John 14:1-14, Are You Troubled?, Dr. John B. Carpenter

John’s Opening Promise of Comfort in the Face of Trouble

John chapter 14 beginning from verses 1 to 14. Hear the word of the Lord. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so Would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself. That where I am you may be also and you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him Lord, we do not know where you are going.

How can we know the way? Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you had known me You would have known my father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.

Philip said to him Lord show us the father and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and you still do not know me. Philip. Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father?

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 authority. But the father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me or else believe me on account of the works themselves.

Truly truly I say to you. Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do in greater works than these will he do? Because I am going to the father. Whatever you ask in my name This I will do that the father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask me anything in my name I will do it. May the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, are you troubled? There are some difficulty some concern something distressing. Maybe stress at work strife at home something agitating you a debt a worry a Dysfunctional relationship.

You can be troubled emotionally and mourning or in shock because some Horrific loss had struck you. You can appear fine or on the outside going through the motions of working and family and church, but within you're screaming for some relief.

A.

Companion.

Some love some respect some consideration someone to really Care for you. Some young single adults are in inner turmoil because they had a breakup or they can't find a lasting relationship. You can be troubled financially.

Your income is too low and your bills are too high. You put too much on the credit cards and you can't pay off all. The debt and so at the end of the month the interest rates keep the debt piling up. Your business has too many bills to pay and not enough revenue coming in.

That's trouble. You can be troubled politically. The government is giving you trouble too many taxes and programs you think are immoral or engaging in foreign policy brinksmanship. You're afraid will bring a war.

Maybe just local politics. The local officials are being too strict making it hard for you to do business. You're afraid you'll have to pay for some kind of expensive upgrades to keep up with the regulations.

Or you're afraid you'll get your license revoked or you'll get closed down or expelled from the country. That's trouble. Or you might have led a Trouble-free life any trouble-free people here emotionally stable healthy relationships have just dropped into your lap.

From heaven with no fuss you've stayed out of excess debt. You can pay all your bills. You've managed to never have to come near a court. No trouble for you. But you will be in trouble one day, even if you're healthy now.

You'll have trouble physically you'll get older and weaker knees will creak and muscles will weaken and you'll slow down and Those close to you and your own family will go through that many of us go through a stage in our life when we're watching.

First maybe our parents and then maybe our own spouse decline. That's trouble. Even if you've never been in trouble yet, you will be. Trouble has been brewing in John over the last few chapters. First it was the death of a friend.

Jesus was troubled at Lazarus's tomb in John chapter 11 Jesus arrives and Mary Lazarus's sister Fell at his feet and kind of choked out Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Jesus saw her and others weeping and it says in John chapter 11 verse 33 Jesus was greatly troubled and the next chapter Greeks as Gentiles came to him and he knew that that meant that now his The hour had come for him his own soon coming death and he said truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone.

But if it dies, it bears much fruit and then he confessed in chapter 12 verse 27. Now is my soul Troubled. And then in chapter 13 after the foot washing It says Jesus is Troubled verse 21 truly truly.

This is certain. One of you will betray me. Betrayal is troubling and then he tells the disciples that he's going away To a place where they can't come and now they are troubled yet Despite all the trouble that's weighing on him as the seconds ticked by To that troubling betrayal remember he told Judas what you're gonna do do quickly.

He knows is coming and he's troubled by that but yet Despite all that which we probably consume most of us. He thinks of them And us and assures us Let not your heart be troubled and Then here in the first half of chapter 14, he gives us four reasons Not to be troubled first the place Second the path then the person and finally the promise.

A Place Prepared in the Father’s House

First the place and the first three verses Jesus says that we have a place With him we have a reserved place. It's ours With him we're all troubled by the idea of not having a place where we belong where we're recognized where we have a right to be.

There.

Not having a home or a family or somewhere where we feel that is ours this my place. We've got to have that or we're troubled like in the popular 90s TV show Cheers whose theme song said Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came.

You want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name? You want a place and Jesus has just said that he's going away and They can't follow him right away.

And so they wonder Are we gonna be abandoned? Are we gonna have no place anymore? Well, they're disturbed by that and so he assures them and us let not your.

Plurals plural you were.

This is to all the disciples not just to Peter. Okay, sure reading for the end of chapter 13 to think well. Is he just talking to Peter after he told him you will deny me three times. In other words Peter.

Don't let your heart be troubled. Now he's it's a plural you were to all the disciples because he's told them that he's going away. Let not all of your hearts be troubled. Don't be troubled because he's going away to make a place.

So believe him. Believe in God. Jesus says we just saying believe in God the Father. That should la your fears take away your trouble. And so first believe in God. Believe that whatever his purpose is.

For Jesus going away. It is right now if he were any other person at this moment. Imagine if he were any other person at this moment. He said you're troubled. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Don't worry.

Believe in God. You would expect him did to say something like don't let your hearts be troubled because I'm going away. You can believe in God not me. But here he immediately says believe also in.

Me.

Without placing himself in parallel with God believe God and me and he implies what the Gospel of John states clearly at the beginning and His prologue and then in its conclusion its climax. Jesus is God.

Jesus puts himself on par with God like you believe in God. He's saying so also believe in me like earlier in the Gospel of John in chapter 5 verse 18 Where Jesus calls himself God's son and John writes thus by calling himself that Making himself equal with God.

He's doing the same thing here. Believe in God leave also in me thus making himself equal with God believe that even if Jesus is physically away. And we can't see him. We have no images of him. We have no icons.

We have no description of his appearance. So it's not possible to make a valid image of him. He's not physically in the Lord's Supper, there's nothing physical that we can see or touch or taste that's him still.

We can be untroubled. That he's with us. Then in verse 2, he says that his father's house and there are many rooms. There's enough for everyone. You're not gonna be left out. The disciples are troubled by Jesus's talk at the end of chapter 13 of assumed going away.

They're not being able to find him but Jesus says that he's going away to prepare a place for them. He doesn't mean as some silly people is a kind of a silly interpretation of that that Jesus the carpenter for all he's going to Heaven so he could build mansions for us up there and since he's been working on our mansions for like 2 ,000 years.

It's gonna be really big and luxurious. What means where our benches would be a lot better than Peters when it because he only didn't have much time to work on. Well, that's kind of silly isn't no he means that it is by going away.

That is by his death on a cross his resurrection and ascension by that He makes a path so that he can have we can have a place in the presence of God that we can be right with God by going away is How he deals with our greatest trouble by the cross taking our guilt on himself.

Now we can go into the father's presence. We can be in his house. If he didn't go away. If he had taken up the offers to be an earthly king Over a empire headquartered in Jerusalem. He had seized the power of the world like they wanted to make him king in John chapter 6.

Then he certainly could have built a great kingdom on earth. He got to establish a great Empire. But we still have trouble he could solve all our political troubles. It'd be great to have a perfect Political state and Empire.

Where.

Perfectly run. The problems we have with the government run by sinful people could all be solved If he had set up an empire like that. But if he still if we still had the wrath of God against us. We couldn't go to the father's house.

We'd have no place with him. Jesus had to go away Through the cross to take away our trouble so he could tell us Don't let your hearts be troubled. If it were not so in the middle of verse 2 Would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

Well, what I'd be telling you that I'm going away. To make a way to the father possible if I were not really doing it. He's not telling us these comforting words now don't let your hearts be trouble. I'm making a place for you just because they sound comforting to us.

They're great to say of people in their deathbed or a funerals like many people do this nice sounding words. He's comforting. His comforting words are comforting.

Because they're true.

He's telling us because it's true and because without him.

We're troubled.

We can be troubled by Jesus's absence. Like here they're troubled by his announcement that he's soon departing. But his absence means that he's prepared a place for us with the father. So we don't have to be troubled.

So.

Don't worry.

He says don't be troubled Because he won't come again and bring us To that place that he prepared for us With his death and resurrection the trouble-free place Reconciled with the father for eternity if I go away and Prepare a place for you.

Jesus says in verse 3 if he goes to the cross for you Then you can be free of your troubles. He says I will come again if I go away Prepare a place I will come again. You can bank on it. This is this is the second coming that we looked at at first Thessalonians for remember Jesus comes from heaven.

With a cry of command the dead are raised. We go to escort him back. And so we will always be. Paul writes there in our place With the Lord here back here in John chapter 14 verse 3. I will take you to myself.

He gathers us to himself and then That notice the that I will take you to myself that or in order that. This is the the purpose of him taking us to himself that where I am the place. You may be also So that we can be where he is.

That's the that's the father's house where he is wherever Jesus is. So Paul says remember Paul back at first Thessalonians for remember the purpose of The promise of the second coming. It's not speculation or fiction or date-setting but encourage Comfort if you're troubled one another with these true words here John 14.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Are you troubled?

Don't be.

Because you now have a place with the Father and the Son.

Jesus Christ as the Only Way to the Father

The second.

The path. Starting in verse 4 you have a path Out of trouble our worst trouble. Is it being single or in debt or in court? It isn't even a deadly disease or the aging of our bodies or looming bankruptcy or Losing money.

Our worst trouble is the anger of God at our sins. We are all sinners both by inheritance and by choice. God is a just judge and so he will punish every sin. Sin is an infinite crime against God's infinite glory.

And so it deserves an infinite punishment. Hell, that's the trouble that every one of us faces. It makes all those other troubles.

Whatever it is.

Loss of money. Trial date anything else it makes all those other troubles. Seem tiny. Like the difference between owing a friend $5 and owing a loan shark a million dollars. We're really in trouble. Our path without him is That broad road to destruction, but Jesus can tell us to not let our hearts be troubled.

Because he has taken care of that debt. He settled the case against us. He's given us a path out of trouble. God has remained just. Well, Jesus has justified us made us right to him to the father. He's given a us a path to being right with the father.

Then he states in verse 4 You know the way to where I'm going. And Thomas speaks up and Jesus says. You know the way. Thomas says we don't know the way. We don't know where you're going or we don't know the path to get there.

You know, what are you talking about? Oh, but he does he just doesn't know what he knows. Sometimes we're so confused by the world confused by it telling us that what we really need to be trouble-free to be untroubled is lots of money or we need that relationship or we need that man to win the election or We need so-and-so to live or whatever.

We're so confused by all that we lose sight of what we know what we should know. Jesus said, you know. Thomas said we don't know. Because he couldn't see what was right in front of him. Here's Thomas with the way directly in front of him.

But he says he doesn't know the way. Thomas like Peter at the end of chapter 13 thinks Jesus is talking about some place on earth. Maybe an enclave where they can be safe, you know, like David hidden fortresses in the desert.

Like they should know the path to their secret hideout. And so Thomas is perplexed in verse 5. What are you talking about? We don't know where the hideout is and we don't know how to get there. How can we know the way he asked but Jesus is speaking of a path to being safe with God the way to the place in God's presence for those who've had the offense of their sins taken away and now can be in a Good relationship with the father who could live with him in his house.

That's the place. What is the path to get there? Is it being baptized? Does it go to church is being moral follow a list of rules? It's gotta be a path wait to get there and we had the fire here last July the county fire inspector came and and told Us we were in Violation several ways in trouble.

We're in trouble. We needed a map of how to get out of the building. We needed update our fire extinguishers and smoke and co2 detectors and we need to block the road beside the propane tank out there.

And so he told us we're in trouble and he gave us a way out of the trouble if the health inspector is giving You trouble threatening to close you down. You want to know how to get out? What's the way out of this trouble?

What's the way? To dealing with this problem that we have of our hell-deserving sins. What's the way out of the trouble of God's condemnation? Jesus answers that question in verse 6 in the 6 of the 7 I am statements in the Gospel of John.

What's the path? What's the way to being out of trouble. Jesus says I.

Am.

The way and the truth and the life the weight of judgment. We have lives of delusions out of darkness out of death the path out of this Horrendous trouble hanging over us. It's Jesus himself. It's not a set of steps we have to take.

If we go the right way, we make a few changes put a map put a barrier by the propane tank. We're out of trouble. It's not an eightfold path like in Buddhism follow these eight practices right understanding intention speech action living effort attentiveness.

Concentration. You can then rise to Nirvana or it's not like in legalism. The path is a list of rules of religion. You got to keep come up and say the prayer and get baptized and do whatever else. No, what's the path to being out of trouble with God?

Jesus is the way to the father because his death made access to the father possible For us sinners. He's the way out of trouble. He's the only path out of trouble. Notice the these there. He's not a way a truth a path.

Oh Way of life. He's only he's the only one. No one case we can't get it with these he makes it clear. No one comes to the father. But by me and there's no other way to the father except through me. Absolutely.

No one. Almost four years ago now I had that debate with that Church of Christ sect and I thought I won the debate when I got their guide to admit That if someone dies before committing their own personal sin that they can then go to heaven the place and peace with God Without needing Jesus that they can earn it by dying for sinning.

I got him to admit that that's what he believed that the Someone dying before they sin goes to heaven without needing Jesus. The Jesus isn't the only way to the father because if you die young enough You can get there based on your own sinlessness.

That's what they believe. So in other words if if you can manage not to sin before you die You get to go to heaven in that place without Jesus you can make your own way. Well that showed for the sake of the debate that Romans 5 was right and we have the sin of Adam imputed to us no matter how young we are and so we can't be saved from God's wrath by any other way than by Jesus then by having his righteousness imputed to us Jesus is the exclusive way to God.

He is the truth of God. He's the very Word of God in the flesh. He is the life of God giving his life. That we would have life from him abundant life, there's no other way there's no other path.

Than Jesus.

Thomas's question shows that they have it yet Really begun to know who Jesus is. And so Jesus says in verse 7 if you had known me You know in the past it means anytime before this if you've really known who I am implying that they didn't yet really Know him.

That's why Thomas proved. Jesus said, you know the way. Because they knew him or they said should have but Thomas protested. We don't know the way while looking directly at the way. And so Jesus says if you had known me Thomas whom you're looking at You would have known my father also.

They've heard him for years now Been with him closely intimately, but they still don't know him. Maybe they thought he was all about an earthly kingdom That he was the champion of a new dynasty that they were going to ride his wave to power and glory in this world.

But Jesus says from now on From when the Son of Man is lifted up Then you will know him the father and Have seen him. Because when they see Jesus they've seen the father. Now notice everyone who truly knows God the father Knows God the Son Jesus.

Everyone who truly knows Jesus God the Son Knows God the father they are inseparable. So the path to knowing the father is to know Jesus and the path to knowing Jesus is knowing the father.

Are you troubled?

Don't be.

Because Jesus has made a way for us to the place going. Jesus going Away, it's the path for us to know and see the father and the son and have the spirit. Third the person. You need to know. What person to go to?

The secret always is as they say not what you know, but who you know, do you know the person? Here we see the path is a person. It's not a principle. It's not steps Up a kind of religious ladder. It's not morality.

It's not information. The next Apostle to speak up is Philip. Philip pleads in verse 8 Lord show us the father and it is enough for us. What's the way to knowing the father?

But didn't you just hear it Philip. What you listening Philip.

And we see from chapter 13 where Peter asked Why can't he go to where Jesus is going to Thomas before to now Philip that the disciples still don't understand? They strike us as kind of dense. They don't know what's going on.

But people are like that. It often takes time to get through to people especially when you're trying to break through their preconceived ideas. Their idea was of the Messiah was that he was going to bring in and a new empire on earth Re-established the dynasty from David.

That's what they were. That's what they signed up for. It's what they were looking forward to. That's what they.

Aim for.

When they started following Jesus the way to the father is through laws and force and conquest they thought. So what's this about Jesus saying I am the way. If you had known me you would have known my father Philip asked still not getting it.

Show us the father.

And so Jesus responds in verse 9 Have I been with you so long and you still don't know me Philip? I Don't think he's frustrated or exasperated or discouraged. But it is troubling to teach people for years and they show still that they've hardly heard a thing.

Jesus had just said if you had known me You would have known my father. And now Philip asked show us the father. Did you not hear what he just said? Philip whoever seen me Jesus says in verse 9 has seen the father.

Not that they are the same person But that they are the same essence and do the same things. Understand Philip you've seen me. How can you say? Show us the father. In other words. If you haven't seen the father in me It's because your eyes Aren't opened.

You aren't saying Jesus for who he really is. You aren't really believing him. The father and the son are one but they're separate persons. The son praise to the father. Later in this chapter in verse 28 He'll pray.

He'll say the father is greater than I in rank and authority because the son chose to submit to the father together. They send the spirit, but they are one so that if you know any one of them You know them all.

You know God.

Do you not believe in verse 10 That I am in the father and the father is in me Don't you believe it? Philip was probably nodding.

Yeah.

He knows that's something he's supposed to believe. But it hasn't really dawned on him what it means yet. Like we see that we're supposed to we've heard it before, you know supposed to seek first the kingdom of God.

That's the rule of God in our lives. Don't seek first the stuff of the world the money the gadgets the cars the houses. We all know that we've heard it before.

Heard it over and over again.

But then we get in trouble living for money and for luxuries and cars and houses and we wonder well what we're wrong. We skip church Bible study and prayer. We saw Jesus as less to be valued than chasing dollars or relationships and then our kids show even less interest in Jesus.

They get in trouble trouble with the law maybe or with getting into good schools or getting good jobs. Or maybe they get in pregnant out of wedlock. Well, what went wrong? We here seek first the kingdom.

Don't fall for the deceitfulness of riches. Don't follow the ways of the world. Oh, I know that already. But do you really? Philip knew probably. But the father was in Jesus, but still he didn't get it.

Show us the father. He asked as though he didn't know the way to see the father. Already is that we couldn't see Jesus. Right in front of him. How do you see the father. You see Jesus. Pray open the eyes of my heart to look beyond the deceitfulness of riches that the things of the world would grow Strangely dim and then especially hear the Word of God in the middle of verse 10 the words I say to you.

I do not speak of my own authority. But the father who dwells in me does his works. His words are God's words. The father dwells in him doing God's work. You see the father in the words of Jesus. So listen to him then in verse 11.

Believe him that he is in the father and the father is in him that they are inseparable. They're united in purpose. They're one in essence. You believe not a principle or a doctrine or in a religion or in a baptism or in a church?

But in a person in Jesus himself. In him you find the father and You'll find in the paragraph after next you get the spirit.

Are you troubled?

Don't be.

Believe.

Believe what Jesus said. Believe what he did.

The Greater Works and the Promise of Answered Prayer

Forth.

The promise. Are you troubled? Well, you shouldn't be because of the promise. Well, they're afraid here Of what's gonna happen to them when Jesus goes away and he's been doing signs. He's been turning water into wine and healing people and feeding five thousand with just a few loaves and fish and walking on water and raising the dead.

What will they do if he's not there anymore? Doing these kinds of things. And so Jesus gives the promise in verse 12 if you believe in me You will also do the works that I do. The works he says the father in him does.

In other words if you have faith You will cooperate with a father and the son To do their works. Well, that's astounding. That means that the things Jesus did weren't just for that day. And now that he's done them, we really can't expect anything more like that to happen anymore.

In fact, not only will we do his works? He goes on to say we'll do greater works greater miracles than he did and we do them he says because.

I.

Go to the father. We do them now. He's not here to do that. We do them because he went to the father what Jesus does and going to the father creates the way for us to do. Greater works than Jesus did notice the verse 12 for whoever believes in me for all believers for us.

How is that possible? For all believers to do greater works than Jesus. You might think well he fed 5 ,000 with just a few fish and and loads of bread. He he'll paralytics and men born blind raised a man who had been dead for four days raised him out of the tomb.

I don't see any of that going on right now. How can we be promised greater works than these? So, how is that possible? Well, what did Jesus do? Especially in John. What do you call the signs? What do these signs do?

What are they for? Well John tells us That you may believe. What Jesus did was works to create faith. Faith isn't just a decision of the mind based on evidence. Some people saw Jesus as miracles and still didn't believe in him.

Like they tried to kill Lazarus because they wanted to get rid of the evidence. Faith isn't just a decision of the mind based on evidence. It's a commitment of the heart and the purpose of the works of Jesus and the father is to get hearts.

To believe in God to and to believe in Jesus and so to be untroubled. With the Holy Spirit we can do the greater work of creating faith in people's hearts. We can share the gospel and people believe. That's life from spiritual death.

More of a miracle than calling out a four-day-old corpse to walk out of a tomb. That's The greater work. We can do that greater work because Jesus has gone to the father to make a place where we're living with God.

He's created a path to be right with God. So we believe in the person of Jesus.

Now.

So that others will believe and Go to that place along that path and know that person. He gives us a promise Whatever we asked for in verse 13 Whatever we asked for in the name of Jesus that is for his sake for his glory.

That will he do? So that this is the purpose. The father may be glorified in the Sun. Is that your purpose for prayer that the father may be glorified in the Sun? The promise is that we can pray so that the father is glorified in the Sun and when we do that We'll get what we pray for so he'll be glorified.

When your children believe in Jesus and don't get in trouble now if we're just asking for our convenience We're asking for the glory for ourselves for the money. We want the relationship. We want the thing we want so that we'll be out of trouble.

We might not get that if it doesn't Glorify the father in the Sun. But if it's so that the father and the son will will be glorified then he will Give it so ask him in his name For his will to be done for him to be Better thought of glorified him to be glorified maybe by your children believing in him.

Ask him and.

He'll do it.

He promises.

Are you trouble?

Don't be.

He's gone away So that you can have a place with a father So that you'll have a path to life So that you'll know the person of Jesus. If you're still troubled pray.

Now.

To know him and.

You will.

He'll give you what you ask.

He promised.