Jesus and only Jesus has the true way to live

Transcript

Introduction

Hello Church, I am back again. willI be on stage much more than I have ever been comfortable with. Ironically the last time I preached from this stage was 3 years ago on Mother’s Day. I remember saying that it was my first, and depending on how it went, possibly my last sermon. Well I stand here as a testament that it didn’t go so poorly that I was never asked to return, but it did take 3 years for everyone to forget!

All kidding aside it really is humbling and a privilege to be able to speak on such a precious holiday. Moms are near and dear to me, because without them I wouldn’t have a job. And even more importantly, I had many amazing women in my life that taught me much of what it means to be nurturing and compassionate, especially to children.

When it comes to amazing women, I have to look no farther than my own mom to learn all I need, when it comes to nurturing children and caring for anyone and everyone who will let her. We often joke about my moms cooking, not because it was bad, but because all of her recipes are made for serving the whole church. I can’t tell you how many times we had people come over for dinner because they were new to the church or just needed some motherly love. She loves being hospitable

Something else that is important to know about my mom, is that she loves the Bible. Even from a young age she made it a value to memorize scripture and read her Bible often. How many of you are familiar with Bible quizzing? Well, I can tell you that my mom is the Lebron of quizzing. I had to confirm all this with her so I didn’t get it wrong, so here it goes. She is a 5 time international All-Star, 2 of those 5 times she was in the top 10 in all of the US and Canada. She did only manage to be a champion 1 time, so she didn’t quite make it to Michael Jordan levels, but imagine the shadow she casts for any Bible Quizzing amateurs.

That’s where I come in. In my freshman year of high school, I had never quizzed before, but we moved back to Western Pennsylvania for a year and my chance came. My mom takes it to the church that she wants to start a team for our youth group and she will even coach it. They are obviously ecstatic for this, because she is the GOAT and Bible quizzing is huge in the Western PA district of the Alliance.

Anyway, I joined the team and I think I am hot stuff because I know what the Bible is and I’ve even read some of it a few times. But, there is just something about being a teenager and not wanting to listen to your parents even when you know their credentials. I was a terrible student and blew off my moms advice because I knew what was the right way to win. Turns out, at our first quiz meet, I had no idea what I was doing. I don’t remember how I did exactly, but the fact I don’t remember means it was

probably embarrassing for me and I have blocked it from memory. I learned the hard way that my mom’s way was a much better way.

Here comes the super well thought out and not at all forced transition to today’s topic. The disciples had someone even better than a 5 time all star and 1 time champion... Jesus. He is the true GOAT and yet they still couldn’t figure out that “Jesus and only Jesus has the true way to live.”

WE - Where are we?

We are in the last year of Jesus ministry on earth, and it is a rough year to say the least. Jesus and the disciples were anticipating the passover celebration, but before the passover arrived, Jesus received word that his good friend Lazarus had died. This required a return to Judea, to the town of Bethany, located just 2 miles from Jerusalem, which brought a fair amount of danger because of the plotting against Jesus that all the disciples were aware of. In fact Thomas, one of the 12 and the one who earned the title as “Doubting Thomas'' later in the story, knew just how bad it was and yet still encouraged the other disciples to follow Jesus. He wasn’t always a doubter it seems. Let’s see what he says in John chapter 11 verse 16... Also before we go on, one thing we practice downstairs with the kids, is that when you see a verse in red text, that is a verse we all read together. Let’s practice.

16 Then Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

This is bad, death is the expected outcome, but the disciples were ready to die with Jesus because they believed in Him and His teachings. That faith would soon be put to the test. This return to Judea would be great news for Lazarus though, because Jesus raised him from the dead and demonstrated His power over death itself. However, this also set many plans into motion that would eventually see Jesus arrested, beaten and crucified. The stage was about to be set for the salvation of the world, but Jesus wasn’t done teaching and even warning His disciples what was still to come. Along the road to Jerusalem, Jesus told the disciples...

18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

This was not the first time that Jesus told the disciples He would be killed, in fact it was the 3rd time. You think they would have believed Him by this point, but like me in the story earlier, they thought they knew better. Then we get to the Passover itself where the bad news keeps on coming. He tells them once again He is going to die, Peter will deny Him three times, one of the 12 is a traitor, Satan is going to work against them at every opportunity and that they are soon going to be scattered. Understandably the disciples are discouraged and disheartened.

Jesus knows the hearts of others and knew what the disciples were feeling at this moment. He lets them in on His plans...

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas, returning to his pessimistic ways, is the first to speak up. He was definitely speaking for the rest of the group, who assuredly didn’t understand where Jesus was going and how to get there.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

This is the 6th of 7 “I AM” statements. CLICK Let’s take some time to break this down so we can understand why “Jesus and only Jesus has the true way to live.” Although I am sure that you have already explored the meaning behind the two words, “I AM” we are going to get a refresher for those who frequent the upstairs, but for those of us that are often in the lower level this will be new information. CLICK What is the significance of “I AM”?

I AM

This had profound meaning in the original Greek, Ego eimi. One of the most

simple ways to interpret this is, “I myself, and only I am”. For instance I can not say this form of “I AM” when introducing myself. Because although I am Jeremy, I am not the only Jeremy in existence, nor am I even the only Jeremy that I know personally. This simple two word combination is reserved for a special person that exists all on their own.

It goes even deeper. When Jesus uses this phrase, He is recalling an important moment in the history of the Israelites. He is making a call back to Exodus 3 when Moses first encounters God and learns His name. Imagine walking through a mostly barren landscape with hills and few plants or trees. Now imagine coming up on a bush that was on fire but yet nothing was burning and there was not even a smell of smoke. You might be curious enough to go investigate, I certainly would. Moses definitely was. He approached it and immediately heard a voice come from the direction of the bush. Then the bush says it is God and the ground is holy so he must take off his shoes.

Moses complies, and after a little bit of conversation the general idea is that God wants Moses to lead His people out of captivity in Egypt and into the promised land. Moses is skeptical and not sure if he is up for the job but he asks a question that helps us better understand God’s personhood.

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

This story from Exodus and the meaning behind “I AM” would have been common knowledge to any Jewish person. All of His disciples would have understood that using these words meant there were deeper implications to what Jesus was saying. So that brings us to the most obvious question.

What did Jesus mean when He said he was the Way, the Truth and the Life?

The Way

Let’s start with the Way. Whenever I hear these two words, the nerd in me immediately goes to Star Wars, specifically to the Mandalorian. Since Greg isn’t here and I am sure there has been a big hole for Star Wars anecdotes, I will step in and dive head first into the Sarlacc pit!

The Mandalorian, AKA Din Djarin, is a bounty hunter that is well respected and feared throughout the galaxy. We find out that he hails from a world known as Mandalore and there are many other Mandalorians that also find work in a similar capacity. They are all well trained warriors and adhere to a very strict code conduct. In one scene Din Djarin has returned with a sizable portion of a very rare and even mystic metal known as Beskar. He takes it to the Armorer to have some new armor made for himself but he offers a portion of it to be kept for the foundlings, the next generation of Mandalorians. The Armorer appreciates this gift and declares that the foundlings are the future and recites the words, “This is the Way”.

This way that they speak of is an understood code that all Mandalorians must practice and pass onto the next generations. It is a code that they live and die for. Does Jesus practice the way of the Mandalorian? Although Jesus looks pretty good in Mandalorian armor and He does speak highly of children, He has an even better way. In fact He is the Way!

When Jesus says I AM the Way, He intended for it to be both literal and figurative. He was continuing the previous statements from verses 3 and 4. He was about to go to a place, His father’s house, to prepare a place for them. Jesus told them that they knew the way to get to this place. The disciples knew Him, so they did know “the Way” to His father’s house.

This way also signifies a path that must be followed. In Matthew 7 verse 14 Jesus teaches that this path is not easy to find and even harder to follow.

14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

In contrast Jesus also teaches that the road to destruction is wide and the gate is broad. The path to life is much more difficult to walk than the road to death. You might be asking yourself, why is this path to life so much more difficult? Let’s use a simple illustration, imagine there is a child in a room by themself and they are hungry. On a table in the corner sits two bowls. In one small bowl, there is just some broccoli. Healthy and good for the child, but not very tasty. In the other bowl, a larger bowl, there is a large helping of their favorite candy. You see where I am going right? 9 out of 10 kids are going to choose the bowl with the candy.

TRUTH - YOU

Now imagine instead of broccoli and candy and a child, it is you in the room. And on the table there is a Bible and an Ipad. Ask yourself honestly, am I choosing the Word of God or am I picking entertainment? Jesus knows the heart, and He knows most of us are picking the Ipad. Let’s go back to the Way for a moment. Jesus, in His infinite wisdom knew that we would have a hard time sticking to the path.

So, He left us a trail of breadcrumbs to help us on our way, toward thee Way. He gave us the Truth. Which also happens to be Himself.

Peter tells us that we should follow in Jesus' steps. “21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Paul tells us to imitate Christ. “1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

And John tells us if we are Christians then we shouldn’t just talk the talk, but also walk the walk the way Jesus did. “6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Jesus is the Way because He is the Truth. If we follow Jesus then we stay on the narrow path. However, if we seek our own way and follow our desires, then we end up on a much wider road. Now comes a question to hopefully encourage introspection and honesty. “AM I BECOMING MORE LIKE JESUS?”

This question can have some profound implications for you. Maybe, you are certain that you have a long way to go. For some, you might have to take the first steps toward a relationship with Jesus. For others, you might need a little help truly finding out where you stand. In case you need a little extra help, here is one resource to give you a starting place. Go ahead and scan this QR Code and take a look, I will give you a few moments to bookmark it for later. You will need to create a free account to do the assessment, and it only takes 7-10 minutes to complete. At the end of the 38 questions they give you some areas to grow and resources to get there.

THE LIFE - WE

Finally we get to Jesus’ final words of the verse, The Life. Jesus was asked on a few occasions about eternal life, because it is a natural human desire to know what happens after death. Solomon taught in his wisdom, that God Himself put eternity on our hearts. They made the flawed assumption that a deed or work must be done to earn eternal life, but never considered that it would come from a person.

Nicodemus, a pharisee, went to visit Jesus late one night with a similar goal in mind. He wished to learn about Jesus and His power, but Jesus’ answer was not what he expected.

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus was baffled by the idea that a person needed to be born again. Did Jesus mean that literally and if so how would that work? Jesus didn’t mean it literally, Thank God! One birth is traumatic enough for the rest of our lives. No, Jesus meant that we must be made new in our hearts and minds. He went on to tell Nicodemus in verse 15 that, “whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” And he reiterates this and we hear one of those most famous and profound verses in all of the Bible...

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I want to leave you with some encouragement. Seek Jesus. Figure out which path you are on and make sure you are following Jesus' steps. Don’t assume that your way is the right way, especially if it doesn’t line up with the truth that Jesus has demonstrated. It is my hope that all of us will be together in God’s eternal kingdom one day and it would be a shame if we got lost seeking our own desires. Remember, “ Jesus and only Jesus has the true way to live.”

Let’s pray. “Heavenly Father, we are so grateful to have the ability to meet here as friends, family and followers of Jesus. I pray that today would be a reminder of the path that you have set out before us. In our humility give us guidance so that we may not stumble and fall away from you. If any obstacles come before us, let us rely on you to give us strength to overcome. Help us to always seek after your face as we live, and let our lives be a testimony to all others that we truly believe in Jesus and follow His example. We love you Lord. In the name of Jesus we pray these things, for your glory alone. Amen.