The Lord’s Message:  Resurrection:  Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life

The Lord’s Message:  Resurrection:  Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life
Date:  May 3, 2026
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  John 14:1-7

            We are in this beautiful season of Easter.  Jesus is Risen from the grave.  He is risen indeed.  During this season of Easter, we have seen what God has done with an empty tomb.  He has brought hope where there was despair.  He has brought life where there was only death.  He has brought what many would consider to be the end to be the beginning of eternity.  For the last three Sundays, we have looked how the resurrection of Jesus changed the disciples from puzzled by the news of Jesus being resurrected, to seeing Jesus in the breaking of the bread, from doubt to faith, and from failure to follower.  This morning, we are going to see how the resurrection changes us.

            Let us pray.

            The timing of this passage of scripture occurs in the Upper Room at the Last Supper after Jesus has told the disciples that one of them would betray Him and that Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times.  All the disciples were shocked, deeply distressed, and confused.  They all asked, “Is it I?”  There was a sense of fear and insecurity. 

            They had been with Jesus for three years.  They had seen Jesus heal all kinds of diseases, from people with leprosy, to people possessed with demons, and even raise people from the dead.  They had seen Jesus walk on the water and calm the storm.  They had felt safe being with Jesus, even to the point of being invincible, but all of that is changing in their lives.  Their lives here on earth will never be safe and secure any longer. 

            How about us?  Our lives are far from being safe and secure.  Even for Christians, as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:30, we face death every day.  So, when Jesus says to His disciples in John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God.  Trust also in Me,” Jesus is also speaking to each one of us.  Jesus never promised us a life without trouble, but he did promise us an untroubled heart even in this troubled life.  We need to fully place our trust in God and Jesus in order for us to have peace on this earth.  They are the only ones that we can fully trust.   

            This trust is not without fulfillment only in this world, but in the next.  Jesus points this out in verses 2-3.  There is enough room for everyone.    Jesus speaks of this with complete confidence, after all He left heaven to come to be one of us. 

            Some Biblical translations call the “many rooms” mansions.  We do not know what those rooms will be like, but if they are in Heaven, then they will be greater than any mansions here on earth, including the Biltmore, Taj Mahal, or Getty Mansion combined.  In Revelation 21:10-19a, John records for us what God showed him of Heaven while he was on the Island of Patmos. 

            Jesus says, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.”  Have you noticed that everything that God does is prepared.  Nothing is done by chance.  It is all done by love.  By love, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth.  By love, Jesus showed us God in the flesh.  By love, Jesus healed the sick and taught about the kingdom of God.  By love, Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt of sin.  By love, Jesus was resurrected from the grave by God.  By love, Jesus prepares a place for us in heaven. 

            By love, Jesus’ promise, “I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  Reverend Arthur Tasker says that “This was a very precious promise to the early Church, and Paul may well be echoing it when he informs the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 ‘by the word of the Lord that Jesus will descend from heaven and gather believers unto Himself to be with Him forever.”

            It is not enough to have beautiful mansions in heaven, but Jesus also promised that “you also may be where I am.”  We will be united with Jesus in Heaven in a way that we could never be here on earth.  We will be in constant fellowship with Jesus.  Heaven is Heaven because Jesus is there.  Reverend David Guzik says, “We take comfort in knowing that even as He prepares a place for us, Jesus also prepares us for that place.”

            In verse 4, Jesus assumes that the disciples had understood His teachings that they would know where Jesus was going. Thomas responds in verse 5, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?”  Thomas, as Thomas had done two weeks ago, helps us to clearly, without doubt, know where Jesus is going and how we can get to the place that Jesus has prepared for us.  Without Thomas’ questioning of Jesus, we might not have a clear understanding of the way to Heaven.

            This is explained further in one of the most exclusive and provocative statements found in all the Bible, verse 6.  “Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Notice Jesus did not say I will show you the way.  He said that He is the way.  He did not promise to teach us a truth.  He said that He is the truth.  Jesus did not offer us the secrets to life.  He said that He is life. 

I am wandering about: I do not know where I am going.  Jesus is the way.

I’m confused; I do not know what to think.  Jesus is the truth.

I’m dead inside and do not know if I can go on.  Jesus is the life.

“No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  If Heaven is where Jesus is, why would we want to believe in any other god.  When I was in the emergency room because of a heart attack, Doctor Etherton came in and said, “You need to have catheterization and most likely a stent put in.  Do you have any questions?”  I said, “No, do what needs to be done.”  I put my faith and trust in Doctor Etherton.  He has been a cardiologist for a long time and knew what I needed to have done.  The same way with Jesus.  I have no problem with Jesus telling me that He is the way to Heaven and God.  He left Heaven to be as one of us.  He died on the cross for us. He rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven.  He is preparing a place for all the believers.  Why would I trust in some other god and their way to Heaven?  Why would I think that there is another pathway to Heaven?  I will trust in Jesus and follow what He says. 

The Resurrection changed the disciples from puzzled to seeing and believing, from doubt to faith, and from failure to follower.  The Resurrection changes us from death to life, from a grave to a place in Heaven, and from some fellowship with Jesus to have constant fellowship with Jesus. 

So, let us continue to listen to God and do what He says.  Amen.