The text this afternoon is from the Gospel according to John, the 14th chapter:
“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.
Thus far the text.
Dear Colleen, Ann Marie, Allen, and my dear friends in Christ,
Our Lord Jesus Christ promises in the text today that John is perfectly and wonderfully safe. But, it’s just words, isn’t it, without proof. So, Jesus does more than just say that He’s going to prepare a place for John; Jesus ascended into heaven, in front of throngs of witnesses, vanishing from sight to sit at the right hand of God the Father, from whom all Christ’s promises find their yes.
So, when Jesus promises to go and prepare a place for John, you can take Him, not just at His Word, but at His action. And this is the promise to which John held fast. John was an elder at St. Peter–Immanuel for 30 years. He led people to understand God’s Word and hold it as dearly as he did. And it was this promise that kept him through his waning years. As his mind and body grew weaker, the faith that had been granted to him in his Baptism grew stronger.
You see, the faith with which John grasped onto the promises of Christ did not depend on John’s powers. It did not depend on how hard he thought about it, how hard he worked, how much he loved. And, by all accounts, John was a dear man, beloved by many, beloved by his wife and children, beloved by even his dog. And John worked hard, forcing his body to obey his commands, working the earth and tending his gardens. And as much as John loved all of that, the faith that grasped onto the promise of Jesus wasn’t a matter of John’s will; it is a matter of the Father’s will for John.
And His will was that John believe and trust in the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And John did. This is why we are confident to say that John is, even now, beginning eternity with his Lord. He is in heaven with Christ and is eagerly anticipating the day when his soul will be joined with his body once again, to be reunited in the resurrection from the dead. The place Jesus is preparing for you, the place He has prepared for John, is still being prepared, and will not find its completion until our Lord comes back to judge the living and dead.
John, and we, will be judged. And, by faith in Christ Jesus, we will be found with John, to be the Lord’s own, to be counted as righteous for our Lord’s sake. This is because our Lord laid His life down for John. Jesus was nailed to the tree for John. Jesus suffered for John. Jesus died for John. Jesus was resurrected for John. Jesus ascended for John. And Jesus lived, suffered, died, resurrected, and ascended for you. By our Lord’s life, death, and resurrection, we are counted righteous, while Jesus was counted the sinner. By this, we are welcomed into everlasting life. By this, we are given the promise of an eternal place of rest by Christ Himself.
This is very good news, because John is before us today, a testament to who he was and who we are. And, as good a man as John was, he was yet a sinner. We know this for John has died, and only sinners die. But Jesus saves sinners. Jesus was counted among the sinners, though He has no sin. Jesus laid down His life so that He could take it up again and give it to John and to you. Jesus died to give you His place, His room, His life. And He does even this day, calling out to you by His Word that you may trust in Him and believe.
And when you do, you may have the confidence that John would desire you have, the confidence that you shall be reunited with him on the other side of eternity, not dwelling in some ghostly manner, wandering through the clouds, but in a real, tangible way, where you can wrap your arms around him, just as Mary wrapped her arms around Jesus’ feet. He would have you have confidence in the resurrection from the dead, that you shall stand before the Lord in the very righteousness of Christ.
Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe in Christ. He desires you with him always. And though it hurts that He has called John home to Himself, this grief is a momentary affliction, to be taken away on the day of the Lord’s choosing. And that day is coming, the day when we and all those who have trusted the Lord will gather before the Shepherd of the Sheep, and cry out with the angels, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” And we’ll mean forever, for that day is just beginning. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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