Our text for today is one that is often read at memorial services. That’s because it includes some of the most comforting words that Jesus spoke about heaven.  On the other hand, it is also a text that causes some difficulties with respect to non-Christians, because it makes a very exclusive statement.  When Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” we are forced to grapple with the question of what this means for all those who do not accept—or perhaps do not even know—Jesus.  Finally, the challenge Jesus gives his disciples to ask anything in his name stretches all of us in our faith.

          Will you pray with me?  Lord, your words both comfort and challenge us.  We ask that as we read your word, the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth.  Amen

John 14:

 ¹ "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

² My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ 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. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going."

 ⁵ Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

    ⁶ Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

    ⁸ Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

    ⁹ Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? ¹⁰ Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

          The reason this passage is often read at funerals or memorial services is that it’s comforting.  Jesus spoke these words to his disciples shortly before he died.  The disciples were already troubled.  They were afraid they would never see Jesus again.  So in order to calm their fears, Jesus begins to speak of heaven—life beyond this life.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled [don’t be afraid]. Trust in God; trust also in me.”  He assures them that they can trust God—they can depend on God—and so can we.  God is absolutely trustworthy, and Jesus is God.  When you put your trust in Jesus, you don’t have to worry—you can know God’s loving care.

          Then Jesus says, “My Father's house has plenty of room.”  You may have heard an older translation that said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”  Whether heaven has mansions or condos or bunk beds, the point Jesus is making here is that there is plenty of room there for all of us.  We’re all invited and we’re all welcome.  And best of all, Jesus will be there waiting for us.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

          But like us, the disciples were often a little confused by what Jesus said.  So Thomas asked, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"  And Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

          This is an astounding statement.  When God called Moses, some fifteen hundred years earlier, Moses asked God what his name was.  And God answered, “I am who I am.”  Jesus’ disciples would have understood that when Jesus began with the words “I am,” he was echoing God’s words to Moses from the burning bush.  The name of God often used in the Old Testament is Yahweh.  It is a name that was considered to be so powerful that the Jews feared to speak it aloud.  So they wrote the name Yahweh, but they pronounced it Adonai, which means, My Lord. 

          So when Jesus makes this statement, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” he is saying that he is God, and he is the way to God.  He is the truth, and he is the life, because God is also truth and life.  When he says, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus is making a very powerful statement of his divine nature.

          His answer to Thomas’ question moves from a practical concern—Thomas wants to know how they are going to find Jesus if he goes away—to a much bigger answer that speaks to all of us about the larger question, how do we know God? 

          Jesus sums up, in this statement, the reason he came to earth.  He is the way because he is the mediator between God and humans—he is the one who leads us to God.  He is the truth because he reveals to all people the truth of God.  He is the life because he is the mediator of the salvation which is life in God.

          Then he says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”  And our twentieth century American minds do a double take.  That’s because the expectation of our society is that we will respect all religions.  It is what our children learn in school.  So for us to stand on a soapbox and preach this message, which says that no one can know God except through Jesus, makes us look somewhat ridiculous.  On the other hand, to deny it is to deny the central tenet of our faith, which is that Jesus truly is the way and the truth and the life, and Jesus is the way we know God.

          Let me see if I can navigate this touchy subject!  Pray for me!  To begin with, you who have heard the good news of Jesus Christ and have put your faith and trust in him are truly blessed.  I believe with all of my heart that Jesus truly is the way and the truth and the life.  I believe that each of us, when we die, will see Jesus, and we will spend eternity with God in heaven.  To know this and have the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is a wonderful thing, and I hope it gives you great hope and joy.  You can depend on it.

          Second, knowing God compels us to spread the gospel message to others, because we want them to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  That is the reason we share our faith with others, praying that they, too, will accept Jesus as their Savior—the way and the truth and the life.  It is the reason we send missionaries to parts of the world where the gospel has not been preached.  We want everyone to know.  2 Peter 3:9 says “The Lord is…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  Jesus came into this world for a purpose—so that everyone might come to know God.

          So what does that mean for those who do not know or do not accept Jesus?  Many Christians will tell you that it’s very clear; when we die, we born again Christians are all going to heaven and everyone else is going to hell.  I am not so sure it is quite that simple.

          I do believe that if we put our trust in Jesus as our savior, we can be assured that we will be with him in heaven for all eternity.  That gift of salvation is good news indeed, and it should be our desire to spread the good news to as many people as possible, so they, too, might know this wonderful assurance.  That’s the reason we preach and teach the gospel message.

          On the other hand, I think we need to be careful with respect to God’s judgment.  First, I am glad that God is the judge, and not me.  And I believe that God is just and righteous and his judgment will be good and perfect.  So on the one hand, I never want to be guilty of watering down the gospel, which tells us we must be saved.  But on the other hand, I am grateful it is not my job to declare who will go to Heaven or to Hell when they die.

          I think it is wise for us to have an attitude of humility, especially with respect to other religions.  There is an interesting little passage in John 10 that seems to indicate that God may have plans for some people that we don’t understand.  Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.  I must bring them also.  They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:14-17)  We don’t know exactly what Jesus meant by this, but I think it cautions us that we really don’t know everything.  God is infinitely bigger and wiser than we are.

          It’s obvious that we think Christianity is the way to go.  That’s why we’re here.  But we must be careful in our criticism of other religions, and we need to have enough humility to be able to admit that we just might not know everything. 

          What I am suggesting is that you and I can believe absolutely with all our hearts and minds that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus.  And we still at the same time can allow that God, in his infinite wisdom and greatness, may have a different way for some people.  This humility of accepting the possibility that God might have another way of dealing with someone else in no way diminishes the strength of my own faith.

          This is not washy-washy liberalism.  But I want to recognize that people of all religions throughout history have done some terrible things to their fellow humans in the name of religion.  This has not ended, by any means.  Extreme Muslims hate Christians.  But there are also many extremists who call themselves Christians, who hate people simply because they are Muslims.  May God keep us from the sin of hatred.

          If I respect a person’s religious belief that is different from my own, that in no way diminishes my own religious beliefs. 

          Heaven is our vision of the better future.  It’s good to think about heaven because it reminds us that there is more to our life than what we experience on this earth. 

          The promise of heaven also reminds us that we, too, will be transformed.  Many of us struggle with our own inadequacies.  In this life, none of us achieves perfection.  But when we see God, the Bible tells us that we will be like him.  That’s a wonderful promise.

            When we think of heaven, it’s more than just a final resting place where we will float forever on fluffy white clouds.  Maybe we can do that for a day or two just to get rested up, but I’m pretty sure there will be a lot more than that.  One thing we know is that we will be praising God. 

          As we think about our hope of heaven, we can use that hope to envision life as God really wants it to be.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are to pray that our life on earth is more like heaven!

          So it stands to reason that while we are still here on earth, we are also to work towards making this earth more like heaven.  The end of this passage says:

¹² Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

          Jesus wants us to do good things right here on earth.  Further, he wants us to ask for his help, and he says he will answer our prayers, so that the Father might be glorified. 

          What do you think we need to be asking for?  If Jesus says we can ask for anything in his name, what do you think we should ask for?  If Jesus is promising to do whatever we ask in his name, so that the Father may be glorified, what do we want him to do?

          I think we need to pray earnestly that God will show us how to pray.  If we truly believe this, then we have some amazing power at our disposal, don’t we? 

          If we truly believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, don’t we want to pray that others will also come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? 

          Can we possible imagine the joy of heaven and how grateful we are that Jesus is preparing a place for us, and not care about telling others about Jesus?  If we truly believe, won’t our hearts be burdened for those who do not know him?  Won’t our heartfelt prayers reflect our concern for those who do not know Jesus?

          Our friends and relatives and neighbors need to know Jesus.  And Jesus says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Prayer:

Lord, this is a challenging scripture lesson.  It’s a message of tremendous hope and joy for those of us who know you.  But it is also sobering as we think of all those who don’t know you.  We know that people need to know you.  You are our strength and our hope, and you have poured out your love on us.  Now we ask, in Jesus’ name, that our hearts would be burdened for all those who do not know you.  Lord, soften our hearts and teach us to love others as you love them.

Lord Jesus, may your kingdom come and your will be done right here in this community as it is in heaven.  God, lead us and guide us and show us how to be your light in this world.  Jesus, we believe that you are the way and the truth and the life, and we come to you in faith.  May this church be a light to this community, and may we demonstrate your love in the way we love our neighbors, so that they might also know you.   Amen