Only Jesus Can Give Comfort Like This!

5th Sunday of Easter, 5/22/11
John 14:1-12


Only Jesus Can Give Comfort Like This!
I. The comfort of an eternal home
II. The comfort only God can give
III. The assurance we will do great things


Ruth Dillow will never forget the last day of February, 1991. That was the day she was called into the office at her place of employment and was grimly greeted by two officers of the US Army. They didn’t have to say a word. She knew why they were there. You see, her son Clayton was serving in the Persian Gulf War. The officers spoke their words of regret, informing her that her son had been killed the day before while serving his country. Her reaction was typical. She was stunned. Family and friends gathered around her all the rest of that day, but they did little to dispel the hazy world around her. She just couldn’t accept the reality of his death.

She went to bed that night, not sleeping much at all. She got out of bed the next day to face her grief and disbelief. Her young son Clayton was gone. She said, “I kept looking at that picture,” nodding toward a framed photo above the living room door. “I kept saying, “No. He can’t be dead. This has got to be a mistake.”

Still, when the phone rang late that evening, Ruth wasn’t quite prepared for the far-off voice that announced. “Hi, Mom. This is Clayton.” Obviously, she didn’t believe it. But he insisted it was indeed her son. He told her that he had been wounded and was in the hospital, but that he should make a full recovery. She didn’t believe it was really her son. So she asked, “What did I call you when you were little?” He had to think for a moment, but then replied, “Little garbage disposal.” And that’s when she believed him. Those were the words—words from her son—that drove her grief away and filled her with joy.

We, too, look for comfort from words. There are times when that comfort is sorely needed, such as when a loved one dies, especially unexpectedly. But there are the little times of pain all day long when we need our Lord’s comforting words of assurance that all will be better.

Jesus shares those words with us this morning. And what powerful words of comfort they are! Only Jesus can give comfort like this! May his comfort fill your hearts as we focus on his comforting words this morning.

Part I.
At the beginning of this month I heard a presentation that made me realize how many blessings I take for granted. I listened as some young adults who had come out of the foster care program described their insecurity about never having a place to call home. Most of us—if not all of us—have never experienced that insecurity. We’ve been blessed with homes all our lives.

And yet we still live rather restless lives. Correct me if I’m wrong, but every day we feel compelled to chase after and strive for something else to make our lives complete. We wish for this or that change in our lives and nearly end up wishing our lives away. Rather unsettling, isn’t it?

Listen to Jesus’ words of comfort—comfort that only he can give. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Jesus wants to assure us that heaven isn’t some myth that he dreamed up in order to give us something to look forward to. He actually went there when he ascended in order to get everything ready for us. He says there are rooms there for us. By that he means he is preparing a permanent place for us to live with him eternally. Everything else in our lives is only temporary, but his place for us is permanently eternal.

But how can we be sure we’ll get there? Jesus offers this word of comfort, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” That’s another reference to the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day. Jesus is preparing a place for our souls and our bodies. On that Last Day, with his almighty power, he will raise us and we will join him and all other believers. What greater comfort can there be for the stress and grief of this life? Only Jesus can give comfort like this—the comfort of an eternal home.

So keep that in mind as you enter the rat race of life later today or, at the latest, tomorrow. Our home isn’t here. Everything we work so hard for will one day be taken from us. Only our spiritual blessings will go with us into the next life. So, when we gather together to confess our sins, include your misplaced priorities and earthly focus in your confession. And don’t forget to confess your worries. Our daily worries are evidence that our focus is too much on this life and not enough on the one to come. By his perfect life and his death on the cross, Jesus guarantees you life with him. He is preparing a permanent, eternal home for you right now. It’s yours by faith in him. Only Jesus can give comfort like this!

Part II.
You’ve probably heard me say that the most important question in life is, “Who is Jesus Christ?” A sinner’s eternal life or death hangs in the balance based on his or her answer. Jesus is the eternal Son of God and the world’s only Savior from sin.

At this point in their relationship with Jesus, the disciples were struggling to answer that question correctly. There were times when they made outstanding confessions of Jesus, such as when Peter declared for them all, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16).

But weeks later, they weren’t so sure. At least Philip wasn’t so sure. Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” But Philip revealed his opinion that the Father must be greater than Jesus when he said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus confronts Philip and his fellow disciples with the truth. He said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Jesus is here stating what we confess about him in the Nicene Creed, “True God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.” Jesus is the Son of God and therefore shares the same essence with the Father. Jesus is all that the Father is.

And if the disciples don’t believe his words, then he pleads with them, “At least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” Every miracle of Jesus pointed to this great and saving truth: Jesus is the almighty, eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Only God can raise the dead. Jesus raised people from the dead. He raised himself from the dead. Jesus must be God.

Therefore, when he speaks, he speaks the word of God. He said, “The words I speak are not just my own.” When he speaks, he says exactly what the Father and the Holy Spirit say. His words share the truth, power and grace of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He’s not just sharing his own opinion about things. He’s speaking the words of the eternal God who is the way, the truth and the life.

And in those words we find our comfort—the comfort only God can give.

But what comfort we miss simply because we don’t take Jesus at his word! Jesus declares he is with us always, yet we feel afraid and alone. Jesus declares our sins are fully forgiven, but we deal daily with nagging guilt. Jesus declares he has destined us for life with him, but we’re anxious because we don’t know where our life seems to be going. Jesus declares he will always guide and strengthen us for whatever we face, but we fall into doubt and despair. And so he comes to us with his words of comfort again this morning and reminds us that he is God, the one who loves us, who died for us and who lives for us. Everything he has told us must be true. Only Jesus can comfort us like this!

Part III.
More than once I have wished that Jesus were still visibly here on earth, performing his awesome miracles. Wouldn’t that be astounding to see?

But there’s a problem with that. If Jesus were here doing his miracles, you and I would be more than happy for him to take care of all the work that needs to be done in his kingdom. We’d be tempted to say, “Jesus, just snap your fingers and get it done.”

Instead, Jesus uses us to do great things in his kingdom. He says, “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.” Greater things than Jesus did?!? Like what? Like using his law to confront sinners with their sin and using his gospel to proclaim to sinners their Savior from sin. Another greater thing is combining simple water with the all-powerful word and promise of Jesus and baptizing young and old alike, washing their sins away and bringing them into the kingdom of God. Another greater thing is sharing the very body and blood of Jesus with the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper for the assurance of our forgiveness, faith in Jesus and eternal life. In fact, another greater thing is bringing God’s word, 2,000 years after Pentecost, to a people for the first time in the language of their hearts. What a great thing it is, indeed, that our gracious God has given Chris, Janine and Sean not only the desire, but the gifts, to leave behind their family and friends in order to embark on a such a major project. And we, in a small way, can join them in that great thing by supporting them with our prayers and offerings. Chris, Janine and Sean—Jesus has great things in mind for you, just as he does for all of us. What comfort that gives us—the comfort that only Jesus can give. So go and do the great things in God’s kingdom that he has planned for you! Amen.