Not A Path But A Person
Sunday of St. Philip and St. James the Apostles (May 6, 2007)
Rev. Steven D. Spencer
John 14:1-14
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!” What an odd thing to say and what an odd time to say it! Our text takes place when Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room. As you might recall, the Passover is the most holy of holidays to an orthodox Jew. So important is the Passover that it commanded to be relived, year after year, in perpetuity. For the Passover commemorates God coming to rescue man from his captivity. It’s the presence of God that rescues man. That’s what Passover is, a celebration of the presence of God. Traditionally Passover was celebrated with family. It could be compared to our Christmas or Easter meals. Family, friends, loved ones all gathering together to share food and festivities. Here in this upper room, Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples. They are now His family. But on this particular Passover night, Jesus was making important modifications to the Passover meal; He was instituting the first Lord’s Supper.
The discourse of our text is on Maundy Thursday. Jesus is with the disciples in the upper room. Jesus has told the disciples that one of them will betray Him. Peter boldly declares his unwavering faithfulness to Jesus. And Jesus informs Peter that before the night is through, that Peter will deny him three times. And now Judas has slithered away into the darkness to finish the betrayal of Jesus. The cross is fast approaching and nearly in sight.
If Jesus is put to death, where will the disciples go? These were the men who abandon all they had to follow Him; but if He’s dead, what’s left? They could turn to the way of the Pharisees, who preached salvation by keeping the way, the law. That’s what the Pharisees called the Law, THE WAY. It was a code of ethics that led one into a “peaceful relationship with God.” But Jesus called these Pharisees "whitewashed tombs:" They look very good and pious on the outside, but inside they are filled with death. There's no salvation there. They could turn to the Greeks; with a tradition of Aristotle and Plato, the Greeks place a high regard on knowledge and truth, and they've done so much with philosophy and their study of man, why he is the way he is, and how he should be. But despite all that knowledge, philosophy still isn't the way. It only provides questions not answers. No salvation there! There are thousands of pagan religions around the world, pointing to some great prophet or demigod as a way people can get in touch with a god and achieve real life; but everyone's experience is so different that none of it really makes sense; it comes back to what you do. And ultimately what you do is never enough or always questioned. In the end, there’s no hope.
If Jesus is put to death, what will the disciples do? There’s nowhere else to turn. No way, no truth, no life. It’s here, in the shadow of the cross, with Jesus approaching death that He says: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Jesus' death is not the end but the fulfillment. By His death, He will win for them forgiveness, life and salvation. By His death, resurrection and ascension, He is going to prepare a place for them. As the firstfruits of the resurrection, He is securing their way into heaven. This isn’t the end; this is redemption.
So the Savior declares, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." While the disciples are facing great despair, Jesus responds with this precious gift of the Good News. All is not lost: Despite all the evil in the world, and all that is about to happen, there is still: The Way, The Truth and The Life: and it’s Jesus!
But the world has a problem with religion. For the world looks inward for the spiritual answers. Religion without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ becomes a bunch of rules and regulations by which one must try and please God. It’s not about faith but about how to live. In that case religion becomes moralisms, rules and regulations and God becomes a demanding task master.
Here’s an important point to this understanding of God, “Not all religions today call themselves religions.” There are many groups in our society today that have a strict code of ethics or a moral high ground that must be maintained. Some activist groups call for moral accountability with a religious fervor. Yet if you call them a religious group they deny it. Romans 1:25 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the created things rather than the Creator.” Don’t get me wrong, we need to be good stewards of all that God has created. But we must remember that it is He who created man and all things and is still active in His creation. Man didn’t create Him. When moralisms exist without the Scriptures they are always subject to our thoughts and emotions.
People who follow such religions can never live up to the perfection that their religion demands. Therefore, they are haunted by hypocrisy which, when made known, exposes their religion as a fraud. Furthermore, those who follow a strict code of behavior or those who emphasize that code tend to grow proud of their behavior; they often look down on those who don’t agree. This can turn into haughtiness. Consider the Pharisees, who, rather than attempt to woo the apostles, sought their death. Consider the Taliban of Afghanistan, carrying out executions and amputations on those who refused their code of behavior. The one who believes in salvation by works, and follows that way, grows proud of his works; and that pride may well lead to cruelty: verbal, if not physical.
There is yet a greater problem: There is no salvation there. Man can never live up to God's requirements for perfection and holiness. Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, lest any man should boast.
The religions of the world have these 3 things in common.
1. All of them declare that religion is about your work, not God's. Whether its’ works of your will, the works of your mind or the works of your emotions, it’s all up to you to please God.
2. The second thing in common: They all condemn the Gospel. The Gospel declares it’s not about your work. This is an idea that the world rejects. Furthermore, since the world boasts of all sorts of works, all sorts of philosophies and all sorts of experiences, it must condemn the Gospel of salvation through Christ alone as far too narrow-minded and exclusive. How can He be the only Savior?
3. This leads us to the third thing in common: All of these religions fail. They are all based upon human effort, and they all end up in death and nothing better. No matter how much the world tries, it cannot find a way to God. No matter how hard the world thinks, it cannot establish new truth. No matter how sincerely the world feels; it cannot find life with God. All these roads lead to death. All of these end in despair.
Despair, gloom and misery would be all that the world could hope for without this wonderful news that our Lord declares in the Gospel lesson today: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Despite the sin and evil of the world, there is a Way. There is Truth to be found. There is Life eternal. It’s not a path that one must walk down, it’s a person and His name is Jesus.
The world says, "Live a life full of good works meet the requirements, and you'll be saved." The problem is that we can't. We fail at living God's holy law, that way to salvation. God is just. God declares, according to His Law, "You have not lived His commandments: you have not loved Him with your whole heart, you have not loved your neighbors as yourself. You cannot save yourself by your works or by the acts of your will. No way!" We all justly deserve God’s eternal punishment. But Jesus says, "I am the Way." He lives a righteous life, and He gives us the credit for it; even as He takes our sin upon Himself and suffers under them at the cross. Jesus has fulfilled all the requirements of God's Law for us. You see, part of His redemptive work was the living of a perfect life as He made His way to the cross. And having lived a perfect life, He gives the credit to you.
At the Last Supper, Jesus didn’t tell the disciples these words to warn them of false religions. With His death looming, He spoke these words to give hope: In the midst of a world cut off from God, there is a way, and it’s Jesus. This is the Way we proclaim it: Jesus has gone the way of the cross, died for the sins of the world, and risen again. Because He is risen, we declare the truth: The price has been paid for sin. Death is conquered. And He shall raise us to life everlasting. A heavenly mansion is prepared. It is all accomplished by Jesus, the Way and the Truth and the Life.
And in a meal that He has prepares for you, Jesus is truly, locally present. He is here. In this meal He joins Himself to you. He gives you the Way, the Truth, the Life, personified. He gives you Himself for the forgiveness of sin. For your redemption is not a path but a person, the person Jesus Christ. And for His sake and by His actions, all your sins are forgiven now and forever, in Jesus name, Amen!