…. but then every 10 minutes or so, the camera would pan to just one single athlete walking down a solitary hallway on their way to the stage where they would be welcomed & congratulated by the NFL commissioner.
This scene also made me think of the broad and narrow roads.
So many people in this world are among the great mass of humanity who are just here for the self-indulgent party….
they just want to fill their senses with all this world can offer and not be concerned with spiritual truth or biblical directives.
But then there are the few who come to understand the vital importance of traveling the narrow path of submission & obedience to Christ…the small and challenging trail of self-denial, dedication, and repentance.
….And at the end of that narrow trail, you will be congratulated and rewarded by the savior….you will hear those precious words “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21)
Jesus is – indeed – the only way, and the only truth, and the only life.
All other ground is sinking sand….in fact, all other worldviews are spiritual quicksand.
Our passage for today actually takes us back to the evening of the Last Supper, where Jesus is dining with his disciples in the Upper Room – a room above someone’s residence there in Jerusalem.
Not only do they share a meal together…and Jesus washes the feet of his students…
…But Jesus also teaches them some very important spiritual lessons…
Bible Scholars often refer to this time of instruction as “The Upper Room Discourse’
…and these instructions and information that Jesus leaves for his disciples is what we will be looking at on Sunday mornings for the next few months….as we begin a sermon series on John chapter 14 through chapter 17.
These chapters contain some of the most well-known verses in all the Bible – including the verse we just looked at (John 14:6)
There is another dearly loved verse in our passage for today – and it happens to be the very first verse (John 14:1) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.”
Jesus had just informed his disciples that he would soon be going away.
The disciples were confused….they were – troubled. Very troubled.
They had invested the past 3 ½ years of their lives following Jesus…
and now he was going to leave them…they just didn’t understand.
So, beginning in verse 1, Jesus has some encouraging words for his disciples.
…and, by extension, encouraging words for us as well….especially when life throws unexpected curve balls our way.
The Greek word for ‘troubled’ here in verse 1 is tarasso, which means “to shake”, or “to stir up”….
This past week, have any of you been shaken?...Stirred?...Shaken, not stirred? …Shaken AND stirred?
I have to admit, this past week was a challenging week for me.
It seems as though whenever we have inspiring spiritual victories like we experienced during Holy week, Satan does his best to shift the pendulum in the other direction.
Just this week, I’ve met with individuals who have experienced hurt feelings, frustration, devastating medical news, financial hardship, and marital strife….all since Monday!
Do you think Satan is trying to bring down what God is building up here through this congregation?
…But Jesus calmly reminds us: “Don’t be Troubled.” …. “Trust in God, trust also in me.”
…and then – in verses 2 and 3 (John 14:2-3) - Jesus gives his disciples a reason why they need not be shaken nor stirred…
Verse 2 reads: “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. 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.”
I love how Jesus pans out to the big picture here…
He’s saying, look guys…I will soon be leaving this world….but I will return for you…..You will see me again….we will spend eternity in heaven together!
Focus your thoughts on this everlasting spiritual reality – not on the temporal discomforts, frustrations, and disappointments of this world.
What a lesson for us today as well.
Always keep the big spiritual picture in mind!
When you are frustrated with your boss, your spouse, your children, your co-workers, your in-laws, your parents….keep the big picture in mind.
The stuff of this world is temporary….If you are in Christ, you have a much better future awaiting you…and it will be for eternity!
Jesus says that he is going to prepare a place for his disciples….and he tells this to you and I as well.
Some translations render ‘many rooms’ in verse 2 as ‘mansions’…giving us the impression that when we get to heaven, we’ll be handed the keys to a very large, charming country estate – complete with a long driveway, fences everywhere…..horses running to and fro.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble this mornig, but ‘mansions’ is not the best rendering of the Greek wording here….
Rather, the original Greek gives more the idea of additions onto a house…or rooms in an apartment…
…and this makes sense given the way in which homes were constructed in 1st century Palestine.
If you recall from the parable of the 10 bridesmaids, they were waiting on the bridegroom to finish preparing a place for his bride….
…And – in the culture of the day – the groom would typically build an addition onto his father’s house for his new family to live in.
This fits the idea of what Jesus is talking about here as well…
Our savior is building many rooms onto the Father’s house for all of us – the church (His Bride) to inhabit someday.
This is a beautiful picture of how the groom loves his bride…and how he will forever take care of us in a place of indescribable beauty and wonder!
Has anyone ever seen the tv show “Fixer-Upper”?
Chip and Joanna Gaines are a husband and wife team who remodel & redesign old houses to make them look better than they originally did when they were first built.
The best part of the show is at the end when the residents get to see how much better the new house looks – compared to what it previously looked like.
This is how I expect we will someday feel as we get to see our new dwelling places in heaven…except it will be exponentially more awe-inspiring than what even Magnolia Homes can do.
Much of the remainder of our passage for today is Jesus letting the disciples know that he is indeed….God in the flesh.
In verse 9 (John 14:9) Jesus tells Thomas that “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”….
This is – simply put - Jesus proclaiming to be God
Anyone questioning the divinity of Jesus Christ need not look further than this verse.
John also conveys the divinity of Jesus in numerous other passages, including the first verse of the entire gospel, when he writes “In the beginning was the word (Meaning Jesus) and the word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
Moving forward….
Verse 12 is a very interesting verse…and it can be a difficult passage to understand if we don’t interpret it correctly.
Verse 12 (John 14:12) reads, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the father.”
The first thing we must ask ourselves is: What are the things Jesus has been doing?
Well, for one…he’s been teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God. He’s been telling parables that have brought spiritual lessons to the ears of everyone who hears them.
But – in light of verse 11 that talks about the miracles of Jesus – we can assume that miracles are what Jesus is referring to here in verse 12 as well,
This is where the confusion comes in.
If Jesus is telling his disciples that they (and anyone who has faith – including us) will perform greater miracles than Jesus did…including resurrecting 3 people from the dead…we simply don’t see this happening in an experiential sense.
Certainly, God does heal people in response to prayer and fasting…but the greatest miracles of Jesus went beyond healing…they included raising people from the dead…
…and I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many people today going around with the ability to bring dead people back to life.
So…when Jesus says that people of faith will “Do even greater things than these”…we have to conclude that these ‘Greater Things’ must involve something different than you and I outdoing the physical miracles that Jesus performed.
The key – I believe – lies in the final phrase of verse 12 (John 14:12) when Jesus says …”I am going to the Father”
Jesus would soon be leaving.
And, along with his departure, the way in which his ministry was accomplished on earth would also cease.
But Jesus also said there would be someone to replace him in doing ministry – specifically – the person of the Holy Spirit…
…The 3rd member of the Triune Godhead would arrive in a unique way at Pentecost….
…and it would now be through his presence on earth, that the message and power of the gospel would be able to reach far beyond the limited region of Palestine….
…and – eventually – to the ends of the earth.
It is in this sense, I believe, that Jesus is telling his disciples that they (and we) are able to do these “greater things.”
Through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to bring people to salvation, these miraculous works would be greater in scope…but certainly not greater in potency.
The final 2 verses here in chapter 14 can also be difficult to fully understand, so let’s briefly take a look at them.
Verses 13 & 14 (John 14:13-14) say, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name , and I will do it.”
Some read this verse and believe that Jesus is giving his followers a spiritual blank check to provide them with whatever their heart desires…
Like the Genie in the Disney movie ‘Aladdin’ some view Jesus as a magical being whose primary purpose is to grant materialistic wishes to those who follow him…
Want that 2-million-dollar yacht? Well, Jesus wants you to have it too…so just ask him for it with enough faith and – shazam - it will show up tomorrow on your front doorstep…
This is where the prosperity gospel and word-faith movements go doctrinally off-track….
As much as we would like for it to be true - verses 13 & 14 are NOT talking about materialistic indulgences…
They are not about acquiring that private island off the coast of South Carolina…they are Not about having an absence of medical problems…
To pray in Jesus’ name is not a magic formula that obligates God to grant every selfish request that people make.
To pray in Jesus’ name has a much deeper spiritual meaning…
Essentially, what Jesus is saying here is that when we humbly come before him in prayer….and pray in accordance with God’s Will…He will bring to pass those requests.
Basically, it means aligning our will with His will.
Remember, He is the potter…we are only the clay.
HE is the one who molds us to the image of His likeness…it is not the clay that tells the potter how to do his job.
But clay that is workable…clay that is moldable…
That clay will be more pleasing to the potter than clay that is hard and difficult to form and re-form.
And I don’t know about you…but if I were a potter…I would be much more apt to make something beautiful out of clay that is easily moldable.
When we go to God in prayer, let’s keep the words of Jesus’ prayer in our hearts…
…”Thy Kingdom Come…Thy will be done…on Earth as it is in Heaven”
…And in so doing, the way, the truth, and the life – the savior, Jesus Christ – He will make sure that you have your daily bread for the rest of your life.
Let’s Pray.