"Jesus: The Way, the Truth, the Life" (Sermon on John 14:6)

Jesus, said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This was the theme verse for our Vacation Bible School this past week, and thus it is the text for our message this morning. If anyone is on a “Quest for Truth,” this is the Gospel Truth.

But the fact is, none of us by nature is on a quest for truth. Fallen sinful human beings have turned their back on the truth, because we have turned our back on God. As it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God.” So the truth is, no one is questing for God. The philosophers of this world fancy themselves to be on a quest for ultimate truth, but all they are doing is groping in the dark. All they can come up with is more questions than answers.

None of us by nature is seeking God or questing after his truth. That’s why Jesus came. It is his quest, his seeking after us, that really counts. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” Jesus said about himself, and those lost ones were us. Jesus came to reveal the truth to us, and to be the truth for us, we who knew not the truth nor were we seeking after it. Jesus came on a quest for our salvation.

And that is what we learned about during the five days of our Vacation Bible School. On the first day of VBS, the first big idea we heard came in the form of a “little” truth. Literally. The little Lord Jesus, and the truth is, that baby Jesus is our promised Savior. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” God had promised from of old a Savior, someone to save us from our lostness, someone to rescue us from the death-trap we had fallen into. That promised Savior turned out to be Jesus, who came bringing God’s favor that we did not deserve. And this Savior came in a surprising way, as a little baby lying in a manger, of all things. But that lowly, humble manger would be in keeping with how this Savior would save us, for the wood of the manger would lead one day to the wood of the cross. The Savior had to come in our flesh as a baby, so he could grow up to die in our place as our Savior.

When Jesus had grown, he set out directly on that saving mission at his baptism. That was our lesson on Day 2. At his baptism, Jesus was revealed to be God’s own Son. For the Father’s voice said of him, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” We could not save ourselves, but it would take the very Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is both true God and true man, to do the job of rescuing us from eternal death. “His Son Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life.” Jesus was marked out as the Savior of God’s choosing at his baptism, and from there he set out on his ministry of mercy on the way to the cross.

Yes, Jesus came revealing and demonstrating God’s mercy for sinful mankind. Jesus shows mercy, healing mercy. That was the main idea on Day 3, when we saw Jesus in action healing ten lepers. Jesus healed these men from their skin disease to show what happens when he heals us from the underlying sin disease that affects us all. Our own sinfulness is at the root of all the misery we suffer in this vale of tears. But God has mercy on us in the midst of our misery. He loves us and cares for us and puts it into action. The healing touch of Jesus, his heart of love, his creative and restorative word, bring wholeness, complete wholeness, to both body and soul. Because of the total forgiveness Christ has won for us on the cross, therefore the resulting effects of sin--sickness, disease, suffering, death itself--in the end . . . are not the end! Christ’s rescue mission, his mission of mercy, will include even these disease-ridden bodies. The word of Christ frees us from the bondage of decay and death that our bodies are subject to. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But it would take the death of God’s own Son to rescue us from this corruption of sin and death. That was the theme on Day 4, the very heart of the gospel itself. Jesus died and rose to save sinners. Christ died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. It was not for his own sins that he died, for he had none. But he took on the weight of all of our sins, your sins and mine, and he carried them to the cross in our place. This is how he saved us. This is how our sins are forgiven, and when sins are forgiven, then death has nothing with which to hold us any more. Jesus then showed his victory over sin and death by rising on Easter morning. Out of death, be brings life! Those who trust in Jesus share in the life he freely gives. “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life!” This is for you! This is Jesus’ gift for you! Believe it!

And so that we would believe it, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit. That was the main idea on the last day, and that is what will keep us in the faith until the Last Day. The Holy Spirit gives us faith and keeps us in the faith until we reach the goal of faith, when Christ returns and takes us home to heaven. The Holy Spirit, poured out at Pentecost--the Holy Spirit working through the church’s ministry of Word and Sacrament--this is how we are able to believe in Jesus Christ and come to him. The Spirit is at work through the Gospel, to bring us to the truth and so be saved.

And not only for us who are here today, but also for all people everywhere. “God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The power and purpose of Pentecost is that the church would tell the Good News about Jesus to all nations, to all peoples around the world. Even to the people down the block, here in Bonne Terre. There are lots of folks here in our little corner of the world who are groping in the dark as badly as if they were in the farthest, most remote jungle. The lost are sitting in our taverns, gassing up at the quick stop, playing ball on our little league fields, and golfing at the country club. People all around us are dying, not knowing the truth or even seeking after it. Somebody needs to tell them. Look for open doors. God might actually use you in some small way to get someone connected to Jesus.

Getting connected to Jesus is what is so vital if we’re going to talk about any “Quest for Truth.” For there is no other way to know the truth or to receive eternal life, other than by being connected to Christ. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Notice that Jesus says, I am “the” way. Not “a” way, as though there were more than one. But that is so unpopular and even downright offensive in our world today, isn’t it? To say that Jesus is “the” way, the only way to God. People like to think that there are many ways to God. “All roads lead to heaven,” so the saying goes. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Only Jesus can save. Only Jesus can show us the way to God. Only Jesus can be the way to God for us. There is no other way. Only Jesus.

And that’s the truth. The Gospel Truth. This truth is good news! Rather than groping around in the dark and being unsure if we have found the right way, Jesus makes it all very clear and plain and simple. “Trust in me, follow me, I am the way. I am going to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am, you will be with me. I am the way.” No complicated commands to master, commands you couldn’t keep anyways. Just Jesus. He does it all for you. He is the way.

He is the truth. The truth about God and us. Lots of people have lots of crazy ideas about God, as they imagine him or her or it or them to be. But only Jesus has truth you can count on, truth you can build your life on. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth--that’s who Jesus is. He shows us God’s heart of love, in action, by going to the cross. That’s the truth you can rely on and hold onto, even when it doesn’t look like God is caring for you very much. Look to Jesus on the cross. There is the ultimate sign of the truth that God does indeed love you, no matter what. Jesus is the truth.

And so he is the life. Jesus has life in himself, and he bestows this life upon us freely as a gift. It is life put right with God. It is the power to live a new life now, walking in the Spirit, and washed in the cleansing blood of Jesus. It is the sure hope of life everlasting, life that is mightier than the grave, life that will last forever, at home with God at last and always.

Jesus said--no, Jesus says, now, to you: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life--for you! You now--yes, you!--come to Father through me!”

None of us by nature is seeking God or questing after his truth.

Our "nature" is to NOT seek God or to seek Truth? Bull Sh!t

If we were created by God - if we are the children of God, created in His image and likeness, how could the likeness of God be so flawed? Free will? - BS! If we are created in our Father's likeness, we would not make "free will" choices which are contrary to His nature. We want to know the Truth and we want to do what is right. It is the BS tripe by "the powers that (temporarily) be" that prevent us from demonstrating what we were created to be. We are the perfect offspring of a perfect Source and when we awaken to that fact, all will be well.

In a somewhat similar vein, our pastor chose to refer us to Deut 18: 9-15. He began with a discussion of ouija boards, Harry Potter novels, etc. and wove it into the above passages.
After service while he was standing in back waiting for people being ushered out (I was an usher this month and was free to roam), I walked up to him and said “Well, you messed it up for me today. I was going to consult my ouija board to see if I wanted to buy the latest Harry Potter novel”. He laughed and said “There’s a lot better stuff to read”.

If you think about it, John 14:6 is the key that can unlock practically all of Scripture.

It can be used to demonstrate salvation, the Godhead, spiritual growth, etc.

This verse, for me, is where the “light came on” in my ministry.

It’s been a wonderful journey........

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