Sermon John 14:1-14 Believe in Me

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon John 14:1-14 Believe in Me
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
May 22, 2011

This past week the biggest story in America was the breakup of Arnold Schwarzengger and Maria Shriver. A movie actor, former Governor of California and the beautiful niece of President John Kennedy. They were probably the closest thing America has to royalty. Their family is crumbling before our eyes. We are told that Maria and their four children are devastated by the news that Shwarzengger had fathered a child with the housekeeper over a decade ago. They had believed in their father and husband. Now that trust has been broken, and without trust relationships cannot continue without God's help. This is why God warns us about adultery and why Jesus told us to not even hold lust in our hearts. Let's keep the Shwarzenggers in our prayers as they attempt to work all of this out.

Today we will look at our need to believe in Jesus with a similar high level of trust so that we may have a close relationship with God. Let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

NRS John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. 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 will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

The word “belief” had changed its meaning in modern English. Today “belief” means that you affirm that a particular statement is true. We say that believe that “Jesus Christ rose from the dead”. In other words we affirm that the statement “Jesus Christ rose from the dead” is true. When belief is defined in this way our faith becomes a matter of believing that certain statements about Jesus are true.

But the old meaning of the word “belief” is that we belief in someone. As children we believe in our parents. As spouses we believe in our husbands and wives. And as Christian we believe in Jesus Christ. We trust Jesus. We entrust Jesus with our whole lives. This is the foundation of our relationship with Jesus and with God. In Hebrew the word for “believe” is based on the word for foster parent or nurse; to believe in something as much as a infant believes in the mother giving it milk. To believe in someone means that you trust that that person will be there for you no matter what happens. When belief means this, then our faith consists of trusting Jesus with our lives.

This level of trust in takes years to establish, but it can be destroyed in a matter of moments. Arnold Schwarzenegger has just discovered that his adultery and lies have caused him to lose the trust his family had for him. His wife and children can no longer believe in him. It will take years of hard work for the trust to be restored, if it ever is.

You couldn't blame the disciples for feeling that Jesus had violated their trust. They had entrusted their lives to Jesus for years. They had expected the coming of the Kingdom of God, instead their leader was about to be arrested and probably executed. Already one disciple had given up on Jesus completely. Judas Iscariot no longer believed in Jesus and went to the authorities to betray him. In a few hours Peter will deny that he ever knew Jesus. On the night of his arrest belief in Jesus, trusting Jesus with your whole life, was a very difficult thing to do.

Jesus knew what was happening so he said this to his closest disciples, "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” (John 13:33)

This statement concerned the disciples deeply and they were filled with questions. The first question came from Peter, "Lord, where are you going?" (John 13:36). Jesus didn't tell Peter where he was going. All Jesus would say is that Peter and the others would follow him later. This didn't satisfy Peter and so he asked another question, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? (John 13:37)

Jesus tried to reassure Peter by reminding him that he had taught them that they could always believe in the trustworthiness of God, and now they should believe in him. He said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; Believe also in me. (John 14:1). Jesus told Peter that he was going to be with the Father to prepare a place where they would all live, and most importantly, that he would return to take all of them to be with him to this new place. Then Jesus told them that they already knew the way to the place where he was going.

This prompted Thomas to ask a question, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5) Jesus responded to Thomas by saying that believe in him was the way. Only by believing in Jesus, trusting in Jesus with our whole lives, can we discover the way to truth and eternal life.

But the disciples were still skeptical. Jesus was just about to be arrested and executed. How could they continue to believe in Jesus, trusting him with their lives? If only God would give them some kind of sign. If only God would appear in the room and reassure them. Philip wanted to believe in Jesus, so he asked him, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." (John 14:8)

That is when Jesus expressed astonishment. They had all been together for so long. The disciples had watched all the signs he had performed, changing water into wine, multiplying loaves and fishes, healing a blind man, even raising Lazarus from the dead. Yet they still did not know who Jesus really was. They were still looking for something more. So Jesus told them to wait until he returns. And he told then that he would send the Holy Spirit to comfort them through this time of waiting. Then, on his return he would reveal to everyone exactly who he was.

But the disciples were still not convinced. Why wait for Jesus to return? Why doesn't Jesus do one last great spectacular sign, maybe overthrow the Roman Empire, and show the whole world who he really was. Judas, not the one who had left to betray him but another, asked, "Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" (John 14:22) Jesus then turned the tables on them. He was not the one to convince the world of who he was; they were. The disciples were to show the world their belief in Jesus by doing what he had already told them to do. If they continued to love him, believe in him and trust him with their whole lives then they would obey his teachings and commands and this would be the sign the world needs to know that what Jesus had said was true. If the disciples continued to believe in Jesus they would know that his returning to the father was a necessary thing. And Jesus assured them that if they continued to believe in him the father would send his Spirit to comfort them and remind them of all the things Jesus has said and done for them.

Jesus knew that on the on the night of his arrest it would be very hard for the disciples to believe in him. But he also knew that there was one last sign that would fully glorify God and would convince the disciples that what he was saying was true. So Jesus wanted to prepare his disciples for three days hence when on that first Easter morning they would see a sign and be convinced to believe in Jesus, trusting in him with their whole lives.

As we sit here in Pocomoke today we also have questions for Jesus. Jesus, when are you coming back? Jesus, what are you doing about the problems the world faces? Jesus wants us to wait for they day when he will return when he will take us to the Father to the place that has been prepared for us. The Holy Spirit is with us now to comfort us and remind us of what Jesus taught and did while we wait for his return. We are to believe in Jesus, trust him with our whole lives, and do what Jesus told us to do while we wait.

Of course waiting is difficult to do. We would prefer that God would end our waiting with a spectacular miracle that would convince the world that Jesus is truly the God. There were some people expecting that to happen yesterday. But we are still here waiting for Jesus to come and to take us to the place he has prepared for us where we will be with the Father in heaven. While we wait we have to believe in Jesus, not just believe things about Jesus, but trust Jesus with our whole lives.

I leave you today with these words of Jesus that should comfort us as we wait. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)