Finding the Way Home
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Discovering Jesus as the only Pathway to redemption.
Text: John 14:4-6
Date: 04/07/2019, the Traditional service.
Series: "John: Encountering Love" Part 130
Description:
In the opening verses of this chapter, Jesus has "set up" His disciples (and through them, us!) for the important and powerful lesson of this morning's text. He has comforted them by telling them of His Father's house, and of the home He is preparing for them there. He then prompts them to see if they know how to find their way to that home. When Thomas, speaking for the group, responds that they know neither the destination nor the way to get there, Jesus tells them in what is perhaps the most straight-forward statement in the Gospels, exactly how redemption is obtained. We will analyze every word of this statement, realizing that richness can be found not only in WHAT He says, but in the way He says it. Ultimately we will recognize the exclusivity of Jesus' words and that it is in Him and in Him alone that we find our way home to the Father's house.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, John 14:4-6.
A. Context
B. Revealing the way home.
1. The Master Teacher, vs. 4.
a. The culmination of Redemptive History.
b. The better place.
c. Finding the way.
2. The honest man's response, vs. 5.
a. An honest response.
b. A logical response.
c. A literal response, John 13:36, 7:33-35.
d. An errant response.
3. The way revealed, vs. 6a.
a. Establishing the Messianic purpose.
i. The Great "I AM", John 6:48, 8:12, 10:9,11, 11:25, 15:1, 8:58, Ex. 3:14.
ii. Focus on redemption.
b. The WAY.
i. A personal way.
ii. The WAY between God and man.
c. The TRUTH.
i. An extended discussion of "truth", John 18:38, 1:14,17, 8:44,32,37, 1:18.
ii. Truth as distinct from lies, John 1:5, 3:19-20.
iii. The impact of truth, John 3:21, 8:40,45.
d. The LIFE.
i. An extended discussion of "LIFE", John 6:33, 51, 4:14, 10:10, 5:40, 11:25-26.
ii. A personal LIFE, John 6:53-54.
iii. What Jesus means by "LIFE", John 5:26, 1:4.
e. Summarizing the words, John 1:11-13.
f. The irony of Jesus' words.
i. The spectre of the Crucifixion.
ii. The glory of the Resurrection.
4. The exclusive way, vs. 6b.
a. A necessary truth.
b. God's exclusive plan of redemption.
i. The Father calls, John 6:44, 12:38-40.
ii. The Spirit regenerates, John 3:5, 6:63.
iii. The Son redeems.
iv. Redemption in a nutshell, 1Pet. 1:2-3.
5. Answering Thomas, vs. 7.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
