John 14:1–11

¹ “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. ⁴ You know where I am going, and you know the way.” ⁵ “Lord, we don’t know where you are going,” Thomas replied, “so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. ⁷ If you know me, you would also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that is enough for us.” ⁹ “Have I been with you so long,” Jesus answered, “and you still do not know me, Philip? The one 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 the Father is in me? The words that I am telling you I am not speaking on my own, but the Father who remains in me is doing his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. Or else believe because of the works themselves.   (EHV)

How many of you have loved ones already in heaven. They believed in Jesus and they died in the saving faith, and now they’ve gone ahead of you. A parent, a spouse, in some cases even a child. They’re already there because they knew the Way. They knew “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” They knew Jesus and now they are with Him. We confidently look forward to seeing them again in the not-so-distant future, where Jesus promised to give His disciples one of His many mansions. He is the Way—the only Way to heaven. How do I know that? Because Jesus is the Truth, and He has told me so, in the Bible. In Him is eternal life. He is the Life. He proved that when He rose from the dead, and He will raise us up from the dead on the last day.

Let’s consider Jesus’ reassuring words together today and remember gladly that Jesus Is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Jesus Is the Way

Everyone wants to get to heaven, don’t they? Well, maybe not everyone. The growing number of atheists argue that heaven and hell don’t exist. Still, the majority say they want to get there. And they think it’s easy. They think everyone will eventually get there. They think there are multiple easy, wide roads that lead there. Back when Nancy Pelosi, who claims to be Roman Catholic but is virulently pro-abortion, was speaker of the house, she travelled to India to have the Dalai Lama pray for her at his Buddhist temple. She’s convinced that she’ll get to heaven, by trying to take multiple broad roads—all at the same time! Other politicians do the same kind of soul-destroying pandering while claiming to be Christians. But it’s hardly confined to politicians. Most Americans are just as mixed up about how to get to heaven.

But Jesus makes Himself so clear in John, chapter 14! Jesus said to His disciples ⁴You know where I am going, and you know the way.” ⁵“Lord, we don’t know where you are going,” Thomas replied, “so how can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

We deserved eternal punishment in hell. Jesus was punished in our place. Faith in Jesus alone brings us to heaven. It’s as simple as that. But simple doesn’t mean easy. There’s a reason Jesus began by saying “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” The Jesus Way to heaven leads us through many troubles. Rather than a six-lane highway, the challenging road to heaven often resembles a narrow rocky path. It passes over high mountains and deep valleys, including the valley of the shadow of death. Persecution of those who follow Jesus on the Way is increasing around the world, and here in America, too. Just think of the hate-crime that took the lives of those Christian teachers and schoolchildren in Nashville that the media won’t call what it is because the victims are Christian. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” precisely because following the narrow Way is troubling, humanly speaking.

Our narrow, steep path crosses the wide, smooth highways to perdition. And it’s tempting to leave the narrow path and get on the superhighway when our ankles are sore and our knees are burning. After all, the devil tells us, don’t all roads really go to heaven after all? No, they don’t! Jesus told us, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14).

But what a blessed promise Jesus holds out to those few who persevere and keep following Him on His royal Way. “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. That’s why we stay on the narrow path, even when it leads through the driest desert or the darkest forest.

Jesus Is the Truth

Since that path is so narrow and difficult to find, how do we keep from getting lost? Jesus gives us clear directions because He is not only “the Way,” He is also “the Truth.”  If you hike some of the desert trails, you know that sometimes it’s not entirely easy to discern the right path. So what do you do when you seem to be at a fork in the sand? You reexamine the printed trail map, and you strain your eyes to see the little trail markers. Jesus has given us a thorough, detailed map in His holy Word. It not only shows us the way, it even notes in detail the dangers to avoid along the way. He’s printed warnings there that show when the grade will be steep. He’s pointed out the wild animals to be aware of. He’s warned us not to take side paths that promise to be shortcuts, but aren’t. He’s explained the pitfalls to avoid. He speaks to us through the Word and tells us when to stop, when to go, when to slow down and when to speed up.

There are counterfeit maps also in circulation, and fake trail guides.  There is Islam, of course, and Buddhism. Atheism is a religion, too. In fact, “Wokeism” and “Climate Changeism” are well on their way to being classified as religions. Perhaps the most popular religion of all is Universalism. But all these religions disagree fundamentally with what Jesus teaches, and Jesus clearly says He is not just “a” truth, but “THE Truth.”

There’s a popular post-modern notion that two contradictory truths can be true at the same time. FALSE. In the play Fiddler on the roof, one man reads a newspaper article that says the Russians are persecuting Jews in villages nearby and tells his fellow townspeople they should be concerned. “You’re right,” says Tevye, the main character. Another man says, “why worry about the world outside of our village.” “You’re right too,” said Tevye. Then a third man says, “they can’t both be right!” “Your right, too!” Tevye answers. That’s funny! But that’s what so many believe—that truth is relative and therefore not really truth.

Jesus does not ever say that! Pontius Pilate said that! Jesus says, rather, “I am the Truth. …No one comes to the Father, except through me.” Jesus is not just a teacher. He is the Word of God Himself. He is God—one with the Father.  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 are not just my own. 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 miracles themselves.

All others err. Jesus cannot not err. His words are faithful and true when He rebukes us and tells us we are wrong. He doesn’t want us to go astray. He doesn’t want us to fall into a ditch or hurtle off of a cliff. And His words are just as true when He comforts and reassures us as we make our way along rocky mountain paths. When Jesus says He loves us, we can count on it because He only speaks absolute Truth. When He tells us everything will all be alright, we can absolutely count on it because He is one with the Father. Best of all, when He assures us that our sins are forgiven, that He paid for them on the cross, that because He lives, we too shall live, and that He has gone ahead to prepare a place for us, that we also may be where He is, we can count on that promise 100% because He IS the Truth. His Word is utterly faithful and true, because He is God. He and the Father are one. He cannot tell a lie.

Jesus is the Way to Heaven. By His holy life and innocent death, He earned us a place there. And Jesus is also the Truth who unfailingly guides to heaven through His Word.

Jesus Is the Life

Jesus is also the Life. Last week we heard Jesus, the Good Shepherd, say, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). According to that promise, we have already begun living our eternal life in Jesus. He poured it into us in baptism and nourishes it through His Word and Sacrament. Every day we’re getting closer to the joys of heaven. But while we’re still here, our life has already been filled with eternal significance and meaning. Already now we are God’s children and Jesus’ brothers and sisters. As royal sons and daughters of the King, God is preparing us for our future royal positions. That makes everything we do on the way to our eternal home of deep and lasting significance! Jesus says, ¹²“Amen, Amen, I tell you: The one who believes in me will do the works that I am doing. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

Just think of the eternal significance of what we do as parents and grandparents to raise and keep our children in the faith so that they carry it forward again to their children. Six years ago this week, I got to baptize one of my grandchildren. Now it’s our job to remind her of that day when she received her passport to heaven as a citizen of the Kingdom of Our Lord and of His Christ. That’s the kind of “greater work” God has given us. It’s as great as any work can be. “Amen, Amen, I tell you: The one who believes in me will do the works that I am doing. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

Following Jesus, the Way, is all about getting to our final destination. “Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am. How quickly we will forget the frustrations and trials of the long and difficult journey when we’ve finally arrived!

Jesus Himself traveled the path before us. At His Ascension, His disciples literally saw Him head back the final leg of the Way to heaven with their own eyes. This same Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. That’s who says to us, “Trust in God, trust also in me” … and we do! Amen.