John 14:1-14                       Show us God???                                                               14/5/17

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.”

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.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

We all have our own ideas of what God is like. All of us. Even those who try to convince themselves that there is no God. Deep down we all know that there is a God ‘out there’ somewhere. We also know that in the end we are answerable to him.

However, the question for us all is; who is he and what is he really like? If only we could see him and know what he is all about, then we could be sure. Particularly now as we reflect on the news of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection. Is this for real? And can we be sure that it is not just a story, or at least a twisting of something that may have happened? “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Then we can be sure.

But of course that raises the real problem for us. Do we really want to know? You see, we know that there is a God and we also know that we have not taken him seriously and that we will be answerable for that. We have disobeyed him and we expect that he will punish us for it. Why else do we so often say, ‘I hope I will be in heaven’. We know that we are far from being the people that God would have us be. We know what we deserve, but we don’t want to think about it or acknowledge it.

Along with this, our sinful human nature wants ‘to be like God.’ Or perhaps more to the point, make God into the image that we want him to be. So God becomes in our thinking, the kind of god that we would like him to be. So we ignore those aspects of God in the Bible that we don’t like and highlight that which we like. So God becomes a god of our own making.

In this way we then can in some way appease our consciences and allow ourselves to live and do what we want. For instance, today many believe and teach that God is an all-loving and accepting God, but ignore his holiness, righteousness and wrath. So we ignore his Law and simply focus on the Gospel. Without the Law then, the Gospel – that is Jesus death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, becomes a nonsense. Christianity becomes nothing but a feel good religion, with no real substance or meaning.

But again deep down we know that this is not the case. We know that there is much more to God than that. We are just trying to convince ourselves that we can ignore the hard stuff and in the end God will accept us no matter what. As long as I am “sincere,” and as long as I live a reasonably good life, then ‘she’ll be right mate.’ But we are merely hoping that this is the case and that our deep conscience is wrong.

Now, here in this reading we have Phillip struggling to come to terms with who this Jesus is and who God is, and how much to take seriously Jesus and what his Word says. He, like us, seemed to be struggling with who Jesus was and what God was about, in and through Jesus. How can we be sure about all this stuff that Jesus is talking about and more?

In response to Jesus saying that he is going to heaven to prepare a place for us, Phillip asks: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” To which, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

So here we have Jesus laying it on the line for Phillip and for us. For starters, again the clear point is that Jesus alone is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. He is our only access to God and eternal life.

He is not one way amongst many. Muslim, Hindu, Good works ‘christianity’, Pentecostalism and many others are not other ways for us to gain access into heaven. Nor is living a good ethical life [whatever that might mean], or I am a reasonably good bloke so I will be okay. Jesus Christ and his death on the cross is our only way through the mess of this life and into heaven.

So also, He is not one truth amongst many other truths we might want to make as the truth. He alone knows what is good and right for us. After all he was the creator of all, so he knows how it all works and what is best. Because he is all-knowing he is far superior to our frail human nature that is turned in on itself. So what he has given us in his Word – the Bible – is the truth that we need to know in order to get through this life and into the next.

Then also we are told that: He is not one life here and in eternity, amongst other eternal lives that we might like to think there are out there. If we are to truly live as we are intended to, then we are to be connected to he who is life itself – Jesus Christ. He again knows what life is meant to be for us. Any other life that we might think is appropriate is futile and empty. In the end they all will lead to disaster and death. Christ alone is life and gives life.

Following on from that Jesus again reiterates the point the no one comes to Father except through him. He alone is the only way to God’s presence and eternal life. It has to be, because in the Old Testament God it quite clear that sinful humanity – that is all of us – cannot come into God’s presence. His holiness would burn us up and destroy us.

So how does God uphold his holiness and yet make it possible for us to come into his presence? His Son’s coming into our world was for that very purpose. He takes our sinfulness on himself and allows God to punish him. God upholds his holiness by punishing all sin. His love is fulfilled in his forgiveness being extended to all of believe and are connected to this Jesus.

In this way forgiveness and acceptance is made possible for all who are connected to this Jesus Christ. So now when God looks at those who are in Christ he sees the perfection of his Son. There alone then we have access into God’s presence and eternal life.

But again then the question is raised, how can we know that this is all for real? Are the people out there who say this is a made up story, right? It all sounds a bit far-fetched and odd? Phillip says what is in the back of our minds. “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Then we can be sure. Then we can take all this seriously.

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.  

So there is our answer. There is our proof. Jesus and the Father are one – they are in each other. When Jesus speaks, he speaks what his Father would have him speak and have all the authority of God almighty himself. All that Jesus said and did was what God himself wanted said and done.

The works that Jesus did, themselves are clear evidence of this. All the miracles that Jesus did were clearly seen to be only that which God himself can do. Even when he spoke it was commented that he spoke with the authority of God. Then he goes to Jerusalem to die on the cross, just as was prophesied hundreds and hundreds of years before hand. There is absolute proof even today that this is the case.

But then most telling of all; this Jesus rose from the dead after dying on the cross. After three days he arises just as he said would happen. This is the miracle of all miracles. Again this could be proven in a Court of Law today, to have really happened, even though it is humanly impossible.

The works of God are clear. The evidence is there that this Jesus is every bit in the Father and the Father in him. God has shown himself to us so that we can know for sure. Everything that he has said, done and promised is true and can be relied on. So we can go forward with a sure and certain hope into the future. Jesus is who he said he is, and the life and salvation that he has won for us can be relied on. So to him again then, be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish