[Machine transcription]
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear Saints of God, it’s almost too much in the text, John chapter 14, for us to cover in one
sermon. There’s so much rich Trinitarian theology. Jesus says, it’s enough if you’ve seen me, you’ve
seen the Father, to Philip, I am in the Father and the Father is in me. I go to the Father,
and so forth. There’s the theology of prayer which is really quite stunning at
the end of the text where Jesus says if you ask anything in my name I will do it
and he goes on to explain that in the verses to come. It’s a beautiful promise
and that promise that the Lord gives that not only does he hear our prayers
but he answers those prayers in in his own name. There’s the doctrine of the
exclusivity of the gospel.
This is an important, one of the foundational doctrines
of the Christian church, that there is one way to heaven.
No one comes to the Father, says Jesus, except through me.
Now those are hard words for those outside the church,
glorious words for those who are inside of Christ,
and an important theological text.
But the main thing happening in the text,
and the main thing then that we wanna focus on,
especially in these difficult days,
is the comfort that Jesus wants to deliver to us here,
especially with these words when he says,
let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house, says Jesus, are many rooms.
If it weren’t so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?
But I go to prepare a place for you
so that where I will be, there you will be also.”
Now, those words are stunning and wonderful,
and they’re for you.
Jesus says, where I will be, you will be also.
There is a heavenly home.
There is a resurrection life.
There is a place where we are headed, a place being prepared for you by Jesus so that you
can live with him forever.
A place where there are no more tears, where the tears are wiped away.
A place where there’s no more sorrow.
A place where there’s no more sickness, no more pestilence or plague or pandemics.
a place where there is no more disasters, no more death, no more sin, no more devil
or the demons, no more temptation, no more trouble. A place prepared by Jesus for
you. This is absolutely wonderful. But I think it’s even more
wonderful to say that Jesus says I’m going to prepare a place for you that I
have to walk away to prepare a place the way and the truth and the life but
there’s a I’m going to prepare the place for you and and I don’t know how you
think of that I used to almost always think of that as the ascension of Jesus
then when Jesus says I’m going to prepare a place for you that when he
ascends into heaven then that he does the work now I’m not a hundred percent
but sure, the picture that I had in my mind,
like there was a mansion that was so big in heaven
and when Jesus then rescued all of us,
he comes back to the heavenly mansion and says,
boy, we’re gonna need more rooms
and he starts this sort of renovation
of the heavenly mansion.
The problem in heaven is not the space.
It’s not like there’s not enough space for you
or for me up there.
The problem with this heavenly house is your sin.
and my sin.
I mean, the reason why there is no place
or why there should be no place for us
is because we’re sinners,
because we’ve broken God’s law,
because we’ve lived as enemies of God,
because we’ve worshiped ourselves
or we’ve collected all of these different idols,
things that we fear and that we love
and that we trust in above God.
We don’t deserve to be in that place
because that place is for the holy ones.
Those rooms are for the perfect.
The presence of God, the Father, and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the place
before them, to stand before them, belongs only to the righteous and you
and I, according to our life, according to our works, and according to our flesh, we
are not righteous. We are sinners. Every one of us, sinners. And that’s the
problem. And that’s why there’s no place for us in heaven. So when Jesus says to
the disciples, when he says to you and to me, when he says I go to prepare a place
for you, he’s saying I’m going to take care of your sin. I’m going to take care
of your uncleanness. I’m going to take care of your unholiness. I’m going to win
for you a righteousness and a perfection that you cannot accomplish on your own.
In other words, when Jesus says I go to prepare a place for you, he’s saying I’m
going to the cross to die for you.
That’s how he prepares a place.
That’s how he carves out room in the Father’s presence.
That’s how he makes us fit to stand before him in eternity.
He takes our sin, our death, our dying,
our imperfections and uncleanness,
he takes all of that and he suffers in our place
so that he can forgive our sins,
so that he can declare us righteous,
so that he can make us holy.
holy ones, saints who are fit to stand before him. There’s a place for you then
in heaven. Not because you’ve earned the spot or won your place like those
football tryouts and you ran faster than everyone else and you made the team, no.
There’s a place for you in heaven because Jesus died and risen again. I go
to prepare a place. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” God be praised that
in the in the in the pierced hands and the pierced side of Jesus there is a
place. God be praised that in his suffering and death now in the very
heart of God there is a place for you and for me and for all who trust in him.
I go to prepare a place for you says Jesus that where I am you will be also.
God be praised. Christ is risen. He has risen indeed.
Alleluia. And the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your
hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
