09-02-2018 – Jesus Consoles the Eleven

09-02-2018

Jesus Consoles the Eleven

John 14:1-14

Our narrative today takes place on a Thursday night, and as we read last week in John 13, Jesus predicts His betrayal at the hands of one of the Twelve, tells His disciples that He is going to leave them and they cannot follow, and then He tells Peter, that he will very soon deny the Lord.
And now Jesus, on the eve of His own execution, speaks words of comfort to the eleven, in the upper room, so that they should not be troubled by the incomprehensible reality that He is going to be taken from them and put to death.

Sermon Notes:

On the night before His death, a Thursday, the Lord spent the evening, in an
upper room, eating with, comforting, and instructing the eleven disciples (Judas
had gone to betray Him).
Read John 14:1… Jesus had come to Jerusalem to offer Himself up as God’s
Lamb, to take the punishment for our sin (John 1:29), “John [the baptizer] saw
Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world!’”
A few days ago, on Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding the colt of a donkey,
and the people were shouting (John 12:13), “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in
the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Tomorrow, on Friday, the people
would be yelling (John 19:15), “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!”
But our narrative today takes place on a Thursday night, and as we read last
week in John 13, Jesus predicts His betrayal at the hands of one of the Twelve, tells
His disciples that He is going to leave them and they cannot follow, and then He
tells Peter, that he will very soon deny the Lord.
And now Jesus, on the eve of His own execution, speaks words of comfort to the
eleven, in the upper room, so that they should not be troubled by the
incomprehensible reality that He is going to be taken from them and put to death.
Jesus is preparing the 11 to continue to trust Him, even though He will be taken
from them soon, they will need a faith like many in Israel displayed, throughout
history:
Genesis 15:6, “He believed in the Lord; and [God] credited it to him as
righteousness.”
Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
Psalm 25:1, “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust.”
Isaiah 12:2, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid.”
Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.”
Read John 14:2-3… The Father’s house is heaven and Jesus is going there
soon; His promise is to provide a place for the disciples, so that they might be
forever with Him.
Revelation 21:3 tells us God is going to live with us in heaven, and there is plenty
of room for everyone; for in verse 16, we are told the New Jerusalem is fifteen
hundred miles long, wide and high, more than half the size of the United States.
Jesus will come back and take all true believers to be with Him forever; this
occurs at the rapture of the Church (see 1Corinthians 15:51-57; 1Thessalonians
4:13-17).
Back to John 14:4-6… Jesus expected the disciples to know that He would be
returning to the Father in heaven, as He had already said in John 7:33; yet they
had not understood it. Thomas states the obvious lack of understanding among the
disciples, that they do not know where He is going and so they don’t know the way
to get there..
Jesus’ response in verse 6 is the sixth “I AM” statement made by Jesus in
John’s gospel, and it is undoubtedly one of the most quoted sayings of Christ, “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Jesus is the only Way to God, the only Truth of God, and the only Life with God,
(John 20:31) “these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name,” (1John
5:11-13) “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
The way to God is accessed through a small gate onto a narrow path [Jesus
Christ], any other “way to God,” leads only to death and destruction (cf. Matthew
7:13-14).
No wonder Paul writes (Philippians 2:9-11), “God highly exalted Him, and
bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of
Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.”
No wonder Peter proclaims (Acts 4:12), “there is salvation in no one else; for
there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we
must be saved" [only Jesus Christ the Lord].
Christians in the first century were known as Children of “The Way,” because
Christ is the only Way of Salvation.
Read John 14:7-11… The disciples didn’t really understand the fullness of Jesus’
deity and His relationship to the Father, at this time, it wasn’t until after His
crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit, that they got it!
When Jesus says (verse 7), “from now on you know Him, and have seen Him,”
it would seem that the disciples didn’t really understand, i.e., Philip says, “just show
us the Father, that will be enough,” at which the Lord rebukes their lack of faith,
they should know by now that He and the Father are One (cf. John 10:30), and so
by seeing Christ they have seen the Father (Colossians 1:15), “He [Jesus] is the
image of the invisible God,” (Colossians 2:9), “For in Him all the fullness of Deity
dwells in bodily form.”
In John 14:10, Jesus asks them directly, “Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father is in Me?” Then He commands them to believe, to have faith
in the unity that belongs to the Father and the Son; if they can’t do that, then they
must at least believe in the miracles themselves; for the very words Jesus speaks
and the works He does all come from the Father (see John 7:16; 10:25; 37-38;
12:49).
Read John 14:12… I have heard this passage taught incorrectly more often than
I have heard it taught accurately.
Look! No one will ever do anything greater in importance or magnitude than
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has already done. Jesus is God, the Creator of the
heavens and earth and all that is within them; He is the Savior who died in our
place, the Redeemer who granted forgiveness for our sins; He is the Resurrected
Lord who demonstrated and now provides eternal life to everyone who believes in
Him.
There is nothing greater or more significant than the God ordained payment for
all sin for all people, and the granting of eternal life to all those who believe in Him.
But, there was something greater in extent, something that Jesus didn’t do, and
that was to take the message of God’s free gift of salvation outside of the
boundaries of Israel, for Jesus never preached or shared that message outside the
boundaries of Palestine.
And yet, the followers of Christ would take the message of salvation to the ends
of the earth, but this would happen only after Jesus returned to the Father in
heaven.
The power necessary for the followers of Christ to do this greater work was the
indwelling of God’s Spirit; and the Holy Spirit wouldn’t be sent from the Father, until
the Son of God returned to the Father in heaven.
Read John 14:13-14… Believing in Christ, trusting in Him, is at the heart of
saving faith. Jesus had been providing everything for these guys for three years,
and now He is about to leave them, what are they going to do?
The disciples had really nothing of their very own, as they had given up nearly
everything to follow the Lord, (Matthew 19:27) Peter said to Jesus, “Behold, we
have left everything and followed You.”
Christ’s departure meant He was not going to be there to provide for them
anymore; how could they understand that He was still going to care for them from
heaven? No wonder Jesus says two times (verses 13-14), whatever they need He
will supply, if they will just ask Him, He will do it.
Verse 14 is another verse that inevitably gets taught incorrectly more than it
does correctly. This is not a formula for getting whatever you want by tacking on
Jesus’ name.
To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in accordance with the will of God, in alignment
with the Word of God, as exemplified in the very character and nature of God.
Jesus gave an example of how to pray (see Matthew 6:9-13):
Matthew 6:9… This is a guide, telling us How, to Whom, for What we are to pray.
Our Father in heaven: God is the Creator of all but Father only to those who
come through Christ, into the Family of God (cf. John 1:12-13; Galatians 3:26).
Hallowed be Your name: God’s name is Holy and we are to revere, honor and
glorify Him. We must prayerfully acknowledge Him in every detail of our thoughts,
our words, and our actions (cf. Colossians 3:17; 1Corinthians 10:31).
Matthew 6:10… Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven: God's sovereign rule in heaven is not being exhibited on earth. Men sin,
men die, and men go to hell; even though it is not God’s will for people to sin, die,
or go to hell.
God commands us to pray His will be done on earth: God desires everyone to
repent, believe and be saved (1Timothy 2:3-4; 2Peter 3:9-10).
God commands His children (believers and followers of Christ) to obey His Word
with a willing heart in all that we do (Romans 12:1; 2Peter 3:11-12).
God is allowing sin to run its course and Satan to have his way, for a time; but
sin and Satan will end just as God determined, and all who rejected Jesus Christ
will go to Hell (2Peter 3:3-7; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10, 15).
Matthew 6:11… Give us today our daily bread: Bread is symbolic of the
sustenance we need for our physical and our spiritual needs. Jesus is the bread of
life (John 6:35-41) who came down from the Father in heaven.
Our Provider is the Father, and His servant Jesus Christ is His Provision. We ask
God to supply our basic needs through Jesus Christ, and the schedule for God’s
provision is daily, not weekly, monthly or yearly, but daily; and very often it is
moment by moment.
Matthew 6:12… Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our
debtors: This is not talking about financial debts, it is talking about sin, our sin
debt, paid in full by Christ. Sin separates man from God and is man’s greatest
enemy. Therefore, man’s greatest need is forgiveness, and that is what God
provides when we confess our sinfulness (Romans 10:13; 1John 1:8, 10). Because
the Father is forgiving, His children are to be forgiving (Ephesians 4:32).
Matthew 6:13… And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
This has to do with temptations, trials and testing, through which we are enticed to
sin. God tempts no man, but He does allow us to be tested (James 1:13-14;
4:8-9); and so we appeal to God to place a guard over and around our eyes, ears,
mouth, feet, and hands -- so that, whatever we do, where ever we go, we will not
give in and do that which is sinful (1Corinthians 10:13; Romans 12:9).
We are all weak at times, when tempted to sin, and we need God’s help to avoid
the traps and snares set by the world, the devil, and our flesh; God has provided all
we need to succeed (2Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 12:2; 2Peter 1:3-4).
We live in a cursed world and evil is all around us. Our flesh is weak and we are
not equipped in our human resources to combat sin.
Therefore, we are to confess our need for the protection and deliverance that
only God can give.
This great and divine lesson in prayer concludes with a reminder of how our own
genuine and heartfelt forgiving of others, while at the same time being willing to
receive their forgiveness, gives testimony and illustrates that we have indeed
received the Father’s forgiveness.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen!
[This addition to verse 13 is not found in the earliest manuscripts, but it is biblical.]
1Chronicles 29:11-13, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the
glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is
yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and
honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength
and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and
praise your glorious name.”
To pray in Jesus name is to pray in accordance with God’s plan and purpose, as
fulfilled and exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior and Lord:
Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming Again!

Pastor Mike
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