Faith in Jesus Gives Comfort to Troubled Hearts

We're going to begin our reflection on God's word this morning by turning to John chapter 14. And before we read that, you probably know that in a few weeks' time, we actually have Easter. And I don't know if you've thought about it very much, but it's going to be an Easter that none of us will forget too easily. It'll be an Easter where we may not have a church building, we may not be celebrating Easter with our family even, or our friends. Indeed, Good Friday, which is always a somber affair, that day where we remember the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

I think this year will be particularly somber. Huddled together in small groups of families, perhaps small groups of housemates, will be experiencing Easter in a way probably closer to how the disciples of Jesus experienced it all those years ago. But we find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances staring down this coronavirus and its implications. And at times in your heart, you may have wondered, just like my heart has, how is this going to end? What will be the result of all of this?

And I think it's fitting that we go to a place in scripture that speaks of many of these sorts of themes, asking many of these types of questions. Themes of uncertainty, themes of troubling times, and we come to a place where Jesus Himself gives comforting words to His disciples. And so, I want us to read that this morning from John 14, and we're going to read from verse one. This morning's theme, this morning's message is faith in Jesus, who gives comfort to troubled hearts. Jesus says, John 14, verse one: 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.

But from now on, you do know Him and you have seen Him. Philip said to Jesus, 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. So far, our reading. Well, three points that I want us to reflect on this morning as we focus on the message of faith in Jesus gives comfort to troubled hearts.

The first point that we want to raise is point number one: faith in Jesus will comfort troubled hearts because we can trust Him to lead us home. Faith is only as good as its object. Having faith in a faulty airplane won't make it fly. Having faith in a poorly built bridge won't hold it up. Just before we get to our passage in John chapter 14, Jesus tells His disciples some very troubling news.

He says He's going away. He's going to leave them. Now they are obviously sad about this. They are disturbed by this. But then He gives them words of comfort.

He says to them in verse one, do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. Now, we can't misunderstand or underestimate what a significant statement this was. Jesus was claiming something scandalous to these disciples who were sitting around Him. He was claiming to be on exactly the same level as God Himself.

In this sentence, Jesus is saying that the disciples should be comforted. They should have peace no matter what will happen in the coming days. Why? Because you cannot separate Jesus from God. He says, as much as you believe in God the Father, believe also in me.

He'll eventually say in verse 11, I am in the Father and the Father is in me. In other words, I and the Father are one. Now, think about it. For their whole lives, these disciples have been taught to trust in God. Their whole lives, they have been taught to have faith in God.

God has a plan. God is in control. And Jesus says, as much as you've put trust in Him, put trust in me now as well. Now, who's this man that can claim something like this? At this stage, the disciples, they've been with Jesus three years and they've seen Him do some amazing things.

They've seen Him calm storms, speak to waves and winds, and they responded. They've seen miracles of people that were dead raised to life. These disciples knew that Jesus is powerful. And yet, Jesus doesn't point to these things in these opening verses. Why should the disciples have comfort for their troubled hearts?

Because Jesus is going to do something for them. Verse two, He says, I am going to prepare a place for you. Jesus begins telling us that God the Father has a home. God the Father has a mansion. And again, you see, good Jews would understand and know God as having a kingdom.

That He has a palace, a castle. He is the king of heaven and He is sovereign over all of these things. And if God is king, then He has a throne. And if God has a throne, where does He live? He lives in a palace.

And I can imagine the disciples knowing and imagining this building as far superior, far loftier than any of those fishermen disciples could ever dare to enter. God is the king, reigning on His throne. They would have known that. But here Jesus says, God is not only a king, He is a Father. And this Father has a home.

He has a household. And He says to His disciples, you can be there. The picture of Jesus, the picture that Jesus is trying to portray is of Him going to prepare a room in that house. And He's going to prepare it so that those who follow Him may also be there with Him. And this picture, this play on words is a Middle Eastern concept.

It's this idea of a Middle Eastern typical home. And what often happened in these situations is if a dad was wealthy enough, if a dad was powerful enough and he had a big enough property, as often still happens, I think in the Middle East, a dad would build onto his home rooms that his grown children would be able to move back into with their respective families. And so, again, if this dad was wealthy enough, he could have his entire family living in the same compound as him. And this is so comforting to us because Jesus is telling us that going to heaven, the message that we heard last week from Tony, going to heaven is like going home. If you've ever travelled, if you've ever been overseas for an extended period of time, you know the feeling of pulling up to your neighbourhood, coming up the roads that you remember, seeing the familiar trees, seeing those familiar homes in the neighbourhood.

And you remember that peaceful happy feeling of seeing those same old familiar things. You remember driving and seeing the cul de sac where you played street cricket growing up. You see the curve on which you sat in order to share an ice cream from the ice cream van. And as you pull up the driveway, you see your home and you find yourself feeling like you're returning to something familiar and safe. For every believer in Jesus, everyone who will believe and trust in Jesus in the same way they believe in God the Father, for everyone who makes Jesus the object of their faith, Jesus says, you will find God becoming that familiar to you.

As utterly otherworldly, as utterly holy as this God is, altogether superior to us, going to God will not be like us going to some far off country, some experience that will be so foreign and so unknown to us. It won't be like going to another country where you don't know the customs, where you don't know the people. It's going to that familiar place where you receive a warm welcome. Jesus says, for this reason, don't let your hearts be troubled. I am preparing this sort of place for you.

And how can you trust that promise? Jesus says, because I and the Father are one. Believe in Him but believe also in me. And so firstly, Jesus says, faith in Him will comfort troubled hearts because we can trust Him to lead us home.

But how do we find our way home? If heaven is less about the fluffy clouds in the sky and the golden harps and the giant kingly castle, if it's more like a home welcomed into by a loving Father, how do we get there? How do we find our way there? And that leads us to the second point, that faith in Jesus will comfort troubled hearts because we can trust in Him to guide the way. Jesus says to them, you know the way to the place where I am going.

And doubting Thomas, characteristically, he chips in and he says, Lord, we don't know where You're going. How can we know the way? Verse six, Jesus answered, I am the way. I am the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I don't know about you, but I'm really glad that the disciples were as dense as they were because they asked the same sort of questions that I asked. We see Philip asking another one, another question in verse eight. Jesus says, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And then, Thomas naturally says, but how do we know the way to get there if we don't even understand the destination? How are we going to find the path to get there?

And Jesus simply says to him, I am that way. An explorer once hired a guide to take him across a desert. A big, vast, open space. And when they arrived at the edge of the desert, the explorer and saw before him trackless sands, sands with no roads, no footpaths at all. And he asked his guide with a tone of surprise, where is the road?

And the man simply says with a disapproving glance, I am the road. Jesus is saying that all who put their hope in Him will find in Him the room within the family of God, and that can only be found via Him. You may know in the Old Testament, the only way for people to have access to God, the only way for mankind to reach God was to work through an intermediary, a priest, a high priest, who would have to facilitate the process of being reunited with God. Under that Old Testament sacrificial system, only the high priest may enter the presence of God once a year in the Holy of Holies. And what Jesus is alluding to here is that He will become the high priest.

He becomes that one that facilitates our relationship with God. Under the old system, the priest would have to make a sacrifice, not only for the people but for himself, for his own sin. But now Jesus is hinting at what's about to take place the next day on Good Friday. That through His ultimate, final and perfect sacrifice on the cross, Jesus prepares a place with God. Now this puts Jesus on a completely different level to anyone else who has claimed to speak on behalf of God.

We know of the Mohammeds. We know of the Buddhas. We know of the Joseph Smiths of the Mormons or the Charles Taze Russells of the Jehovah's Witnesses. People who have claimed to have spoken on God's behalf. But look carefully at what is happening here.

Jesus doesn't say, I know the way to heaven and I can show you and I can point you to that way. He says, I am the way and I will get you there. Jesus also claimed in the same sentence, He says, I am the truth. Again, He doesn't say, I can teach you the truth. He says, I am the truth.

He alone is the manifestation of the eternal God of truth. Do you want to know the purpose of your life? The truth of that answer can only be found in Jesus. Do you want to know the destiny of our life? The destiny of our generation's future?

The answer will only be found in considering the purpose of Jesus for this world. Do you want to know what happens to us after the coronavirus? The answer is only found in how it relates to Jesus Christ. And then Jesus also claims, He says, I am the life. And again, He doesn't say, I'll tell you how to find the life.

Go to Corong and read my 12-step process on finding a life. Some Christians may innocently make the mistake of saying, follow the teachings of Jesus and you will find a good life. But this is to forget that Jesus comes offering life itself. And this is a life of far more eternal and everlasting weight than our existence here. These fleeting hours, these days that we count day by day, friends, true life is not found in following the life of morality in Jesus.

True life, life that matters, can only be found in Jesus. It has something to do with what's about to happen that next day. What's about to take place on the cross. But also, I want us to notice the uncompromising statements of Jesus here. He says there are no alternative options either.

He says, and he uses the definitive article. He uses the term the instead of an a. He says, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.

In other words, Jesus doesn't give us the option of saying, guys, I'm one way to this home with a Father. I am one of several approaches that you may take. I am one truth among many. I am one option to live by. No.

He says, I and only I will provide you these things. And His final statement clinches it, doesn't it? In that last half of verse six, He says, no one comes to the Father except through me. Doubting Thomas asked Him, how do we know the way to the house with many rooms? The place that You are preparing for us to go to?

And Jesus simply says to him, Thomas, I am the only way there. It's only a few weeks later where the apostle Peter underscores this fact, this reality that's dawned on him and the apostles after the events of Easter. And it's dawned on him why Jesus has had to die, why Jesus had to raise from the dead. Peter, speaking to the crowd at Pentecost in Acts 4:12 says, salvation is to be found in no one else than Jesus. For there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved.

Salvation is found in no one else. There is no name under heaven, no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. And so Jesus says to His disciples, let your hearts be comforted. Do not allow your hearts to be troubled because only if I am the way, only if I am the truth and the life, am I ever in a state to guide you. Am I only ever to be able to lead you home?

And then finally, finally, faith in Jesus will comfort troubled hearts because we can trust that He has final authority in what He is declaring. In verses seven through to 11, Jesus says to His disciples, if you really knew me, because Philip says, show us the Father. And Jesus says, if you knew me, you would know my Father as well. And He says, from now on, from this moment on, what's about to take place at the cross, you will know Him. You will have seen Him in action.

To know Jesus is to know God the Father. And again, there have been many prophets, many people that have said and claimed to have spoken on God's behalf. People who claim to know the way, but Jesus says here, I am the way. And then He says, I am the destination. In majestic words, Jesus is saying that He alone reveals the Father to us.

And Jesus' words, from now on, is hinting at what is about to take place in His death and His resurrection. But Jesus' comments that the disciples have seen the Father prompts Philip to say, Lord, please, we don't understand. You've said we know the Father. Please show us the Father and that's going to be enough. Our troubled hearts will be okay then.

Show us the Father. And he may have been thinking that if Jesus was going to leave some sort of vision of God, something that the prophets may have seen of God's glory and majesty will be enough to see them through whatever is going to take place. But Jesus' reply is a gentle rebuke. Don't you know me, Philip? Even after I've been with you for such a long time, Philip, anyone who's seen me has seen the Father.

Friends, what this means is that if God seems distant to you, even now, even in these times, if God seems far from you, you need only to reach for the Bible. You need only to turn to Jesus and in Jesus, you will see God. If you are asking, where is God in all of this? Go to Jesus and in Him, you will see the face of God. And so this brings us full circle again back to verse one where He says, to believe in Jesus is to believe in the Father because the two are inseparable.

God is one God and we believe this, that exists in three equal eternal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus actually goes on to explain this in verses ten and 17. Jesus, the Son, reveals the Father to us, but God the Spirit confirms in our hearts that Jesus is the Son and His claims are true about Himself. But in this amazing relationship to know Jesus is then to know the Father, but to know Jesus is also to know the Spirit because the Spirit enables us to know Him. And so in closing, as we journey to the cross, as we head towards the Easter period, remember that Jesus was far more than a good man who died a horrible death.

He was God who came to pay our eternal death. He is God who says He is with you right now. And He is saying and promising us this morning again that He is preparing a place for us. A home. A place that we will go to and feel like we've always longed for.

That we've always missed and is finally with us. Jesus is God who says, you will find the way home through me. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in Jesus as you trust in God. And so in the upheaval of our current circumstances with our safety in a state of flux, our routines, our work life, our social life, just in upheaval.

Where our knowledge about the future is just so uncertain and unknown. The question is, who can feel safe? Who can feel secure? And Christian, believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to tell you, you can feel safe. In my Father's house, there are many rooms and one of them is yours.

I have gone to prepare that place for you but I will come for you, Jesus says, and I will take you home. And so the anxiety of illness, the anxiety of death, the anxiety of our family struggling with illness, even in the midst of that, we are being reminded that this world is not our home. These things are happening and we don't like it because that is unfamiliar to us. We are longing for what is familiar and that is to be free of weakness, to be free of brokenness, to be free from death and the fear of death. And so Jesus is saying to you this morning, trust me.

Believe me when I tell you, I'm coming back for you and there is a home to return to. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for this truth. We thank you, Lord, that I'm sure in many times, many times throughout this week, we've had to say that. We've soothed our hearts by acknowledging, believing, and reminding ourselves that we belong to Jesus.

But Lord, we also so often waver. We often worry, perhaps not for ourselves. We worry for our parents, our grandparents. We worry for those who are ill. We worry about what this may mean for the livelihood of those we love.

But Lord, we know and we hear again this morning and we are strengthened by those words that we don't need to let our hearts be troubled. We don't need to allow for those hearts to be anxious. We simply need to trust in Jesus and trust in God. Help us to find in three days from now, in a week's time from now, in a month's time from now, even if things get harsher, even if things get lonelier, help us to see that when we come to Jesus, when we look into His face, we see God and we know that how God loves us. And then Lord Jesus, as people that so eagerly and so keenly await Your return, so keenly are aware of our brokenness in this life, we say, Lord, come soon.

Return to us soon. Make all things new again. We long and we look forward to that day. But finally, if there are some of us listening to this message, I don't know from what part they've come. I don't know from what background they are.

But if some of us are hearing this and we know that we have not trusted in Jesus, we have not gone to Him as the exclusive way, the exclusive truth, the one in whom only is found life. Lord, I pray that from today, from this time in March 2020, they will say, I put my trust in Him. I receive in Him the promise of life. That those whom the Son has set free will be free indeed. And so Lord, I pray for them that they may give their lives over to you completely.

That they may know you in their hearts, the deepest part of their hearts, that you are Jesus Christ, the king, the Lord of heaven and earth. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to hear from you. Thank you, Lord, that you are speaking to us and we pray that you will cement these words in our hearts over the coming weeks and months. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.