Fear is powerful. It can be used to manipulate and control us. But if we listen to Jesus, we need never be afraid. After all, if God is with us, what have we to fear?
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; 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.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
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, whoever believes 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 Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.”
We have all the makings of a good Halloween story in today’s passage.
A lot of scary things can happen between here and home.
When I was a boy, a thick, dark woods loomed behind my neighborhood. My friends and I would sometimes play too long on the other side of the woods, especially at this time of year when the sun would set so quickly. Rather than take the long way around on lit streets, we would muster the courage to brave a bone-chilling trek through the dark woods of skunk hollow.
Between the eerie hoo-hoo-hoo of ominous owls, and twigs crackling just out of sight, our imaginations would run wild with fear. The wispy, ghostlike vapors of our own breath under that starless October Wisconsin sky were the only way we could spot one another as we forged ahead on the shadowy trail. Our teeth chattered and our skin crawled, but the vision of a warm home with supper on the table far at the end of the path kept us going ahead.
Yes, plenty of scary things can happen between here and home.
The disciples are about to be left behind in the very dark woods of doubt, of public humiliation, and eventually being hunted down by the religious authorities.
By this point in John’s gospel, Jesus had told his friends many times that before things get better, they are going to get much worse. He warned them more than once that the daylight is fading and the night is coming when He must suffer and die. He has repeatedly explained that he will be taken to a place they cannot yet go (although he also said they will go there, later, when they face their own deaths).
By Chapter 14, just after finishing their last supper together, Jesus once again spins the haunting tale of His coming departure. And now a deep, dark fear is starting to settle in for the disciples. Judas Iscariot has just set the awful wheels of murder in motion by leaving the dinner to betray Jesus… to which the Gospel writer adds his ghost-story-worthy literary touch: “And it was night.” (John 13:30b)
Whatever hopes the disciples may have still entertained about Jesus starting a military revolt against the Romans were fading away quickly, a candle slowly burning down and gasping its last. Even though the disciples had earlier done their best to ignore Jesus’ warnings of impending darkness and death, there was no mistaking His intentions now. He was speaking plainly: He was leaving, and they would find themselves without Him in the thick, dark woods between here and home.
Up to this point, John’s Gospel was written to help us believe. But John addresses these last few chapters to those of us who finally do believe. For the next several chapters, John is no longer mainly out to persuade us to believe – he’s given us plenty of evidence that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, including dozens of powerful teachings and miracles and healings. But now, as the cross is imminent, John shifts gears, and records the words of Jesus intended to comfort those of us who have chosen to follow Him. Chapters 14-17 are written to encourage those of us who finally do believe, but find ourselves traveling the path between here and home that is so narrow that it is sometimes hard to hold.
In the opening verses of chapter 14, Jesus reminds His faithful followers that there is a heavenly home that awaits us. Mansions of glory. He is going to prepare a place for us. Jesus is on His way to light the hearth, to cook a tasty supper, and to ready a room for us.
Later on, in verse 23, Jesus promises to come to us with the Father and build a home where we are. “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
If we read these passages from a strictly literal, earthly standpoint, it is tough to determine whether Jesus is talking about a future mansion in Heaven after the resurrection, or about a home in our hearts while we are awaiting the resurrection, or about a quantum leap that will take place in the blink of an eye upon our physical deaths – or perhaps all three. Space and time lose a degree of describable definition in the presence of God.
Whatever the timing works out to be, there can be no doubt that the concept of “home” -- the place where God abides with us and we with Him -- figures large in Jesus’ teaching.
Now, there are many key sayings of Jesus in today’s passage “I go to prepare a place for you” … “I am the way, the truth, and the life” – and more. Each of these scriptures is a treasure of its own. But perhaps the most important word of comfort for those of us who sometimes tread the dark woods of doubt and persecution -- and the promise I prefer to focus on in this message today -- is found in verse 27:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
“Do not be afraid.” How often the Lord speaks those very words to His beloved children throughout the entirety of the scriptures! From Abraham to Moses, Joshua to David, Jeremiah to Jesus, and all the way through to the end of the age, the Lord constantly reminds His own who have chosen to follow Him: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”
These are comforting words, and if we take only one thing home today, we would do well to cherish this command and promise from the Lord: “Be not afraid. I am with you.”
What do the disciples have to be afraid of? John records three specific questions from three disciples – Thomas, Philip, and Judas (not Iscariot). Each question springs from an underlying fear that is common to all of us. Each question asked by Thomas, Philip, and Judas puts into words our own fears as we walk the dark woods between here and our heavenly home.
Let’s take a closer look at those three questions that reveal our common fears, and the responses of Jesus that put those fears to rest.
First, Thomas asks a question in verse 5:
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
“How can we know the way?” asks Thomas In other words, what if we get lost? We can all relate to that fear.
But Jesus responds to that fear by claiming, “I am the way.” In other words, if we follow his teachings and walk in His steps, we will stay on the right path. As long as we stick with Jesus, we need not ever fear being lost.
Second, Philip makes a request, in verse 8 he says, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
"Show us the father.” At the most primal level, Philip’s request reveals that he is most afraid of being left alone. We can walk a dark trailmire.easily if we know we are not alone. We can all relate to that fear.
Thankfully, Jesus answers our fear of being left alone by saying, in so many words, “I will not leave you an orphan, I will not leave you fatherless. If you abide in me, you abide in the Father, because I abide in the Father and the Father abides in me. You will not be alone, Philip”.
“But wait, there’s more,” Jesus says – again, I am paraphrasing. “Even though I am going to travel home ahead of you, and even though I will return in power at the end of the age – between here and home the Father and I are sending you a comforter, the Holy Spirit, who will remind you and teach you and strengthen you for the journey home.”
It may sound funny to our ears, but Jesus says we don’t need to be afraid of being left alone in the dark woods between here and home, because a ghost will be walking beside us. The Holy Ghost. In contrast to the ghoulish trail-riding companion of Ichabod Crane, the Holy Spirit is the very presence of God, closely traveling alongside us and giving us comfort and courage to persevere through the canopy of this world and into the promise of heaven.
Jesus says that His Holy Spirit is here to speak to us: to remind us of what we have been taught and to tell us which way to go. Some people might imagine the Holy Spirit as a sort of a divine walkie talkie or a CB radio connected to a dispatch center in heaven. He certainly does give voice to the Father in our lives, but there is more to Him than that. The Holy Spirit is not merely the voice of God; He is the very real presence of God with us, given to cheer and to guide -- an extension of the fullness of the wisdom and the power of God.
As we travel the road home, we can take comfort by the presence of God's Spirit at every step. We need not be afraid of being left alone.
Finally, Judas – not Judas Iscariot the betrayer, but a different Judas, who remained faithful – asks the third question.
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
(John 14:22–24)
Judas wants to know why Jesus won’t just skip to the end and reveal Himself to everybody. Why not fast-forward this whole process and show everybody the answer?
I think Judas’ question reveals his fear of rejection; that the world will think he, and every other follower of Jesus, is a lunatic. If only Jesus would cut to the end, we wouldn’t have to worry about being shunned by those who refuse to believe. If only everyone could see what the disciples saw about Jesus, they wouldn’t have to worry about what other people think of them. We would be vindicated without having to endure the long road between here and home.
No one likes to face rejection, and Judas’ question seeks to bypass the risk of rejection by jumping to the end of the story.
Jesus’ response to Judas’ question turns the question of rejection around. While we are afraid of being rejected by our peers, Jesus is concerned that we will reject Him and His teachings by abandoning them when the going gets tough.
The only way to prove our devotion to Him is to demonstrate our obedience to His teachings – and that can only be demonstrated by the way we conduct our lives between here and home.
We are taught that on the last day, many will turn and believe because the truth will be undeniable. Not every knee will bow out of heartfelt devotion; many will confess out of inevitable resignation.
There is a difference between intellectual faith that is the result of logical resignation and passionate faith that burns out of heartfelt devotion. The road between here and home serves as a test to see what kind of faith we will have. The time between here and home proves whether our devotion is superficial or borne out of genuine love for God.
And yes, there will be many people – indeed most people, as I read the scriptures – who will think we are lunatics. They will try to tell us there is no hearth and home awaiting us at the end of the trail. But no matter what the world may say – no matter how fiercely it tries to bully us into doubt – we must not be distracted from our hope of our home that lies ahead. We need not fear rejection from the world when we have found full acceptance with the Father.
Thomas was afraid of getting lost, and Jesus said, “You can’t get lost if you stick with me. I am the Way.”
Philip was afraid of being left alone, and Jesus pledged, “You will never be alone if you abide in me. What's more, I am sending a comforter who will be with you to the end.”
Judas was afraid of being rejected by the world, but Jesus promised, “You will never be rejected by me if you obey my teaching. The world may reject you and shut you out, but I will not.”
Conclusion
Fear is powerful. It can be used to manipulate and control us. But if we listen to Jesus, we need never be afraid. After all, if God is with us, what have we to fear?
Romans 8 reminds us: “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)