Tensions were beginning to run high. This was a dinner party that had not gone quite the way the disciples had thought it would. At the beginning of dinner they were probably still riding high on the waves of adrenaline. Earlier in the week Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey to the praise of all the people. He had been teaching in the temple. Yes there was that day He got angry at the merchants and the religious leaders were not happy with Him, but that’s nothing new. But at dinner, the tone changed. What’s this about Him leaving? And then one of us will betray Him? Where did Judas go anyway? And now He is telling Peter that he will deny Him three times before the rooster crows? Peter of all people! I mean He gets ahead of himself at times but he loves Jesus! I’ll bet the thoughts in their head were swirling. They didn’t know what to think. Where is Jesus going and what will we do if/when He leaves? We have all left our jobs and have followed Him everywhere? Where will we go?
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1
The disciples had reason to feel troubled in the midst of all that they had just heard. But Jesus was telling them not to have a troubled heart. He knew that this news would shake them up. But what He was telling them is even in the midst of trouble you can have an untroubled heart if you keep believing in Him. Jesus was telling them where to put their trust. This is sometimes so easier said than done. But it’s a word for us today too, not just for the disciples. There may be a diagnosis, a wayward child, a financial strain, family discord, natural disasters, all sorts of things and believe me when I say even when I don’t have something to be troubled about if I sit in my thoughts too long I’ll be troubled about not having anything to be troubled about and what might be coming next. But that’s not how Jesus wants us to live. Jesus wants us to live trusting Him that even when things seem to be falling apart around us they might be falling into place.
Jesus is telling them where He was going and that He was going to prepare a place for them. The disciples still wanted to know how they would get there. Jesus told them you already know.
“And you know the way to where I am going.” John 14:4
But how, how can we know?
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6
Jesus is the way! He didn’t say I am going to show you the way. He is “the way”. Jesus is the way we get to heaven. But Jesus is also the way to the untroubled heart. Jesus is the way out of addiction. Jesus is the way to better relationships. Jesus is the way to hope.
Jesus is the truth! When your thoughts are swirling, when you don’t know what to think and can’t make sense of your circumstances. When stuff is coming at you from all directions. Jesus can hold you through those circumstances. He is the truth!
Jesus is the life! Even when your heart feels dead inside. When the heart has broken into so many pieces that you wonder sometimes how you keep waking up. When life hurts and hearts break, clinging to Jesus is the only way back to life.
When Jesus told them, this He was telling them the way to eternal life with God. But He was also telling them how to have abundant life here on earth that will ultimately lead to the Father. Keep following friends, keep your heart and your mind focused on His truth and let Him be the life to you! Here and evermore!
Restore 