1.
In the name of our crucified and risen Lord and
Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear family and friends of Gene. On behalf of the congregation here at St.
John we offer to you our deepest sympathy.
In this hour of grief and sorrow we look with hope & joy to the
promise that our Lord Jesus gives to us in the Gospel of John 14:1-6. The message is entitled, “Jesus-The Way, the Truth & the Life,” dear brothers and
sisters in Christ.
2.
When
I speak at a funeral service, there are often young people, and maybe some not
so young, who are trying to find the place for religion in their lives. They
ask themselves, “Does this mean anything
to me? Is this just something my parents cared about?” But then, at some
point, everyone faces something he or she can’t handle, something that scares
us. Maybe it’s the biggest stress we’ve faced in this life, or maybe it’s the
realization that we have to face the end of this life. And suddenly we
wish there could be some place to turn, or Someone to turn to, outside
ourselves. Then, maybe those who’ve gone before us can teach us something after
all, like how they dealt with those fears. As they learned and grew, their faith
in Christ became absolutely foundational. It’s not an old-fashioned thing. It’s
not a generational thing. Each of us needs a foundation so we know how to face
the fears of life and beyond. Gene, is one of those from whom we can
learn. We can learn from Gene because he knew where his faith fit into all this. He knew he could face fears because his Redeemer
Jesus promised to deliver him from them all.
Gene knew that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that by
believing in Jesus he would have the assurance of eternal life.
3.
Let’s
get to the text for Gene’s funeral sermon.
John 14:1-6 says, “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye
may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.”
4.
What was ailing the disciples in our text from John
14? Their hearts were troubled because
Jesus had just told them that He would soon leave them and that they couldn’t
follow where he was going. The thought
of separation after many months of companionship was a source of grief and pain
to them. I’m sure right now for us today
the thought of separation from Gene is a great source of grief and pain too,
but we know it’s not the end. Here in
our text Jesus chose words to soothe his disciple’s and our sorrows and silence
all our fears. Martin Luther says this
about John 14, “Here we find the best and
most comforting sermon preached by Christ while on this earth…a jewel and
treasure not purchasable with the world’s goods.” May God grant us believing hearts that
this treasure which can’t be purchased with gold or silver, may be ours by
simple trusting faith.
5.
Who among us here today hasn’t been troubled in
their hearts? I would think that no one
here today would say that they live a carefree life without any worry, pain or
suffering. All of us have probably
experienced anxious, trying hours—hours of sickness, sleepless nights, the fear
of death, loneliness and friendlessness.
Maybe even hours when our debts seem greater than our God. Hours when our enemies seemed closer than our
Savior. Days when our hearts were
troubled and we cried to God for help.
6.
It was then that the divine prescription of our
Savior for troubled hearts has provided for us the healing medicine. Jesus says to us, “Let not your hearts be troubled…
In My Father’s house are many mansions…And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may
be also.” With these words our
Savior Jesus says, all our sorrows, heartaches, disappointments, grief and
heart troubles lose their bitterness in His dear promise, “I will come again.” Jesus
will come again to turn your sorrows into joy, your heartaches into gladness
and your grief into heavenly reunions in His Father’s house above.
7.
Jesus also tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me.” Gene knew that the only way to heaven was through
the blood our Savior Jesus shed on the cross to forgive him all his sins. But, we live in a politically correct world
that can’t tolerate such a claim. They
contend that there must be many paths to God, that truth is found in all
religions and that eternal life can be obtained through any number of belief
systems. But, that’s not true! Jesus is
the only way to eternal life!
8.
Jesus is the only way. These words of Jesus and this confession by
the early Christians placed believers in opposition to both the Jews who had
rejected Jesus and the Gentiles who worshiped many false gods. For all who claim that there are many ways to
heaven, all the other so-called ways are ultimately the way of good works and
self-centered individualism: Do your
best. Live a good life. Try your hardest. Follow these principles. Obey these commandments. No matter what the religion or belief system,
if it’s not Christianity, the way to eternity is always focused on what the
individual does or doesn’t do. And,
trying to follow the law can’t save you.
9.
This is why Jesus is the only way. Trying your hardest is never good
enough. Even your good works are tainted
by sin. The Bible tells us that there is
no one who is righteous, no one who does good, that we are conceived and born
into sin within our mother’s womb (Rom. 3:10; Psalm 51:5). Sin is a terminal disease that we inherited
all the way back to the first people who disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden,
Adam & Eve. That’s why those who
believe in a false religion are never certain if they’ve done enough to be
saved. They always feel that there is
something that they have left undone, some good work that they have failed to
do to earn them salvation. But, you know
that what you could never do, Christ has done for you. Gene knew this too and he put his hope and
trust in this great promise of our Lord!
Jesus lived the perfect life. He
walked the way of the cross, and by His death and resurrection has opened the
way for you and me to the Father in heaven.
In fact, when Jesus promises that He’s preparing a mansion for us in the
Father’s house, you can be certain that there’s a place waiting for you there. When He promises you the gift of the Holy
Spirit, you can be certain that His Spirit dwells in you.
10.
If Jesus is the way, he’s also the life. Not only does He make this claim, he reveals
its truthfulness. Jesus is your life,
just as He is Gene’s life, because He rose again on the third day! Death has no power over Him. And because he
lives, you will live also if you repent of your sins and believe in him as Your
Lord and Savior. Because he lives, you
will see the Father. Because he lives,
you will dwell in the place of life and light prepared for you by Christ
himself. Let not your hearts be
troubled, believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin, death and the power of the
devil, as Gene did, and you will join him in heaven for that happy reunion as
you await the resurrection at the end of the age and the final fulfillment of
all things accomplished in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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