Here’s Just What You Need!

5th Sunday of Easter, 5/10/20
John 14:1-12


Here’s Just What You Need!
I. Comfort for today
II. Hope for tomorrow


It was never easy. Cancellations of every event. Practicing social distancing. Closing businesses. Sheltering at home. And now we’re staying safe and realizing the terrible economic impact this pandemic is having on our lives. This whole thing was never easy, but is it getting more difficult for you? I’m guessing that’s true about your patience. We just want to be done with this. And the longer this drags on, the more impatient we become.

We feel this deep need for things to get back to whatever is “normal” for us. I need to get back to work. I need to get a haircut. I need to see my family and friends. I need to take a weekend away or go on a vacation. I just need to be able to schedule something next month with the confidence that I’m going to be able to do it. And, as you watch this recorded service, I hope you’re thinking, “I need to worship in church. I need to receive Holy Communion.”

But, even if this pandemic ordeal were over today and everything went back to normal tomorrow, how long would you be content? I’ll bet it wouldn’t be as you as you think it would be right now. And I say that with confidence because I know from personal experience. Too often, when I get what I think I need, it doesn’t take very long before my situation changes slightly, and I begin to think I need something else. And much of that is due to the fact that this world, and my life, and your life, are full of trouble. And as soon as this trouble ends, another will take its place.

Jesus knows that today. And he knew it when he spoke these words of our text to his disciples in the upper room on the night before his death. And so, he gave his disciples what they needed, just what they needed. And he gives that to us, his disciples, today. Here’s just what you need! Let’s see what that is as we ponder these words of our Lord.

Part I.

“Trust me; I know what I’m doing.” In the mid-1980s there was a satirical TV police series entitled “Sledge Hammer” in which the main character, Sledge Hammer, spoke that phrase right before something catastrophic happened. In the series finale, his partner told him, “Sledge, you can’t disarm that nuclear bomb.” To which Sledge Hammer replied, “Trust me; I know what I’m doing.” You can guess what happened. The bomb detonated and the series ended.

Jesus spoke these words of our text from John 14 on the most catastrophic night of his life. It also happened to be the most
catastrophic night in the life of his 12 disciples as well. From a personal standpoint, the events in John 13 were devastating to both. First, Jesus informed the group that one of them was a mole, a double agent of the worst kind. Eleven of the disciples couldn’t believe it. In fact, each of them wondered if he was the backstabber of the Lord. The heart of Jesus went out to his betrayer. He gave him every opportunity to turn from his evil plan. He even indicated who it was—Judas Iscariot.

But the tragic drama wasn’t over. There was another chapter to it. This one involved the denial of Jesus. When all his disciples asserted their loyalty to him, Jesus informed them that they would all desert him. When Peter insisted he would go to death for Jesus, Jesus informed him that his resolve would wilt under pressure, and he would even deny three times that he ever knew Jesus. It was a tragic night.

But it got worse. Jesus informed them, “I am going to prepare a place for you. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus intended to comfort his disciples with this divine information, but they only heard one thing: Jesus is leaving us. And we don’t know where he’s going.

The disciples’ world was crashing in on them. Their “normal” had just been pulled out from under them. Their hopes, their dreams, their calendars, their jobs, just crumbled in front of them. And what does Jesus tell them? “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” In effect, he was telling them, “Trust me; I know what I’m doing.”

And that meant he would leave them, not so that they would never see him again, but so that they could be with him forever in a place that he would prepare for them. They thought they needed Jesus to stay with them right now. Jesus knew that they really needed him to leave them so that they could be together forever.

And then he added these words of comfort, “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 are not just my own. 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 miracles themselves.”

First, he told the disciples to trust him for who he is. The disciples still didn’t grasp that Jesus is true God. Somehow, they were under the impression that he was less than the Father. Jesus asserted his full deity once again. He implored them, “Trust me. I’m God.” And that meant that nothing they were facing now is beyond his knowledge or his control. It’s OK; he’s got this!

And if they still had trouble trusting him on the basis for who he is, then he stated, “At least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” They had witnessed countless miracles, from changing water into wine, to calming a storm, to healing all sorts of sick people, even to raising several people from the dead. He told them, “Trust me because of what you have seen me do.” And imagine what they would see him do over the next 60 hours or so. He would be crucified to their great horror. But they would learn he would die for their sins. Then he would rise again just as he said to assure them of their forgiveness and eternal life. And those are blessings that could never be taken from them no matter what they were facing in life. Those great blessings brought them comfort.

Here’s just what you need—comfort for today.

How often has it happened in your life, that you were going through something difficult and this hardship wasn’t going away? But you didn’t despair. You knew that your Lord was still watching over you and that he knew what you were facing. And you knew that he told you in his word that he was doing what was best for you at that time, but from your perspective, it just wasn’t enough. You needed him to do more.

I can’t count how many times I’ve felt and thought that way. How about you? And it’s often because we fail to see the big picture. We’re so consume with what’s right in front of us that we fail to keep in mind the big picture of our life with Jesus. That was exactly the situation for the disciples on this night. When Jesus pleaded with them to trust him, he wanted them to put their doubts aside and trust him for what they really needed—forgiveness and eternal life. And that’s exactly what Jesus accomplished in the few days that followed. And there’s your comfort, too. I don’t know how so many of the things in your life are going to turn out. But I do know this: you have forgiveness for your sins and eternal life in the heaven which Jesus has prepared for you. There’s your comfort for today!

Part II.

I know things have been tough for the past eight weeks or so. But I’m also amazed each day by the ways—small and large—that this pandemic has also been a blessing. For instance, I probably wouldn’t have made the effort to record our services and make them available on our web site if this pandemic hadn’t occurred. It’s also helped me think of creative ways to keep in touch with you and creative ways to get work done. I’m guessing that many of you have experienced such blessings, too.

The disciples couldn’t imagine a life without Jesus visibly present. So, when he told them of his departure, they were alarmed. How would they possibly live without him? What hope would they have for the future?

Jesus answered those questions with these words, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

There you have it. Just what they needed—hope for the future. He told them first that, in the future, they would do the things he had been doing. Just what did he mean? Most likely he was referring to his miracles. In the coming weeks, the disciples would receive the power from Jesus to perform miracles, just as Jesus did. Those miracles were a stamp of authority on the message that the disciples would share—that Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world and had risen again.

In fact, Jesus declared that they would do greater things than Jesus did. How can that be? Once Pentecost occurred, the disciples would take the good news about Jesus far and wide. The church on earth would grow by leaps and bounds. There would be Christians from every nation, tribe, language and people. Amazing! Jesus didn’t accomplish that while he was on earth, but the disciples would, by the power of the risen Lord Jesus. And that’s just what they needed

Here's just what you need—hope for tomorrow.

I remind you that things looked very bleak for the disciples and for the kingdom of God as Jesus spoke these words of our text. But in truth, everything was going exactly according to God’s plan—his plan to work out your salvation and mine, the world’s salvation. And nothing could stop that plan from being fulfilled. That plan included amazing blessings in the future for these disciples. And they happened just as Jesus said. That’s because our Lord God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and eternal. Every event—past, present and future—lies before him. And that includes your tomorrow and your eternity with him in heaven. So why be impatient or fearful about tomorrow? Here’s just what you need—hope for tomorrow. Your tomorrow is already in front of our Savior. It’s all in his hands. So, trust him, just as he called for his disciples to do. He won’t let you down. He can’t let you down. He will bless you in wonderful ways. Trust him! Amen.