1. In the name of our crucified and risen Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear family and friends of Greg. On behalf of the congregation here at Grace Lutheran 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. Greg, is one of those from whom we can learn. As I ministered to Greg these last few months as his health declined, I can tell you that Greg knew where his faith fit into all this. He knew he could face his fears because his Redeemer Jesus promised to deliver him from them all. Greg 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. Greg was greatly loved by his family and friends. He loved to boat, hunt, and fish. Greg had fond memories of deep-sea fishing in Florida. He was a member of the South Milwaukee Yacht Club. In fact, when I first met Greg and Karen, they told me about a time that Greg had to navigate his way back from Sheboygan after a fishing trip during a great storm on Lake Michigan. Greg owned two businesses here in our community, he was a master technician and mechanic. He selflessly gave to his community and to his family and he was a loving husband and father. He showed his patience and faith to me as his pastor as he went through his kidney diagnosis and dialysis.
4. Let’s get to the text for Greg’s funeral sermon. In John 14:1-6 Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 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. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
5. 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 Greg 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.” Greg 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!
9. 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.
10. 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. Greg 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.
11. 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 Greg’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 Greg 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. Now the peace that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
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