“Let not your Hearts be Troubled”
John 14:1-14
4/20/08
It seems that there are a lot of things going on in
both the world and our country these days that trouble our hearts, lots
of things that threaten to take away our peace and comfort, making us
anxious and afraid instead - things like the economy, gas prices, food
prices, and the housing market. There’s violence on the
roads, violence in schools, violence at home and at work. Then,
of course, there’s the war in Iraq, the uncertainty of the
outcome of the future election, and the stress and worry we experience
in our various vocations. And ultimately, there’s the fear
and anxiety associated with any number of illnesses and diseases that
afflict us and signal our immanent death.
On the night when Jesus was to be betrayed and
handed over to the Romans to be crucified, the disciples were troubled
by the Lord’s statements that He was going somewhere where they
could not follow. Peter piped in that he wasn’t going to
let that happen; he’d give his life for Jesus if necessary.
But Jesus told him that by the time the rooster crowed he would have
denied him three times. Troubling statements! What was
going to happen to Jesus? What was going to happen to the
disciples? What’s going to happen to us?
But in the midst of all these troubling things Jesus
says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust
also in me.” He doesn’t deny that there are many
things that bring trouble into our lives, and He doesn’t promise
to remove those troubling things from our lives; He simply says,
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled by them.”
How can He say such a thing? I’m stressed out at work, I
can hardly afford gas and groceries anymore, I’m suffering from a
debilitating disease, I’m facing surgery! I can’t
help feeling troubled, and yet Jesus tells me not to let my heart be
troubled but to trust in Him. How can He say such a thing?
How is this possible, when all I can see is trouble?
Well, Jesus gives us the answer. He
doesn’t simply tell us not to let our hearts be troubled; He also
gives us the reason why our hearts don’t have to be
troubled. He says, “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.” With these words Jesus reminds us that this world
is not our home. This world and all its troubles are only
temporary. Jesus is coming to deliver us from this present evil
age and to take us to our real home - heaven, where there will be no
troubles ever again. On that day God will wipe away every tear
from our eyes, and He will bring us into His kingdom of glory, where
there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. It will
be a place where the former things will have passed away and all things
will be made new. It will be a place where we will no longer live
by faith, but Jesus will dwell among us visibly and we’ll see Him
face to face. The troubles of this life are what the Apostle Paul
calls “momentary light afflictions.” They will all
eventually pass away, and none of them, not even death, will be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The new heavens and the new earth that our Lord
promises us is a sure hope, a sure thing for those who trust in Jesus,
because through His death and resurrection He has overcome all troubles
and opened the door to His Father’s house for all believers in
Him. We don’t have to fear the troubles of this world,
because we know Jesus (or even better, are known by Him) who is the
Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus, crucified and risen from the
dead for us, is the way to the Father. Through the proclamation
of the Gospel that our sins are forgiven for His sake He is the Truth
that brings us into His Father’s house. And He is the
Author of life, through whom and for whom all things exist and who has
overcome death for us by way of His resurrection from the dead,
granting us eternal life through faith in Him. There are no
troubles that you will ever experience that Jesus, the Way, the Truth,
and the Life, has not overcome for you, no troubles that will keep you
from the Father in Jesus Christ.
Now, many people today, even some Christians, balk
at the idea that Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life
through which we come to the Father. They would argue that Jesus
is only one way to the Father, only one way into heaven. They
would say that it doesn’t really matter which religion you belong
to or which god you believe in. In the end, they may all be
different roads, but they all lead to the same place. But Jesus
makes it clear here that no one comes to the Father except through
Him. He makes this clear not only by what He says, but by what He
does. He says and does the words and works the Father sent Him to
speak and do. During His earthly ministry He spoke the words of
eternal life, He forgave sins, and He reversed the effects of sin,
healing people of their diseases, casting out demons, and raising
people from the dead. With His own bodily sacrifice on the cross
He has removed the barrier of sin once for all that kept us from the
Father, and He proved this by taking death, the wages of sin, out of
the way with His bodily resurrection. The false gods and
religions of this world cannot remove the barriers of sin and death for
you. They do not lead to the Father and eternal life in His
house; they lead somewhere else. They lead to eternal separation
from the Father. They lead to eternal suffering and death in
hell.
And that’s where we’d all have ended up,
too, if it were not for our Savior, Jesus Christ. The troubles
that we suffer in this life are reminders of the fact that we are
responsible for bringing these troubles upon ourselves in the first
place by our sin. Many people want to blame God for the troubles
of this life: “Why does He allow such things? Why
doesn’t He stop it? Maybe He’s too weak. Maybe
He doesn’t care. Maybe He likes watching us
suffer.” But God is not the one responsible for our
suffering; we are. The wages of sin is death, and that’s
what we have earned for ourselves by our sin. It’s our
disobedience and rebellion against God and His commandments that have
brought on the troubles we experience in this life.
But God loved us too much to abandon us in our
troubles. He loved us too much to give us over to the death we
deserve. And so He sent His Son to suffer the things that trouble
our hearts, so that through His suffering, death, and resurrection He
might overcome them, in order that through faith in Him we might not be
overcome by them ourselves. Jesus put Himself under your
troubles. He took your sin and its troubles upon Himself on the
cross where He defeated them, so that they can no longer trouble
you. Though both the world and the devil would still try to
trouble you in this life, in Jesus Christ you are no longer in trouble
with God. The blood of Jesus has worked peace for you with the
Father, and you now have the promise of eternal life in His
house. You can look forward to your Lord’s coming and your
own resurrection from the dead with complete assurance, because Jesus
promises He will come again for you and take you to Himself, that where
He is there you may be also.
Well, this is all very fine for the future.
But what about right now? Is there relief from the troubles
we’re going through here and now? Has our Lord left us, not
to return for us until some future date, or is He still with us in our
troubles in this present evil age? The answer is, Yes!
He’s with you even now. By virtue of the fact that He has
put His Name upon you at your Baptism and claimed you as His child, He
keeps His promise that He will be with you always even to the end of
the age and that He will never leave you or forsake you. Jesus is
with you to help you in your troubles right here and right now.
In the future we will live trouble free in our heavenly Father’s
house forever. But even in this life our Father’s house has
entered into the time and space of this age and comes to us through the
proclamation of the Word about Jesus and the administration of His
Sacraments. Here and now we are gathered together in the Name
into which we were baptized, receiving the peace and comfort that only
our Lord can give us through His Word and His body and blood.
Here and now we can lay our troubles at the foot of our Lord’s
cross, hear His forgiveness spoken to us, and receive the strength He
gives us to persevere in the faith when our troubles threaten to
overcome us. And so, the Apostle Peter writes, “Cast all
your cares on Him, for He cares for you.” And the author of
the book of Hebrews writes, “For because He Himself has suffered
when tempted, He is able to help those who are being
tempted.” Jesus wants your troubles; He doesn’t want
you to be troubled. He can handle your troubles when you
can’t. And He can and will give you the help you need to
bear up under them.
And remember: The troubles of this life are
temporary; they aren’t going to last forever. Jesus is
preparing a place for you in His Father’s house right now and
will come back for you someday. Just as He is risen from the dead
and lives and reigns for all eternity, so you too will be raised from
the dead on the Last Day and live and reign with Him for all
eternity. In the meantime, don’t let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God; trust in Jesus. He has borne your
troubles for you and removed the sting from them through His death and
resurrection so that they cannot harm you or separate you from Him and
His love for you. He even causes them all to work together for
good for you who love Him, for you who are called according to His
purpose. Receive the peace and comfort He gives you in His house
today through Jesus Christ, your crucified and risen Savior, and leave
here trouble free. Amen.