Sermon: 10 May 2020 (Fifth Sunday of Easter) - John 14:1-14, "The Way, The Truth, and the Life”
“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.”
John 14:5-6
Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
What a joy it is to finally be back together again, even if it is a different setting than we are used to in the Sanctuary. We have the privilege of hearing God’s Word of forgiveness and hope while gathered around His altar. We have the joy of hearing our sins forgiven. We have the assurance of peace with God and life with Him forever. That is pure Gospel. That is pure joy in Christ our Lord.
We are a lost and dying people
Has this virus made you feel uncertain, uncomfortable or confused at times? I would have to say that with so many unknowns about it and the level of uncertainty with how to deal with it we were often left in a bit for fear or at least confusion. Not necessarily that totally devastating fear but a more general fear over how to go about living our lives. “Should I go to the store or stay locked in at home?” “Is it ok to pick up some carryout food or must I cook at home?” “If I bring anything home are we all going to pick up the virus from it?” “Have I sanitized everything enough or did I miss something I should have done?” “Is this virus going to kill me or someone that I love?”
That’s a tough place to be when we aren’t used to living there. We’re used to being optimistic about today and tomorrow, about our ability to keep on doing things that we enjoy. Death has always been there but it gets pushed off to the side quite often. It’s not like other times in history when life spans were a bit shorter, disease wasn’t as curable, and death seemed nearby. But suddenly that has changed, at least the possibility of that has reentered our lives with the advent of this virus. We’re not as invincible as we may have felt. With numbers of deaths before us on the news every day, even if we don’t know anyone sick or dying from the virus, we may feel as though death is imminent.
The fact is death is always imminent and we, as God’s people, should know that better than anyone. “…Sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin… “ (Romans 5:12) Death, physical death anyway, is the last penalty for sin that we Christians still bear. As much as we may avoid death, as much as we may push it off to hospitals or nursing homes, as much as we may avoid funerals or exposing our children to funerals, death is undeniably real. Sin… our sin… my sin, has made it that way.
But what to do about it remains a question for many. How do I get out of the doom and gloom of death, the death that I have caused, that separates us from one another and from God? That’s where Jesus talk with His disciples in John 14 comes in. It’s Holy Week and Jesus is talking with His disciples, telling them about His impending suffering, death and resurrection. Thomas, speaking for all of the disciples who are sitting there, is confused, weary and worried. He can’t comprehend what Jesus is saying. Jesus, as far as he is concerned, is supposed to be establishing a Kingdom in Jerusalem and you can’t do that if you are going somewhere else. And Jesus claims they know where He’s going and they don’t have a clue. They are confused and perplexed.
Yet, Jesus Gives Us Life
So Jesus enlightens them with promises. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” He assures them. You don’t have to be worried because I will take care of you. His impending death and resurrection would be for just that purpose, that their fears of sin and death would be destroyed.
His plan was to pay for those sins by doing all that was necessary, even suffering death on a cross. He would pay the price required for each and every sin ever committed or ever to be committed by anyone anywhere. That would require the suffering and death of God’s own Son. Of course an answer like that, incomprehensible as it is for us did not immediately clear things up for Thomas or the others. So Jesus gives His assurance. He is all that we need. We are to hear His Word, confess our sins as He calls us to do, and receive His forgiveness as He graciously offers it to us.
He is the Way. We don’t enter God’s Kingdom by our own power, it’s God’s doing. He works in our lives through Word and Sacrament. He comes to us in the waters of Holy Baptism, washing and renewing us to be His holy children. He makes us to be members of His Kingdom now and forever clinging to His cross. It’s not our doing, it’s entirely His. We don’t make up for our sins, earn forgiveness or do anything else that merits His love. It’s offered to us and we receive it. He is the Way.
He is the Truth. There is one way to eternal life and that is through Jesus Christ, our Lord. All other ways that our world suggests are lies. That’s what Jesus is telling us. The suggestion of the Sadducees that there is no afterlife was a lie. They believed that life simply ended at death and it was all over. The Scriptures are clear that all will be raised on the Last Day, some to eternal life and others to eternal condemnation. The difference is eternal life comes through faith in Jesus and His promises. Condemnation comes through trusting any other means. The Pharisees trust in their own works led to condemnation. The pagans of the world trust in their idols led to condemnation. But faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone always saves. His Word is truth.
He is the Life. In Him we have life, life in a very positive sense, life that is filled with joy and goes on endlessly. In Him we have life that is centered in Christ. In Him we have all that we need and ever will need. In Him we are assured that sins are forgiven and eternal life is opened up to us. As our Small Catechism states when talking about the Sacrament of the Altar, “Where there is forgiveness of sins there is also life and salvation.”
Remember our Confession and Absolution that includes the words of 1 John 8 & 9, “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and make Him to be a liar. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?” Confessing is what God calls us to do. That’s the rhythm of faith in our lives. We daily confess our sins and hear God’s Word of forgiveness, believing, knowing it is true because it is from God.
The word “confess” simply means to “say the same thing.” So when God says our thoughts, words and deeds are sinful and we confess those sins, we are saying back to God what He has already said to us. He calls me a sinner and I call myself a sinner. But I also look to Him to fulfill His promise, His promise of forgiveness for Jesus sake, because of what Jesus did for me on the Cross of Calvary. He paid for my sins. He earned my salvation. He opened heaven, that I would be with Him in eternity. He did that for me and He did that for all.
Yes, Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life. We need not live in fear. We need not worry about tomorrow or the day after or any day. We know our todays and tomorrows are secure in Him because of Who He is and what He has done. Keep your eyes and ears focused on Him. Receive all that He has for you. He desires nothing more than that we all be with Him now and forever. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!