John 14, Traditions

In one paragraph

Pastor James preached from John 14:1-6 as part of an ongoing study through the Gospel of John. He focused on the words Jesus spoke to His closest disciples the night He was betrayed, and what it means that Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life. The setting matters, Pastor James said. Jesus delivered these words privately, after Judas had been dismissed, to the believing disciples...

Read together

1. John 14:1 opening verse of the main passage, 'Let not your heart be troubled'
2. John 14:2 in my Father's house are many rooms, he goes to prepare a place
3. John 14:3 I will come again and receive you to myself
4. John 14:4 where I go you know, and the way you know
5. John 14:5 Thomas's interjection, we do not know where you are going
6. John 14:6 I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me
7. John 14:31 Jesus says let us get up from here and go, transition toward the garden
8. John 8:58 before Abraham was, I am, cited as Jesus's inherent claim to deity
9. Titus 2:13 our glorious hope, the blessed appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ

Talk about it

1. The pastor pointed out that Jesus originally spoke John 14:1-6 to his closest believing disciples, not as a public evangelistic call. How does knowing that context change the way you read 'Let not your heart be troubled'?
2. Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times, and then immediately said 'Let not your heart be troubled.' What does it say about Jesus that He offered that comfort even to someone He knew was about to fail Him?
3. The pastor described the disciples as followers of 'the Way' before they were called Christians, and said Jesus intended these words to keep them from drifting back into familiar religious habits. What old habits or familiar ways of thinking do you find yourself returning to when following Jesus gets hard?
4. The pastor said that calling Jesus 'the truth' means anything outside of Him is, by definition, a lie, no matter how attractive or inspiring it looks. How do you personally navigate that claim in a culture that treats all truth as equally valid?
5. The sermon ended with the observation that Jesus talked about hell and eternal separation from God more than almost anything else, yet it is one of the least popular doctrines today. How does that reality shape the urgency you feel, or do not feel, about sharing your faith with people around you?