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JESUS LIFE (John 14:1-7)Discussion QuestionsConnecting from last week: How can you show more in your life that God is indispensable?1. Does the beauty of creation inspire you to know the creator more?2. What is your experience of knowing God personally? How does knowing God personally differfrom just ‘knowing about’ God?Read John 14:1-73. Why do you think people sometimes are more comfortable in knowing about God rather thanknowing him personally?4. Why is Jesus’ claim to be ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ so radical? Do you think people view itas radical today? Should we?5. What does Jesus mean by saying that he is “the way”? How is it both exclusive and inclusive?6. Why are the disciples troubled? What does Jesus mean by going ahead to prepare a place forthem? How is this true also for us?7. Why is Jesus being the only way to relationship with God such good news?8. In what way is Jesus not just part of the truth, or pointing to the truth, but ‘the Truth’?9. How is it a paradox in our culture that we often insist on scientific evidence to substantiate truth,yet tell people ‘what is true for you is true’? How does this not ‘stack up’?10. Do you think there is such a thing as absolute truth?11. How is Christianity unique compared to other religions?12. In what way can we be certain of Jesus’ trustworthiness? What is the evidence that points to thetruth of Jesus’ claims?13. How does Jesus make life possible through his death and resurrection?14. How does relationship with God transform our life now?15. What do you find most amazing about knowing God personally through Jesus?For application this week: How can you take a step forward in personal relationship with God?St Bart’s Anglican Church
Talk 1/1 (Carnival of Flowers Weekend): 18/09/16“JESUS LIFE” by the Rev’d Adam LoweBible Passage: John 14:1-7INTRODUCTION \\ CONTEXTThe city is looking absolutely spectacular at the moment,with our gardens and parks bristling with life this Carnival of Flowers weekend. And I’m sure as you go around, it’s hard not to marvel at the beauty of creation. We were down at Laurel Bank Park and Queens Park on Friday,and even amidst the mist and the rain, the vibrancy of the flowers,just took our breath a way. There’s something so delightful in the process of just revelling in it and enjoying it. And the Psalmists - the Psalms are like the hymn book the Bible,say that’s because, creation is not only beautiful in and of itself,but actually their whole purpose is to point to the one behind it all.The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1) See, as human beings, we’re made with a longing for beauty,but even more fundamentally, we’re made with a longing for the one behind it all.2
A few years ago, someone I know visited the studio of Pro Hart in Broken Hill. Pro Hart is the veryfamous, Australian artist, who died in 2006 - famous to many for his messy artwork on carpetcommercials, but an incredibly accomplished artist. And I remember this person saying that it wasreally was amazing to see his studio and so much of his work. These created works were stunning. Butwhilst they were roaming around, they got talking to a lady who they then discovered was actually oneof Pro Hart’s immediate family. Suddenly, what had been a fairly academic process of viewing the art,became relational as they had, albeit still removed, a connection with the one who had created them. It’s one thing to see the creation, it’s another thing to know the creator. How much greater it is with God,that he doesn’t just want us to know about him - and all of his handiwork,he’s inviting us to know him personally through his Son. And Jesus says, if you want to know God, you’ve got to know me.In John 14, Jesus is with his friends, sharing news that he is going to depart. This is pretty stressful news for them, they‘ve troubled hearts, it’s distressing. And so he cuts through all of this, no doubt filled with compassion,and tells them, the anecdote to your troubled hearts is me. Look to me, believe in me, trust in me.3 Why? Because I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. Our culture often reduces Jesus to being a lovely guy full of warm fuzzies,but actually this claim - to be the way, the truth, and the life - is audacious. This is an absolutely controversial and outrageous claim,as he unambiguously makes himself the object of faith. He’s drawing the entire idea of God together with himself,and saying, the way to intimacy with God, is through me.I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) So let’s unpack it. Jesus is: The Way; The Truth; The Life.4
JESUS IS THE WAY \\ ONLY THROUGH JESUSSo first, Jesus is the way. The path to God is a person.1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house hasmany rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place foryou? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that youalso may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”These words, form part of a much longer section in the Gospel of John,known as the farewell discourse. It’s a bit like a last will and testament as Jesus shares parting words with his beloved friends. And it’s important for us to note that these are not words they really want hear. But Jesus has to tell them, not only because he loves them,but also to prepare them for what is going to take place (his death and resurrection). When he talks about preparing a place for them, he’s talking about heaven.5 He’s calling to mind, the great hope, that God is going to remake the world,wiping out sin and death, bringing heaven and earth together,where the people of God can dwell with him. It’s relational. But in their anguish, the disciples don’t quite get it,and so Thomas asks the obvious question,if you’re going, how can we follow you,because we don’t know the destination let alone the way. Thomas inadvertently asks one of the most important questions of all time:what is the way to God? Thomas wants directions, and Jesus says, all you need is me. I am the way. Even further, no one comes to the Father except through me.When we hear that, it’s hard not to note the absolute exclusiveness of the claim. There’s no wriggle room to suggest another way. Jesus is it. When some hear that, they can feel, isn’t that just bit too narrow,doesn’t that just feel a bit exclusive? Surely there’s lots of ways to God? But Jesus, ‘no’. I’m it. And the reason is because: God is not a concept to be understood or discovered,but a person - who died for you and me - to be known.6
That’s why there is only one way. If you want to get to truly know someone, the only way is to be in relationship with them. There’s no other way.Imagine for a moment that someone invites you to meet their parents. And you say, no thanks, I’veread a book on parenting so I know all about your parents. That would be absurd. We’d say, you can’t possibly know them unless you meet them. You might be able to learn a bit about them, but you can’t know them. You can’t be a spectator with God. // Jesus is both exclusive and inclusive. Exclusively: Jesus is the one and only way to God; yet also,Inclusively: Jesus is the way for every single person. And when you come to God through Christ,We don’t know him as a boss, but we know him as a parent, personally. What does that mean? It means that you don’t need to figure out some secret code.It means that you don’t need to earn your place by following an ethical set of guidelines.7It means that I’m not afraid of being fired when I do something wrong.It means, that you just need to get to know his Son. // See, you can know generally about God without knowing Jesus,but without Jesus you cannot know God. So Jesus is the way.8
JESUS IS THE TRUTH \\ ONLY THROUGH JESUSSecond, Jesus is the Truth. Not a truth, part of the truth, not pointing to the truth, but Jesus says, I am THE TRUTH. In Matthew 23:34, Jesus is saying a whole heap of other controversial things,when he recalls the sending of prophets and wiseman,but his claim is not just of a prophet or a sage,but actually to be truth itself.That sounds like a controversial thing to say now,but it was also a controversial thing to say 2000 years ago. Modern people love to think that we’re far more sophisticated than ancient people. We can think, well of course they thought there was only one truth back then,we’re just far more enlightened and clever now. We don’t believe in absolute truth. But actually at the time, there were lots of gods that people believed in. The human objection to truth, is not just a product of post-modernity. It’s not a new thing. What’s more interesting to ask is, why do we have such a problem with the notion of truth?9 I think it’s because we’ve got a cultural problem, and a personal problem. Culturally, we in one breath insist that everything must be scientifically proven to betrue, yet in another breath say: whatever is true for you, is true. That simply doesn’t stack up! It doesn’t make any sense. Of course we believe that there are things that are absolutely true,but sometimes our pride gets in the way of accepting them. The classic illustration of this is the image of the elephant and the blind men. So itgoes that there are six different people holding a part of the element, they eachdescribe the part they are holding, and all our different. What they don’t know, thatthey’re all describing part of the same truth. And so the apparent point of the illustration is, that’s what religions are like.They’re all describing different parts of the same truth. But you see the fundamental problem with this?Other than the claims of different religions often being in conflict with one another,it assumes that you know what the big picture is! You can’t possibly know they’re all describing the same thing,unless you know it’s a an elephant. There’s actually some human pride in that.10
But there’s also an avoidance of relationship. Because if God is just a set of common principles to be boiled to,then it’s bereft of relationship, it’s bereft of love.If you dethrone Jesus, you enthrone something, or someone else instead. The beliefs that ‘all religionsare really the same’ sounds nice and democratic - though the study of religions quickly shows that itisn’t true. What you are really saying if you claim that they’re all the same is that none of them aremore than distant echoes, distorted images, of reality. You’re saying that ‘reality’, God, ‘the divine’, isremote and unknowable (N T Wright)The idea of a vague general truth, to which all ‘religions’ bear some kind of oblique witness, is foreignto Christianity. The greeks at the time of Jesus, and for some time, were in search for the ultimatetruth that brought order to the whole - the logos. But right at the beginning of John’s Gospel, he takes that term, and says that’s Jesus. Jesus says, I’m not part of the truth, but I am the truth. And when you look to me, you see the reality of who God is. This is truly remarkable - truth isn’t unknowable.Truth isn’t something for you, and something different for another.11 But as you look at Jesus who wept at the tomb of his friend,Jesus who forgave the sins of others and healed the sick,Jesus who washed his followers feet,Jesus who died on the cross,Jesus who rose again,You see who the truth of who God is. And that’s amazing, because there’s no guessing required!And if what Jesus says is true, it’s also immensely challenging. Because all of a sudden it means that everything in our lives must submit to him. He’s either truly God or not - there’s no in between positions. You cannot simply come with a fixed idea of who God is,then try to squeeze Jesus into that.12
JESUS IS THE LIFE \\ ONLY THROUGH JESUSJesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and finally he is the LIFE. Jesus’ claim is that life begins and ends in him. He’s not just someone who you consult with,He not just someone who offers some advice on right-living, He is life. And he makes that possible through his death.Right at the beginning of this farewell discourse,Jesus tells them that the time is coming soon for God to be glorified in him. But that’s going to happen in the most surprising way - through the cross. When you look at someone hanging on the cross,it doesn’t look too glorious, in fact, to some it was the height of shame, others a joke. For the disciples, this could have looked like an unmitigated disaster. But here Jesus is saying, this will look bad, but it’s actually good,because it’s through my going, it’s through my death,that life for all eternity will be opened up to you.13 Jesus’ dying opens up the path for our dwelling with God. And he does that, not because of anything we’ve done, not because we’ve earned it,not because we’ve been so clever in figuring out the core principles of ‘God’,but because he loves us and wants to be in relationship with us for all eternity. He loves you and wants to be in relationship with you for all eternity. And that’s all possible by personally trusting in Jesus. That gives us an amazing freedom. We don’t have to make guesses, we don’t have toawait a performance review at the ‘pearly gates’, but we can grasp life beyond thegrave, as a certain reality based on the trustworthiness of Jesus Christ”.1I remember many years ago facilitating a small group in Alpha. And in my group was a wonderfulwoman who had, I suspect, been to church every Sunday of her life. And then after the talk on whyJesus died, she said to me full of joy, “I’ve never understood why Jesus died”. Now, I’m pretty certainthat someone had explained to her before why Jesus died. I’m pretty sure she knew the explanation.She had known about it, but never known personally. Until that moment when she looked at Jesus, andrealised that he died for her, that her sin had been defeated, that death would be destroyed, and shecould revel in relationship with him. She’d never taken it personally.1see Milne, Bruce. Bible Speaks Today, “The Message of John”14
How about you? It’s possible to know all about God, but not know him personally.CONCLUSION \\ DO YOU KNOW GOD PERSONALLY?Last Friday, a most beloved member of our church went home to be with the Lord. A couple of daysbefore, Margaret’s husband, Neville, and the family and I were gathered around in her room. She hadbeen unresponsive that day and as we all chatted she remained still.At the end we gathered around and prayed. And as we prayed, we recalled the great confidence, thegreat certainty of eternal life that we have because of the Lord Jesus. And remarkably, as we spokealoud the certainty, of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Margaret would each and every time strainingforward, trying to lift her head from the pillow, trying to open her eyes, affirmed with a sound or a yes.The truth of who Jesus is, all that he has done, was deeply resonating in her.In mere human eyes, her mortal body was fading, but through the lens of Christ,resurrection, life with God, was about to burst forth through death.Margaret knew with certainty that Jesus is the way to God,and now she’s feasting with him.15Do you have that certainty? Lots of people saw Jesus, but many didn’t believe . God wants you to know him personally, not just know about him. And it begins, simply, by turning to his Son today. He is the way, the truth, and the lifeand no one comes to the Father, except through him.16
How does knowing God personally differ from just ‘knowing about’ God? Read John 14:1-7 3. Why do you think people sometimes are more comfortable in knowing about God rather than knowing him personally? 4. Why is Jesus’ claim to be ‘the way, the tru
