“Thomas, Philip and Judas (not Iscariot)”
Palm Sunday 2010
Text: John 14:4-26
Four questions (three asked and one unspoken): 1. What is the way? 2. Who does the Father look like (Or who is the Father)? 3. Are we to be abandoned as orphans in this world? and
4. Why will You, Jesus, no longer disclose yourself to the world? Our setting is the upper room, the occasion is the institution of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus is briefing His disciples—but we are in view— on what to do in the days which are to follow His death and resurrection. We call those days the age of the church (which the events of Pentecost plainly initiates) and so the answers that Jesus gives to these four questions are most pertinent to the living of our lives.
First, what is the way? The way is the way of sacrificial love, of obedient redemptive suffering. Sacrificial love is aptly described as costly. It is the love which deems loss and pain as valuable. This is contrary to both our cultural and our natural inclinations. Culturally we are conditioned to think of pain as bad, as something to be avoided. This inclination expresses itself in our incredible addiction to prescription drugs, or recreational drugs—valued for their capacity to ease pain, induce the euphoria we desire and to keep us perpetually happy. As for loss, we use drugs to numb our grief and to take the edge off our hurt. Our faith embraces both loss and pain as means to build the kingdom—to build bridges to those with like catastrophes so that their souls might be won, be drawn into fellowship with Christ and with us! We suffer in this life, but we do not suffer as those who have no hope and we do not suffer as if it didn’t matter. It does matter and what matters is the use to which our suffering is put. So, Jesus is saying to Thomas: the way is the way of the cross! As we follow Christ in redemptive suffering, for the sake of exalting our Lord and Master and His goals of salvation, there is truth—for we are truly being obedient when we live and love as He lived and loved. If you want to know the truth of My doctrine, obey My teaching and it will be revealed to you. (A paraphrase of John 7:16b-17 which Jesus’ teaching is identified with the Father’s will.) No one comes to the Father but through Me. (v.6) This teaching unites both belief and behavior. One operates through Christ by walking in faith (believing that He is Who He says He is, that He came and accomplished what He was sent to, and that He now lives glorified with the Father) and is thereby saved.
Part of Jesus’ answer to the first question leads to the second: If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.
To put this in perspective, we should recall Jesus’ opening declaration of 13:31: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. It is in the glorified Son that we obtain the best picture of the Father—the best that is to date! Jesus had frequently pictured the Father in many, diverse parables, but the glorified Son is the best depiction. Now some take Jesus’ resurrection as His glorification. I prefer to that that as His vindication. The astoundingly beautiful truth here is that Christ was glorified in betrayal, in stooping to the ignominy of the cross. God dying for our lost race, so that His love might satisfy His Law, vindicate His justice and justify Him in all His ways, all His dealings with us. So Philip’s question/request: Show us the Father! points us in the right direction. And Jesus’ answer establishes the identity of Father and Son in the godhead. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? We are one, our identity is sure, true and observable. It is established by familiarity with Jesus (Have I been with you for so long, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?) v. 9, the Word that Jesus speaks (which He is at pains to demonstrate as being of divine origin) and the works (the signs, healings, miracles, wonders and deliverances that Jesus performed as evidence of Who He was (Messiah) and indications that the Kingdom of God had come with power (If I by the finger of God cast our demons, you may be sure that the Kingdom has come with power in your midst!) (Luke 11:20) The Father abiding in Me does His works. It is hard to imagine a stronger statement of co-existence divinity than this!
At this point Jesus adds a beautiful promise to the mix: Truly, truly, I say to you; he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do; and greater works than these He will do; because I go to the Father. (v. 12) Again we are reminded that the way to the Father is through the cross, through death and resurrection until death shall be no more. Being empowered to accomplish the Father’s will, and to impart wisdom from on high, are awesome things; but greater works suggest a superlative degree of effectiveness and service to the King.
Our third question addresses one universal cry—inescapable in a world where suffering, death and separation exist as realities—are we to be abandoned? To answer this unspoken question, Jesus assures us of our new privileges in prayer: Whatever you ask in My name . . . that is, whatever you ask in keeping with my purposes, character and mission . . . anything in line with all that . . . that will I do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My Name, I will do it. (vv.13-14). This promises suggesting a vital, intimate continuance of relationship—undisrupted, as it were, by the Son’s ascension to the right hand of God the Father in heaven. It is the promise of a perpetual Helper/Advocate/Paraclete that answers the issue of abandonment. No, we will not be left orphaned because God will send the Spirit of truth to be our constant companion. The world will not receive the Holy Spirit; it neither sees, nor knows the Spirit but we shall through His abiding presence within believers. But there is better comfort still: I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Furthermore, you will see Me . . . you will have life (live) by virtue of My life within you. This mutual indwelling will convince us of the full reality of the divine: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All questions about what I am in the Father, and you in Me and I in you will be resolved and the issue will be the love: He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. (v.21)
Here’s the fourth and final question: What then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world? I rendered this “Why will You, Jesus, no longer disclose yourself to the world?” This is why: there is, in the question, a matter of changing seasons. While Jesus was the Lord Incarnate, He was openly discernible to anyone and everyone. Not only was this something done in the open, no one was hindered from seeing Jesus! How generous our God is? But then how else can it be said, mankind is without excuse. They saw Him, heard Him, perhaps even were touched by Him or interacted with Him and they would not receive Him—rather they despised, rejected and hated Him. I sense that many present may also have done so in their days of unbelief and rebellion. I certainly did so. But Judas comes asking what has happened? The brief answer is the glorification of the Son. The Son has entered into His passion, the die has been cast. There is no turning back. The time of fulfillment of all things prophesied regarding the Messiah to be fulfilled.
Jesus’ reply builds some redundancy into the discourse: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come and make our Abode with him. (v.23) Here, again, for those who can hear it, is the unity of the godhead expounded. Jesus says, “We” and “Our,” making Himself equal in essence with the Father (and the Spirit). Is this the direct answer? No. The direct answer comes in v. 25: These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. That is what’s changing. Jesus has abode with them in the flesh up to this point in time—He was not yet glorified. When He is glorified, He will again abide with us but not in the same manner as before, and not singly but in concert with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus’ answer, detailing this abiding, takes up a considerable portion of chapter 15 but that is outside the scope of this message. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. v. 26 We are blessed with divine back-up. Memory loss is not an excuse and yet we should not presume upon the kindnesses of God. I mean, this provision is no substitute for the study of the Word, as revealed in Scripture; we are to work at it because it commanded of us. I only point this out because there are some folks who are squirrelly enough to claim that school is out and we don’t need teachers, books or classroom time!
So there it is: What is the way? It is the way of the cross. Who does the Father look like? He looks like the glorified Son, merciful and just, loving and truthful. The Son so looks like the Father that if you’ve seen (known, believed in) one, you’ve seen the other. Are we to be abandoned? No. We have a secure, everlasting connection to God through the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son who actively indwell each believer. Why is Jesus not seen openly by the world? Because that season has come and gone. Now Jesus has ordained that people will see Him in us, living in us, until He returns to reclaim and glorify us in person.
Let’s make application. What about questions? Questions are good. We can advance our understanding by asking them. Scriptural answers are also good. For the questions we asked today, the answers are there! We know what it means to say “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.” It means that we are live life affirming that there is purpose to it, direction, a certain spiritual trajectory. Just as there was a beginning, there is an end and the whole process is aimed at exalting the name of Jesus to the glory of the Father. This end is not typically what people live for—not even Christians. We should change that. We should earn the reputation of “being about the Father’s business”! When someone expresses surprise that we worship God, we answer, “Of course I worship God. That is what I am here for. All believers love to sing praises, offer prayers and to contribute to the work (the needs of the saints and of sinners). It’s all about salvation. Our steadfast hope should be evident to all as well. We do not hope for everything to turn out as we would like here and now. We look to the coming of Christ to set all things straight. It will work out right in the end! That truth allows to hold to the things of this world lightly—it frees us to let go of offenses, to heal and to practice forgiveness in a forbearing manner. That makes us patient and more kind as time goes on.
When someone asks, “What does God look like?” We should respond, “How much time do you have?” Then we should tell them all about Jesus. And we should keep on telling them until they react, “Hey, I asked you about God. Why are you talking about Jesus?” You say, “Precisely. I am telling you about Jesus because Jesus is God—He is like God in every way so all the descriptions of Jesus in Scripture are actually pictures of the one true God!” I believe we have to be bolder: establish the reality of the trinity, persuade all of the divinity of Christ without embarrassment, or timidity.
Are we alone? Never. Someone struggling with loneliness needs to know the loneliness that Jesus undertook to lift that curse from us! The truth is He is with every believer, without exception or hiatus. Christ, the ever present. This truth is also helpful when we dealing with someone afflicted with shameful addiction. You are never alone with your temptation, never alone in your choice to sin. He sees all, knows all. Such knowledge makes His forgiveness immense—a towering, God-like thing that it is! If you believe, really believe that God is omnipresent and that He alone knows and understands the human heart, you will tremble your way into purity, into reconciliation and deepening love.
And, finally, we Christians are a privileged lot. We see what no one else can see by virtue of our belief. It a chief benefit in the program of being Christian. It’s an in-house bond and mystery worth looking into for outsiders. We have pearls that are not meant to be cast before swine, we have treasures immense and splendid out of which to share life, truth and salvation. We have the riches of Christ. We are heirs with Christ, and sons of God. We are free indeed and know how to lead others out. It all begins with answering their questions and isn’t it grand that the hardest ones seem to have been already answered—in the book. Know the Book! Your life does depend on it—and so do the lives of those you know, love and care about! Tell your friends, “If only you would believe, you would see Jesus!” Truly, truly, I once was blind, but now I see . . . and so you are, so you might be!