Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Where Are You Going? (LS05)

       'Last Sermon of Jesus'

John 14:1-3  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
    Our Lord told His disciples that after His crucifixion, He will be with the Father in heaven. So the Roman soldiers actually helped God to fulfill His plan by sacrificing Jesus' physical body to redeem mankind. Our Lord, having completed His work on earth is now in heaven preparing a place for each one of us. This was to comfort His disciples that He was in full control of the situation.

John 14:4-5  "And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
    Our Lord must be disheartened to see that Thomas and possibly His other disciples were still ignorant of the gospel; that believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God will give them eternal life in heaven. These disciples were with our Lord for three years, yet they failed to comprehend salvation. An emergency had arisen on the ground that our Lord would be betrayed that very night! How could these unlearned, naive and ignorant; possibly stupid, simple folks be expected to carry His gospel to the ends of the world? Besides, their disappointment of His death, His failure to come as the King of the Jews and the fear of persecution and martyrdom had blinded them.

John 20:21-22  So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
    Can you see that His disciples were only a group of simple-minded, ordinary folk? Nevertheless, after the coming and empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, these same disciples were immediately transformed into knowledgeable, wise, bold and powerful preachers of His everlasting gospel of truth and grace.  

Brethren, we too, can be mightily used by Him if we express our faith in Him by obeying and keeping His words and commandments.