Trusting and Knowing

Reading

John 14:1-14

Trusting

The passage we're thinking about sits in the Lord's final teaching session with his disciples, on the evening of his arrest.  Through chapters 13 to 17 we see Jesus building things into the lives of his disciples to prepare them for what's to come, and for the work that lies ahead of them.

The disciples had no real understanding that their whole world was about to be shattered: their hopes and expectations, from their perspective, were about to end in disaster.  But Jesus knew what was about to happen. 

The Lord knew he was about to be arrested, tried and crucified but his thoughts at this time are for his disciples.  He's washed their feet, he's predicted his betrayal, he's predicted Peter's denial. 

In our passage we see him encouraging them.  He says, "Do not LET your hearts be troubled."

Jesus implies there's a choice to make when we face extreme circumstances which can cause worry and anxiety.  Perhaps you're aware of people facing our current situation with fear.  But Jesus says, "Do not LET your hearts be troubled."

Worry and anxiety are corrosive; they can undermine our confidence and make us unable to act.  But Jesus says, "Do not LET your hearts be troubled."

It's a choice that we are able to make.  We can choose how we allow external things to affect us internally:  we can allow them to trouble our hearts, or we can use the FAITH that God has given us.  If worry and anxiety is a poison, then faith is the antidote.  I don't mean to imply that all this is easy.  If these things have already got a grip on us, we may have a battle on our hands, and we need to take courage and fight with faith.

The Lord reminds them of their basis for faith.  He says, "You believe in God; believe also in me."  The New Living Translation expresses the Lord's words in a way that brings out the real meaning of this more clearly.  It says, "Trust in God, and trust also in me." 

Belief is much, much more than thinking there is a God somewhere.  True belief says, "In these circumstances, I have my God to rely on, and he will see me through!"

Jesus goes on with words to the effect of, "You are secure.  I am making sure of that.  Come what may, you will always be with me!"

We have other promises in scripture that encourage us.

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you."  The circumstances may not change but God will see us through.  He is our strong ally in the fight.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  We can tell him how we feel.  He has broad shoulders.  And he cares for YOU!

None of this means that we shouldn't plan or act to deal with our circumstances.  Worry can stop us in our tracks; faith in the God who cares, who sustains, and who holds us securely frees us to do things we need to do.

Are you worrying, or trusting?

Knowing

The Lord has told his disciples that he'll make sure they finish up in the place where he is going.  Then he tells them, "You know the way to the place where I am going."

What happens next shows that its only too possible to spend time around Jesus and still miss the point.  Good old Thomas chimes in with, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

In the Greek, the Lord's response begins with two words where one would do:  ego emai.  It would have been enough to say, emai, which means "I am."  By adding ego, Jesus makes an emphatic reference to himself: "I, I am the way and the truth and the life."  (Did you get that, Thomas?)

There are many "I am" passages in John's gospel where Jesus uses the same emphasis.  Some of them caused great offence to his opposers because, in speaking this way, Jesus took for himself the Old Testament name for God revealed to Moses, when God said:  "… say to the Israelites, 'I Am has sent me to you.'"

This use of language and the words spoken by Jesus further on in our passage contribute to our understanding about the divinity of Christ and our belief in the Trinity, but we don't have time to explore that today.

But one thing we can take away from the Lord's words today is that our salvation is rooted in a person, not a system of belief, or the practice of religion.

• We're not saved by going to church – which is a good thing in our present circumstances!
• We're not saved by living good lives – although being saved should mean that we do!
• We're not saved by our knowledge of theology and doctrine – although these things inform us what God is like and how best to serve and please him.

Our salvation is much more certain than that.  We're saved by the Son of God himself.  We're called to walk with him.  We're called into relationship with him. 

• He, himself, is the way to our eternal destination.
• He, himself, is the embodiment of truth about God.
• He, himself, is the life we need.

John wrote in his first epistle, "However has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:12).  It's having the Son, not just knowledge about him, that matters.  Jesus said, "No-one comes to the Father except through me."  He's the only way there is; but he's the certain way and he makes himself freely available to us.

Let me ask you, do you know Jesus?

• If your answer to that question is, "Yes," then trust him, in whatever circumstances you face.  Trust him with every fibre of your being.  He will not fail you.

• If your honest answer to that question is, "Well, no, not really,"  then let me encourage you to search for him with every fibre of your being.  It's imperative that we know him for ourselves.

Let me finish by saying, if you go looking for Jesus you can be sure that he will find you!