The Way is Peace for Troubled Hearts - John 14:1-6

The Way is Peace for Troubled Hearts John 14:1-6 Introduction: It is easy for us to be troubled, to feel overwhelmed in the face of life in this fallen world. Jesus spoke of the “signs of the times” in His discourse in Matthew 24 (Mark 13). I believe he was telling his disciples that those fearsome events he describes would be part of life in this fallen world until He returns: wars and rumors of wars, famines and pestilence, earthquakes in diverse places (that sounds familiar, recall the testimony of Yoshito Kato a couple of weeks ago). People look in a lot of different places for comfort and hope in this troubled world. Psychology, meditation, yoga, self-help books, TV gurus, sometimes to substance abuse that at least dulls the anxiety. Jesus knew what His disciples would face after His departure. He knew the challenges that the Church would face through the centuries. He knew the challenges that you would face as well. He knew every one of the prayer requests that we have listed in our bulletin. He knew the needs that we mention at our Wednesday prayer meetings. He knew the personal struggles and crises that you faced last week – He knows the biggest concern in your heart right now. His word to His disciples is a word to each one of us: “Let not your heart be troubled…” It’s a tender scene, like a parent comforting a child, preparing them for his impending death. In this context Jesus addressed his disciples as “little children” (13:33). It’s not a common word in the NT. Jesus uses it here, later John in his old age will use it himself as he writes his first letter. In their anxiety He promises peace (14:27) and that they will not be left as orphans (14:18). The Big Idea is that we can have peace in a troubled world because through faith in Jesus we are citizens of Heaven.

I. We can have peace because we know Him: Faith in Jesus is the answer to our anxieties (14:1).

Jesus begins, “Let not your heart be troubled…” Remember the context. What was happening in chapter thirteen? The disciples may have begun to feel uneasy about what Jesus was saying to them. He was going away? Where? Could he be talking about dying? He would be betrayed? Even Peter would deny Him, not once, but three times that very night? Peter was the “rock,” they probably viewed him as the strongest of the group, if he would fail what hope was there for any of them? How could this be? What did it mean? Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled….” We’ve seen this word before in John, in fact its an emotion that Jesus himself experienced. We see him At the tomb of Lazarus, seeing Mary (and Martha) weeping, mourning the untimely death of her brother,

“…when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33).

After His triumphal entry in John 12, as He anticipates the passion, possibly feeling already the weight of the sin of humanity crushing down on Him, He says

"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27).

Finally as he predicts his betrayal by one of His own disciples we read in John 13:21,

“When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’"

Jesus can sympathize with our struggles, and He is the Prince of Peace.” The same word is used here John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled…” and again a little further on we’ll see it in John 14:27 where Jesus says,

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

We don’t need to be troubled in our hearts, He was troubled for us: He bore our sorrows and carried our grief. We read that very thing in Isaiah 53:4, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows…” He took our sins, and the consequences of our sins in His own body on the cross. We don’t need to be troubled in our hearts, because Jesus, our High Priest can empathize with us, He himself “bore our sorrows and carried our grief.” You remember the story of the little girl terrified by a vicious thunder storm. Her mother assured her she needn't be afraid, she was right in the next room, and Jesus was right here with her, and He never sleeps. She asked “Are you sure he never sleeps?” That’s right, the mother replied. “I guess I can go to sleep then, there is no use both of us staying up!” He knows your pain, your heart aches, your struggles. As we sang one of our songs today I could imagine in my mind’s eye Jesus, walking down this aisle, one by one putting His hand on our shoulder, looking into our eyes, saying “Fear not, Let not your heart be troubled…” He knows you, personally, intimately, and He promises to be with you always. The second part of v.1 can be translated in different ways, in this case based on the context I like the NIV which takes it as parallel imperative statements: “Trust in God. Trust also in me.” We needn’t be overcome with anxiety in this troubled world, because we know Him, and He is trustworthy. He is bigger than any crisis we might face in the world or in our individual lives. Our hearts needn’t be troubled, we don’t need to be afraid. Because we know Him, we can have peace in a troubled world. After all, through faith in Jesus we are citizens of Heaven!

II. We can have peace because our future is sure: Assurance of Heaven gives us perspective in difficult times (14:2,3).

The translations struggle a bit with v.2 and we could get bogged down in the details, but the main idea is clear enough: the is more than enough room in Father’s house, and Jesus is making ready a place just for you if you know Him! Warren Wiersbe said in his Bible commentary on this passage:

Some years ago a London newspaper held a contest to determine the best definition of “home.” The winning entry was, “Home is the place where you are treated the best and complain the most.” The poet Robert Frost said that home is the place that, when you arrive there, they have to take you in!

When we were appointed as missionaries we had to leave behind our home in NJ and move to a house in Brazil where we lived for a year, then moved to an apartment, then to another. When we had a furlough we came back to the US and lived somewhere else. Sarah grew up in that context of international moves and often wondered where home was. Mary Ann told her if we were there together, it was home. The idea here is that we are all citizens of heaven (see Philippians 3:20,21). We have another home, a permanent one, prepared for us by the King himself! Heaven is your home if you know Jesus (Hey, you all are from away too)! We have a room reserved in Heaven, and either we will go there through death, or Jesus will take us there when He returns for the church! Think about it: this world is temporary and so the problems of this world are temporary. Its like the old time Bible teacher who said one of his favorite phrases from the Bible in times of crisis is “…and it came to pass…”! By that he meant that whatever the crisis was, it didn't come to stay, it was temporary, it came to pass! Well that may not be good hermeneutics, but it is right theology. A song says, “Who could mind the journey when the road leads home?” The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus, “…for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” (Heb 12:2). Perspective! As Paul wrote, “…the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us…” (Rom 8:18). We can have peace in a troubled world because through faith in Jesus we are citizens of Heaven.

III. We can have peace because we know the Way home: The One who is truth has given himself as the Way to Life with the Father (14:4-6).

This is one of the great “I AM” statements of this Gospel. I think the phrases go together, qualifying and complementing one another. He is essentially saying that He is God the Son, the true and only way to life with the Father. Vv.4,5 show that the disciples are still struggling along to understand: Jesus said, "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" • “I AM…” For the reader of the Gospel there is no question, 23 times in this gospel Jesus uses the phrase, each time revealing a bit more about who He is. From the self-revelation to the woman at the well as she spoke of the coming messiah, “I AM [he]”, to his word to the disciples as came walking on the water, “Fear not, I AM…”, to his response to those who came seeking Him in the garden in John 18, He is the great I AM, Yahweh, God incarnate. Immanuel. • “…the Way…” This evokes in me the image of Jacob’s vision which Jesus alludes to in John 1 as He speaks with Nathanael. The angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Jesus is the way, the only way to the Father. • “…the Truth…” The question of absolutes is challenged today. We see it all the time when we present the Scriptures to people, especially the unsaved. Well that’s your interpretation; this is what it means to me… Later in this Gospel Pilate will ask, “What is truth?” Today the world wants to deny absolute truth. Like is or not, there are absolutes in the Bible. Right and wrong. True and false. [Some would argue today that marriage should be reinterpreted, that God’s design as revealed in the Bible was for a different time, a different culture. God’s revelation is true. He designed marriage for one man and one woman, period.] Jesus came to reveal the Father and make possible our salvation. We can trust Him, because He is the Truth. • “…and the Life…” – He said at the tomb of Lazarus that he was the “resurrection and the life.” He is speaking about eternal life, the abundant life God wants for His people, life with meaning. • The only Way to the Father: “No one comes to the Father but by Me…” That is an exclusive statement and it is an offense to many people. It’s not my view, it’s God’s Word that matters. As Peter would preach in the book of Acts, “There is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” None. Only through faith in Jesus, recognizing who He is, trusting in what He has done for us, can we approach the Father.

What is God saying to me in this passage?

We can have peace in a troubled world because through faith in Jesus we are citizens of Heaven.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

There are a lot of uncertainties in the world. For many of us, we can easily despair about things that are beyond our control. Politics. The economy. Terrorism. Health… Do you know Jesus? You can trust Him, implicitly. Your future is secure. That is a reason for peace on our hearts! Think about that. Amen.